Saturday's show: The government shutdown and we remember Reagan 1981

We will look at the shutdown debate...........the Democrats made a big mistake here......We remember Reagan 1981 and look back at Bush 2009.......the hostage crisis ended on this day in 1981............plus other stories.....




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Saturday's video: A fight over DACA?

The Democrats have fumbled badly.....they’ve decided to go to war over DACA and shut down the government.....very bad move!

Click to watch:

We’re really doing November polls in mid-January?

We all remember the polls that had Mrs. Clinton winning in 2016.

What about the two Alabama polls the day before the election?  One poll had Mr. Jones up by 10 and the other Mr. Moore up by 9!

The latest poll I read shows that the blue wave may not be forming after all.  This is from The Hill:

An NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist poll found that when voters were asked which party’s candidate they’d more likely vote for in their district, 46 percent of registered voters said Democrats, while 40 percent went with Republicans.  Nine percent are undecided.

That shows a sizable decline from December polling, which found Democrats leading by 13 points on generic ballot polling.

Thursday’s poll found more welcome news for Republicans among registered voters who identify as independents.  Among those voters, Republicans led by 2 points, with 38 percent of those voters saying they’d vote for the GOP candidate, while 36 percent said the Democratic candidate.  In December, polling found that Democrats were leading among independent voters by 11 points.

The RealClearPolitics polling average for 2018 generic ballot polling remains in the double-digits for Democrats, with a 10.5-point lead.

But Thursday’s poll has been consistent with the three most recent generic ballot surveys, showing Democrats up by 5 or 6 points.

Very interesting, indeed.

We will wait for further developments but let me add this.

1. A single-digit lead is within shouting distance, specially for incumbents.

2. The double-digit leads were probably unrealistic.  Besides that, we don’t vote for the House on a national basis.

So let’s wait for more numbers and the stories that dominate the news over the next few months. 

As of mid-January, I don’t think anyone has a clue about 2018.

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

The Democrats between the coasts

We've often written about the electoral problems that the Democrat Party faces between coasts.    This is from an article by Politico:  

The facts are harsh. “The number of Democrats holding office across the nation is at its lowest point since the 1920s and the decline has been especially severe in rural America,” Bustos writes in the report. 
In 2009, the report notes, Democrats held 57 percent of the heartland’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Now: 39 percent. 
In 2008, Barack Obama won seven of the eight heartland states. In 2012, he won six. In 2016? Trump won six. 
There are 737 counties in the Midwest—Trump won all but 63 of them.

Can you say disconnect?   Yes you can.   

The AMIA Terrorist Attack and ex-President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina

Are we close to seeing former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner held accountable for the AMIA attack and Alberto Nieman's strange death?  

Marcelo Duelos of PanAm Post reported this:  

Following an investigation, Judge Claudio Bonadio authorized a judicial recess during January in order to give interested parties the opportunity to place their orders for a trial, which is why former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and several officials from her cabinet will have to face oral and public trials.
The process is related to the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Iran, which the Kirchner administration developed with the excuse that this was the only possible route for obtaining statements from the accused residents of Tehran.
According to Prosecutor Alberto Nisman, the treaty hid Kirchner and her associates’ true intentions. According to his investigation, the treaty hid an immunity pact with the Iranian officials in order to guarantee them impunity in the case of the attack on the AMIA (Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association) in exchange for commercial exchanges. It would include energy resources, which Argentina needed after the collapse caused by the 2002 subsidy policy.     
It’s the same reason former Chancellor Héctor Timerman and former Legal Secretary Carlos Zannini are being tried. Both are being held in preventive custody, but in the case of Timerman, his release from prison was authorized for extenuating humanitarian reasons, as he has cancer.
In one of the hearings, broadcast between the former President and Oscar Parrilli, Kirchner acknowledged that Nisman’s complaint against her is the most serious and complicated case she will face.    
Judge Sandra Arrollo Salgado, ex-wife of Prosecutor Nisman and mother of his two daughters, said that the murder of the judicial officer, who denounced the former President, should be classified as a “crime against humanity.”
In 2017, the National Gendarmerie said it had inside knowledge confirming that prosecutor Nisman did not commit suicide, but was killed.    

We spoke about Neisman's death several times in 2017.    I'm glad to see that the investigation leads to President Fernandez.   

January 2009: Congratulations to Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice!

Time flies again!

I recall watching Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice break in as rookies in the mid-1970s.

Back in January 2009, I was pleased to learn that Rice and Henderson were added to Baseball's Hall of Fame.
Henderson was no surprise. He is the all time stolen bases leader with over 1400 SBs.

He was the definition of a leadoff hitter. He hung around long enough to get 3055 hits!
Rice was a bit of surprise because he had failed over ten times. Rice was one the best right handed power hitters of his time:

"Among Rice's other accomplishments: He topped 20 homers 11 times, 100 RBIs eight times, was an All-Star eight times, hit .300 in seven seasons and he finished in the top five in the AL MVP voting six times.
Also, Rice hit 39-plus homers four times, the most of anyone who played in the AL during his time period.

Rice's most impressive season, without question, was 1978, when he hit .315 with 213 hits, 15 triples, 46 homers, 139 RBIs and 406 total bases."

That's a lot of hitting. I remember some of those home runs against the Orioles in the late 70s!

Congratulations to Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson.

Political reality and 2018

As of today, GOP has a 25-seat House majority and the Senate is 51-49.

What does this mean?  It means that governing will be tough because 60 votes are required to pass anything in the US Senate.

Pelosi the Catholic Italian grandmother who defends partial birth abortion

The incredible Democrats are talking a lot about children.

Not long ago, I saw this great cartoon about Minority Leader Pelosi, the San Francisco representative who marches every year in the infamous city "gay pride parade", who is presenting herself as another Italian grandmother.

Of course, the annual parade is a lot more than a reasonable call for civil rights for homosexuals. In fact, the parade is an exhibition of every form of sexual depravity known to mankind.

My guess is that most Catholic Italian grandmothers would beat up their kid with a baseball bat if they would show up at this parade.

On one hand, Pelosi presents herself as an old fashioned grandmother of Italian descent. 

On the other hand, I don't know of any Catholic Italian grandmother who supports abortion on demand, same sex marriage and something as horrible as partial birth abortion.

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

January 2007 and memories of Nancy's tuna politics

Back in January, the new Speaker Pelosi ran into a few troubles and accusations of hypocrisy.

You can not make this up.   Who in the world is proof reading the bills during the 100 hour show? 

See Pelosi's little act:

"House Republicans yesterday declared "something fishy" about the major tuna company in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco district being exempted from the minimum-wage increase that Democrats approved this week.

"I am shocked," said Rep. Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican and his party's chief deputy whip, noting that Mrs. Pelosi campaigned heavily on promises of honest government.

"Now we find out that she is exempting hometown companies from minimum wage. This is exactly the hypocrisy and double talk that we have come to expect from the Democrats."

On Wednesday, the House voted to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour. The bill also extends for the first time the federal minimum wage to the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands.
However, it exempts American Samoa, another Pacific island territory that would become the only U.S. territory not subject to federal minimum-wage laws.

One of the biggest opponents of the federal minimum wage in Samoa is StarKist Tuna, which owns one of the two packing plants that together employ more than 5,000 Samoans, or nearly 75 percent of the island's work force.

StarKist's parent company, Del Monte Corp., has headquarters in San Francisco, which is represented by Mrs. Pelosi. 
The other plant belongs to California-based Chicken of the Sea."

The cartoon double standard?

For the record, I do not like cartoons, or anything else, that mocks religious or patriotic symbols.  Religion, like national identity, should be respected.

This blog has never engaged in any cheap shots against anyone's religion. I respect everyone's faith. I expect other to respect mine.

I understand the Muslim anger over the cartoons back in 2006. They were silly, childish and offensive.  At the same time, we live in a free country and you have to expect that some people will say or publish stupid things.

Yet, the US media's reaction is a little hypocritical.

Where was the media's sensitivity when CNN, or the NYTimes, published horrific pictures of Jesus in a urine jar or the Virgin Mary covered by cow dung.

Who objected to this attack on Christian symbols? I did not see any such concerns in the same media that refuses to print the so called Danish cartoons.

Let's make a deal. Let's respect religious symbols, including Christian symbols.

A DACA message?

The big story from Friday night. Jones of Alabama joined Donnelly of Indiana; Heitkamp of ND; Manchin of WV; and McCaskill of Missouri to avoid a shutdown over DACA. In fact, the message is clear: these Dem Senators will not support DACA without enforcement measures.....

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 21, 2018

Once upon a time, there was a Schumer who said..............

Once upon a time, there was a Schumer who said:  

"If Dems Shut Down The Government Over Immigration That Would Be ‘A Politics Of Idiocy’"   (2013)

Life and choice?

Today, women marched in opposite directions. On one side, many women marched for life or against abortion.....on the other, they marched for "reproductive rights" or abortion.....what about the rights of unborn girls who will never get to march on one side or the other?

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 20, 2018

Colby Lewis retires

Colby Lewis retires, will move to Rangers' front office......this is a good move for both sides.......... https://t.co/gJjFeX0rvl via @MLB

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 20, 2018

What are they doing at the UN when they are not passing anti-Israel resolutions?

Over the last few years, we've grown accustomed to the UN passing anti-Israel resolutions or insulting our intelligence by putting Iran in a woman's rights commission.    This week, we learned that they may have other problems, such as sexual harassment:    

The United Nations has allowed sexual harassment and assault to flourish in its offices around the world, with accusers ignored and perpetrators free to act with impunity, the Guardian has been told.
Dozens of current and former UN employees described a culture of silence across the organisation and a flawed grievance system that is stacked against victims. 
Of the employees interviewed, 15 said they had experienced or reported sexual harassment or assault within the past five years. The alleged offences ranged from verbal harassment to rape.
Seven of the women had formally reported what happened, a route that campaigners say is rarely pursued by victims for fear of losing their job, or in the belief that no action will be taken.
“If you report it, your career is pretty much over, especially if you’re a consultant,” said one consultant, who alleged she was harassed by her supervisor while working for the World Food Programme. 
“It’s like an unsaid thing.”

I hope that we take a look at it.    It's bad!

How many more taxpayers do Dems want to drive out of California?

Something crazy is happening in California.   This is the latest:    

Lawmakers from California have proposed a bill that would compel companies making more than $1 million to turn over half their tax-cut savings to the state in order to fund programs that support low-income and middle-class families.  
Assembly members Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, and Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, have proposed an Assembly Constitutional Amendment that would enact a tax surcharge on California companies, in order to help people who have been negatively affected by the GOP’s tax overhaul, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Critics of the tax overhaul have argued that a tax-heavy state like California will be hurt by declining revenues that pay for social programs, the Chronicle reported. The tax surcharge is a way of compensating for an anticipated loss in state revenue. 

So the answer to tax reform is to increase taxes on the people who pay them?    

And these are the people who think that they can survive as an independent nation?

May 2006: Yankees 14, Rangers 13

You don't see a lot of 14-13 games in major league baseball. You may see a 13-4 game but rarely do you see 27 runs in one game.

Worse than that, the Rangers had a 10-1 lead in this game. The Rangers lost it, came back to take the lead, lost it again, tied the game, went ahead dramatically in the top of the 9th and then lost the game when Posada hits a 2 run homer!

Don't believe it? It did happen. This is one of those box scores that will likely end up in the Hall of Fame, or perhaps in the Rangers' Hall of Shame. 

Melania rather than Bill

We celebrate President Trump's first anniversary........we also celebrate the first anniversary of Melania as First Lady rather than Bill as First Gentleman.........that's something to celebrate.......

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 20, 2018

Wake up Hispanics

The Democrats did not pass immigration reform or Dream Act when they had 60 votes in the Senate.....now they force a shutdown over DACA...when will Hispanics get it that they are being used? This was all about shutting down the govt on Trump's anniversary....wake up Hispanics!

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 20, 2018

March for Life 2018

Wonder how many Hispanic Democrat politicians will "march for life" today in Dallas-Ft Worth? Poll after poll shows that Hispanics oppose abortion......

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 20, 2018

Dems will have to explain to Hispanic military moms

Dems will have to explain to Hispanic military moms why DACA is more important than their sons’ salaries....
specially when DACA expires March 5th and there was a deal on the table that legalized dreamers and enhanced border security....

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 20, 2018

Smile: We can win in November

Over and over, we hear about polls that say that Americans prefer Democrats over Republicans.

We call these "generic polls". Do they matter? Not really. Why? Because Americans do not vote in generic elections.

Here is some good news:   Another poll shows the Democrat lead shrinking!

Hope that you doing well Carlos

Carlos Tabares retired from the school district back in May 2006.  Over the years, Carlos was the friendly face of ESL classes at the Pearl Street Annex.

Carlos told us that he'd spend his retirement between the US and his native Colombia.

I found this retirement quote:

"Retire from work, but not from life" by M.K. Soni

Carlos retired from work but he will continue to live a full life.  Hope that he is doing well.

California bullet train............

Hope you’re not trying to take that California bullet train anytime soon: billions of dollars over budget and seven years behind schedule....

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 20, 2018

There is a memo in the US House..........

There is a memo in the US House.......they tell us that it will rock Washington..........then release the memo.......we can handle it.

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 19, 2018

Diekman honored for long road back

This is a feel good story for a lousy night of politics: Diekman honored for long road back ..............https://t.co/Ixs8mFXhN5 via @MLB

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 20, 2018

Be careful with the narrative....

The narrative is that the public will blame the GOP.....in '95, the shutdown was followed by the GOP holding on to House & Senate in '96.....after the '13 shutdown, the GOP held House and gained Senate in '14...what happens now? I don't know but be careful with the narrative!

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 20, 2018

Guzman at first and Gallo where?

Ronald Guzman is a great first-base prospect in the Rangers' farm system. Could he be the opening day first baseman with Gallo in left field? Time will tell but Guzman looks like a winner......Rangers getting younger and looking ahead to 2019.....

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) January 20, 2018

January 2009: Fred Barnes on the Bush presidency

Back on January 2009, President George W Bush left the presidency and flew back to Texas.

Today, we look at Fred Barnes' Ten things the president got right:

"His presidency was far more successful than not.

And there's an aspect of his decision-making that merits special recognition: his courage.

Time and time again, Bush did what other presidents, even Ronald Reagan, would not have done and for which he was vilified and abused.

That--defiantly doing the right thing--is what distinguished his presidency."

Barnes goes on and discusses all ten.

Let me add this one: leadership.

Leadership is telling people what they don't want to hear.

Leadership is standing up to public opinion.