Everybody was talking Madden in Mexico

 

(My new American Thinker post)

We just flew home from a vacation in Mexico.    Unlike the thousands who cross the border on a daily basis, my Mexican born wife (legal resident) and me (Naturalized U.S. citizen) had to take a COVID test 24 hours before the flight home.  Thankfully, we are negative and the testing facility was rather well run.   We did not have to wait long as I hear is happening up here.   

It's weird, but my two biggest fears a few days ago were a positive COVID test and staying in Mexico plus a flight cancellation.   So my wife kept checking her phone and gave me the best news:   "El vuelo no esta cancelado" or the flight is not cancelled.  Can't tell you how good that sounded as we were fighting the incredible traffic jam going to the airport.

Yes, there was a lot of controversy about the virus.  

We attended a huge December 24th family gathering and three issues were forbidden by a family decree distributed by email:   religion, the Mexican president, or COVID.  

I didn't understand the one about religion but the other two are hugely controversial.   At one point, a family member said:   "You think you guys are polarized in the U.S. check out Mexico."  Another one said something about a crazy Mexican Fauci but not sure who he was talking about.

What do the guys talk about when religion, COVID, and the Mexican president are off the table?   Can you believe John Madden?  It turns out that the other men at the meeting were very fond of the late Raiders' coach and NFL analyst.

On the flight back, I read this great article by Christopher Jacobs:    

For most of the 1970s, football fans knew John Madden as the coach who “couldn’t win the big one.” Hired as coach by Raiders owner Al Davis at age 32, Madden fielded successful teams throughout his tenure; after all, he won more than three-quarters of the games he coached. But circumstances always seemed to conspire against Madden and his teams, as when the Pittsburgh Steelers used the last-second “Immaculate Reception” to beat his Raiders in 1972.

Two years after Madden’s Raiders won Super Bowl XI over the Minnesota Vikings -- finally removing the proverbial monkey off his back -- he shocked the football world by retiring at the young age of 42. 

Then he went into the TV booth and became of the face of CBS' coverage.

Like most of the guys at the aforementioned party, I remember Coach Madden losing all of those post season games, including the one 1972 crazy finish against the Raiders.  There were several Raiders' fans in the crowd who reminded me that the referee missed the play and replay would have reversed the call.   I don't know about that but I guess that the Raiders were hugely popular south of the border too.   And his work on TV was very popular too because many guys catch the game in English by cable TV.

So rest in peace, Coach.  Talking about Madden had us chatting about something other than President Lopez-Obrador, who turns people on or off, not much different than President Trump does up here.   

Hope you had a good Christmas holiday and that your food was as good as what we had.  

Who knew that Coach Madden would keep us away from religion, the Mexican president, and COVID?

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Merry Christmas and enjoy your holiday

 (My new American Thinker post)

We are going away for a couple of weeks and want to thank American Thinker and our readers for a fun 2021.   

 

Enjoy this wonderful holiday with your family.   

 

This is a message for all of you from Father Gerald E. Murray the pastor at Holy Family Church.     Father Murray was with St. Vincent de Paul in New York when he wrote this message for National Review.  I guess that some things get better with time.   I think that you will agree:

A monsignor friend of mine is known to walk up the stairs of his rectory saying out loud, “Filled with joy, filled with joy.”

 

His reminder to himself and anyone in earshot is that joy is the central reality of Christian life.

 

Amidst the many problems and difficulties of everyday life in this world, faith teaches us to rejoice in God’s goodness.

 

At Christmas, God makes it easy to rejoice once again. Past and present seem to be one: the Virgin and Child at Bethlehem, the Christmas tree and crèche scene in our home growing up, our present-day preparations to celebrate another Christmas.

 

Christmas morning is certainly a time of great joy for children. Think back to those happy days.

 

The anticipation of finding under the tree exactly what we asked for was almost always fulfilled, unless Santa decided otherwise in his wisdom, as our parents were quick to tell us as we opened a box containing a shirt or a sweater.

 

Be grateful for what you have, they said, which is surely good advice.

 

Anyway, we will have soon have a chance to thank the Baby Jesus at Mass, so get dressed now!

 

Gratitude indeed is the root of our joy:

 

We recognize God’s goodness, experienced in a small but very important way through giving and receiving Christmas gifts, and we rejoice.

 

Joy in the soul is a foretaste of Heavenly beatitude.

 

Joy at Christmas is the fruit of knowing deep down that the birth of the Child Jesus changes everything for all time.

 

The cold and darkness of the long night of waiting has passed as the Sun of Justice shines upon creation.

 

Pope Benedict XVI recently called for prayers in these words:

 

But let us also think of those, especially young people, who have lost the sense of authentic joy, and who seek it in vain where it is impossible to find: in the exasperated race for self-affirmation and success, in false amusements, in consumerism, in moments of drunkenness, in the artificial paradise of drugs and of other forms of alienation.

 

This reads as though the pope has been spending time going through Page Six of the New York Post.

 

But in fact he does not need to be reminded of the inanities and self-destructive acts of mankind, as typified (but not exclusively, to be sure) in the lives of celebrities.

 

We are all to some extent, in one way or another, at some point (or points) in our lives, on the wrong track going downhill.

 

What can get us out of this spiral of despair?

 

Joy. To know joy exists, and that it is within our reach, can be sufficient motivation to exit the fast lane and find that path that the Wise Men took to reach Bethlehem, and the Child.

 

May joy draw us out of ourselves and lead us to kneel in awe before the tiny Child who makes all things new....."

 

What more can I say?   Father Murray said it all.   

 

This is going to be a strange Christmas season.   My mother passed away in May and thus I won't have my parents around.  It will be very strange to say Feliz Navidad or eat some of the Cuban food without them.  My consolation is that my parents are together again looking down at the growing family with pride.

 

Merry Christmas to you and your family.   See in '22!

 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.

The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda

The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda 12/20 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

Guest: Bill Katz, the editor of Urgent Agenda.........Senator Manchin said NO and the Democrats are not happy.........The Biden-Harris presidency is in crisis.....The war over mandates.....New York cancellations and impact on business....More madness from colleges......Big stories and surprises of 2021..........and more stories..............click to listen:

Monday's video: Manchin a NO" on BBB

Monday's video: 

Manchin a "NO" on BBB 

Click to watch

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 12/21 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

P.S.:  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

South Texas Christmas memories plus more with George Rodriguez

South Texas Christmas memories plus more with George Rodriguez 12/19 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

Guests: George Rodriguez, South Texas conservative.........memories of Christmas in South Texas......plus the latest Texas politics..................

and other stories......click to listen:

Enough with the impeachments already

 (My new American Thinker post)

Most of us were sitting in front of the TV or listening to the radio as I was on this day in 1998.  I went jogging and heard the final vote about a mile from home.  It was historic: a U.S. president impeached:

After nearly 14 hours of debate, the House of Representatives approves two articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, charging him with lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice. Clinton, the second president in American history to be impeached, vowed to finish his term.

As you may remember, the whole thing was about Monica Lewinski, the famous intern who did whatever she did in the Oval Office.  Of course, there was a more serious side to the whole encounter with the president.  The Starr Report outlined a case based on perjury, obstruction of justice, witness-tampering, and abuse of power.  There were also some explicit details of the sexual relationship between the president and the intern.

It was enough to do the unthinkable: cover my young sons' ears when I was watching the nightly news.  Wonder how many other dads did the same thing?

Along with the impeachment, President Clinton ordered the bombing of Iraq.  It was crazy: images of the U.S. Air Force dropping bombs on one side of the screen and a busload of Democrats showing up at the White House to show their support for the embattled president.  Bizarre was the word.

It was the first impeachment since President Andrew Johnson in 1868, 130 years earlier.  I remember talking to my late father and wishing we'd never see another impeachment again.  Unfortunately, President Clinton and most of the principals of that impeachment got to see two more Trump impeachments, both outrageously political and partisan.

So I got to see three impeachments in 23 years.  I'm hoping we don't see another one for a very long time.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

P.S.:  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

 

Saturday’s video: Hispanics an politics

Saturday’s video: 

Hispanics and politics 

Click to watch

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.

   

Everybody is talking about Democrats and Hispanics going separate ways

 (My new American Thinker)

Over the last few months, talking about Hispanics is suddenly in the news.   Maybe that Wall Street Journal poll got everybody talking, with a 37-37 tie for who should run Congress.  Maybe Rudy Teixeira, the man who invented the demographics argument, is now pulling back his prediction about Hispanics creating a permanent majority or the Californization of the U.S.    

Let's add another voice to the choir.   This is from Eric Levitz:   

This winter, Democratic strategists have many causes for discontent. Inflation is eroding Joe Biden’s approval rating and his party’s standing in 2022 midterm polls. The president’s stalled agenda is dispiriting progressive activists and keeping the media’s focus on Democratic disarray. In recent polls, Donald Trump is holding his own in a hypothetical 2024 rematch.   

But it’s possible that no political development worries blue America’s operatives more than Hispanic voters’ rightward drift.

Biden’s approval rating has declined with just about every demographic. But no racial or ethnic group has soured on the president more than Hispanics, according to FiveThirtyEight’s aggregation of all available polls.

To say the least, all this talk about Hispanics and Democrats has come to the attention of Univision Dallas.   On Thursday night, I recorded a segment for their weekend "Al punto," a political discussion show that I've visited before.

The moderator asked me about the aforementioned WSJ and some of the other polls.  This is what I told him.

The best evidence of the problem is Texas.   I've referred to this concerning the elections in Arlington and Ft. Worth, a couple of big cities with huge Hispanic populations that elected GOP mayors easily.   In November, a Hispanic GOP defeated a Hispanic Democrat in a San Antonio district taken for granted by the Democrats.   

And the border has become Exhibit A of the Democrats' collapse.   

Last, but not least, Robert O'Rourke is down 15 against Governor Greg Abbott.  Beto is in such bad shape that his only hope is that we get another ice storm and the lights go out.

Yes, it's for real that Hispanics are souring on the Democrats.   I guess that's what happens when your message is for San Francisco rather than Texas.

To paraphrase Elvis, "...There's nothing left to do but go our separate ways And pick up all the pieces left behind us "

Well, romance and politics do have a lot of common, i.e. love, hate and people change when the other party gets really weird.   

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.

BBB dead plus Dems discover violence in cities & Happy # 86 Pope Francis

dead plus Dems discover violence in cities & Happy # 86 Pope Francis 12/17 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

BBB is dead......Democrats discover violence in their cities....Hispanics and Democrats going their separate ways......Ukraine and Taiwan have not been explained to voters.......Happy # 86 Pope Francis......William Safire (1929-2009)....USSR 1991...Wright brothers 1903....

and other stories...click to listen:

Friday's video: The Democrats discover crime in their cities

Friday's video: 

The Democrats discover crime in their cities  

Click to watch

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.

It's your message, Democrats

(My new American Thinker post)

Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she does not understand where the lawlessness is coming from.   She was talking about all of those attack on shops in San Francisco.  

Maybe Mrs. Pelosi finally noticed when the mob attacked her favorite places!   

At the same time, the mayor of San Francisco noticed the looting too.   This is the story:   

The mayor’s plan includes a series of initiatives to implement a 180-degree reversal from blind compassion to “tough love.” Outlined in a Medium post, Breed’s proposals take aim at illegal drug sales and restore funding for police with targeted resources dedicated to the low-income Tenderloin neighborhood. The mayor calls for:

Executing an Emergency Intervention Plan in the Tenderloin neighborhood

Securing emergency police funding to ensure we have the resources to combat major safety problems over the next several months

Amending our surveillance ordinance so law enforcement can prevent and interrupt crime in real time — something they’re effectively barred from doing now — to better protect our homes and businesses

Disrupting the illegal street sales of stolen goods that have become a clear public safety issue and are contributing to retail theft

Well, at least the strategy is changing.   Let's hope that it goes beyond talking points.

Why are Democrats suddenly talking about crime?   

The answer is twofold:

First, this level of "lawlessness," as the Speaker would say, is driving taxpayers away.  My guess is that it keeps a lot of people from driving downtown for dinner on a Saturday.   I was in Maryland last summer and asked about Little Italy, a once-charming part of a town there for eating Italian food.  My friend said that it was still there but many people were afraid of going down in this climate atmosphere.   

Second, the violence must be hurting Democrats with African-Americans and Hispanics, or the people who live in those areas, which may be both.  Check out Chicago and the weekend shootings.  It's hard to blame Trump when everyone running the city is a liberal Democrat.     

Memo to Democrats:  Let the police do their job and you will see how quickly the "lawlessness" will disappear.  

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.

Our 2021 Christmas chat with Leslie Eastman

Our 2021 Christmas chat with Leslie Eastman 12/16 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

Guest: Leslie Eastman, contributor to Legal Insurrection...and political columnist............ 

The attack on Christmas…especially in light of the torching of the Fox News Christmas tree. Inflation: Especially the ginned-up attack on ?Big Meat? and Biden's attempt to have the media twist the inflationary spiral into something positive. The latest news on COVID, especially the recent pandemic-questioning being done by progressive publications. The continuing cargo ship crisis.......

and other stories....

Thursday’s video: That man Manchin

Thursday’s video: 

That man Manchin 

Click to watch

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.

 

50-50 is bad, especially if one of them is a Manchin

(My new American Thinker post)

My guess is that millions of centrist Democrats living between the coasts are sending Christmas cards to Senator Joe Manchin of "almost heaven" West Virginia.  So far, Manchin has been saving the Democrats from themselves and from the crazy left that they are scared of.  The good news is that Manchin does not have to worry about criticism from the left.  In fact, it probably helps where he comes from.

Manchin's latest target  is the so-called Build Back Better proposal headed to the U.S. Senate.  This is from the Washington Post via MSN:    

Waiting around for Manchin has become something of a pastime in the nation’s capital. Hill reporters track his movements on the Senate floor, staking out his office, sometimes for hours, and then orbiting around him like electrons as he walks the halls of Congress. 

On a recent Monday morning, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) bumped into such a gaggle on the way to her office, which is near Manchin’s. “What are you guys doing here now?” she asked them. “It’s Monday, you know he’s not going to get here till 3 o’clock in the afternoon!”

“Sometimes I wish I wasn’t chained to this one spot,” says Burgess Everett, Politico’s chief Manchin correspondent. “But, at the same time, this is the best place to get the news of the day because it’s what everyone is interested in.”

The power and spotlight has earned the gentleman from West Virginia a new nickname.

Yes, they call him Mr. President.  In many ways, he is.  Joe Manchin does not walk around with the nuclear codes but he is a very influential man. 

I guess that's what happens when you represent a state that voted for President Trump by almost 40 points.   

It would be easy to say that Manchin is in tune with West Virginia and is voting that way.   However, I think that it's a bit more to it than that.  

Back in September, he told reporters that he's never been a liberal.   Some of the reporters were a bit stunned to hear a Democrat say that.  However, we used to have a lot of men like Senator Manchin in the Democrat Party.   I'm not talking about the Dixiecrats of yesteryear but rather the late Scoop Jackson and Lloyd Bentsen.  

To be fair, some of my friends warn me that Manchin has a "D" next to his name and could crack.  For example, there is Senator Jon Tester of very conservative Montana and an automatic vote for anything his party puts up.  

Time will tell, but so far, this 50-50 Senate has turned into a nightmare for the Democrats.   And a guy named Manchin is a big part of it.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send drop a dime here.

Inflation plus interest rates & Chile election & Glenn Miller 1944

Inflation plus interest rates & Chile election & Glenn Miller 1944 12/15 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

Inflation 2021........Interest rates......Chile elections.....Glenn Miller 1944..........and other stories.......click to listen: