Sunday's podcast: Violence in Mexico......Population going red from blue.....and other stories

Violence in Mexico......Population going red from blue.....Hitler 1945.....President Washington 1789...and other stories....

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Sunday's video: Violence in Mexico......Population going red from blue.....and other stories...

Sunday's video: 

Violence in Mexico......Population going red from blue.....and other stories...

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The bad guys in Mexico are shooting, not hugging

 (My new American Thinker post)

Down in Mexico, President López-Obrador is committed to his "hugs, not bullets" policy.  He looks to the camera with a straight face and doubles down on the approach.  In the streets and neighborhoods, his citizens are hearing something like "shoot them, shoot them" as cartel gangs fight one another for territory.

According to Mark Lorenzana, the AMLO years will go down as the bloodiest in Mexican history:

In just over four years, and with still 17 months to go, the administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) is on track to be the bloodiest six-year presidential term in the history of Mexico.

To date, there ha[ve] been 154,000 homicides under López Obrador's watch, practically the same number registered in the previous six-year term of former President Enrique Peña Nieto, which registered 157,158 murders between 2012 and 2018.

"During the government of Felipe Calderón, during the so-called Drug War, the country had experienced 121,613 homicides, then the bloodiest six-year term at that time," wrote journalist Héctor de Mauleón, in his Wednesday, April 26, opinion column for Mexican daily newspaper El Universal.

Needless to say, murders under López Obrador's watch have already exceeded Calderón's entire six-year term by a whopping 22 percent.

"The figures presented by the National Citizen Observatory (ONC) are devastating," continued De Mauleón. "According to Francisco Rivas, director of the ONC, in this six-year term 'all records were already broken for the majority of violent crimes.'"

The numbers are awful, but there is a larger question.  The bulk of this violence is cartel-oriented, and López-Obrador continues to avoid the problem.  His approach toward drug cartels leaves many Mexicans, and I assume many in Washington, asking questions about his intentions.  It's obvious that engaging criminal groups isn't reducing violence.  In other words, he is avoiding the subject and letting hundreds of Mexicans die.

And killing they are!

PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.'

A word about April 30

We remember Robert Thomas Velline who was born in Fargo, South Dakota on this day in 1943.    We known him as Bobby Vee, one of the most popular pop vocalists of the early 1960's.   He died in 2016.

On this day in 1945, he was reported dead by the BBC.  Later, we learned that it was a suicide and that his ashes were allegedly found along Eva Braun, his wife.  The European war ended a few weeks later when Germany surrendered.  

On this day in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the US.  

Willie Mays had many big games in his glorious career, specially April 30, 1961.    Mays hit 4 home runs at the old County Stadium in Milwaukee.   He went 4 for 5 with 8 RBIs.   The Giants beat the Braves, 14-4.     

Want to read a good book?   President Nixon wrote a wonderful book in '85 called "No more Vietnams".   It was a review of the war and the mistakes made along the way. 

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July 2013: A chat with Cástulo Gregorisch and the poetry of a Cuban immigrant

(P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  

We spoke with Cástulo Gregorisch about his poetry.  Castulo has written over 600 poems about Cuban his immigrant experience.  They are beautiful and emotional.

Let me share "Aquella triste manana":  

Aquella triste mañana de Cuba me despedía,

Aquella triste mañana de su regazo partía.

Aquella triste mañana mi alma se deshacía,

Aquella triste mañana de carbón y de cenizas.

Aquella triste mañana de mi tierra yo me iba,

Aquella triste mañana sin saber si volvería.

Aquella triste mañana una muy triste en mi vida,

Aquella triste mañana la que nunca olvidaría.

Aquella triste mañana a tierra extraña me iría,

Aquella triste mañana huyendo de la injusticia.

Aquella triste mañana con mi esposa y con mi hija,

Aquella triste mañana nuestros padres no venían.

Aquella triste mañana dolorosa en demasía,

Aquella triste mañana no creo la merecía.

Aquella triste mañana marcada quedó en mi vida,

Aquella triste mañana clavada como una espina.

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‘Blues vs reds’ when it comes to parents

 (My new American Thinker post)

We are a divided country.  Nothing shows our divisions more than our attitudes on parental rights.   

I found this editorial at the WashingtonExaminer interesting. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this February released its Youth Risk Behavior Survey, covering the years 2011-2021. The data were alarming. Almost 3 of every 5 teenage girls reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, and nearly a third of them said they had considered suicide, up 60% from a decade ago…

The two main political parties have vastly different diagnoses of the problem…  

For Democrats, the cause of this mental health crisis is conservatives' failure to accept nonconventional gender identities among the younger generation…

Democrats increasingly want to tackle the problem by empowering professional caregivers to take this growing young population away from their parents and give them the healthcare treatment they think best…  

Democrats are thus clear about the source of the problem and the solution. They say the problem is the family. They want mental health professionals, using state power, to do things to minor children that their parents would not approve of. Their solution is to save your children from... you.

Republicans have a different diagnosis and a different solution. Republican-controlled states such as Utah and Texas recognize that the use of social media on mobile devices has exploded at exactly the same time that depression has been rising, especially among girls…

In response, Republican state governments are empowering parents over the objections of Big Tech corporations…

The contrast between blue and red states on rising youth mental health problems could not be clearer. Blue states' solutions move to weaken family ties and empower government. Red states are moving to weaken corporations and empower families.

Last, but not least, states with school choice will have another reason to attract families to their zip codes.  The more traditional the family, the more likely that you will look for an environment that is parent friendly rather than wants bureaucrats to raise your children.

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

A word about April 29

We remember Duke Ellington who was born in Washington DC on this day in 1899.    He died in 1974.   Duke was a jazz giant.   However, I first heard of him many years ago when my father used to listen to The Voice of America in Cuba.  Duke’s “Take the A train” was the intro-music for Willis Conover’s jazz show broadcast to the world on short wave.  

We say happy # 89 to Luis Aparicio who was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on this day in 1934.  Aparicio was inducted to The Hall of Fame in 1984.

Aretha Franklin's "Respect" was released on this day in 1967 and hit # 1 by mid-June. The story of "Respect" is rather interesting.  It was ranked # 5 in Rolling Stone's Top 500 all time songs.

We remember "Hair", the musical that opened in Broadway on this day in 1968.     The music was good but everything else did not matter to me.

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2013 podcast: "Cuba at 60" with Dr. Carlos Eire

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Cuba at 60 with Dr. Carlos Eire 01/02 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics Podcasts:

Guest: Dr. Carlos Eire, author of 'Waiting for snow in Havana' and other books.........we will discuss the 60th anniversary of the Castro regime in Cuba......and other stories.............

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Friday's podcast: We will look at the national security challenges with Barry Jacobsen

Friday's podcast:   

We will look at the national security challenges with Barry Jacobsen.....

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Friday's video: We will look at the national security challenges with Barry Jacobsen

Friday's video: 

We will look at the national security challenges with Barry Jacobsen...

 

What's going on in Cancun?

 (My new American Thinker post)

For some time, we've heard that Mexico is violent but tourist spots are okay. In other words, Culiacan is a mess but Cancun is nice.  Guerrero is deadly but the beaches of Acapulco are just fine.  And it goes on.

Unfortunately, the story is clashing with reality.  This is the latest from Cancun:    

The bodies of eight people were found dumped in the Mexican resort of Cancun, one of the country’s most popular tourism destinations, authorities said Tuesday.

The bodies were discovered over the weekend about 10 miles from Cancun's beach and hotel zone after police launched a coordinated effort to search for missing people in wooded lots and even sinkhole ponds, also known as cenotes, Mexican authorities said.

Oscar Montes de Oca, the head prosecutor of the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said five of the bodies were found at an abandoned construction site. Three were subsequently identified as previously reported missing people.

Talk about spoiling the narrative.  

It's fair to say that the Mexican government has gone out of its way to protect tourists.  We should add that Cancun is still generally safe for vacations, honeymoons, weddings, and business meetings.  I know people who have gone to Cancun recently for personal and business reasons. They are happy and did not see any violence.

What's the risk?  The risk is that Cancun is a beach resort on the Caribbean and several cartels are fighting for control of the Caribbean coast and its drug trade.  The risk is being in the wrong place when drug gang rivalries play out in the restaurant or disco where you happen to be one night.

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

A word about April 28

We say happy # 82 to Ann-Margaret.    She was born Ann-Margret Olsson in Sweden in 1941.   

On this day in 1956, Frank Robinson hit the first of his 586 lifetime home runs.   The pitcher was the Cubs’ Paul Minner in the old Crosley Field in Cincinnati.    Frank hit 38 in 1956 and was selected NL Rookie of the Year. 

On this day in 1961, future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn threw his second no-hitter against a very tough Giants lineup.  He was 40.   

On this day in 1945, Mussolini & Clara were shot by Italian partisans.....they tried to escape and were captured.   

We say happy # 88 to Pedro Ramos who was born in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba.  Ramos was 19 when he made his debut in 1955.     

A podcast from 2013:  The story of the anti-Castro Escambray guerillas (circa 1966) with Enrique Encinosa.  CLICK TO LISTEN.

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My friend Carlos Eire and "Waiting for snow in Havana"

Like 14,000 other kids, Carlos Eire came to the US in what we would later call the "Pedro Pan" program.   

He settled in Illinois and eventually became a professor at Yale.  This is his story.

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.

Thursday's podcast: 2024 is up in the air.....Biden and the press conference.....and more

2024 is up in the air.....Biden and the press conference......Cancun and violence......Babe Ruth 1947 and other stories....

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Thursday's video: 2024 is up in the air.....Biden and the press conference.....and more

2024 is up in the air.....Biden and the press conference......Cancun and violence......Babe Ruth 1947 and other stories:

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 Catholic holding a rosary will be the abortion candidate

 (My new American Thinker post)

It sort of began yesterday with the video.  It will continue with President Biden repeating two words:  Trump and abortion.  Yes, the entire reelection will be based on scaring voters about the Orange Man and that the GOP wants to ban abortion.  Beyond that, what is he going to talk about?

This is from Phillip Wegmann:   

Within the first five seconds of officially announcing his run for reelection, President Biden made clear that abortion would be a cornerstone of his campaign.

The second still image from his launch video showed a protestor standing outside the Supreme Court. An encapsulation of Democratic orthodoxy, her sign read, “abortion is healthcare.” The Biden campaign believes that by uniting around that message, and attacking the GOP as extremists on abortion, they can keep a Republican out of the White House in 2024 just like they held off a predicted “red wave” in 2022.

Yes, the moderate will take communion at Sunday's mass and then call any restriction on abortion another example of the MAGAs denying women health-care options.

Biden is hoping that the GOP  can not get its act together on abortion.  In other words, the Democrats want to run against 1849 abortion bans as happened in Wisconsin.  So the pressure is on Republicans majority legislatures, such as Wisconsin, to come up with 2023 abortion laws that create exceptions for rape or incest but deny abortion after 12 or 15 weeks.  In other words, force Democrats to explain their votes for late-terms abortions.

In the meantime, the moderate, the Catholic with the rosary, will do nothing but talk about abortion.  It's up to the GOP to get ready and fight back because the moderate will call you a scary MAGA type if you support the slightest restrictions on abortions.  The moderate, who once voted to Let States Overturn Roe v. Wade, is now in the pocket of the Left and will read whatever they write on the teleprompter.

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

A word about April 27

1947:  Major League Baseball said goodbye to Babe Ruth with a special day at Yankee Stadium.  He was very sick and died in 1948.   

1973:  Steve Busby, of the Kansas City Royals, threw his first no-hitter on this day.   It was the first no-hitter of the DH era, or not having to face a pitcher batting.  He pitched another one in 1974.

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.

Wednesday's video: Biden abortion and Trump.....,,,,Debt ceiling limit........US Armed Forces recruiting problems

Wednesday's video: 

 Biden abortion and Trump.....,,,,Debt ceiling limit........US Armed Forces recruiting problems.....

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.

 

Wednesday's podcast: The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda

Guest:.......Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda.....Lemon & Carlson and cable news.....The WSJ editorial about President Biden and a second term........Secretary Blinken and the 50 who signed that letter....Mayor Adams and the migrants......The debt ceiling debate.......and other stories.......

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I saw it on the video

 

(My new American Thinker post)

President Biden is in and I saw it on the video.  I guess that he will be the video candidate and will send out video messages instead of campaigning.  The video was all about the other guys, you know, the horrible opposition.  This is the story:    

President Biden announced his reelection bid Tuesday morning, making “freedom” the focus of his announcement video.

“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we’re in the battle for the soul of America. And we still are,” Biden says in the three-minute video. “The question we’re facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer rights. I know what I want the answer to be, and I think you do, too. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for re-election."   

While he spoke about how Americans are a “good and decent people,” he also denounced “MAGA extremists” and claimed they are “cutting Social Security that you’ve paid for your entire life, while cutting taxes for the very wealthy, dictating what health care decisions women can make, banning books, and telling people who they can love all while making it more difficult for people to vote.”

In his announcement video, Biden called on Americans to give him another four years to "finish this job" of defending democracy and standing up for personal freedom, the right to vote, and civil rights. 

"Because this is the United States of America. And there’s nothing, simply nothing we can not do if we do it together," he concluded. 

There you go.  The man who wants to brings us together divides us again.  He is running against those people who want to cut your Social Security and go easy on the rich.  Where have we heard that before?

The Biden reelection faces a few challenges:

First, he has a record, which is why he didn't mention any of it in the video;

Second, he can't campaign anymore, which is why he made a video.  Wonder how many edits they had to make on that video?  And,

Third, too many people want him to retire.  Have you ever seen this before:  A recent NBC News poll showed 70 percent of Americans believe he should not run for a second term, which includes 51 percent of Democrats. 

Like Jimi Hendrix said:  "Hey, Joe  Where you gonna run to now?"  I don't know and neither does Joe, but he is running for reelection because I saw it on the video.

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

The story of Desi Arnaz with Fernando Hernandez, author

Guest: Fernando Hernandez, author of "The Cubans", joins us for the story of Desi Arnaz, TV star and executive........

Click to listen......

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.

Tuesday's podcast: Biden in by video, Mayor Adams and migrants in NY plus more

Biden in by video.....Mayor Adams and migrants in NY......Carlson out but will be back......1976 Rick Monday and the flag....1980 President Carter and the failed rescue mission.....and other stories....

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Tuesday's video: Biden in by video, Mayor Adams and migrants in NY plus more

Biden in by video.....Mayor Adams and migrants in NY......Carlson out but will be back......1976 Rick Monday and the flag....1980 President Carter and the failed rescue mission.....and other stories....

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.

 

Has Mayor Adams had enough?

 

(My new American Thinker post)

Over the last few months, I've had many conversations with friends about the "migrants" in New York City.  No one seems happy with it, especially my Latin American friends who came here legally.  I hear that Mayor Eric Adams is also screaming about the situation.  This is the story:   

New York City’s migrant crisis has “destroyed” what would’ve otherwise been a local economic comeback of historic proportions, Mayor Adams said Friday while in Washington to plead for federal aid to tackle the deepening emergency.

Adams, who earlier this week laid blame squarely on President Biden for the severity of the city’s migrant crisis, offered the stark economic assessment during an appearance at the African American Mayors Association’s conference in D.C., where he traveled to also meet with a number of Biden officials later in the day.    

“If you were to remove the $4.2 billion that have been dropped into my city because of a mismanaged asylum seeker issue, you would probably witness one of the greatest fiscal turnarounds in New York City history,” Adams told reporters on the sidelines of the conference, referring to the amount of money his administration projects it will shell out on the migrant crisis by July 2024.

We call this "Biden did it," Adams style.  

Of course, Mayor Adams is correct.  No city should be forced to handle a steady influx of migrants.  No one has the resources to provide housing, health care, or jobs for that number of  people.  There is a reason why immigration must be orderly and the mayor's frustration is right on.

My question is this:  Mayor Adams spoke before a group of African American mayors.  Wonder how many others in the audience agree with him?  I don't know, but some cities, like Chicago, have a similar problem.

Last, but not least, when will Mayor Adams call on Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign?   

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