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

 

Guest:   Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda........

Update on 2024......VP for Trump?.....Decline of journalism.....EV's not charging.......…and other stories....

Monday's video: The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda

Monday's video: 

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

Update on 2024...VP for Trump?.....Decline of journalism.....EV's not charging...and other stories...

                                 

Arturo smells blackmail

A few days ago, Jorge Ramos of Univision interviewed former Mexican ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan. His analysis of how President Andres Lopez-Obrador greeted the Biden delegation is sound:   

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/01/arturo_smells_blackmail.html

Arturo smells blackmail - American Thinker https://t.co/36Akhphi2t

— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) January 22, 2024

We remember Sam Cooke (1931-64)

We remember the great Sam Cooke.   He was born in Mississippi on this day in 1931.

Cooke turned into one of the best male singers of the early 1960's. 

Sam Cooke's life ended abruptly in 1964 and his death was a bit of mystery.    

Sam Cooke was a great singer.    His music is now available on a digital format, such as this great summary of his career.

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.

A word about January 22

 

We recall today another anniversary of Roe v Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the U.S.  Thankfully, it was overturned in 2022.  The states (i.e. voters) decide abortion now and that’s a good thing.

We remember LBJ, or President Lyndon Johnson, the 36th president of the U.S., who died on this day in 1973.  He was living in South Texas and watching his successor announce the end of the Vietnam War:

On the day of Nixon's second inaugural celebration, Johnson watched sullenly as Nixon announced the dismantling of many of Johnson's Great Society social programs and, the next day, that he had achieved the ceasefire in Vietnam that had eluded Johnson. 

The following day, while Lady Bird and their daughters were in Austin, Johnson suffered a fatal heart attack at his ranch in Johnson City.

We remember the great Sam Cooke.   He was born in Mississippi on this day in 1931.  Cooke turned into one of the best male singers of the early 1960's.   Sam Cooke's life ended abruptly in 1964 and his death was a bit of mystery.    His music is now available on a digital format, such as this great summary of his career.

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.

What version of these great songs do you like better?

In popular music, it is rare for a song to be a hit for more than one artist. Yet, there are exceptions. 

Let me share these examples:

1) "In my life":   It was originally released on The Beatles' "Rubber Soul".     It was not released as a 45 in the US but did become one of the group's classic songs.   

It is still my favorite Beatles' album, with other great songs like "Norwegian Wood" and "Michelle".

Judy Collins did something impossible. She recorded "In my life" and it was the best cover of a Beatles' song ever.

Decision: A tie!

2) "As tears go by":  It was originally recorded by The Rolling Stones.  It is one of the few ballads written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.  Perhaps "Ruby Tuesday" is the other one.

Marianne Faithfull, a cute British girl, recorded "As tears go by" a song composed by Mick & Keith.  Marianne was a lot better looking, too! Looks matter, don't they?

Decision: Go Marianne!

3) "More love"---It was originally released by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. 

About 15 years later, Kim Carnes recorded "More love" and introduced Smokey's great composition to a whole generation of fans.

Decision: How am I going to vote against Smokey Robinson? After all, didn't Smokey Robinson compose "My girl" by The Temptations?

4) "I only have eyes for you"---goes back to the early days of recorded music. The Flamingos recorded a very soulful version with some incredible harmonies. 

Many years later, Art Garfunkel released a great update of the song: "I only have eyes for you".

Decision: Art Garfunkel by just a bit!

Enjoy your weekend and pick your favorites!

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.

 

1973: President Johnson ( # 36) died on this day

If you live in the Dallas-Ft Worth area, or the Metroplex, as we call it, you are constantly talking about LBJ.  It's LBJ to the airport or to Garland or now to I-30 thanks to all of the expansion.  Of course, this LBJ, or I-635, is a highway that connects the area from east to west.  For the record, we also have a Bush highway farther north.  That one was named after our 41st president.

Today, I'm going to remember the other LBJ, or President Lyndon Johnson, the 36th president of the U.S., who died on this day in 1973.  He was living in South Texas and watching as his successor announced the end of the Vietnam War:

On the day of Nixon's second inaugural celebration, Johnson watched sullenly as Nixon announced the dismantling of many of Johnson's Great Society social programs and, the next day, that he had achieved the ceasefire in Vietnam that had eluded Johnson. 

The following day, while Lady Bird and their daughters were in Austin, Johnson suffered a fatal heart attack at his ranch in Johnson City.

I would argue that few modern Democrats even know who LBJ is.  If they do, they rarely talk about him.  They are more likely to talk about Beto O'Rourke taking your AR-15 or Senator Bernie Sanders promoting whatever he is promoting.

LBJ's presidency was volatile.  It began on the day that President Kennedy was killed in Dallas in 1963.  A year later, he won a landslide victory against Senator Goldwater by avoiding the topic of Vietnam and promising not to send troops.  By mid-1966, the U.S. involvement in Vietnam had grown to 500,000 troops, and resentment of LBJ's policies divided the Democrats and the nation.  By the spring of 1968, President Johnson's fortunes hit bottom, and he did not seek re-election.  A week later, Reverend Martin Luther King was killed.  Two months later, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was killed, too.  That's a lot of history in such a short period.

It is true that LBJ is remembered for the Great Society and significant civil rights reforms.  His knowledge of the U.S. Senate and Congress, and persistence, brought many reluctant Southern Democrat legislators along.  However, the jury is still out on the billions of dollars spent on the War on Poverty.  In other words, did we just throw money at the problem rather than deal with other causes of poverty?  I would argue that we threw money at the problems and may have made the breakdown of the family inevitable.

Overall, it was a tragic presidency, and the first one that I remember, having arrived here with my parents in 1964.  A few years ago, there was a great book, Master of the Senate, written about LBJ, by Robert A. Caro.  It reminded us that he was a strong U.S. Senate majority leader, a better legislator than an executive.

I'll be on LBJ later this week and remember that it was named after the president born in Texas, who died 50 years ago, and the same Democrat whom no one remembers around here.

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.