Another bad day for stock market, jobs report was good & oil prices down, Snow White disaster for Disney, new book about Biden & 2024 plus we remember MLK 1968......
Friday, April 04, 2025
Snow Edsel White?
Snow Edsel White?: We should start calling the new Snow White movie Snow Red. Why? Because there is a lot of red ink on the Disney balance sheet. Red as in losing money. This is the story:
The studio’s remake of the 1937 animated classic suffered a…
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Snow Edsel White? - American Thinker https://t.co/UJScDYugqF
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) April 4, 2025
We should start calling the new Snow White movie Snow Red. Why? Because there is a lot of red ink on the Disney balance sheet. Red as in losing money. This is the story:
The studio’s remake of the 1937 animated classic suffered a dismal box office opening on the weekend of Mar. 28, earning only $43 million in ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada. This represented a huge drop-off from box office predictions in February that it would open to $85 million domestically.
With a $43 million opening, "Snow White" performed worse at the box office than the worst-performing live-action Disney remake up to that point, the 2019 "Dumbo" remake, which opened to $46 million.
The film’s poor opening extended to its second week, where it earned only $14.2 million domestically -- a 66% decline from its opening weekend. These numbers appeared all the more catastrophic considering the film had a budget of approximately $250 million -- making it one of the company's most expensive film productions in the last several years.
Who is getting fired over this movie? I don't know, but this may be the worst economic mistake since the Edsel. Remember the Edsel? It was a big flop too, and it was because they listened to the experts who always tell each other how smart they are.
What failed with this movie was two things:
First, don't mess with a classic. It never works. Why rewrite Beethoven's 5th Symphony? Just buy the CD, or download it, listen to it, love it, praise the composer, and then set out to write your own symphony. We love classics because they are. We don't need smart people outsmarting themselves.
Second, and perhaps more important, is that the people behind this move hate the country and its traditions. They have a vision of women that most women don't have. Women do not hate men unless they write scripts at Disney. Women, like my wife, sister, and cousins who grew up loving the movie were not happy seeing their favorite character turned into a feminist crusader.
So moral of the story? Leave the classics alone and try to create your own classic. Shame on any expert who supported this disaster and didn't defend the image that Walt Disney built over decades.
Let the red ink flow and I hope that the bean counters finally convince the experts that these attacks on our traditions are unproductive, i.e. go woke, go broke, they say!
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We remember Ray Fosse (1947-2021)
In 1970, Fosse hit .307 with 18 HR & 61 RBI. He also crashed with Pete Rose in the All Star Game that year. Frankly, he was never the same after that collision. Fosse retired in 1977 with a career .256 average in 924 games.
Ray died in 2021.
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April 4, 1960: "Ben Hur" with Charlton Heston won 11 awards.
It was a great night for "Ben Hur" at the 1960 awards. In total, the film swept 11 of the 12 categories, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Charlton Heston).
It's still a great movie all of these years later. I catch it anytime I get a chance. Finally, I did not know that the movie was based on a book written in the 19th century!
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April 4, 1974: Aaron hit # 714 on opening day
On opening day 1974, Hank Aaron hit # 714 off of Jack Billingham. He tied Babe Ruth with a 3-run HR.
A few days later, he hit # 715 in Atlanta in front of a national TV audience.
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April 4, 1968: We remember MLK
Maybe it's me but certain events are frozen in my memory and I recall them like it was yesterday.
As I remember, I was reading my brand new The Sporting News, the weekly sports newspaper that we used to read before ESPN or the internet. My parents gave me a birthday subscription and I loved rushing to the mailbox to consume every bit of information.
At the time, I asked myself the classic pre-season questions: Would Yaz and the 1967 Miracle Red Sox repeat? Are the Cardinals now a dynasty?
After all, they had won the World Series in 1964, 1967 and had Bob Gibson on top of their rotation.
And then the phone rang. It was my school buddy Harvey with the news that Dr. Martin Luther King had been shot in Memphis.
Then President Johnson spoke to the nation! By a crazy coincidence, he had just announced days before that he would not be running for reelection in 1968.
Then all hell broke loose. Cities were burning from coast to coast. I shared the frustration about Dr. King's assassination but did not understand what looting businesses had to do with the shooting. My guess is that all of the chaos boosted Governor Wallace's campaign, or the "law and order" man that election.
Over the last years, we've created a national holiday to remember Dr. King and his words are heard over and over again.
Nevertheless, I've asked myself a simple question: What would Dr. King say of the state of black America today? the collapse of the black family? the black on black crime? the terrible black Democrat leadership that runs cities like Baltimore and Detroit? the dependence on government programs?
We will never know but I'll submit that Dr. King would not be happy.
For sure he'd be reminding the "identity politics" Democrats to judge people on their character not the color of their skin.
Let me recommend this one Jason Riley.
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1949: Another anniversary for NATO
NATO has been in the news lately.
You may have heard about Article 5 of the NATO agreement, or the mutual defense clause.
Or maybe you’ve heard that some member countries are not paying their way.
Unfortunately, NATO is not much of an alliance anymore.
To say the least, this is not what the US and President Truman had in mind when NATO was created in 1949.
NATO was designed as a Western Alliance against the USSR. The Marshall Plan rebuilt Europe and NATO defended the Europeans.
It worked well because there was a goal of containing communism.
Today, the USSR is gone and Europe has a lot of self-inflicted wounds, from terrible birth rates to an unsustainable welfare state.
Going forward, NATO won’t survive as an alliance if the US continues to do all of the heavy lifting.
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Thursday, April 03, 2025
Tariffs and a word about Snow White
Tariffs hit stock market, Senator Booker speaks all day, Snow White losing money and Doris Day (1922-2021)
Senator, you talk too much
Senator, you talk too much: Imagine being the guy in the Senate TV control room responsible for recording Senator Cory Booker's speech. How did he stay awake? Did he have co-pilot so that he could catch a nap? Yes, the senator from New Jersey decided to go long and so he…
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Senator, you talk too much - American Thinker https://t.co/pc4LL1Xwib
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) April 3, 2025
Imagine being the guy in the Senate TV control room responsible for recording Senator Cory Booker’s speech. How did he stay awake? Did he have a co-pilot so that he could catch a nap? Yes, the senator from New Jersey decided to go long, and so he did. This is the story:
Democrats have been struggling to energize their frustrated base since losing all three branches of government in the November 2024 election.
Senator Cory Booker may have found a way.
For more than 25 hours, the New Jersey Democrat stood at the Senate lectern speaking against President Donald Trump’s policies in what may be the most dramatic and sustained public challenge to Trump’s agenda since his return to the White House.
Haven’t heard one that long since Senator Thurmond. At least Strom was talking about a specific issue: the 1957 Civil Rights Act.
Booker reminded us that this is not a partisan moment but rather a moral moment. Really, Senator? Well, many of us thought that it was a political speech intended to put your name out there at a time when Democrats aren’t crazy about anything except bashing Elon Musk.
Booker never gave a speech like this when President Biden opened the border or tolerated high crime rates. He didn’t mention any of that, which may explain what his fellow Senator Banks said about the party’s 27% approval.
Like a runner preparing for a marathon, the senator said that “…he did not eat for days and purposely dehydrated himself.” I guess that’s what you do when you want to spend 24 hours delivering a “moral” speech about how “immoral” the Trump policies are.
By the way, did anyone in the senator’s office remind him that he’d be doing this on April Fool’s Day? Maybe he can do another on April Fool’s Day 2026 and announce that he is thinking about running for President to make America like New Jersey again.
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Happy # 81 Tony Orlando
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We say happy birthday to Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis who was born in New York on this day in 1944.
We know him as Tony Orlando, one of the top performers of the 1970's.
In the 1970's, Tony Orlando & Dawn had a lot of big hits on the radio: "Knock Three Times" (1971); "Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree" (1973); and "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)" (1975).
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1948: The Louisiana Hayride radio program
In 1954, Elvis Presley made an appearance on The Louisiana Hayride, the radio program that went on the air on this day in 1948. It introduced Elvis to millions listening all over the South.
The Hayride was about country but it did embrace the electric guitar, the instrument that would turn “hillbilly music” into rock and roll.
The Hayride shut down in 1960 but its legacy lives on.
The Hayride was about country but it did embrace the electric guitar, the instrument that would turn “hillbilly music” into rock and roll.
The Hayride shut down in 1960 but its legacy lives on.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).
A word about Wally Moon (1930-2018)
Wallace Wade Moon was born on this day in Bay, Arkansas, in 1930. He died in 2018.
Wally Moon became one of the best hitters of the 1950's. His story is rather remarkable.
Wally Moon retired with the LA Dodgers: .289 average, 1,399 hits, 212 doubles, 142 HR & 661 RBI in 1,457 games.
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We remember Doris Day (1922-2019)
We remember Doris Day who was born on this day in 1922 and died in 2019.
Yes, she gave us a lot of fun over the years, specially those silly movies with Rock Hudson and "The man who knew too much" with Jimmy Stewart.
Yes, she gave us a lot of fun over the years, specially those silly movies with Rock Hudson and "The man who knew too much" with Jimmy Stewart.
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A word about Leslie Howard (1893-1943)
Leslie Howard was born in London on this day in 1893 and died in a plane crash in 1943.
We remember Mr. Howard for his role as “Ashley Wilkes” in “Gone with the wind”, the movie released in 1939.
However, there is another side to Mr. Howard’s career or his involvement in the war effort in the early 1940’s. His plane was shot down in 1943 and many believe that the Germans were shooting at a spy plane.
We will never know the full story. It could have been a tragic mistake, such as the case of Glenn Miller in December 1944. Nevertheless, Leslie Howard was dead and a great actor was gone.
We will never know the full story. It could have been a tragic mistake, such as the case of Glenn Miller in December 1944. Nevertheless, Leslie Howard was dead and a great actor was gone.
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We remember The Marshall Plan 1948
By April 1945, VP Harry Truman had been on the job for a couple of months when he learned that President Roosevelt suddenly died.
We remember him as a man who faced many challenges and met them well: the two bombs against Japan that ended the war, economic and military aid to Turkey and Greece, the Berlin airlift (the candy bombers), the creation of NATO to resist Soviet expansion, and the war in Korea that cost over 30,000 U.S. lives.
Another one of those challenges was the Marshall Plan, announced on this day in 1948.
There were 17 nations that participated or received assistance through the Plan: The UK, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Sweden, Iceland, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey and West Germany.
To say the least, the plan saved Europe. Most countries were devastated and vulnerable to communist intervention. The Plan, plus the US's commitment to defend European borders, gave Europe the time to get back on its feet.
Along the way, he surprised the experts by beating Governor Wilkie in 1948.
By 1952, President Truman was so unpopular that he did not seek another term. He left the presidency with low approval ratings but is regarded today as a consequential president by most historians.
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1948: We remember President Truman and The Marshall Plan
By April 1945, VP Harry Truman had been on the job for a couple of months when he learned that President Roosevelt suddenly died.
We remember him as a man who faced many challenges and met them well: the two bombs against Japan that ended the war, economic and military aid to Turkey and Greece, the Berlin airlift (the candy bombers), the creation of NATO to resist Soviet expansion, and the war in Korea that cost over 30,000 U.S. lives.
Another one of those challenges was the Marshall Plan, announced on this day in 1948.
There were 17 nations that participated or recieved assistance through the Plan: The UK, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Sweden, Iceland, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey and West Germany.
To say the least, the plan saved Europe. Most countries were devastated and vulnerable to communist intervention. The Plan, plus the US's commitment to defend European borders, gave Europe the time to get back on its feet.
Along the way, he surprised the experts by beating Governor Wilkie in 1948.
By 1952, Preident Truman was so unpopular that he did not seek another term. He left the presidency with low approval ratings but is regarded today as a consequential president by most historians.
You can read more about The Plan in this great book about President Truman.
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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Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Trump & tariffs plus more
Trump tariffs, Senator Booker speaks plus Pope John Paul II died in 2005 and more stories......
Give Trump a chance
Give Trump a chance: My sense is that too many people are talking about tariffs from a political perspective or looking at everything as if we were in an Economics 101 class. It may turn out differently when we actually implement tariffs. Maybe President Trump will turn ...
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So let's give Trump a chance. Maybe he is right. I'd like to find out because we don't have a level playing field now.
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) April 2, 2025
Give Trump a chance - American Thinker https://t.co/apPpj15BuY
My sense is that too many people are talking about tariffs from a political perspective or looking at everything as if we were in an Economics 101 class. It may turn out differently when we actually implement tariffs. Maybe President Trump will turn out to be right, as he has in so many other issues. Maybe he will succeed because he holds the big cards: the largest GDP and market in the world. In other words, everybody wants to sell here and will likely adjust to whatever we demand.
Let’s check this from Peter Navarro in a post written by Jeff Croure:
Inflation is not a concern, Navarro claimed because “foreigners” will “cut their prices” to “absorb” most of the additional cost because “we’re the biggest market in the world… and they have to be here.”
According to Navarro, the automobile tariffs will generate “$100 billion,” while the other tariffs will generate “$600 billion.” He maintained that it would lead to “The biggest tax cut in American history for the middle class.”
As Navarro explained, one of the major goals of the Trump administration will be to encourage American consumers to buy vehicles made in this country. He said there will be “tax benefits, tax credits to people who buy American cars.”
That sounds right to me. If a European car maker wants to sell in the U.S. he will have to persuade his government to treat the U.S. car maker equally. What other options does he have? Sell to another market? Shut down his plant because the cars cannot be sold in the U.S.? What about a winemaker? He can sell his wine in another market, have his countrymen consume the wine, or persuade his government to treat California wine the same way.
My guess is that tariffs will force other countries to negotiate with the Trump administration. The net result could be the “free trade” environment that many of us love to see. I supported NAFTA because I wanted free trade, but it hasn’t really turned out that way. Maybe tariffs will do what we always wanted to do.
So let’s give Trump a chance. Maybe he is right. I’d like to find out because we don’t have a level playing field now.
Once upon a time, we financed most of the federal government with tariffs. I’m not saying that we will return to that, but I do feel that we should give tariffs a chance. If it works then we will find out. If it does not then election night 2026 will be rough on the GOP.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.
Happy # 61 to Pete Incaviglia
We say happy birthday to Pete Incaviglia, who was born on this day in Long Beach, CA in 1964.
Pete jumped from Oklahoma State to the Texas Rangers in 1986 and hit 30 HR & 88 RBI as a rookie. Pete became a real fan favorite on that Texas team that challenged the Angels to the AL West title.
He hit another 27 the next year and 124 HR in 5 seasons with Texas. Pete was traded to Detroit and bounced around a few teams. In 1993, Pete hit 24 HR with the NL champion Phillies.
As I recall, he hit long home runs.
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1976: The year that Reggie Jackson was an Oriole
On April 2, 1976, the Orioles and A's swapped some big name players: Reggie Jackson & Ken Holtzman to Baltimore and Don Baylor & Mike Torrez to Oakland. It was big!
Reggie had a good season but the Orioles fell short in the AL East: .277, 27 HR, 82 RBI & 28 stolen bases. After the season, Jackson signed a big contract with the Yankees and you know the rest of the story.
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We remember Jim Fregosi (1942-2014)
Fregosi was a shortstop who could hit a home run and turn the double play. He averaged 14 HRs and 62 RBI's between 1964-70.
Fregosi is also the answer to a great trivia question. He was the man traded for Nolan Ryan after the 1971 season. The Mets did not think that Ryan would be ever be a consistent major league pitcher.
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We remember Bobby Avila (1924-2004)
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Roberto Francisco (Gonzales) Avila was born on this day in Veracruz in 1924.
We remember him as Bobby Avila, the first Mexican to win a major league batting title.
Bobby broke with the Indians in 1949 and became Cleveland's regular second baseman in 1951: .304 average, 10 HR & 58 RBI.
In 1954, Bobby led the AL in batting (.341) and was a key part of the Cleveland team that won 111 games but lost to the Giants in the World Series.
Overall, he hit .284 in 10 seasons with the Indians with 1,236 hits in 1,207 games.
After baseball, Bobby went back to Veracruz, ran a baseball team and was elected Mayor in 1982.
He was ranked # 26 among the 100 greatest Indians ever. He died in 2004.
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We remember Mike Cuellar, 1937-2010
Oriole great Mike Cuellar died in Florida on this day in 2010. He had been ill for a few months.
Mike was the greatest Cuban lefthander in major league history.
All together, he won 185 games, shared the 1969 Cy Young with Denny McClain and pitched the complete game that won the 1970 World Series.
Cuellar was a 20-game winner in 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1974. He represented the AL in 4 All Star games.
My favorite Cuellar memory was the 1974 season. The O's won 28 of the last 34 and Cuellar was in the middle of it all. At one point, he pitched back to back complete games on 2-days rest. It was awesome!
Beyond the numbers, he was a family friend and very nice man.
Mike was the greatest Cuban lefthander in major league history.
All together, he won 185 games, shared the 1969 Cy Young with Denny McClain and pitched the complete game that won the 1970 World Series.
Cuellar was a 20-game winner in 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1974. He represented the AL in 4 All Star games.
My favorite Cuellar memory was the 1974 season. The O's won 28 of the last 34 and Cuellar was in the middle of it all. At one point, he pitched back to back complete games on 2-days rest. It was awesome!
Beyond the numbers, he was a family friend and very nice man.
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.
Remember The Supremes!
Our family came to the US in 1964. It didn't take long for my brother and I to get into Top 40 radio, which is what they used to call AM radio stations back then.
Between 1964 and 1967, the US music charts were dominated by British bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark 5, The Animals and so on. It was called "The British Invasion"!
Who stood up for the US during that period? What US group battled the British for the top of the charts?
The answer was The Supremes from Detroit with 12 # 1 songs, many gold records and regular TV appearances. They were huge!
Who else but The Beatles had that many # 1 songs? Again, it was The Supremes.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).
I love the "doo wop" chapter of rock music!
(You can listen to my show (Canto Talk). If you like our posts, drop a dime here.)
In the 1970's, I took an interest in the "doo wop" chapter of rock music. It happened because of the American Graffiti soundtrack and a "Sha Na Na" concert that I attended with friends!
I fell in love with the songs and the harmonies. (It was also the music that some of our parents danced to in the late 1950s!)
"Doo wop" was a great period in the history of rock music. The format was great songs, super singers, spectacular harmonies and the kind of music that every girl wanted to dance to!
What more do you need?
Happy # 80 Reggie Smith
We remember Reggie Smith who was born in Louisiana on this day in 1945.
Reggie Smith was one of my favorite hitters: .287 batting average, 2,020 hits, 314 HR & 1,092 RBI.
He was a young member of the 1967 AL champs Boston Red Sox plus a veteran in The LA Dodgers that won the NL pennant in 1977 & 1978 and World Series in 1981.
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.
April 2, 1512: Ponce de Leon discovered Florida
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We remember Don Sutton (1945-2021)
Sutton broke with the Dodgers in 1966 and turned into one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball.
As a LA Dodger, he won 233, completed 158, threw 52 shutouts and had a great 3.09 ERA over 16 seasons. He pitched with LA in the 1974, 1977 & 1978 postseason. Later, he played with the Angels, Brewers & Astros.
In 1982, he was a critical piece of the AL champs Milwaukee Brewers. Sutton beat Baltimore's Jim Palmer on the last day of the season to clinch the AL East title. it was quite a game.
He retired with 324 wins, a wonderful 3.26 career ERA and Hall of Fame 1998.
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.
In 1982, he was a critical piece of the AL champs Milwaukee Brewers. Sutton beat Baltimore's Jim Palmer on the last day of the season to clinch the AL East title. it was quite a game.
He retired with 324 wins, a wonderful 3.26 career ERA and Hall of Fame 1998.
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.
The Beatles: 3 of my favorites songs!
These songs are not in any particular order.
My first choice is "Day Tripper". I love the guitar rift and the way that John and Paul sing this song.
My second selection is "Paperback Writer". This song was a single released between the "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" LP's.
It sounds like a better fit for "Revolver" because of the heavy electric guitar. "Rubber Soul" was more melodic.
My third selection is "Hello Goodbye", a very catchy tune released between "Sgt. Pepper's" and "Magical Mystery Tour".
In a future post, I will recall some of my favorite ballads.
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April 2, 2005: Pope John Paul II passed away
He now belongs to the ages, as someone said when Lincoln died in 1865.
We were very lucky to share the planet with Mother Theresa and John Paul II.
Historians will review John Paul II's legacy. Some will like him. Others won't. Either way, John Paul II was a consequential historical figure and we can not say that about most politicians or religious leaders.
It will be very difficult for anyone to fill John Paul II's shoes.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).
US Civil War: The battle of Antietam with Barry Jacobsen
A podcast from 2013...........Th US Civil War......
The battle of Antietam with Barry Jacobsen...........
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