"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." - President Ronald Reagan
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda..
The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda..
Don't book the dance hall just yet
So maybe the Democrats will be twisting a future November night away. Maybe there will be sad faces over at the Trump White House next November. My point is that no one knows today and waiting until summer may be wise for those planning a big party down the road.
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 10, 2025
Don't book the…
1971: The Mets traded a young Nolan Ryan to the Angels
To be fair, Ryan had been a bit wild as a young pitcher plus the Mets were very deep with Seaver, Koosman and Gentry. They felt that Fregosi could add some punch to their lineup.
The trade paid off because the Mets won the NL pennant in 1973. On the other hand, the Angels had to wait until 1979 for a championship.
Ryan was a strikeout king for much of the 1970's before signing with the Astros and ending his career with the Rangers.
1969-71: Mike Cuellar was a great pitcher

Cuellar was traded to Baltimore after pitching with Houston and making the NL All Star Team. Nobody expected the crafty Cuban to win 143 games over the next 8 seasons, 1969-75.
In 1970, Cuellar won 24 and came in 4th behind Jim Perry, Dave McNally & Sam McDowell in the Cy Young Award race. Mike pitched a complete game in game 5 to beat Cincinnati and clinch the title for Baltimore.
In 1971, Cuellar was one of the 4 Orioles who won 20 games. Mike pitched twice in the World Series but lost game 7 when the late Roberto Clemente hit a game winning home run.
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December 10, 1967: We remember the day that Otis Redding was killed in Madison, Wisconsin
Otis Redding was killed in a plane crash in Wisconsin on this day in 1967.
I remember this event quite well. We had heard on the radio that Otis Redding would play in Madison. His sudden death was quite a shock for many of us.
Otis Redding recorded "Dock of the Bay" a few days before his death. It became a #1 song the following spring.
What a talented performer! You can get his music HERE.
We remember Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
We used to read her poetry in school. Emily Dickinson was born on this day years ago in Amherst, Massachusetts. She wrote 1775 poems but only 7 were published in her lifetime.
HELLO FROM TEXAS: George Strait - Jingle bell rock
Tuesday, December 09, 2025
Crockett in, Biden & border plus other stories
This is not immigration
Under President Biden, the system was broken. Some say on purpose, others say that it was incompetence. The net result is the same though, and reasonable Americans, even naturalized U.S. citizens, are wondering what in the world is going on.
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 9, 2025
This is not immigration - American…
1965: The day that Frank Robinson became an Oriole!
Frank joined Brooks Robinson and the Orioles became the best team in the AL. They played in 4 World Series, winning in 1966 and 1970. They lost to the Mets in '69 and Pirates in '71.
The Reds thought that Frank Robinson was "old" but he proved them wrong in Baltimore. He won the Triple Crown in 1966 and MVP that year.
We remember Kirk Douglas (1916-2020)
Some of his acting roles were in “Ace in the Hole” (1951), “The Bad and the Beautiful” (1952), “Act of Love” (1953), “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” (1954), "Lust for life" (1956) and “Spartacus” (1960).
Let's put his life in some perspective. He was born during World War I and made his first movie when President Truman was in The White House.
He was a great actor.
Happy # 76 Nando Parrado who survived a plane crash in The Andes (1972)
Nando Parrado was born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1949.
In 1972, Nando was one of the passengers on a flight that crashed in The Andes. He was travelling with a rugby team on the way to a tournament.
Nando survived and the story became a book as well as a movie. You can get the movie HERE.
It's an amazing story!
John Lennon and the number 9
We remember another anniversary of John Lennon's tragic death in 1980.
After The Beatles broke up, John went solo and recorded a lot of songs.
Back to John, "# 9 dream" was one of my favorites.
According to The Beatles Bible, there were many references to the number nine in John's life:
Lennon travelled on the number 72 bus to Liverpool Art College, where he was friends with Stuart Sutcliffe.His first meeting in 1957 with Paul McCartney proved a pivotal role in Lennon’s life. McCartney’s surname has nine letters, as does Sutcliffe’s.The group became The Beatles in 1960, and Lennon left in 1969, nine years later.The Beatles’ first appearance at the Cavern Club was on 9 February 1961.Brian Epstein, The Beatles’ manager, first saw them perform on 9 November 1961.The group’s contract with EMI was confirmed on 9 May 1962.The Beatles’ debut single, ‘Love Me Do’, was on Parlophone R4949.Their record-breaking debut appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show was on 9 February 1964.
Keep reading because it gets better:
In April 1969 he changed his name to John Ono Lennon. There are nine ‘o’s in the combined names of John Ono Lennon and Yoko Ono Lennon.Lennon and Ono lived for a time in an apartment on West 72nd Street, New York City.Their first apartment in the Dakota Building was number 72.Their son, Sean Lennon, was born on 9 October 1975, John’s 35th birthday.#9 Dream was a song on Lennon’s 1974 album Walls And Bridges. The album was his ninth non-Beatles album, and was issued in the ninth month of the year.The album’s cover featured a painting done when Lennon was 11 years old. It depicts a footballer with a number nine on his back.When released as a single, #9 Dream peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. The refrain in the chorus – ‘Ah! Böwakawa poussé, poussé’ – featured nine syllables.Mind Games and Rock ‘N’ Roll, the albums released before and after Walls And Bridges, each contained nine letters in their titles.After he was shot, Lennon was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital on 9th Avenue, Manhattan. Roosevelt and Manhattan both have nine letters.
World War II right after the attack on Pearl Harbor with Barry Jacobsen
Monday, December 08, 2025
Biden and the border, Rep Crockett is in and former Rep Alred is out, an...
The new boat people of 2025
Nevertheless, many Democrats obsessed with opposing everything Trump have found their new version of the "Maryland dad."
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 8, 2025
The new boat people of 2025 - American Thinker https://t.co/oIwhC1PfEg
December 8, 1941: The last time a president went to Congress for a declaration of war
What do they have in common? No formal declaration of war!
To be fair, President Bush-41 & President Bush-43 did go to Congress for a resolution authorizing military force. (I'm sure all of you remember all of those Democrats reminding us that Saddam had WMDs and had to be removed)
I guess that a resolution is better than nothing, although The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was really a stretch. I don't think that a single member of Congress thought that President Johnson would use that resolution to escalate the war and send 500,000 troops to Vietnam.
President Truman sent troops to Korea under a UN Security Council resolution.
Not surprisingly, Korea and Vietnam became very unpopular wars because Congress was never really engaged.
Incredibly, most Americans were not around the last time that a president went to Congress and got a war declaration:
The Founding Fathers understood that an executive with unlimited war powers would likely involve the country in wars. Beyond that, the executive is always stronger when he has the Congress behind him, especially when things go wrong as they always do when the shooting starts."On this day in 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt asks Congress to declare war on Japan in perhaps the most memorable speech of his career. The speech, in which he called Japan's act a "deliberate deception," received thunderous applause from Congress and, soon after, the United States officially entered the Second World War.
The day before, Japanese pilots had bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, decimating the majority of U.S. warships in the Pacific Fleet along with most of the Air Corps and Navy aircraft stationed on the island of Oahu. The bombing raids killed 2,403 people, including 68 civilians, and wounded almost 1,200."
Let's get back to the Constitution and demand that presidents go to Congress.
We remember John Lennon (1940-80)
Yes, it was a shocking act, as Howard Cosell said on TV, when he broke the story during the football game.
Sunday, December 07, 2025
Cuellar pardon, Tennessee special election & more
A political chat with Richard Baehr
CANTO TALK podcasts from last week
Catch our shows from last week:
I’m Henry the pardoned, I am
Last but not least, let’s remember that President Trump is keenly aware of weaponizing justice against a citizen. Maybe President Trump was just interested in sending Mr. Cuellar a message: I feel your pain, Henry, and here’s a pardon to show you how much.
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 7, 2025
I’m Henry the…
Happy # 78 Johnny Bench

We remember Johnny Bench who was born on this day in 1947 in Oklahoma.
Bench broke with the Reds in 1967. He Rookie of the Year in 1968 plus NL MVP in 1970 & 1972.
Bench played in 4 World Series winning in 1975 & 1976. The Reds were the most successful NL team of the 1970's. It was a wonderful squad led by Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan & Tony Perez.
Overall, Bench hit 389 HR with 1376 RBI. He was also a great catcher winning 10 gold gloves.
Bench was selected to The Hall of Fame in 1989.
We remember Pearl Harbor 1941
We remember the 3,000 who were killed that day and the brave ones who went to war after.
We remember Pearl Harbor 1941
Another Pearl Harbor anniversary reminds me of "Tora Tora Tora"....
In 1970, the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora" was released.It is still my favorite movie about the events of that day. You can get it here: CLICK!
Pearl Harbor 1941 and World War II with Barry Jacobsen.
December 7: Pearl Harbor 1941 and World War II with Barry Jacobsen....click to listen........
We remember Pearl Harbor!
Today, we remember Pearl Harbor and everyone who fought in World War 2!
Good movie about "Pearl Harbor"? My favorite is "Tora, tora, tora", a very serious film with very good dialogue.
Saturday, December 06, 2025
Texas maps, Cuellar pardon and other stories.
Did you ever ask your dad about the day before Pearl Harbor
That Pearl Harbor generation is generally gone now. I had the chance to ask my father about the world back then, and it was fascinating. If your parents or grandparents are still around, please call them and ask them about it. You’ll be fascinated with how much they remember.…
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 6, 2025
We remember Agnes Moorehead (1900-74)
She had a pretty good career in movies and TV before playing the role of "Endora" in "Bewitched". In fact, she was in various important movies, such as "Citizen Kane", "The Magnificent Ambersons", "All That Heaven Allows", "Show Boat" and "Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte". I saw her recently with Bogart & McCall in "Dark passage", a very good movie.
Nevertheless, she is probably most remember as Samantha's mother and Darrin's mother in law. She was really good in that role.
We remember Mike Smith (1943-2008)
1965: "Rubber Soul" gets better with age!
The US version is different than the one released in the UK. I learned this when I purchased the CD a few years ago. Most of the tracks are in both versions with a few exceptions like “Nowhere Man” in the UK album and “I’ve just seen a face” on the US release.
It is one of the best pop LP's ever, as Rolling Stone reminded us:
Great LP and cover photo. An amazing collection of songs!Happy 50th birthday to Rubber Soul, the album where the Beatles became the Beatles. It was the most out-there music they'd ever made, but also their warmest, friendliest and most emotionally direct. As soon as it dropped in December 1965, Rubber Soul cut the story of pop music in half — we're all living in the future this album invented.
FDR on the day before Pearl Harbor 1941
On this day, President Roosevelt—convinced on the basis of intelligence reports that the Japanese fleet is headed for Thailand, not the United States—telegrams Emperor Hirohito with the request that “for the sake of humanity,” the emperor intervene “to prevent further death and destruction in the world.”The Royal Australian Air Force had sighted Japanese escorts, cruisers, and destroyers on patrol near the Malayan coast, south of Cape Cambodia.
An Aussie pilot managed to radio that it looked as if the Japanese warships were headed for Thailand—just before he was shot down by the Japanese.
"Rubber Soul", the best Beatles' album!
It's hard to pick a favorite album. However, my money is on the US version of "Rubber Soul" by The Beatles.
The US version starts with "I've just seen a face" and does not include "Drive my car" and "Nowhere man" like the UK version. We got those songs later in the US release of "Yesterday and today".
"Rubber Soul", US or UK version, is just a great album. It was the best collection of songs recorded by The Beatles.
Friday, December 05, 2025
A political chat with Richard Baehr
I guess that the world is not ending soon
Over the years, I had my share of conversations with climate alarmists. I always got the impression that they hated capitalism more than saving the environment. It was nothing more than U.S.-bashing because no one ever marched in front of the Chinese embassy calling on that…
— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) December 5, 2025















