A chat with Frank Burke

 

Guest:  Frank Burke, businessman and author......Trump Derangement Syndrome.  The Iran deal. Soccer comes to North America.....

Desperately looking for clicks

Desperately looking for clicks:

The latest Acosta-ism is perhaps the dumbest of all.

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/06/desperately_looking_for_clicks.html

Growing up with CCR on the radio!

Back in March 1969, The Beatles were still enjoying the success of the "White Album".

The Rolling Stones had released "Beggar's Banquet", one of their best LPs.   

Later in the summer of 1969, they'd release "Honky Tonk Women", one of their best songs ever.

The Bee Gees were about to release "Odessa", a great album that included "First of May" and the lovely title song.

Add Creedence Clearwater Revival to the radio playlist. Everybody called them CCR because their name was too long!

CCR was "John Fogerty--lead guitar and vocals
(brother) Tom Fogerty--guitar
Stu Cook--bass, and
Doug Clifford--drums".

The band's songs were written by band leader John Fogerty.

Their sound was their sound. You could always tell that it was John Fogerty's vocals and CCR's sound.

In the spring and early summer of 1969, CCR started a long streak of hit songs.    It culminated with "Cosmo's Factory", one of my favorite rock LP's.

"Proud Mary" was a song about going up and down on The Mississippi River. I always think of this song when I cross the river.

It was also the song that put CCR on the top of the charts. It was a very long "stay" because CCR became a very popular band.

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.

Happy # 84 to Paul McCartney

We remind you today that Paul McCartney was born on this day in 1942.    

I am not sure what Paul is doing these days.  He may be touring but I am not sure about it.

We do wish Paul a happy birthday.     He is my favorite English speaking pop songwriter.  

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

 

Guest:   Bill Katz, the editor of Urgent Agenda.    Let's talk about the new Iran deal and what happens next............

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

 

Listen to "The week in review with Bill Katz, the editor of Urgent Agenda_" on Spreaker.

Talarico no Lone Ranger on law and order

Talarico no Lone Ranger on law and order:

Does Talarico sound like a law-and-order Democrat?

------------------

There must be an election coming up soon, because Texas Democrats are suddenly talking about Biden's border chaos. They remained silent for years, and now they are criticizing open borders.

Let's talk about James Talarico, who is now calling himself a law-and-order Democrat. Unfortunately, the whole thing does not add up. Just listen to what he said not long ago via Joseph Chalfant:

For Democrat U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico, the November midterms are nothing but a campaign to moderate his stance on a policy issue that Texans hold dearly: immigration. His long, radical history will make that herculean task nearly impossible.

Talarico’s about-face on the issue came one week ago after the candidate participated in a softball interview overflowing with flip-flops from his progressive past. One of the most notable instances of him retreating from his progressive priors came when he declared himself a “border security Democrat” who had “called out Joe Biden for failing to secure our southern border.”

Talarico’s statement was nothing less than a bald-faced lie. Fox News asked the Talarico campaign repeatedly whether or not they could produce any evidence that he had ever made a statement condemning Biden’s border disaster and were unable to. The only Democrat he seems to have ever critiqued for their border policy was President Barack Obama, whom he labeled the “Deporter-in-Chief” because he believed Obama to be too conservative on the issue.

Any evidence of comments on Biden's border chaos? We are waiting. This interview was a softball job in which the reporter did not follow up or force the candidate to produce any evidence, video, or speech before the Texas House, criticizing the Biden border policy.

At the same time, James Talarico knows that his soft on illegal immigration talk is a loser and is desperately trying to change his image. I don't believe that he will succeed, but he will try. Let's remind the voters that the candidate recently called ICE a “secret police force that is terrorizing communities” and called for a “tearing down” of the agency, and attacked border wall bills."

Does that sound like a law-and-order Democrat? I don't think so.

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

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/06/talarico_no_lone_ranger_on_law_and_order.html

Happy # 78 David Concepcion

We remember David Concepcion who was born in Venezuela on this day in 1948.   He turned into one of the greatest shortstops in NL history.    

Dave broke in with the Reds in 1970 and was one of the key parts of the teams that won 4 NL titles and the World Series in 1975 & 1976.  

Dave was more than a great defensive infielder:  He hit .267 with 2,326 hits.    

In my opinion, Dave should be in the Hall of Fame, as Tyler Duma wrote in 2012:

There are 22 shortstops in the Hall of Fame as of 2012. When placed in that group of players, Concepcion ranks ninth in HR, 10th in SB, 11th in hits and RBI, 15th in SLG and 19th in AVG and OBP.

He won five Gold Gloves (four straight from 1974-77), back-to-back Silver Sluggers (1981-82) and made nine all-star teams (eight straight from 1975-82).   

Add to all of this that Concepcion was a quiet leader in a team that included Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan and Pete Rose.

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.

Happy # 83 Barry Manilow

We say happy birthday to Barry Manilow who was born on this day in 1943. 

Manilow started his career writing music jingles for commercials.  

In 1974, he hit the charts with “Mandy” and went to sell over 80 million records worldwide.     

We remember Manilow as a great performer and songwriter.

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.

June 17, 1941: Joe DiMaggio reaches # 30

 

June 17, 1941: 

Joe DiMaggio reaches # 30 and now the whole country was caught up in the streak...

 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.

1972: We remember the Watergate break‐in

(My new American Thinker post)

The Watergate break-in happened this week in 1972. It always gets a lot of coverage from reporters every year. It's becomes a day for liberal morality rants. Nixon this and Nixon that!

To be honest, President Nixon made mistakes, from defending his staff to participating in a cover-up. He admitted many of these mistakes in his memoirs published in 1978.   

Let me add that RN is a great history book going back to Nixon's first campaign in 1946, his close relationship with fellow House member John F Kennedy, the Alger Hiss case, his run for the U.S. Senate, getting selected by President Eisenhower, the Checkers speech, the vice presidency, his loss to the aforementioned JFK, his comeback in 1968 and the almost two term presidency. It reads like a postwar history class!

Over the years, I've recommended one book for those hoping to learn about Nixon.    I am not saying that you are going to fall in love with Richard Nixon. At the same time, you will learn that he was not some kind of a monster.

The book is Tom Wicker's One of Us. This is one of the best books about Mr Nixon because Wicker was a liberal journalist. Mr. Wicker related that Nixon was a mainstream type of politician. 

His presidency was not some right-wing movement. Nixon signed the executive orders that gave us affirmative action and the EPA. It was Nixon's pen that signed Title IX, which opened up college sports for women.

Indeed, thousands of young blacks got into elite schools because of Nixon's affirmative action executive order. Robert J. Brown, Chairman and CEO of B&C Associates and former Special Assistant to President Nixon, wrote that he was very proud of President Nixon's commitment to civil rights.

Wicker also reviewed Nixon's foreign policy. He found that he had a lot in common with JFK, Humphrey and LBJ. In fact, Nixon, JFK, Humphrey and LBJ would find Howard Dean and Bernie Sanders as weird as I do.

Wicker reminded us that Nixon went to China, perhaps one of the boldest foreign policy visits in history. Only a conservative like Nixon had the domestic credibility to make that trip.

Let me repeat it. June 17th has turned into a day to hear morality rants from the liberals. However, there was a lot more to Nixon than Watergate!

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.

Happy # 83 Newt Gingrich

We say happy birthday to New Gingrich who was born on this day in 1943.

This is a 2018 review of Newt Gingrich's new book about President Trump by Barry Casselman:

----------------------------------------------------

As a literary author and national journalist for many decades,

I have come to know many writers. Many of the books I read

and enjoy most are by these acquaintances and friends, and

this presents me with an obvious dilemma in writing about or

reviewing their books.

Book reviews are an art form in their own right, especially

those about works of fiction and poetry. Reviews of non-fiction

books can serve as a starting point or foundation for the

reviewer’s own views on a subject. And then there are those

books which are so necessary they merit a straightforward

alert to readers.

Newt Gingrich’s newest book Trump’s America is just such a 

work. 

In full disclosure, Newt Gingrich has been a friend and. on 

occasion, a collaborator, for more than three decades. I will 

let my readers decide if what I now say about his new book

is fair and useful.

The former speaker of the U.S. house, himself a serious

presidential candidate in 2012, was among the earliest figures

to see the eventual 2016 electoral success of candidate Donald

Trump. I know that is so because of conversations with him

long before I realized it.

He unambiguously predicted Trump’s nomination and

subsequently his victory over Hillary Clinton in the November 

election. Since President Trump took office, he has consistently

explained his actions and views in articles, TV appearances, 

and books. Although clearly and constantly favorable to Mr.

Trump, he has always exercised his right to be critical of the

president when he disagreed with him.

Some might characterize Gingrich as a cheerleader or advocate

for Donald Trump, and I think it would be fair to do so. But that

does not diminish the value of Gingrich’s writing on the subject

because the whole phenomenon of Donald Trump’s candidacy

and subsequent presidency is so unprecedented and so often

misunderstood that lucid analysis and explanation is vitally

important for both his partisans and his opponents.

As in his previous book Understanding Trump, Newt Gingrich 

continues to be the most incisive diagnostician of the Trump

phenomenon and the political environment which surrounds it.

Yes, his new Trump's America is a partisan account, but that

does not lessen its value, especially to the many Democrats,

and not a few Republicans, who dislike and/or disagree with

the president’s views and style.

For much of the Trump candidacy, and during all of his 

presidency, I have been urging my readers, whether they are for

or against Mr. Trump, to put aside their stereotypes of him as

well as the biased media conventional wisdom about him, and

try to understand the underlying reality of his appeal to voters,

and what the president is saying or doing. His Democratic Party

opponents especially need to do this if they are to successfully

provide n credible alternative to him.

So Trump’s America is not only a must-read for the president’s

supporters, but also for his opponents. Mr. Gingrich has become

the most articulate diagnostician of contemporary American 

politics. Unlike many of his colleagues on the right and the left,

he is open to new political and technological developments, and

bold enough to try to explain them.

You need not agree with Newt Gingrich, or with Donald Trump,

to gain much from reading Trump’s America. It is a necessary

and timely book.

------------------------------------

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.

A look at Texas politics with George Rodriguez from South Texas

 

A look at Texas politics with George Rodriguez from South Texas.  We will look at the Paxton vs Cornyn  upcoming election plus other stories.......

Hispanic remorse? Maybe not in California.

Hispanic remorse? Maybe not in California.:

What if 30 years of one-party rule has finally taken its toll on Hispanics?

---------------------

My guess is that the Democrats will win in California, but Mr. Hilton will put up a great fight.  He will be sharper in debates than Mr. Becerra, but the numbers are not there because they tell us that Hispanics will not vote for the GOP out there.

Well, what if that is not true about Hispanics this time around?

What if 30 years of one-party rule has finally taken its toll on Hispanics?  Let’s take a look at this, from David Catron:

All year the corporate media has produced story after story telling us that Latino voters are suffering buyer’s remorse after voting for President Trump and Republicans in 2024. This, we are told, is due to the failure of the GOP to drive down prices and defeat inflation. This seems reasonably plausible, but California’s gubernatorial primary produced no evidence that it is actually true. Indeed, it appears that it was support from Latino voters that enabled Republican Steve Hilton to emerge as one of the top two finishers who will face off in the November general election. Hilton will face Democrat Xavier Becerra, who generated remarkably flaccid support among Latino voters.

This doesn’t mean Hilton will defeat Becerra in this Democratic state, but his showing among Latinos suggests that GOP performance in the midterms will be stronger than the legacy media would have us believe. According to a report in the Daily Torch, Fresno County is 55 percent Latino, yet Hilton beat Becerra by 14 points. Hilton also flipped Tulare County, which is nearly 70 percent Latino, winning it by 17 percentage points. In Madera County, which is 60 percent Latino, Hilton beat Becerra by 23 points. And it gets better. All across California Hilton received twice the number of votes received by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s last GOP challenger, Brian Dahle, in June’s primary. Becerra secured 1.4 million fewer votes than did Newsom in 2022.

But the numbers that really should encourage Republicans are the results in large counties with a lot of Latino voters. In San Bernardino County the electorate is more than 53 percent Latino and Becerra only managed to eke out 26.1 percent of the vote while Hilton and fellow Republican Chad Bianco received 45.9 percent combined. Riverside County is over 50 percent Latino and Becerra received 27.2 percent while Hilton and Bianco received 47.7 percent combined. Obviously, Chad Bianco isn’t going to be on the ballot in November, so it’s reasonable to assume that most of Bianco’s votes will go to Hilton, including those allegedly disillusioned Latino voters who just cast ballots for him.

Disillusioned Latinos?  My guess is that there are lots of them in Los Angeles, and other cities.  They are disillusioned with one-party rule that produces the chaos and lawlessness in the city.  Or the one-party rule that doesn’t lock up criminals.  I wonder how many El Salvador immigrants in LA wish that the criminals in LA got the Bukele treatment with respect to crime?  Or the one-party rule that won’t pick up garbage because the public sector unions run the state.  Or the one-party rule that won’t stand up to the teachers who want to tell your son that he can be a girl if he feels like it.

And then there is the cost of living, which includes very high local taxes that do not translate into good public services.

For years, California Democrats have relied on the Latino vote on the basis that the GOP is too harsh on immigration enforcement.  Maybe Mr. Hilton will flip that theory by simply convincing Latinos in California that they are not getting their money’s worth.  In other words, the Democrats can’t govern, and the evidence on that case is overwhelmingly true.

Maybe there’s more to voting than immigration reform, especially when your kid can’t read at his graduation level or your grandmother can’t walk to the “bodega” without a bum stealing her purse.

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

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/06/hispanic_remorse_maybe_not_in_california.html

1858: Remembering Lincoln's warning

(My new American Thinker post)

On this day in 1858, U.S. Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln addressed the Illinois Republican Convention in Springfield. He lost that race but his words left their mark.

As you remember from your U.S. history class, the country was bitterly divided and there was talk of secession and threats of a war between the states. The primary issue was slavery but it was more complex than that.  

Lincoln looked at the audience and said this: 

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” 

It became one of his most profound messages and speeches. Two years later, he was elected president and the war between the states followed. 

What can we learn from that today?  Are you listening, Mr. Attorney General?  At times of great division and uncertainty, it's often better to pause and look at the big picture, such as do we really want to indict the man of the other party currently leading your guy in the polls?  Do we want to indict him over documents when the one known as "the Big Guy" has a little problem of his own?  Do we want the whole country talking about a double standard when Mrs. Clinton was given a pass on her document problem?  

It's hard to be optimistic when the people running the country seem more interested in hanging Trump like Mussolini rather than resolving legitimate questions about documents.

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.

A word about Eric Segal (1937-2010)

We remember Eric Segal who was born on this day in 1937.

He died in January 2010 at age 72.

Who remembers "Love Story" or the book that became a hugely popular movie?  It was the love story of Oliver Barrett IV, a rich kid at Harvard law school and Jenny Cavilleri, a pretty working class girl studying music at Radcliffe.

Segal also wrote the screen play for The Beatles' movie "Yellow Submarine". Wonder how many people know that?    
"Love Story" also made huge stars of Ryan O'Neal and Ali McGraw.  It was probably the biggest "date movie" of 1971.

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.

1965: Bob Dylan recorded "Like a rolling stone"

On this day in 1965, Bob Dylan recorded "Like a rolling stone".    It included electric guitars and an organ.    

The song (almost 6 minutes long) peaked at #2 in early September behind The Beatles’ “Help".

"Rolling Stone", a magazine that has nothing to do with the famous group or Dylan, chose the song as # 1 in its compilation of the 500 most influential songs of rock.

It was quite a song.

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.

 

We remember Frank “Pancho” Herrera (1934-2005)

Juan Francisco (Villavicencio) Herrera was born June 16, 1934 in Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba. He was known as Frank or Pancho or even Panchon. Herrera began his baseball career in 1954 with La Habana in the Cuban Winter League. His manager was the legendary Adolfo Luque, a major-leaguer from the 1920’s.

The Philadelphia Phillies signed him in 1955 (their first black Latino player) and he spent the next few years between the minors and the Cuban league. He played with fellow Cubans, Tony Gonzalez, Tony Taylor and Octavio Rojas in the Phillies’ organization.

His major league career was short, but he hit .281 with 17 HR and 71 RBI in 1960, good enough to come in second to Frank Howard in the 1960 Rookie of the Year vote! He came back with 13 HR in 1961. Herrera was sent back to AAA in 1962 and hit 32 HR but never got another chance to play in the big leagues. In retrospect, that’s hard to believe because Herrera proved that he could hit and not given a chance.  Also, expansion brought 4 new teams in 1961-62. We should point out that players back then did not enjoy the opportunity of being DFA or designated for assignment. Under today’s rules, a team can not return a player to the minors indefinitely thus allowing him to sign with another team. In other words, the players did not enjoy in Herrera's time the rights that they have today.  Herrera would have probably been signed by another team and maybe enjoy a major league career.

After the majors, Panchon played for various seasons in Mexico.  He led the league with 39 HR in 1969.   They remember him as one of the great power hitters in Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico!   He was a big favorite there with Mexican baseball fans.

Herrera died in Miami in 2005. We remember him as one of the last Cuban players to play in the U.S. and the old Cuban Winter League.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).    We always recommend "The pride of Havana", a great book about Cuban baseball:

Social Security and 2032. Iran deal and more

 

Social Security and 2032. Iran deal and more....

Can Social Security make it to 100?

Can Social Security make it to 100?:

The Trust Fund is in trouble sooner rather than later.

------------------------

As you may remember from your history class, Social Security was signed into law by President Roosevelt in 1935. Since then, millions of Americans have survived or complemented their retirement savings with that monthly check or direct deposit. It's become a sacred cow of politics, and most politicians avoid talking about it.  

It looks like we will be talking a lot about it in 2032, or not that far down the road.  Let's take a look at this editorial from The Washington Examiner:

Politicians from both parties have been able to avoid Social Security’s impending insolvency for decades because bankruptcy was still years away. It was a little over the horizon, and for our irresponsible politicians, out of sight has been out of mind. But according to the latest Social Security trustees’ report this week, bankruptcy is upon us now. The Social Security trust fund is estimated to run out of money in 2032. That means whoever wins the next presidential election in 2028 will have no choice but to confront Social Security in the final year of a first term. Whoever is in office then will have surprising flexibility in deciding what happens next.

Bankruptcy is upon us? Funny how that happens. Social Security was supposed to be self-financing, but now it may run out of money. Funny how that works too.

The big question now is whether the issue will be discussed in the upcoming 2028 election or avoided altogether by a news media obsessed with everything Trump. Will the media ask Democrats and Republicans for their plans to save the program? The fact is that millions of Americans depend on that check, and punting on a resolution may not cut it this time.

So, the countdown to 2035 is underway, and it's going to get louder and louder.

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/06/can_social_security_make_it_to_100.html

1938: Johnny Vander Meer and back to back no-hitters

On this day in 1938, Johnny Vander Meer became the only pitcher in baseball history to throw two back-to-back no-hitters.

Vander Meer went on to play 13 seasons with a 119-121 record.     He won 49 games and led the NL in strikeouts over a 3-year span before going off to World War II in 1944-45. 

His record of back to back no hitters will be very difficult to match or break.    

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

June 15, 1941: Joe DiMaggio goes 1-for-3 to reach # 28 on the way to 56

 

June 15, 1941:   Joe DiMaggio goes 1-for-3 to reach # 28 on the way to 56......he got # 27 vs Bob Feller.....

 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.

Happy # 77 Dusty Baker, great player and manager

We remember Dusty Baker who was born on this day in 1949 in Riverside, California.

Baker is a rare breed:   a very good player who became a very good manager.

As a player, we remember his bat:  .278 average, 242 HR, 1,013 RBI, 1,981 hits over 2,039 games with the Braves, Dodgers and a bit with the A's at the end.      He played with the LA Dodgers in their 1977-81 championship run.

As a manager, he's won over 2,000 games, the 2002 NL pennant with Giants, the 2021 AL pennant with Astros and several division titles with the Cubs, Reds, Nationals.

Great player and manager.

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.

We remember Harry Nilsson (1941-94)

Harry Nilsson was born on this day in 1941 in Brooklyn, NY.   Someone reminded me that Harry Nilsson died in 1994 or years ago.   He was 52 and died from heart complications.

Nilsson recorded "One" in one of his early LPs and then it was a huge hit for Three Dog Night.    After that, he released "Everybody's talkin", the soundtrack of The Point and "Without you", perhaps his biggest top 40 hit.

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.

 

A couple of CD boxes to look back at The Bee Gees' career

Back in 2010, The Bee Gees celebrated their 50th anniversary, i.e. an amazing professional career that began in 1960 in Australia.

Two special CD box sets were released to remember their big hits and songwriting skills.

According to Billboard, it is a great way to remember such a special anniversary:

""Mythology" is a four-disc box set curated and produced by surviving Bee Gees Barry and Robin Gibb that will dedicate one disc each to the three brothers in the group, including the late Maurice Gibb, and one to their late younger brother Andy Gibb.

Maurice's wife and three children chose the tracks for his disc, while Andy's daughter Peta chose the 19 songs for his section of the package.
Barry Gibb notes that the 81 selections represent "pretty much our personal favorites," and Robin and Maurice's discs will each feature solo tracks as well as Bee Gees songs.

Barry's disc, meanwhile, is loaded up with hits such as "Jive Talkin'," "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever," "Spirits (Having Flown)," "More Than a Woman" an "Tragedy."

The accompanying booklet includes family photos and tributes from Elton John, Brian Wilson, Graham Nash, George Martin and Robert Stigwood, the Bee Gees' longtime manager and label boss.

Coming out the same day is "The Ultimate Bee Gees: The 50th Anniversary Collection," a more modest two-disc, 39-track set that closes with a live medley of songs the trio wrote for others -- including "Islands in the Stream," "Heartbreaker," "Guilty," "Immortality" and the theme song for "Grease."

A deluxe edition of "The Ultimate Bee Gees" will come with a DVD featuring videos and TV appearances, many unreleased, from throughout the group's career."

It should be fun!

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.