"Inconvenient" truths 20 years later plus a word about polls.....
Monday, September 28, 2026
The truth got Gored
They used to lie with statistics, but now they write books or make alarmist predictions about climate change.
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They used to lie with statistics, but now they write books or make alarmist predictions about climate change. I’m so happy that I didn’t sell everything and look for a cave 1,000 miles from the ocean. The oceans didn’t rise and turn the coastal cities into lakes, and the Earth was not grilled out of existence by overwhelming heat.
All we can do now is enjoy reading how Stephen Moore mocks the alarmists:
“It was 20 years ago that Al Gore's book "An Inconvenient Truth" was published, and ... well, it turns out that the truth was inconvenient -- for Al and his band of apocalyptics.
Hang in there because Mr. Moore is only getting started:
“Claim: Kilimanjaro's snow would disappear within a decade.
Truth: The mountain still has ice/snow, although its glaciers have shrunk.
Claim: Glacier National Park's glaciers will disappear by 2020 or so. Truth: No, they have not disappeared. Maybe his timing was just way off.
Claim: Sea levels could rise by about 20 feet.”
Pure trash is all you can say about that.
As someone who loves the environment and doesn’t alarm people like former VP Gore did, let me say that I’m delighted that the predictions turned out to be false. We need convenient truths, not all this crazy stuff about polar bears that scared little children.
Remember all these lies the next time that some clown is slowing down traffic about climate change.
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We remember Grant Jackson (1942-2021)
We remember Grant Jackson who was born in Florida on this day in 1942 and died February 2021.
Jackson broke with the Phillies in 1965. He had a very good year in 1969: 14-18 with 13 Complete games, a 3.38 ERA and 180 K's.
In 1971, Grant was traded to the Orioles and Earl Weaver turned him into a bullpen specialist. He saved 12 games for the AL East champions in 1974.
In 1977, Jackson went to the Pirates and continued his great work out of the bullpen.
He played for Pittsburgh when they beat Baltimore in the 1979 World Series. In fact, he won game 7 and retired 7 Orioles to keep the Pirates in the game.
A great pitcher and very nice man as well.
September 28 and Ted Williams
Ted Williams is featured twice on this day in history.
On this day in 1941, Williams was batting .399955 when he woke up in the last day of the season. He decided to play a double header against the A's. Williams went for 6-for-8 and finished the season at .406.
On this day in 1960, Williams hit a home run in his last at bat in the major leagues.
Let me add this note: Williams also hit .388 in 1957!
Was Williams the greatest hitter ever? He is #1 on my list and I never saw him play.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.
September 28, 1941: Williams showed some real character playing that doubleheader
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1941 was the year of DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak, the last summer before Pearl Harbor changed everything and Ted Williams ended up with a .406 batting average.
It is remarkable to go back and see Williams' consistency:
The eventual seventeen-time All-Star began the season going one-for-one with a 1.000 batting average. Over the rest of the season, his average never fell below .308, and was almost always over .400. In fact, on July 24, it stood at .397. It would never again fall below .400. Williams wrapped up 1941 at 185-456, good for an average of .406. While Williams’ batting average garnered all of the attention in 1941, he also led the league in home runs (37), base on balls (147), runs (135), slugging average (.735), and on base percentage (.551).
But here is the best part of the story. This is where this goes from another baseball story to a triumph of character.
This is where Ted Williams' talent and tenacity was displayed, as remembered in this article by Bill Pennington years ago:
Inside his room at Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Hotel on Saturday, Sept. 27, 1941, Ted Williams was jumpy and impatient.That might have been an apt description of the mercurial Williams at most times, but on this evening he had good cause for his unease.His batting average stood at .39955 with a season-finale doubleheader to be played the next day at Shibe Park, home of Connie Mack’s Athletics.
Since batting averages are rounded to the next decimal, Williams could have sat out the final two games and still officially crested baseball’s imposing .400 barrier.At the time,
Williams said, “If I’m going to be a .400 hitter, I want more than my toenails on the line.”
So he went 6 for 8 and crashed through the .400 barrier.
As we learned later, Williams had many character flaws. He wasn't the nicest guy in the clubhouse or with the media. He couldn't even return a salute to the fans at Fenway who cheered his last at bat, a home run, naturally.
Nevertheless, his performance in the last game of 1941 is a lesson for us all. He could have sat out the double header and hit .400, or the rounded version of .3995.
Instead, he put everything on the line and came out with a .406 average.
Love him or hate him, I have to love that he was not afraid to put everything on the line.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.
The great Brooks Robinson (1937–2023)
(My new American Thinker post)
One of my favorite memories was hearing my late father say that he saw Brooks Robinson play in Cuba. Back then, many young players from Willie Mays to a young lefty Tommy Lasorda, played in the Cuban winter league hoping to impress their organization before spring training.
As you probably know, Brooks Robinson died on Tuesday, at age 86. His story is wonderful:
Although he eventually became synonymous with Baltimore during his playing career and following his retirement, Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. was born on May 18, 1937, in Little Rock, Ark., where he attended Little Rock Central High School and went on to play baseball at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In 1955, Robinson signed with the Orioles for $4,000, and he made his debut for the team later that year at the age of 18.
From 1955-59, Robinson played only 304 games for the O’s, spending some time in the Minor Leagues and dealing with numerous injuries. But soon after, Robinson became a fixture in the Orioles’ lineup, where he’d be a stalwart for the better part of two decades.
Robinson’s breakout year came in 1960, when he was named an All-Star for the first time and captured his first Gold Glove. He was then an All-Star every year through ’74 and a Gold Glover every year through ’75.
While Robinson more than held his own at the plate, it was his glovework that always had everybody in amazement.
‘He was the best defensive player at any position,’ the late Frank Robinson, a fellow Hall of Famer and Orioles legend, once said. ‘I used to stand in the outfield like a fan and watch him make play after play. I used to think, 'Wow! I can’t believe this.’
Well, I agree with the late Frank Robinson. I had the pleasure of watching a lot of Orioles baseball when I went to school in Maryland. Brooks was a daily highlight film, from his amazing catches, to running in to pick up the ball and throw out a runner at first, or all the double plays that he started by going to his left. It was so automatic that you expected every other third baseman to do that but they couldn’t. They were not Brooks.
It wasn’t just his glove. He was a good hitter with a reputation for hitting in the clutch. In other words, you did not want Brooks at the plate with the winning run in second base. He usually drove that run in. He retired with 2,848 hits and 1,357 RBI in 2,896 games.
My favorite memory was Brooks Robinson Day in September 1977. The stadium was full and I was lucky to get in. Baltimore was playing Boston, and in the middle of a pennant race that went to the last weekend, when the Yankees got in. Brooks went around waving at the fans and the affection for this man was something unbelievable. I saw a father pick up his young son and wave at Brooks. There were tears and cheers as this man went around the stadium.
Over the years, I asked myself why is this man so loved and respected? He was great off and on the field.
Last, but not least, I remember watching the 1970 World Series at school. I looked at the screen and Brooks was making one amazing play after another. It was like he was playing at another level.
Rest in peace Brooks. Thanks for all the plays we get to watch on YouTube.
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Sunday, September 27, 2026
CANTO TALK podcasts from last week
This is a summary of our podcasts from last week...........
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1981: Nolan Ryan’s no-hitter #5
What a game!
Many years ago, Nolan Ryan pitched his 5th no-hitter on this day in 1981. It was in the middle of a pennant race between the Astros and Dodgers plus a national audience (NBC Saturday Game of the Week). Let me add that I was lucky to catch the last few innings. In the 9th inning, Ryan struck out Reggie Smith, a pinch-hitter, for his 11th strikeout of the game. Ken Landreaux and Dusty Baker grounded out to complete the gem. Yes, the same Dusty Baker who retired as the Astros’ manager.
1973: Nolan Ryan 383 K's in one season
We remember Nolan Ryan on this day in 1973. He struck Rich Reese for # 383 and a new season record. Ryan finished 1973 with a 21-16 record, 2.87 ERA, 2 no-hitters, and came in second in the Cy Young Award voting to Jim Palmer and got 383 K's.
1981: Nolan Ryan no-hitter # 5
On Friday night, I stayed up following the Houston Astros lose to the “whatever they call themselves” A’s. My local Rangers had lost a few hours before, so we were all A’s fans for one day. The vibes worked, and the A’s won.
Many years ago, Nolan Ryan pitched his 5th no-hitter on this day in 1981. It was in the middle of a pennant race between the Astros and Dodgers plus a national audience (NBC Saturday Game of the Week). Let me add that I was lucky to catch the last few innings. In the 9th inning, Ryan struck out Reggie Smith, a pinch-hitter, for his 11th strikeout of the game. Ken Landreaux and Dusty Baker grounded out to complete the gem. Yes, the same Dusty Baker who retired as the Astros’ manager.
What’s amazing is that he threw 2 more! Number 6 came 9 years later, against the Oakland A’s, but I fell asleep because it was one of those Pacific time games that we hate on Central Time. I woke up the next morning kicking myself for not drinking more coffee and staying awake. Number 7 was here in Arlington and incredibly not on TV. Most of us heard that one on the radio.
What made Ryan so remarkable is that you always expected something special when he took the mound, as Talmage Boston, the author of Baseball and the Baby Boomer, wrote in an article for The Society of Baseball Research:
The most enduring memory of Texas Rangers fans who witnessed the Ryan Express during his five glorious years in Arlington, from 1989 to 1993, was not a statistic but a sound.
Every time the 40-something power pitcher delivered his heat, he threw the ball with such total passion that a bellowing grunt could be heard throughout the ballpark.
By the way, I was at the stadium in 1989 when he took a perfect game to the 9th. Unfortunately, the Tigers broke it with one out. I missed my chance to watch history!
On the political front, his first two no-hitters came under President Nixon, the next two under President Ford, the aforementioned #5 under President Reagan, and the last two under the first President Bush. Maybe he liked the GOP...or that’s what happens when voters elect a Republican in 7 elections between 1968 and 2004.
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Happy # 486 to the Jesuits!
The Jesuits have been a significant force in the Catholic faith for a long time. On this day in 1540, Pope Paul III approved Ignatius’ outline of the Society of Jesus, and the Jesuit order was born. Like any group, they are not perfect and there is always room to criticize. At the same time, their contributions to education must be celebrated.
Happy anniversary to the Jesuits!
September 2014: WE REMEMBER DEREK JETER WITH BARRY CASSELMAN, LONG TIME YANKEE FAN.
WE REMEMBER DEREK JETER WITH BARRY CASSELMAN, LONG TIME YANKEE FAN...
Saturday, September 26, 2026
I’m looking through you; you’re not the same
It’s entirely possible that, with Democrats having cut all their ties to normalcy, kitchen table issues will not determine the upcoming election.
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The midterms are coming and put me down as agreeing with Karl Rove: “What if much of what we think we know about the midterms is wrong?”
What if 2026 is the exception to the rule? Well, I don’t know, but who predicted that Donald Trump would win in 2016 or return in 2024? The experts or conventional wisdom did not see those two coming. I was there. I remember.
Yes, what if the traditional way of measuring midterms is out of date? I believe that it is because most Americans look at the Democrats and remember that Beatles song: “I’m looking through you; you’re not the same.”
Yes, these Democrats are not the same old bunch that we used to debate and then go out to pizza with. These people are crazy, as I read yesterday at Jupplandia:
Everything the Democrat Party encourages, pursues and represents is extremism. Every attitude they endorse is at odds with stable and sane governance. And even at odds with the paychological [sic] wellbeing of the entire populace. It goes far beyond even the vast trillions of dollars that have been stolen and funnelled into client groups, private bank accounts, and a vast organisational network of NGOs and activist groups themselves then funding radical causes and extremism up to and including domestic terrorism. While much of this vast misappropriation of public funds enriches thousands of corrupt individuals on the federal payroll and plays a significant role in the enormous national debt of the USA, this economic harm, while very serious, is more containable, more reversible, and more manageable than the effect of the ideologies the money is spent on.
The Democrat Party, with their aligned media (first mainstream, and then purchased alternative media) have been engaged in the deliberate destruction of the minds of American citizens.
That’s about right. These are not the Hubert Humphrey Democrats who spoke about the minimum wage and labor legislation to protect workers. These Democrats want the government to control the means of production and tax the productive people out of existence.
And don’t get me started on what they want to do with our children with mindless indoctrination of “gender this or that.” Last, but not least, don’t ask them to explain what a woman is, or you may hear some Talarico nonsense about our neighbors with a uterus.
So maybe “affordability” will wipe out the GOP. I don’t think so. It won’t help, but the Democrats have made this election about something more than the price of butter. This election will be about the insane and the sane, and my money is on the sane.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.
1971: Jim Palmer makes it four 20-game winners for Baltimore
Jim Palmer and the Orioles made a little history on this day in 1971. He won his 20th and joined teammates Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally & Pat Dobson as 20-game winners.
A few days later, the O's swept the A's in the ALCS. Then they lost to the Pirates in the World Series.
A great moment in O's history: Four 20-game winners in one staff!
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We remember Olivia Newton John (1948-2022)
We remember Olivia Newton John who was born on this day in 1948 in Cambridge, England and moved to Australia at age 5 with her parents. She died in 2022 after a long battle with cancer.
Olivia reached the US charts in 1971 with "If not for you" a Bob Dylan song. She had several hits in the 1970's and then became an international sensation with the movie "Grease". Overall, she sold 100 million records and had 5 # 1 songs on Billboard USA:
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1960 this week: The Kennedy-Nixon debates
Back in 1960, millions of Americans tuned in for a real "TV first" this week. They watched a debate by the two major presidential candidates running for president in 1960.
Who won? Did the debates impact the vote?
Senator Kennedy won by 114,000 votes out of 70 million cast that day. It was 49.72% vs 49.55%.
The conventional wisdom is that JFK won "the video" and Nixon won "the audio".
Again, your guess is as good as mine. It's like losing the pennant by one game and arguing about what "one game" made the difference.
What impact did it have?
Senator Kennedy hit the Eisenhower administration very hard about the growing communist menace in Cuba. His debate comments actually had an impact on many Cubans, like my father, who were following the debates by shortwave radio. Sadly, President Kennedy dropped the ball at The Bay of Pigs the next spring. He contradicted with his actions what he promised at the debates.
What else do we remember from the 1960 presidential debates? Vietnam was not a topic in the Kennedy-Nixon debates but it consumed the nation in the 1960's.
In 1960, we learned an important lesson. Debates are important and we should continue the tradition. However, the reality of the presidency often overwhelms campaign promises or 'tough talk" at the debates.
For a look back at the 1960 campaign, check out.
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September 26, 1969: "Abbey Road" by The Beatles released in the US
The Beatles recorded "Abbey Road" in the spring and summer of 1969. It was eventually released in September 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US.
Abbey Road was special because of Side 2, or the medley.
How successful was Abbey Road? It included 2 of George Harrison's finest songs: "Something" and "Here comes the sun".
John Lennon had "Come together" and the very long "I want you she's so heavy" that goes on forever.
Ringo had "Octupus' garden", maybe his best composition.
And Paul had several lead vocals.
Rolling Stone magazine named it the 14th greatest album of all time.....which is probably right!
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Friday, September 25, 2026
Supreme Court and voter rolls plus other stories
Supreme Court and voter rolls plus other stories.....
Winning and more wins
Trump is definitely not all sizzle and no steak. With the Greenland deal, he has another major foreign-affairs victory that strengthens America.
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Don’t look now, but President Trump is putting some foreign policy victories (first Venezuela and now Greenland) on the board, as The Washington Times points out:
The agreement gives America military access to Greenland in perpetuity — that is, even if it one day achieves independence.
Today, America has a modest military presence in Greenland, which is likely to increase substantially under the deal and could include a naval base and an extension of the Golden Dome missile shield.
Greenland’s strategic importance cannot be overstated. Control of Greenland affects control of the Arctic. Whoever controls the Arctic will probably win a future world war. Greenland also controls vital shipping lanes.
Russia and China have increasingly focused on achieving military access to Greenland, which would be a blow to American national security. A tripartite agreement would also give the United States access to Greenland’s rich mineral deposits, which include estimated rare earth element reserves of up to 36 million metric tons, according to geological assessments compiled by the Atlantic Council.
The deal is a win all the way around. Denmark could never hope to defend the territory from a hostile takeover bid. Greenland is vital to America’s security interests, and Greenlanders need help extracting their valuable mineral reserves.
Win all the way around is right! The deal is that we have access to mineral deposits and the ability to monitor a key piece of real estate. In other words, China and Russia wanted to control this strategic real estate, and we will do it instead. That’s a victory for the U.S.
As the editorial points out, President Trump could have handled the communications a bit better. It sounded too much like gunboat diplomacy at first, but cooler heads prevailed, and the deal was made. Let’s give credit to Denmark’s leaders for recognizing their inability to defend Greenland and recognizing that partnering with the U.S. is the best way to do it.
So President Trump scored an oil deal with Venezuela and now a strategic military victory with Greenland. It sounds like winning to me. I like it.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.
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