A look at Texas politics with George Rodriguez from South Texas. The Supreme Court’s opinion on congressional districts. Mexico and latest indictments. The May 26 primary coming up.

 

What happens to Claudia in the next episode?

What happens to Claudia in the next episode?:

Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum is suddenly the main character in this nasty “telenovela.”

Click to read: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/05/what_happens_to_claudia_in_the_next_episode.html

Happy # 90 Engelbert Humperdinck

We remember Arnold George Dorsey who was born in India on this day in 1936.    

We know him as Englebert Humperdinck, a great favorite of the ladies over the years.    He recorded many songs, including "After the lovin'".

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 Lesley Gore (1946-2015)

Lesley Sue Goldstein was born in New York on this day in 1946.   She died in 2015.     We know her as Lesley Gore.

Lesley was cute and very clean.  She was also a hit-making machine.  Her biggest hit was "It's my party", a song that keeps popping up in movie soundtracks.

Lesley Gore:  Thanks for a lot of fun songs!

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.

May 2, 1939: Gehrig ended streak

Lou Gehrig's playing career ended on this day in 1939 after playing in 2,130 consecutive games.

He never played again and died two years later.  

It may a good weekend to catch that great movie "The pride of the Yankees".

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.

1939: Lou Gehrig stepped down after 2,130 games or 13 years!

Lou Gehrig's playing career ended on this day in 1939 after playing in 2,130 consecutive games.

He never played again and died two years later.  

It may a good weekend to catch that great movie "The pride of the Yankees".

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.

May 1 and more thoughts on districts

The teachers’ union and May Day

The teachers’ union and May Day:

The latest Nation’s Report Card shows abysmal results, but the teachers have bigger fish to fry, and are out marching for communism.

May 1st is not some romantic date on the calendar.  It’s a date rooted in communism; just ask anyone who’s lived in a communist country.

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/05/the_teachers_union_and_may_day.html

Happy # 87 Judy Collins

We remember Judy Collins who was born on this day in 1939.  

My first experience with Judy Collins was "Both sides now", her big hit and Top 10 in the US.   After that, I loved "Someday soon" and "Send in the clowns".

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.

1941: "Citizen Kane", a great movie!

 

 

Happy birthday "Citizen Kane", a great movie!     It was released on this day in 1941.

 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.

"No more Vietnams" and a bit of wisdom from President Nixon

It was many years ago that North Vietnamese troops marched into Saigon in the spring of 1975.   Their victory was followed by concentration camps, political prisons and the death of thousands of pro-US supporters.

In other words, we let them down. We walked away and let a superior North Vietnamese army overrun our friends.

President Nixon wrote a wonderful book in '85 called "No more Vietnams".   It was a review of the war and the mistakes made along the way.  It should be read by everyone, specially the left that looked the other way when the communists murdered thousands in Vietnam and Cambodia.

It's a great 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.

1975: The fall of Saigon that did not have to happen

Back in 1975, I was in college trying to pass my classes and looking at some job offers in the local banks.  As I recall, the economy was okay for college graduates but the word “recession” was mentioned in some circles.  Watergate was behind us and the new President Gerald Ford was months away from facing a challenge from the former Governor Ronald Reagan of California.

During my time away from school work, I was dancing to Van McCoy’s “The hustle“, enjoying Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom” and laughing to tears watching “Monty Python and the Holy Grail“.

Over in Vietnam, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong walked into Saigon and we’ve known it as “Ho Chi Minh City” ever since.

They walked in because the South Vietnam army, our ally, was totally overmatched by large and ruthless divisions pouring from the North. 

As a South Vietnamese soldier told me a few years later, they killed everybody that they suspected of supporting the government in Saigon. They didn’t care whether it was man, woman, or child.

The tragedy of Vietnam is that the USSR could not believe that we let South Vietnam collapse in 1975, as Stephen J. Morris wrote on the 30th anniversary of the disintegration of Saigon:

If the United States had provided that level of support in 1975, when South Vietnam collapsed in the face of another North Vietnamese offensive, the outcome might have been at least the same as in 1972. 

But intense lobbying of Congress by the antiwar movement, especially in the context of the Watergate scandal, helped to drive cutbacks of American aid in 1974. 

Combined with the impact of the world oil crisis and inflation of 1973-74, the results were devastating for the south. 

As the triumphant North Vietnamese commander, Gen. Van Tien Dung, wrote later, President Nguyen Van Thieu of South Vietnam was forced to fight “a poor man’s war.”

Even Hanoi’s main patron, the Soviet Union, was convinced that a North Vietnamese military victory was highly unlikely. 

Evidence from Soviet Communist Party archives suggests that, until 1974, Soviet military intelligence analysts and diplomats never believed that the North Vietnamese would be victorious on the battlefield. Only political and diplomatic efforts could succeed. 

Moscow thought that the South Vietnamese government was strong enough to defend itself with a continuation of American logistical support. 

The former Soviet chargé d’affaires in Hanoi during the 1970’s told me in Moscow in late 1993 that if one looked at the balance of forces, one could not predict that the South would be defeated. 

Until 1975, Moscow was not only impressed by American military power and political will, it also clearly had no desire to go to war with the United States over Vietnam. 

But after 1975, Soviet fear of the United States dissipated.

Again, it could have turned out very differently, especially for the many who served in Vietnam.  They won the battles, and the politicians lost the peace.   

So let remember today the generation drafted to fight a war that we chose to lose.  And let’s not forget the millions slaughtered by the communists in Vietnam and later in Cambodia.

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.

Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/05/the_fall_of_saigon.html#ixzz6LHX7N4C7

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"Lamplight", great song by The Bee Gees!

It was part of the "Odessa" LP released in the spring of 1969 and also the B side of "First of May".

"Lamplight" was one of my favorite songs from the Brothers Gibb.

The "A" side of this great single was "First of May", another wonderful 
song!   It was also included in the movie "Melody".

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.

First of May (remembering The Bee Gees)

It was originally released in the spring of 1969. The Bee Gees sold millions of records but "First of May" is still one of my favorites. 

First of May---Bee Gees

"When I was small, and christmas trees were tall,

We used to love while others used to play.

Dont ask me why, but time has passed us by,

Some one else moved in from far away.(chorus)

Now we are tall, and christmas trees are small,

And you dont ask the time of day.

But you and i, our love will never die,

But guess well cry come first of may.

The apple tree that grew for you and me,

I watched the apples falling one by one.

And I recall the moment of them all,

The day I kissed your cheek and you were mine.....

When I was small, and christmas trees were tall,

Do do do do do do do do do...

Dont ask me why, but time has passed us by,

Some one else moved in from far away."

Have a happy First of May!

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.

1956: "Heartbreak hotel" by Elvis was # 1 this week

  

Elvis recorded this song in January 1956 and it became his first # 1 and gold record.   "Heartbreak hotel" is one of the greatest rock songs of all time.  

It launched Elvis and everything that followed, from more gold records to movies.   I learned later that Chet Atkins played guitar and Floyd Cramer the piano in this recording.

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.

OPEC no more. SCOTUS opinions & Hitler dead 1945.

 

OPEC no more. SCOTUS opinions & Hitler dead 1945.

h

OPEC no more?

OPEC no more?:

I won’t miss the oil cartel.

If you recall the first oil embargo, circa 1973, and lining up to put gas in your dad’s Ford Gran Torino, then you remember that four letter word OPEC.  I recall people calling it “the oil cartel,” the first time I ever used that word.

We remember Bobby Vee (1943-2016)

We remember Robert Thomas Velline who was born in Fargo, South Dakota on this day in 1943.    

We known him as Bobby Vee, one of the most popular pop vocalists of the early 1960's.    

He put 30 songs in the Billboard Top 100 including several in the Top 10:  “Take Good Care of My Baby” # 1, “Devil or Angel” “Rubber Ball” “More Than I Can Say”, “Run to Him”, “The Night Has a Thousand eyes”, and “Come Back When You Grow Up”.    

As I understand, he was one of the first artists to use what we now call a video to promote a song.

Bobby Vee died in 2016.

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.

1945: The BBC and Hitler is dead

According to reports, Hitler was shocked when he got reports that Mussolini had been executed in Italy.    Mussolini’s body, along with Clara Petacci, was put on display for Italians.

He did not want the same ending.   

On this day in 1945, he was reported dead by the BBC.  Later, we learned that it was a suicide and that his ashes were allegedly found along Eva Braun, his wife.  

The European war ended a few weeks later when Germany surrendered.    (Of course, the Pacific side of the war went on until Japan surrendered in September 1945)

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 30, 1789: George Washington became the first President of the US

On this day in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the US.  

How do you recommend a book about President Washington?   You can't.   My suggestion is that you read one from time to time.   He was an amazing man who generated tremendous loyalty among the men who served under him.

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 30, 1961: Willie Mays hit 4 home runs against the Braves

As far as I’m concerned, Willie Mays is the most complete player in baseball history.   He was the ultimate 5-tool player and could do everything well.  

Mays also stayed free of injuries, unlike Mickey Mantle who battled bad knees for his entire career with the Yankees.

Willie Mays had many big games in his glorious career, specially April 30, 1961.    

Mays hit 4 home runs at the old County Stadium in Milwaukee.   He went 4 for 5 with 8 RBIs.   

The Giants beat the Braves, 14-4.     

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.  Iran blockade working. Kimmel and Mrs. Trump.   OPEC out.  

They got ‘The Gardener’ in Mexico

They got ‘The Gardener’ in Mexico:

The leader of Mexico’s most powerful criminal business is now facing the music

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/04/they_got_the_gardener_in_mexico.html

They captured another narco in Mexico.  The Mexican authorities got a guy named “The Gardener” this time.  Let’s read it about it:

Mexican special forces ​have arrested Audias Flores, known as ‘El Jardinero’ and one of the top commanders of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), in the western state ‌of Nayarit, security minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on Monday.

Flores - a regional commander in control of swathes of CJNG territory along Mexico’s Pacific coast - was considered a potential successor to Nemesio Oseguera, alias ‘El Mencho,’ who ran the cartel and was killed in a security operation in February.

Security forces surrounded a cabin in El Mirador, some 20 km (12 miles) north of the popular resort ​city of Puerto Vallarta, where Flores was being protected by a perimeter of some 30 pickup trucks and over 60 gunmen, according to ​a press release from Mexico’s Navy, which led the operation.

Flores’ escorts scattered as a diversion but he was located as he ⁠tried to hide in a drainage ditch, it added.

‘The operation was carried out with surgical precision without a single shot being fired,’ the Navy said ​in a statement.

Congratulations to Mexican authorities for catching another one.  You probably agree with me that these narcos have great names:  “El Mencho” and now “El Jardinero” or, the gardener.  Where do they get these names?  I don’t know, but keep it coming.

Another question:  Did the Mexican president know?  The article mentions that there was cooperation with the U.S.  Really?

I hate to be nasty, but we’ve had that problem before.  There are rumors south of the border that sometimes the good guys who arrest these narcos are afraid of “leaks” if they tell too many people up the chain of command.  I don’t know if that's the case with this narco, but the rumors fly.

I can’t wait to learn the name of the next guy.

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

We remember Duke Ellington (1899-1974)

We remember Duke Ellington who was born in Washington DC on this day in 1899.    He died in 1974.

Duke was a jazz giant.   However, I first heard of him many years ago when my father used to listen to The Voice of America in Cuba.

Duke’s “Take the A train” was the intro-music for Willis Conover’s jazz show broadcast to the world on short wave.     

Conover broke the Iron Curtain, The Berlin Wall and came into Communist Cuba, too. 

It was a very catchy tune and millions around the world came to know Duke that way.

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 # 92 Luis Aparicio

We say happy birthday to Luis Aparicio who was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on this day in 1934.

Luis broke with the Chicago White Sox in 1956 and was Rookie of the Year:  .266 and led the AL with 21 stolen bases.

He also played with the Orioles, back to Chicago and finished with Boston:   .262 batting average, 506 stolen bases, 2,677 hits in 2,599 games.

Aparicio was inducted to The Hall of Fame in 1984.

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 Tammi Terrell (1945-1970)

Tammi Terrell was born Thomasina Montgomery in Philadelphia on this day in 1945.  

She died in 1970.    Tammi died from complications of a brain tumor.

Along with Marvin Gaye, they were the romantic duo of Motown with hits like "Ain't no mountain high enough" and "Your precious love".

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.

Kimmel and the "expectant widow" joke. The shooting in Washington. We remember Carolyn Jones.

 

Kimmel and the "expectant widow" joke. The shooting in Washington. We remember Carolyn Jones.

There is nothing funny about an ‘expectant widow’

There is nothing funny about an ‘expectant widow’:

I miss the decent days of Johnny Carson.

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

(https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/04/there_is_nothing_funny_about_an_expectant_widow.html)

Once upon a time, a fellow named Carson dominated late night TV.  It was more than a show.  My father told me that men would be talking about his lines in the coffee break room.  Even people who didn’t watch it knew about his one-liners, because that’s the way it was.

Who is repeating Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes these days?  Probably not a lot of people, unless you like a joke about an expectant widow or the current First Lady losing her husband, the president.

Let’s check this out:

So this is funny?  Some writer actually presented this to Kimmel for his nightly show?  Maybe Kimmel made it up, but a joke about a woman becoming a widow is not the kind of thing that you’d associate with comedy.

So what’s the joke anyway?  I could understand a joke about a woman becoming a football widow during the NFL playoffs.  I’ve heard women say that and it can be funny, especially when the husband just becomes your neighbor that you watch games with.

So again—who thinks that this is funny?  If you do, then you need to see a doctor and get Trump out of your head.

Kimmel answered back saying something about the president’s age rather than an assassination.  He is 80 you know, but Kimmel reminded us that he’s against gun violence.  No matter what, it was a bad choice of words, given the two previous assassination attempts.

Will ABC fire him?  I don’t care, but a little decency might be in order.  

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

If you tell a lie big enough...

If you tell a lie big enough...:

By all indications, Cole Allen was aboard the Trump Derangement Syndrome train and believed every lie coming from the conductor.

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/04/if_you_tell_a_lie_big_enough.html

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

We’ve studied the manipulation of public opinion.  A good example was Joseph Goebbels who purportedly said:  “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”

Enter Cole Allen, the man arrested Saturday night who allegedly wanted to kill some Trump administration officials.  By all indications, Cole was aboard the Trump Derangement Syndrome train and believed every lie coming from the conductor.

This is from The New York Post:

For the third time, an assassin Saturday night came far too close to killing President Donald Trump.

And in what’s starting to seem like a pattern, the suspect was clearly a radicalized lefty.

Thank God, no one was seriously injured this time. But is this what the left wants?

Because sane, democracy-loving Americans are beginning to wonder: What will it take to get lefty pols and media to quit their sick, dangerous accusations about Trump, which are surely fueling the hostility and deadly violence?

‘I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,’ ranted suspected would-be assassin Cole Allen in his manifesto — with its clear reference to Trump.

So here we go again.  A well educated young man with a huge future ahead of him gets addicted to a wild radical idea that Trump is this or that.  What you read in this “manifesto” is about what you would expect to hear from the craziest wing of the Democrat party.  Mr. Allen’s message was full of all of the unfounded accusations we’ve heard before, plus his conclusion that it’s time to save the land by killing everything Trump and as many helping him to govern.

It’s sad but that’s where the country is.  Once upon a time, one could count on the late Senator Lieberman to push back on this garbage.  Today, it’s Senator Fetterman, but how much can a junior senator do?  It would be nice if a candidate for president, such as a Governor Shapiro, would raise a voice and end this, but he is probably afraid of a primary too.

So the country moves on and who knows where the next one will come from?  I don’t know, but I’m sure that there is a manifesto somewhere full of all of this garbage coming from their side.

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

Happy # 85 to Ann-Margaret

We say happy birthday to Ann-Margaret.    She was born Ann-Margret Olsson in Sweden on this day in 1941.   

Ann-Margaret started out as a dancer and then went into movies, such as "Bye bye birdie" and "Viva Las Vegas" with Elvis.

I can't remember when I first saw her but it was memorable.  My guess is that most young men of my generation would agree with that.

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 President Monroe (1758-1831)

We remember James Monroe who was born in Virginia on this day in 1758.  He was one our 5th president and the author of The Monroe Doctrine about European interference in the Americas.    He died in 1831.

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.

1945: Mussolini & Clara were shot by Italian partisans

On this day in 1945, Benito Mussolini & Clara Petacci were shot by Italian partisans.  

They tried to escape and were captured.  Eventually, their bodies were hung upside down and displayed publicly.

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 28, 1961: Warren Spahn pitched second career no-hitter

On this day in 1961, 40-year old Warren Spahn threw his second no-hitter against a very tough Giants lineup.   

According to SABR, it was a very cold day and only 8, 518 fans showed up at County Stadium to watch the game. 

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 28, 1956: Frank Robinson hit # 1 of 586 career HR

On this day in 1956, Frank Robinson hit the first of his 586 lifetime home runs.   The pitcher was the Cubs’ Paul Minner in the old Crosley Field in Cincinnati.    Frank hit 38 in 1956 and was selected NL Rookie of the Year.    
He won the NL MVP in 1961 & AL MVP in 1966.    

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 Carolyn Jones (1930-1983)

We remember Carolyn Jones who was born on this day in 1930.  She died in 1983.

Over the years, we've loved TV mothers — i.e. all of those "mom" characters we grew up watching.

Here is my list of favorites:

1) Mrs. Cleaver in Leave it to Beaver.  Barbara Billingsley died in late 2010.  She will forever be Beaver's mom and one of the most endearing characters in TV history.  Frankly, didn't Mrs. Cleaver remind you of your mom? 

2) Mrs. Ingalls of Little House in the Prairie.  She was just great.  This is a show about the "frontier mother," the courageous woman of the frontier.

3) On a more hilarious note, let me add Mrs. Adams of The Adams Family.  Wasn't Mrs. Morticia Adams just hilarious?  Doesn't every mother have a bit of Mrs. Adams in her personality?

Again, we salute all of the mothers today.  We hope they all have a lovely day.

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

"They're creepy and they're kooky, Mysterious and spooky,

They're all together ooky, The Addams Family. 

Their house is a museum Where people come to see 'em 

They really are a scream The Addams Family. 

(Neat) (Sweet) (Petite) 

So get a witches shawl on A broomstick you can crawl on 

We're gonna pay a call on The Addams Family."

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.