The mass is going to be very different this weekend

A few hours ago, I read that Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee is urging churches not to hold services during the coronavirus pandemic.  

It’s a good thought, because a religious service can put 500-1,000 people in a building. Also, people naturally show their affection when they go to church.

On Thursday night, we got a message from our Bishop Michael Olson regarding mass this weekend and probably for the time being.     

We will have scheduled masses but “sine populo” or a new Latin term for me that means “without people”.  

The “populo” will stay in their cars and wait to be called for communion.  

As an usher, I will then line up the parishioners to receive communion.

For the time being, I will follow the bishop’s rules.  He means well and the church does not need anymore lawsuits over catching the virus during mass.

Welcome to the world of the coronavirus.   

Someday, we will look back and tell our kids about the day that we sat in a parking lot and walked up to the doors of the church to get communion.

And, last but not least, I won’t get to give my wife a kiss when we say “peace be with you.”   

On second thought, maybe we can do it in the car like we did in the drive-in theatres!

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

The media and coverage of the virus with Frank Burke, author & businessman

The media and coverage of the virus with Frank Burke, author & businessman 03/20 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics:

Guest: Frank Burke, author, businessman.....We will talk about the media and the coverage of the Coronavirus...and other stories.......

click to listen:

Friday’s video: Trump and the media.....

Friday’s video:  

Trump and the media.....

click to watch:

‘Down goes the peso, down goes the peso’

Down Mexico way, the peso is dropping and dropping fast.  It is not a devaluation, such as in 1976 or the one that I lived through in 1982.  It is more like 1994, when the peso floated and crashed over a week.

Nevertheless, it is a problem.  

This is from Mexico News Daily:  

The bad news continues for the Mexican peso, which fell to a record low of more than 24 to the United States dollar early Wednesday morning before recovering slightly.

According to financial data and media company Bloomberg, a single greenback was trading at 24.11 pesos at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. Just after 9:00 a.m. CT, the peso had recovered to 23.75 to the U.S. dollar.

In banks, the U.S. dollar was selling for 24.12 pesos on Wednesday morning, the newspaper El Financiero reported.

The peso problems are not really related to the coronavirus.  As we have reported, there is a business slowdown south of the border.  My friends tell me that the slowdown is a lack of confidence on President Andres Lopez-Obrador.

What does this mean for us, especially in this crisis?  

The virus will stop Americans from traveling to the resorts and that will cripple the peso even further.

The weak peso will create more capital flight — at least I saw that in the past.  

The current economic problems, plus the weak peso, will probably drive people north.  Sadly, the biggest beneficiaries will be the cartels who have dollars in their pockets and will likely use them to recruit people.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

2017: Making Radio Marti great again

President Reagan created Radio Martí in 1983. It was intended to bring real news to Cubans. The broadcasts became popular because they made for more than just news. They included baseball round tables, music charts, movie reviews, etc. It was a Miami station but broadcasting to Cubans.

Radio Martí was reaching so many people that the regime would conveniently shut off the lights to censor the broadcasts.  In Cuba, you could hear Radio Martí on an AM frequency.  I used to hear the short wave broadcasts.  Later, TV Martí was added to the package, and that was successful as well.

I remember a Cuban saying something like this: “Why do the lights always go out at 8 p.m.?”  Then he answered, “Radio Martí.”

Down in Miami, a number of Cuban-Americans want Radio Martí to get back to talking “freedom for Cuba.”  This is from news reports:

A Miami-based group that takes a hardline in opposition to Castro government has funded a television campaign calling on Florida residents to call the White House and urge President Donald Trump to name a new director of the U.S. broadcasting operation directed at the Cuban people. 

The Inspire America Foundation – which supports Cuban dissidents and pro-democracy groups while conducting polls and preparing policy proposals – is running the ads on America Teve, a Spanish-language TV station in Miami.

We support the change in leadership.

During the Obama years, Radio and TV Martí switched from promoting freedom in Cuba to President Obama’s engagement policy.

How did that engagement work out?  It’s the same old regime that attacks dissidents and has its hands in all of the hard currency in the country.

We call on President Trump to make Radio and TV Martí great again.  They should go back to telling the Cuban people the truth about their regime and how it treats dissidents.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

No travel overseas and the Congress moves forward plus Iraq 2003

No travel overseas and the Congress moves forward plus Iraq 2003 03/19 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics:

President Trump and Congress deliver for the nation......US Department of State shuts down foreign travel......The Mexican peso down again and what it could mean.....CBS reporter should tell us who used the words 'Kung flu'.........Iraq 2003..........other stories...........click to listen:

Thursday’s video: The Mexican peso down and State Department issues travel advisory....

Thursday’s video:

The Mexican peso down and State Department issues travel warning.....

click to watch:

You’ve come a long way Baltimore

In the 1970s, I lived in Baltimore with my parents, went to the university there, and got my first “shirt and tie” job at a bank.  And I got to see my first World Series game in 1979.

Furthermore, they started a lot of the downtown and Inner Harbor developments that turned that city around.

Baltimore has changed a lot since.  I still love to eat the crab cakes, but the city has a few problems.

This is from a local report:

Baltimore Mayor Jack Young urged residents to put down their guns and heed orders to stay home after multiple people were shot Tuesday night amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Young said hospital beds are needed to treat positive COVID-19 patients and not for senseless violence. Seven people were shot Tuesday night in the Madison Park neighborhood, as Baltimore reported its fifth positive coronavirus case Wednesday.

“I want to reiterate how completely unacceptable the level of violence is that we have seen recently,” Young said. “We will not stand for mass shootings and an increase in crime.”

Wow.  Is this what Baltimore has come to?

I wonder when other blue city mayors will say the same thing?  Chicago?

I appreciate that the mayor finds the current level of violence unacceptable.  It’s a start and an improvement from Marilyn Mosby, state’s attorney for Baltimore City, pandering to crowds yelling for justice back in 2015.  What a disgrace that was!

My guess is that Mayor Young knows what the problem is.  Baltimore’s politicians stabbed the police officers in the back and now have to call on people to stop shooting each other.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

President Trump's new emergency powers plus young people and CoronaVirus

President Trump's new emergency powers plus young people and CoronaVirus 03/18 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics:

President Trump now has full war time powers or Defense Protection Act....The CoronaVirus and the rest of the world: Italy Spain Venezuela and Cuba....Young people on spring break are putting their grandparents at risk.........Baltimore 2020........Chuck Berry 1926-2017.......other stories.....click to listen:

Wednesday’s video: The young people and the virus....

Wednesday’s video: 

The young people and the virus.....

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