And Beto is still talking the lights going out

 (My new American Thiker post)

In Texas, the stage is set for the anticipated Abbott vs O'Rourke gubernatorial election in 8 months.  Incumbent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gave a victory speech highlighting job creation and the strong state economy following his primary victory.  On the Democrat side, Beto O'Rourke is still talking about the power grid and a few other things:  

The People of Texas Campaign will focus partly on Abbott's "radical agenda," as O'Rourke's campaign puts it.  

“While Abbott tries to divide and distract us, we are focused on uniting Texans around a shared vision for great jobs, world-class schools, affordable health care, and a future where everyone in this state can live to their full potential," O'Rourke said in a news release Wednesday.

Gov. Abbott spoke about the Texas economy:     

"Tonight, Republicans sent a message: they want to keep Texas the land of opportunity and prosperity for absolutely everybody, the prosperity we've delivered over the past eight years," Abbott said in his victory speech late Tuesday night. "Texans face a very profound question this election: do we take a left turn that leads to more government and less freedom?"

So the stage is set.

At this point, it looks like Gov. Abbott has a stronger hand, i.e. job growth and the number of relocations to Texas.  

On the other hand, Mr. O'Rourke avoids specifics and speaks about the lights that went out a year ago.  And does not mention President Biden.

At the moment, Gov. Abbott leads Mr. O'Rourke by 8.8 points.  Over the next few weeks, the governor will very likely be endorsed by his fellow Republicans, Mr. Alan West and Mr. Don Huffines.  It should give him an uptick in the approval polls.  Who endorses Mr. O'Rourke now?  I don't know but don't expect VP Harris or Sen. Bernie Sanders to visit Texas anytime soon.

By the way, the GOP did well in south Texas, the most Hispanic area of the state:   

Republicans celebrate in Texas, as Democrats gird for November.    

Gov. Abbott is saying that the GOP will carry the Hispanic vote in November and that looks like a better bet after Tuesday's primary.   And, once again, Beto is still talking about the lights that went out 13 months ago.

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 look back at the Texas primary 2022 with George Rodriguez

Guests: George Rodriguez, South Texas conservative........We look back at the Texas primary 2022..........and other stories......click to listen:.....

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/cantotalk/2022/03/04/we-look-back-at-the-texas-primary-2022-with-george-rodriguez

Thursday's video: Guest: George Rodriguez, South Texas conservative.....We look back at the Texas primary

Thursday's video: 

Guest: George Rodriguez, South Texas conservative........We look back at the Texas primary.....

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.

 

Cuellar in a runoff

 (My new American Thinker post)

Less than 20% of eligible voters cast a primary ballot in Texas.  There were few surprises and the incumbents hosted the victory parties. But not so fast down in South Texas, where Representative Henry Cuellar will be facing Jessica Cisneros in runoff.  This is from Texas Monthly:   

As the clocks ticked past 2 a.m., the Associated Press called the Democratic primary for the congressional seat in District 28: It was going to a runoff on May 24. Incumbent Congressman Henry Cuellar and Jessica Cisneros will face a rematch in May, after both failed to pass the 50 percent threshold to win outright. After trailing in the count most of Tuesday night, Cuellar had taken a slim lead with nearly all the votes tallied. This morning, with 95 percent of the vote counted, Cuellar led Cisneros 48.5 to 46.8. 

Ring the happy bell for AOC and the Squad.  They went all in for Cisneros.  I'm sure that we will hear a lot from the Squad for the next two months or before the runoff in late May.

Mr. Cuellar upset the Democrat Left for being critical of President Biden's border, voted pro-life, and no one knows for sure why the FBI raided his home recently.    

Overall,  Governor Greg Abbott got 1.27 million versus about 920 thousand for Beto O'Rourke.  Add the other GOP candidates about 1.75 million voted.  On the other side, just over 1 million Democrats voted.  It's obvious that the governor in a strong position looking to the general election.

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 will discuss the events in Canada with Brian Lloyd French, author

Guest: Brian Lloyd French, author from Ontario, Canada......We will discuss the events from Canada....and more stories....click to listen:

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/cantotalk/2022/03/02/we-will-discuss-the-events-in-canada-with-brian-lloyd-french-author

Wednesday's video: Brian Lloyd French, author from Ontario, Canada...

Wednesday's video: Brian Lloyd French, author from Ontario, Canada...

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.

 

Please don't kill the pennant races

 (My new American Thinker post)

Remember the old movie about "It happens every spring"?  It's a 1949 comedy about baseball, or the kind of movie that baseball fans like me watch every year to get ready for opening day.  You can add "Pride of the Yankees" and "61" to that list.

Which brings us to the run-up to the opening day of today.

Like some of the scenes in the movies, the players and the owners are caught up in a fight about the business side of the game.  It happens.  I am not angry that both sides want to make as much money as possible.   It's business and I get it.

The current negotiations include an expansion of the post season, from 10 to 14 teams.   I hate the idea and let me tell you why.

The 162-game season is long enough.  How many post-season serieses are we going to play?   November baseball is a travesty, especially when temperatures drop.  Snow flakes and baseball don't mix.  

The proposed expanded post-season format will kill the pennant race, which is one of the most unique things about baseball.   A pennant race is when teams compete for the divisional title or league championship as happened before 1969.  It's a daily or nightly thing for the last 20 games of the season.  I remember many a pennant race night listening to my little transistor and catching a game in Detroit, New York, or Boston.  Sometimes we got lucky and a local station would broadcast the game and we got better sound.  It makes September interesting, specially for the teams out of contention who get to knock out the pennant contenders.

My life is full of pennant race memories.   

Back in 1967, our family was living in Wisconsin and in love with the Minnesota Twins.  They had four Cuban players and we picked up their games on some rural radio station.   Later in September, the Twins, Red Sox, Tigers, and White Sox were involved in one of the greatest pennant races ever.   On Friday, or the last weekend, all four teams were in the race.   The White Sox dropped a double header and were eliminated.   On Sunday, the Red Sox beat the Twins and the Angels beat the Tigers.  The Red Sox won the American League (AL) pennant.

There were others.  Between 1977 and 1982, the AL East title was decided on the last weekend several times.  In 1964, the Phillies blew a six-game lead with 10 games left and the Cardinals jumped in.   Who can forget the Yankees and Red Sox ending up in a tie in 1978?   And deciding everything in a one-game playoff at Fenway?  

Why does it matter?   Because it gave value to the season.   None of those moments would have mattered with every team qualifying for the post season.

Call me old-fashioned, a purist or whatever.   Please don't make the baseball season into a seeding exercise like the NBA or NHL.   I like the current format with three division winners and a couple of wild card teams vying for the fourth seed.

Keep baseball as baseball.  Don't give me this nonsense where 8th seeds get to play the 1st seeds in the first round of the "playoffs."     

Well, here is something to think about when you are tired of Ukraine news or hearing President Biden saying that the economy is better than it seems.

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......Russia and the invasion of Ukraine......Sanctions vs Russia......President Biden and the State of the Union......Bad polls continue.....The new CNN leadership team........and other stories...............click to listen:

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/cantotalk/2022/03/01/the-week-in-review-with-bill-katz-the-editor-of-urgent-agenda

Tuesday's video: President Biden looking very weak at the State of the Union

Tuesday's video:     President Biden looking very weak at the State of the Union................

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.

Will CNN finally stop talking about Trump?

 

(My new American Thinker post)

There is a new kid in town.  We are talking about Chris Licht, the apparent new boss over at CNN, the ratings-challenged network that obsessed itself into irrelevancy by talking about Trump 24/7.

This is the story at Axios:    

Under new chief Chris Licht, CNN will dial down the prime-time partisanship and double down on the network's news-gathering muscle, top sources tell me.

Why it matters: Ratings are secondary to credibility, in the view of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who's taking over CNN.

Jeff Zucker's successor at the CNN helm will be Licht -- showrunner of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and a popular, pioneering producer who knows his way around America's top control rooms.

We wish Mr. Licht well.  At the same time, let's hope that the new leadership understands just how bad things are between CNN and viewers.

First, the ratings are terrible.  Forbes reports that Prime Time Down Nearly 70% In Key Demo.  I am no expert on TV or "demo" but down 70% is pretty bad.

Second, and this is critical, the hosts are just preaching to the choir and the choir is losing members.  So they should replace the lineup and find some news readers who avoid controversy or opinions.  They should bring back the "Headline News" format from the 1980s or the 30-minute newscast around the clock.

Finally, they should consider a name change. CNN is toxic. I don't know what the new name should be but anything but CNN has to be an improvement.

It's amazing they set out to destroy to destroy Trump and ended up destroying themselves. There is a lesson there for all of us.

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.