1964: Clay beat Liston for his first heavyweight crown

By February 1964, Cassius Clay was a 22-year old Olympic gold medalist (1960) and looking for first title.   

On this day in 1964, he got it with a technical knockout of Sonny Liston.   

It was the beginning of the legend of Ali.

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February 1977: Fleetwood Mac released "Rumours"

Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" was released in early February 1977.     It became one of the top LP's of the 1970's.      My guess is that most fans did not know that the group was going through some serious conflicts during the recording of this album.

It sounds good 40-something years later.   There were great songs like "Go your own 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.

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1977: Ernie Banks selected to the Hall of Fame

Ernie Banks was selected to the Hall of Fame on this day in 1977.   

Banks was a three-time .300 hitter and retired with a .274 average,  2,583 hits, 1,305 runs scored, and 1, 636 RBI.    He won the NL MVP in 1958 and 1959 despite playing for some bad Cubs' teams.

On May 12, 1970, Banks hit # 500 and finished with 512.   He died in 2015.

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.

 

Flipping channels and I found Elvis and "Wild in the country"

Flipping channels and then I find Elvis and "Wild in the country".

It's another of those serious movies that Elvis made, like "Flaming Star", the one I that I mentioned a few days ago.

Elvis is a troubled young man who needs a bit of "tough love".   He wants to be a writer and Hope Lange plays his counselor.    Tuesday Weld and Millie Perkins are the two ladies in the movie.

It's a good movie.  There were no hit songs from this movie.   Two tunes did end up as B-sides for other big Elvis hits.   

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column.

We remember Paul Harvey (1918-2009)

We remember Paul Harvey who was born in Tulsa, OK, on this day in 1918.  He died in 2009.

For years, I listened to Paul Harvey every weekday at 7:30 here in Dallas.    Then there was "The rest of the story" in the afternoons or weekends.   It was some of the best radio ever recorded.   I loved it!

The amazing Mr. Harvey started many years ago.

At the peak of his career, he reached 24 million listeners on 1,200 radio stations plus many over his newspaper column.  Once in Mexico, I picked up his commentary on Armed Forces Radio on short wave radio.

Harvey was great and I miss our daily "radio dates" in the car.

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 Ron Silver (1946-2009)

We remember that Ron Silver was born July 2, 1946.    He died March 15, 2009 after fighting cancer for a few years.

Like many of us, Ron Silver got a big wake up call on 9-11.

Silver understood that there were people in the world determined to blow up one of our cities and kill thousands of innocent people.  Let's not forget that they'd cut your head off if you disagree with them, too.

On top of that, he was a great actor.

A few years agp, my friend Rick Moran wrote about Silver.

In fact, Silver did not change. He was always a liberal on social issues.

Silver understood that the terrorists were opposed to everything that liberals believed in, from women's rights to any kind of tolerance.

Silver concluded that you couldn't do business with people who think that we should live under some kind of 12th century justice.

We take a minute this weekend to remember Ron Silver! It's a shame that there aren't more people like Ron Silver in Hollywood!

  

Last, but not least, make sure you watch "Fahrenhype 9-11", a response to Michael Moore.

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 July 4th and a few other thoughts

Happy July 4th and a few other thoughts 07/03 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

Happy July 4th and a few thoughts about this great day....

.....and other stories........click to listen:

July 4, 1776: Happy birthday to the USA

'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.....'

We remember today these words made famous in 1776. 

It is the most incredible message of individual freedom and self-government ever written.  Our thanks to these men for their courage and vision.  

Check out "John Adams", the wonderful HBO series that everyone should watch.

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.

Abraham Lincoln was born on this day in 1809

As San Francisco debates school name changes, we are reminded of how much this country has changed.    Maybe the country has not changed but many people do not appreciate its heritage, such as Mark Cuban of  the Dallas Mavericks who is now dancing around what he said about the national anthem.

Our family arrived in the U.S. in September 1964.  By February 1965, we were learning about snow in Wisconsin and celebrating an important birthday.  Our teacher remembered that Abraham Lincoln was was born on a day like this in 1809.   She spoke at length about the man, his character and even had a tear in her eye when she called him "The Great Emancipator."   

To say the least, it was one of those grade school sessions that stays with you for a long time.  I had not heard anyone speak about President Lincoln that way since our Great Uncle Joaquin, a judge and law professor in Cuba, would tell us about the Gettysburg Address when we visited him in Havana.  He admired Lincoln as much as anybody and would have been enraged at those who want to delete his name today.

As my old grade school teacher said that morning, no one is indispensable in a democracy.  After all, democracies are based on laws, not men.  However, President Lincoln comes as close to indispensable as any American ever, as Scott Johnson wrote in 2016

"Today is of course the anniversary of the birth of America’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln. As a politician and as president, Lincoln was a profound student of the Constitution and constitutional history. Perhaps most important, Lincoln was America’s indispensable teacher of the moral ground of political freedom at the exact moment when the country was on the threshold of abandoning what he called its “ancient faith” that all men are created equal."

Yes he was the closest thing to indispensable in U.S. history!  Perhaps we can pass that information to those in San Francisco who don't understand it.   

So make sure you tell your kids about Abraham Lincoln today. They may not hear about him in certain school districts.

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 Dan Quisenberry (1953-1998)

    

Dan Quisenberry was born in Santa Monica, California on this day in 1953.   He broke with the KC Royals in 1979 and became one of the best right handed closers in the game.

Dan led the AL in saves 5 times and played in the 1980 and 1985 World Series.    He saved 238 games with a 2.55 ERA during his time in Kansas City.

He died in 1998 from a brain tumor.  He had a great sinker and saved many games by forcing hitters to hit into double plays.

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.

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