August 2007: Bonds passed Aaron but did the fans accept it?

Back in August 2007, baseball fans saw a lot of history.

Barry Bonds tied hank Aaron.  He passed Aaron the next night. 

Will the fans accept the new record?   Probably not. 

Yet, you can not dispute what Bonds has done:

"The Giants slugger has won 7 MVP awards, a major league record. He has the 5th highest career slugging percentage in baseball history, and the 6th highest career on base percentage. For the combination of the two, the SLOB or OPS, Bonds rank 4th for his career. Bonds has the 3rd lowest number of at bats per home run in baseball history." (Is Barry Bonds Baseball's Greatest Slugger? by Richard Baehr)

It's a shame about the steroids controversy. 

It's a bigger shame that Hank Aaron's record was broken by someone with such a controversial story.   

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2007: Cal Ripken, Hall of Fame

Back in 2007, we watched Cal Ripken get officially inducted into The Hall Of Fame.

My first memory of Cal Ripken goes back to 1981.    It was the crazy strike season and I caught a game on TV with Ripken at shortstop.   

In 1982, he was the regular third baseman and hit a home run on opening day.  By mid-season, Cal was playing shortstop and the rest is history:  MVP in '83 and the O's won the World Series.  Then came the another MVP in '91 and the "streak" that went on until 1998.

Unfortunately, Ripken played in bad Oriole teams.  Yet, he was out there every day playing and putting some good numbers, such as 431 Hrs and over 3100 hits.

We remember a great guy who clearly belongs in the Hall of Fame.

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July 2007: The investors loved President Bush!

A post from July 2007:

Yesterday, the stock market hit 14,000! It is a new record high! Obviously, someone likes what President Bush is doing:

"In just the past year alone, the Dow has gained a remarkable 30 percent. Meanwhile, Europe and Asia are up about 30 percent, Japan 23 percent, and emerging markets more than 60 percent. Clearly, the world is voting -- with real money -- for the American system of free-market capitalism. And it's my strong suspicion that the majority of the global investing community supports the Iraq War and a steadfast U.S. commitment to stop terrorism. They seem to know that if the United States doesn't do it, no one else will." (A Stock Market Vote of Confidence for BushBy Lawrence Kudlow)

So cheer up. The economy is doing well.

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July 2007: A word about the young people who are wearing the uniform

A post from July 2007:

In past blogs, I have written about the courage, commitment and sacrifice of US troops. For a long time, US troops have freed more people than any author, writer, poet, singer, "Hollywoodie", journalist, college professor or pacifist.

From France '44 to Iraq, US troops have liberated more people than any other military force in history.

Bottom line: US troops are liberators!

I see this in my neighborhood. I know two young men who went into the military because they wanted to serve their country. They had other options but they chose to serve their country during war. Our own #3 son is considering a military career.

Let's salute the troops!

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July 2007: The majority that can't do anything!

A post from July 2007:

Have you ever seen anything like this? The Democrats won the mid-term elections and declared a mandate to change everything.

Today, they are facing a huge backlash from the country.

Why? Because they have not done anything.

Back in '95, the new Republican majority passed a bunch of new laws and made a difference. The current Dems have not done that!

Divided government is actually good. It forces compromise. It usually results in better government.

In this case, divided government has not worked. My guess is that the Democrats have another 6 months to change the public perception. Otherwise, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will be electoral liabilities to the party's nominee in 2008!

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

July 2007: Soccer gives the Iraqis something to smile about

A post from July 2007:

During Saddam's reign, Iraq was a police state. There were mass graves, unspeakable repression and unbelievable brutality.

Since Saddam fell, Iraqis have voted three times and put up with daily terrorist attacks.

Yesterday, Iraqi had a chance to smile and cheer for something. The soccer team won and everyone was thrilled.

Iraq has so much potential. It has oil and a wonderful people. Let's hope that this is the beginning of something new.

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

July 2007: What's going on at NASA?

A post from July 2007:

For years, many of us admired NASA for its astronauts and incredible achievements. Unfortunately, NASA has been hit by some very bad news, from a woman chasing another woman to drinking on the job.

Of course, it represents a few people. Most NASA employees are first rate professionals. Sadly, they have given NASA a black eye!

Clean up the bad apples and reach for the stars!

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

July 2007: Could it be that we are actually winning?

As usual, I checked the Internet early this morning for some overnight stories. I was very happy to read A War We Just Might Win By MICHAEL E. O’HANLON and KENNETH M. POLLACK:

"Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms.

As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with."

Not bad. Could it be that we are winning and so many Democrats can't stand it?

In the end, O'Hallon and Pollack urge Congress to keep it going until 2008.

Put me down as one of those who thinks that we've turned the corner in Iraq. It won't be easy sailing but we are navigating down the right path.

At the end of the day, good news is good for the US and Middle East stability. Unfortunately, good news is bad news for the party of Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan!

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.

July 2007: Gracias, Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan

A post from July 2007

We started this month with a post about Mexican politicians blaming the US for their problems. 

Today, we say "thank you" to Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico's ambassador to the United States, for telling the truth:

""It's very hard for Mexico to preach to the north what it does not do to the south," Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan said in a meeting with editors and reporters at The Washington Times, referring to Mexico's felony penalties for, and sometimes cruel treatment of, those caught crossing its southern border.

"Unless we correct the fundamental challenge of the violation of human rights of Latin American or Central American migrants crossing the border into Mexico, it's very hard for me to come up and wag a finger and say you guys should protect the rights of my citizens in this country," he said, adding that changes to the Mexican law are now pending.

Mr. Sarukhan, who presented his credentials as ambassador to President Bush in February, said his government is taking a new tack since the December inauguration of President Felipe Calderon, who has toned down the public relations push for an immigration bill in the United States and is instead trying to build infrastructure, combat corruption and create jobs to keep workers at home." (Mexican envoy hits own policies)

It's about time. It's refreshing to see Mexican officials publicly admitting what they know privately.

Last year, Banco de Mexico's chief came to Dallas and delivered a similar message.

Why is this happening? I think that Pres. Calderon understands that Mexico must change rather than export people to the US. This is a good start. It's good to see that Mexico is addressing its structural problems. You can not improve yourself until you admit that you have a problem.

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

July 2007: We are fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq!

A post from July 2007

What is the Democrats' message: Fight Al Qaeda everywhere except Iraq!

Here is the bottom line: We are fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq:

"In a global struggle against Islamic extremism, it is an incontestably welcome development that ordinary Sunnis in the Arab heartland are spurning al-Qaida. The extremist group has been on a campaign of savagery in Iraq that has discredited its own cause. The grassroots revolt against it means that it is within our reach to deny al-Qaida its most important current geopolitical objective, which is plunging Iraq into a bloody chaos in which it can thrive." (The Fight Against al-Qaida in Iraq By Rich Lowry)

At some point, we have to get our heads out of the partisan hole and see the big picture. How would an Al Qaeda victory in Iraq help out the next Democrat president?