My View by Silvio Canto, Jr.

Houston, you have a problem

2026-04-17T07:00:00.004-05:00

Democrats apparently want to learn the hard way what happens when the flout law and order.

Click to read:

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

Happy # 62 to the Ford Mustang

2026-04-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

We celebrate another anniversary of the 1964 Ford Mustang.

The car was named after a World War II fighter plane.

The Mustang sold more than 400,000 units within its first year of production, far exceeding sales expectations.

I never owned a Mustang but maybe I should go out and buy one!

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.

1937: Daffy Duck made his debut

2026-04-17T05:30:00.004-05:00

We say happy birthday to Daffy Duck who made his debut in 1937. He appeared with Porky Pig in "Porky's duck hunt".

Over the years, we loved Daffy because of a "hyperactive, at times silly, character whose madcap capers were fueled by an unpredictable personality."

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 Olivia Hussey (1951-2024)

2026-04-17T04:30:00.001-05:00

Back in my younger days, they released a version of "Romeo & Juliet" starring a pretty young woman named Olivia Hussey. She was very young when she made this movie, i.e. 17 or 18.

I learned years later that Olivia was born in Argentina on this day in 1951. Her father was British and the mother was from Buenos Aires. Wonder how they discussed the Falklands War in that marriage?

Olivia died in late 2024.

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 Roberto "Bob" Peña (1937-82)

2026-04-17T00:30:00.004-05:00

Roberto Peña was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on this day in 1937.

By the time Roberto Peña got to the Brewers in 1970, he was 33 and had played for the A's, Phillies, Cubs and the expansion 1969 Padres.

Nevertheless, he became very popular in Milwaukee because he hustled like Pete Rose and played all 4 infield positions. His 42 RBI in 1970 were 4th best in the team.

Bob, or Bobby as I recall, played 6 seasons and retired with a .245 average. He must have been one of the most popular .245 career hitters in major league history. Again, the fans loved him in Milwaukee.

Bob was 45 when he died in 1982.

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 Don Kirshner (1937-2011)

2026-04-17T00:11:00.000-05:00

We remember Don Kirshner who was born in New York on this day in 1937. He died in 2011.

They called Kirsher "The Man with the Golden Ear" because of his talent for understanding what the record buying public wanted to purchase.

His resume included the songwriter teams of Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. The list of artists and hits includes The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” and the Shirelles’ “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.”

He ran record labels such as Dimension, Colpix, Colgems, Chairman, Calendar and Kirshner.

Last, but not least, Tne Monkees & Tony Orlando got his start with him, too.

Quite a story! Do you see why they called him "the man with the golden ear"?

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.

1961: 'The Bay of Pigs' with Humberto Fontova

2026-04-17T00:04:00.002-05:00

Guest: Humberto Fontova, Cuban-American leader and author of 'Che' plus a few other books.........we recorded this show in 2011, or the 50th anniversary of the invasion.............

Click to listen................

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.

Listen to "The 50th anniversary of "The Bay of Pigs"!" on Spreaker.

April 17 and Mickey Mantle

2026-04-17T00:04:00.000-05:00

We remember Mickey Mantle on April 17th:

In 1951, he went 1-4 in his major league game; and

In 1953, he hit a 565-foot home run, the longest ever in the old Griffith Stadium in Washington DC.

Of course, he had a lot of other big days in his career: .298 career average, 536 HR, 1,509 RBI, 2,415 hits in 2,401 games played.

Mantle was the AL MVP in 1956, 1957 & 1962 and hit 18 HR in 12 World Series.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk). If you like our posts, drop a dime he re.

April 17, 1976: Mike Schmidt hit 4 HR vs Cubs.

2026-04-17T00:02:00.000-05:00

April 17, 1976:
Mike Schmidt hit 4 HR vs Cubs....retired with 548 HR & 3 MVP's...... pic.twitter.com/JVq7XIYoFT
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) April 18, 2017

April 17, 1961: Bay of Pigs by Victor Andres Triay..a good book about that day

2026-04-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

April 17, 1961: Bay of Pigs by Victor Andres Triay..a good book about that day...

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Spain and immigration. Iran blockade and negotiation a deal. Pope Benedict (1927-2022).

2026-04-16T16:00:00.009-05:00

Spain and immigration. Iran blockade and negotiation a deal. Pope Benedict (1927-2022).

Spain needs more babies

2026-04-16T07:00:00.001-05:00

Spain needs more babies:

What do you do when it's "complicado" to have babies?

As you probably know, there aren't a lot of babies in Spain. They’re going to more funerals than baby showers.

Click to read: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/04/spain_needs_more_babies.html

We remember Pope Benedict (1927-2022)

2026-04-16T05:30:00.000-05:00

We remember that Pope Benedict was born on this day in 1927. He retired a few years ago and died in 2022.

We miss Pope Benedict. He would often speak some blunt truths to all of us in the West, and specially Europe.

Rest In Peace Pope Benedict.

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 Robert Stigwood (1934-2016)

2026-04-16T05:00:00.001-05:00

We remember Robert Stigwood who was born in Australia on this day in 1934. He died in 2016.

In the late 1970's, just about everyone in the Free World had a 45 or LP from RSO Records or The Robert Stigwood Organization. I'm sure that there is a copy in one of your boxes or vinyl collections.

In the early days, Stigwood worked with Brian Epstein of The Beatles and groups like Cream.

In 1967, Stigwood signed the very young Gibb brothers (Bee Gees) and managed their international career. Ten years later, it was The Bee Gees and RSO Records who dominated the pop charts with "Saturday Night Fever", "Grease" and lots of others.

In the 1980's, he produced musicals and movies. Overall, an incredibly successful entrepreneur and producer.

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 Dusty Springfield (1939-99)

2026-04-16T02:30:00.001-05:00

We remember Dusty Springfield who was born Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien on April 16, 1939, in London, England.

Dusty came to the US with what they called The British invasion. She had several big hits, like "I only want to be with you" and "Son of a preacher man".

She died March 2, 1999 of cancer.

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.

1959: At least Nixon suspected something was off about Fidel

2026-04-16T00:05:00.000-05:00

(My new American Thinker post)

Back in April 1959, Fidel Castro visited the U.S. a few months after taking power.

Castro's visit was rather controversial because he faced skepticism from many in the U.S. He was asked about the promised elections that were delayed and delayed.

Castro was also beginning to hear a lot of criticism from fellow Cubans who kept asking about the surplus of communists and shortage of reforms.

Finally, President Dwight D. Eisenhower did not meet with him, but V.P. Richard Nixon did.

After the meeting, V.P. Nixon said that his bearded visitor was "either incredibly naive about communism or under communist discipline — my guess is the former."

Castro also appeared on Meet the Press and denied that he was a communist. He even joked about it, saying some people thought Adam and Eve were communists.

Furthermore, Castro benefited from a lot of people in the U.S. who were caught up in the cult of personality and did not know the truth of pre-Castro Cuba. It's easy to fall for the narrative when you don't know about the large middle class in Cuba and the number of immigrants who had flooded Cuba in the first half of the 20th century. They came to Cuba because the island offered opportunities, or the exact opposite of "Cuba is all about casinos" that was peddled to justify what they called revolution.

As my late father used to say when he got questions about casinos, "we had a lot more home-grown prosperity than casinos!" He should know, because he worked for one of five Cuban-owned banks that operated all over the country.

Down on the island, Castro continued to deny that he was a communist and put people in jail for accusing him of that. In December 1961, eight months after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, he declared his allegiance to Marxism-Leninism, and our worst fears were realized.

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Blue wave? Justice Alito retiring? Pope vs Trump. April 15th and history.

2026-04-15T16:00:00.005-05:00

Blue wave? Justice Alito retiring? Pope vs Trump. April 15th and history.

The ‘can’t score’ Democrats

2026-04-15T07:00:00.004-05:00

The ‘can’t score’ Democrats:

Democrats don’t appear able to hit a teed-up ball.

Maybe part of the problem is that they can’t speak two words without bashing Trump. On Iran, they can’t deny the risk of a nuclear Iran run by fanatics, but they just don’t like that Trump is cleaning up the mess. On illegal immigration, they agree that Biden left the border unprotected, but they can’t say anything more imaginative than call for “immigration reform.” On affordability, it’s all about making the rich, or the mean corporations, pay their fair share. On everything, it’s Trump’s fault, rather than propose a credible alternative that voters between San Francisco and Washington D.C. can understand.

So let’s see what happens, but don’t bet on any wave coming. It may be like Texas days when it looks like rain, but the drops don’t fall.

Click to read:

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

April 15, 1947 or the day that Jackie Robinson & Dodgers changed baseball

2026-04-15T02:30:00.001-05:00

On this day in 1947, baseball changed when Jackie Robinson opened the season playing first base with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson turned into one of the key players in those Dodgers’ teams that won the NL pennant in 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1956. The Dodgers finally beat the Yankees in the 1955 World Series. Along t he way, he won the 1949 National League MVP.

Before he broke with Brooklyn, Robinson and his teammates spent spring training in Cuba in 1947. It gave many Cuban fans a chance to see the man who would open the door to so many players from the island. This is how Cesar Brioso recalls the moment:

The overflow crowd spilled into foul territory where ropes cordoned off fans from the field of play. Beyond the outfield wall, those who failed to gain entrance climbed the light towers for a glimpse of the contest.
The decisive game of the Cuban League season riveted the packed house at Havana’s El Gran Stadium on Feb. 25, 1947, but Cuban fans briefly diverted their attention to acknowledge the presence of a special guest.
After Jackie Robinson was introduced over the public-address system, “he took bows to the wild shouting of 38,000 jabbering fans,” Sam Lacy wrote in the Baltimore Afro-American 75 years ago, pointing out that several members of the Brooklyn Dodgers sitting in the same reserved section “were hardly noticed.”

The Cuban fans anticipated the historic moment. First, they were knowledge of major league baseball, Secondly, they knew that Jackie was ready to jump from AAA to the majors. They knew that history would be made in a few weeks.

Of course, Jackie was followed by black Cuban baseball players, from Orestes Minoso to the many others.

Happy Jackie Robinson Day.

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. This is Ed Henry's book:

April 15, 2007: MLB started the tradition of wearing # 42 for Jackie Robinson

2026-04-15T02:00:00.001-05:00

Back in 2007, MLB celebrated the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson starting for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The Padres played the Dodgers on ESPN. It was a special night. Every Dodger was wearing # 42. They've been wearing # 42 every April 15th since to remember Robinson.

During the game, Jon Miller and Joe Morgan spoke with Mrs. Robinson. She looked great and as upbeat as ever.

Of course, we forget that Jackie died young. I was reminded of this by watching an old video from the '72 World Series (his last public appearance) and reading Taking a Bat to Prejudice By George Will:

"By 1956, Robinson's last season, he had lost his second-base position to Jim Gilliam, a black man. Robinson died of diabetes-related illnesses in 1972, at 53, the same age Babe Ruth was when he died. Ruth reshaped baseball; Robinson's life still reverberates through all of American life. As Martin Luther King Jr., who was 18 in 1947, was to say, Robinson was "a sit-inner before sit-ins, a freedom rider before freedom rides."

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1947: Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers

2026-04-15T01:00:00.000-05:00

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson broke “the color line”, or he became the first black man to put on major league uniform. He played first base that day for the Brooklyn Dodgers and went 0 for 3 at the plate.

Robinson achieved two great things in his brilliant career.

On the field, he was one of the key players for the Dodgers who won five NL pennants and the 1955 World Series.

In 1949, Robinson, now playing second, was the National League’s Most Valuable Player.

In 1950, he became the Dodgers’ highest paid player ($35,000).

In 1955, Robinson led Brooklyn to its only World Series victory.

He retired with a .311 average, 1,518 hits, 137 HR and a .409 On Base Pct.

It got him elected to the Hall of Fame in 1962.

We also remember him for being the man that he was:

Robinson stood up for equal rights even before he did so in baseball. He was arrested and court-martialed during training in the Army for refusing to move to the back of a segregated bus. He was eventually acquitted of the charges and received an honorable discharge.

After baseball. Jackie Robinson continued working for civil rights.

Back in 2013, in anticipation of the movie 42, Michael Long wrote about Jackie Robinson’s post-baseball life:

After integrating baseball, Robinson became a full-fledged leader in the civil rights movement. As a board member of the NAACP, he traveled across the country in an effort to build morale among African Americans fighting for racial justice in their local communities.

And as a friend of Martin Luther King Jr., Robinson helped to lead civil rights campaigns in Albany (Ga.) and Birmingham. While in Albany, he was so moved by the efforts of black parishioners to register African-American voters — despite the fact that their church had been burned to the ground — that he offered to raise enough money to rebuild several torched churches.

In 1964, Robinson then founded Freedom National Bank in Harlem as a protest against white financial institutions that discriminated against African Americans by denying them loans or setting interest rates artificially high.

And while he criticized Harlem resident Malcolm X for advocating racial separatism and the use of “any means necessary,” Robinson saved his harshest public criticism for white politicians, including Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and Richard Nixon, when they hesitated, as they often did, to advance civil rights legislation.

These few examples of Robinson’s post-baseball life can help us begin to understand a claim he made in 1968: “I think I’ve become much more aggressive since I left baseball.” Coming from a man who stole home plate in the 1955 World Series, this claim gives us some indication of the importance he attributed to his baseball life.

What fueled Robinson’s aggression after baseball? No doubt, deadly violence against civil rights activists played a role. But if we dig a bit deeper, we can see that he was especially driven by his long-held belief that the people of God have an obligation to “set the captive free.”
Thanks to religious mentors, especially his mother Mallie, Robinson embraced a social gospel that called for freedom and justice right here and right now.

My last recollection of Jackie Robinson was during the 1972 World Series. He was honored on the 25th anniversary of his first game with the Dodgers. He looked weak, spoke very softly and died a few weeks later.

Jackie Robinson was consequential stealing home and in everything else that we remember today. A great American of the 20th century!

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President Lincoln died the morning of April 15, 1865

2026-04-15T00:15:00.001-05:00

Lincoln died April 15, 1865: The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: A Book of Quotations......

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We remember Elizabeth Montgomery (1933-95)

2026-04-15T00:06:00.000-05:00

We remember Elizabeth Montgomery who was born in Los Angeles on this day in 1933. She died in 1995.

Back in the 1960's, she was Samantha, the lovable housewife-witch on "Bewitched", a very popular TV series.

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Tax day with George Harrison

2026-04-15T00:03:00.004-05:00

It is remarkable but the top 20% pay 95% of the federal income taxes.

Question # 1: What about the 80%?

Question # 2: Aren't we hearing again that the GOP wants to cut taxes for the rich? Did the IRS get that memo?

We need tax reform. We need to throw out the current tax code and replace it with a national sales tax or something that requires everybody, including the "yes we can" screamers, to pay taxes.

In other words, the US should be more like Texas!

No income taxes!

Here is "Taxman" by The Beatles!

April 15, 1865: "Now he belongs to the ages"

2026-04-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

We recall April 15th or one of the saddest days of US history.

On Friday, April 14th, President and Mrs. Lincoln, accompanied by Clara Harris and Maj. Henry R. Rathbone, entered Ford’s Theatre for the performance of “Our American Cousin” featuring Laura Keene. It was a popular comedy of its time. By all accounts, the President was in good spirits and ready for a night of relaxation.

Otto Eisenschiml wrote that the shots were fired at around 10:15 pm. (In the Shadow of Lincoln’s Death (New York: Funk, 1940).

Shortly after, the President was moved across the street to William Petersen's home. He was placed in a small room at the rear of hall on the first floor.

Mrs. Lincoln and the surgeons stayed with the President all night. VP Johnson dropped in for a visit around 2 am.

Dr. Charles S. Taft observed that the President stopped breathing “at 7:21 and 55 seconds in the morning of April 15th, and 7:22 and 10 seconds his pulse ceased to beat.” (Eisenschiml)

After some silence, Secretary Stanton said: “Now he belongs to the ages“.

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