Alan Hutchen: NFL 1983- The Story of The 1983 Los Angeles Raiders

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Rik Schneider
NFL's Bad Boys

NFL’s Bad Boys

Source: Alan Hutchen: NFL 1983- The Story of The 1983 Los Angeles Raiders

I believe the 1983 Los Angeles Raiders represent everything that their creator Al Davis dreamed of on both sides of the ball. His football philosophy was all about pressure and toughness on both sides of the ball. He believed that you literally beat the hell out of your opponents on both sides of the ball to beat them. I mean you look at that defense with Howie Long and Lyle Alzado as your defensive ends. Howie Long, arguably being the best all around defensive end and perhaps defensive lineman of the 1980s.

And then you have Bill Pickel and Reggie Kinlaw inside. Who were both stout against the run and rush the quarterback as well. And then the linebackers, you’re talking Ted Hendricks, perhaps the best all around outside linebacker of all-time. Pro Bowler Matt Millen inside, Rod Martin on the other side, who perhaps should be in the Hall of Fame as well. They had two cover corner in Lester Hays and Mike Haynes. Most teams are lucky to have one.

Man for man, I believe the Raiders were better in 83 than the Chicago Bears were in 85. You argue about the numbers and stats, but I believe the 83 Raiders and the versatility of their linebackers were better than the Bears linebackers who were primarily blitzers and run stuffers. But teams don’t win the Super Bowl just with a great defense. You need at least to have a good offense that moves the ball and puts up points and doesn’t turn the ball over on a regular basis and makes the job of your defense even harder.

And the Raiders in 83 had more than that led by quarterback Jim Plunkett and the great tailback Marcus Allen. One of the top 5-10 all around running backs of all-time. And they had tight end Todd Christiansen and the great Cliff Branch on the outside as a receiver. A big strong offensive line with Bruce Davis, Charley Hannah, Mickey Marvin, Dave Dalby, who was part of all three Raiders Super Bowl championships and Henry Lawrence. Big strong mobile offensive line that was great in the running and passing games.

To me at least the 1983 Los Angeles Raiders represent what the Raiders of the 1980s should have been. They were poised and ready to replace the Pittsburgh Steelers from the 1970s as the dominant team in the NFL and I believe were in better shape and had better personal than the 1980s San Francisco 49ers who became the team of the 1980s in the NFL. And you can’t call the 1980s Raiders a failure since they did win two Super Bowls and made the AFC Playoffs five times and won three division championships. A great decade for most clubs in the NFL, but the Raiders actually underachieved.

Al Davis, almost ruined Marcus Allen’s career and not allowing his coaches to use him in the way they should which was as their premier player on offense. And they were never able to replace an aging Jim Plunkett at QB. I mean the reason why the NFC won thirteen straight Super Bowls in the 1980s and 90s, was because post-83 the Raiders slipped and became a team that was just fighting to make the playoffs every year. With the Denver Broncos taking the lead in the AFC West over the Raiders. But for one season in 83 we got to see how great the 1980s Raiders could have been.

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Marilyn Monroe History: AMC Backstory: The Making Of The Seven Year Itch

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Erik Schneider
Tom Ewell & Marilyn Monroe

Tom Ewell & Marilyn Monroe

Source:The Daily Review

The Seven Year Itch is not one of my favorite movies. It’s a very good funny movie that is at least ten-years ahead of its time, but it’s not one of my favorites. But what I think I like most about it is that it’s a 1950s movie that takes on the 1950s. Here is this country called the United States of America that’s supposed to be this great land of freedom and everything and yet Americans back then weren’t free to be Americans. They couldn’t be themselves and didn’t have the freedom to be who they were and talk about what they were interested in and live their own lives for fear of censorship. And perhaps not being able to find jobs if they were who they actually were and moved away from the 1950s culturally conservative box where all Americans were supposed to be the same way.

Sex and adultery and of course humor about those things, of course they went on back then. They just weren’t done in public at least on TV and in films. The Seven Year Itch changed that by bringing out adultery and sex in the public. To show how men act and what they think about when their wife is out-of-town and they’re home alone and there’s a hot sexy women nearby whose very friendly. And who would essentially let the guy do whatever he wants with her, because she’s open to practically anything. The Seven Year Itch didn’t end the culturally conservative bubble of the 1950s. But it did show Americans that these things happen even though everyone knew that and that there wasn’t anything wrong with talking about it. The political correctness movement back then was basically dominated by what would be called the Christian-Right today and The Seven Year Itch took them on.

You could have a man with the most beautiful wife possible, who loves her and loves his kids and doesn’t want to lose them, or his wife. But we all think about other women especially hot sexy women like Marilyn Monroe, or anyone else and when our girlfriend, or wife is not there for whatever reason like perhaps visiting family out-of-town and another hot sexy women comes into the picture and she’s very friendly and shows an interest in him, or course the guy is going to think about her. And throw out ideas like, “I’ll have her over for one drink, who’ll be hurt by it? I’ll invite her out for dinner. It will be very neighborly. Besides my wife will never know anyway.” And that is what the Tom Ewell character does in this movie. He essentially fantasizes about what would life be like with another beautiful women.

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Real Time With Bill Maher: Richard Dawkins: Regressive Leftists

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Derik Schneider
Champion of Free Speech

Champion of Free Speech

Source:The Daily Review

I believe Sam Harris’s term regressive leftists is perfect. I mean if you call yourself a Liberal, but you don’t believe in free speech, just speech that you agree with that some collective has decided is appropriate speech, in other words collective speech, you’re not progressive and not a Liberal. But you’re regressive and perhaps collectivist, or statist would be a more appropriate political label for you. Being a Liberal whose against free speech would be like being a Conservative whose against free enterprise. Well, if you’re against free enterprise, you would be a Marxist, which is a hell of a lot different from being a Conservative. Or being a Catholic who doesn’t believe in God. A quarterback who doesn’t believe in the passing game. Well then what the hell are you doing as a quarterback?

The New-Left in America, which is what we are really talking about here when it comes to regressive leftists, has this far out on Mars one month-long of nothing but marijuana type of trip that Muslims and other minorities aren’t subjected to criticism in America. Even though they live in America where we have a Constitution with the first amendment to it being our First Amendment (surprise, surprise) that guarantees our Freedom of Speech. That can’t be taken away from us, because some political correctness tight ass who apparently has nothing better to do with their time than to protect all minorities from criticism, disagrees with what’s being said. If you don’t believe in free speech whether it’s about Muslims, Christians, or anyone else, America might not be the country for you.

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Benjamin Katzef Sliberstein: Sorry Leftist Americans, Your Swedish Utopia Does Not Exist

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Rik Schneider
Social Democracy of Sweden

Social Democracy of Sweden

Source:The New Democrat 

Imagine a county about the size of Turkey in land, but with only about nine-million people, that is not just energy independent, but exports a lot of their natural resources, that is also social democratic in nature when it comes to their politics. You have a country like that and you’ll have a very socialist country in the sense that you’ll have a lot of welfare state benefits that are funded through your large energy sector and private enterprise economy. Sweden, is a social democracy, because they tend to be social democratic when it comes to their politics and they can afford to be socialist. Especially compared with even Germany to their south that has a lot more people and imports a lot of their energy. Not because there’s some magic to the welfare state and government giving people a lot of social services.

When a politician, or political candidate tells you that they want to give you a lot of free government services, ask them if they are also going to give you a free beach house in North Dakota with a great ocean view. Also ask them how much are they going to have pay for their free government services. Which I know is sort of like asking a four-hundred pound gluten who can barely walk, because they’re so fat, how skinny are you. Or asking a blind person how well can they see. But that’s just it, because there’s no such thing as free government services. Even people on Welfare and public assistance who aren’t working, or going to end up at least paying back some of the money they received when they weren’t working assuming they go back to work. Everything that government does for people comes with a price. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, or free government services.

If America was energy independent and we had kept our infrastructure system up to date and our entire country was full developed and we didn’t have a Bible Belt that was so poor compared with the Midwest, Northeast and West Coast, then maybe I would consider thinking about considering democratic socialism as the economic model for America. Not exactly going out on a limb I know, but I’m not impressed with democratic socialism as a political ideology. But the simple fact is we can’t afford democratic socialism as an economic model. What we need to be doing instead is encouraging more people to work with better education’s and getting good jobs and becoming as economically independent as possible. While still leaving in place a safety net for people who truly need it.

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A&E: Investigative Reports- JFK’s Sexual Appetite

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Erik Schneider
JFK's Women

Source:The New Democrat– Two of JFK’s women?

Source:The New Democrat

1960 might have been the last time that John F. Kennedy could have even ran for president. Even if he lived a normal life in years, because by 1968 or so the media was no longer afraid to investigate and report on the personal lives of politicians.

Jack Kennedy doesn’t get elected president if his affairs had got out, but not just the affairs, but where the affairs took place like under his wife’s nose and in the same house where Jackie was then, but also because of the connections that his affairs had. Judith Campbell, for example being a girlfriend of Sam Giancana. The Kennedy Family including Jack, was already linked with the Italian Mafia in America and not just because of the efforts of the Kennedy Administration to crack down on organized crime, but they were friendly as well.

Senator Kennedy doesn’t win Illinois during the 1960 presidential election without Chicago and he doesn’t win Chicago without the Italian Mafia there. The early 1960s was really the last time that national politicians could get away with lets side affairs and shady deals before someone not just knew about it, but then reported it as well.

President Kennedy probably gets reelected in 1964, but unless his lifestyle changed his second administration would have been hell for him. Because these affairs would have gotten out and you have heard rumblings at least even in a Democratic Congress that it might be time to remove the President, because of the dangerous lifestyle that he lived and the potential blackmail that came with these irresponsible affairs.

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LA Progressive: W.J. Rorabaugh: ‘Hippies Won The Culture War’

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Derik Schneider

Hippies

Source:LA Progressive– 1960s Hippies and American freedom fighters.

Source:The Daily Review

“As blue jeans, beards, body adornments, natural foods, legal marijuana, gay marriage, and single parenthood have gained acceptance in mainstream American society in recent years, it is now clear that the hippies won the culture wars that were launched nearly fifty years ago. It was in the mid-1960s that one of America’s oddest social movements, the hippies, suddenly appeared.”

From LA Progressive

“The New Culture Forum’s brand new publication “The Long March Through The Institutions: How the Left Won the Culture War” may be downloaded free of charge from our website:The New Culture Forum…

The Long March Through the Institutions_ How the Left Won the Culture War & What To Do About It

Source:The New Culture Forum– talking about how Liberals won the Cultural War.

From The New Culture Forum

The one thing That I like about the 1960s culturally other than the music, the movies and Jim Morrison, were the Hippies.

And as much as todays so-called Progressives claim to love the Hippies and respect them, the Hippies represent the opposite of what today’s so-called Progressive represent.

Hippies, Liberals were true, because they were anti-establishment and pro-individualism. Today’s so-called Progressives, are anti-individualism and pro-big government to the point that they want government to check what people eat, drink and even what we can say to each other with their so-called political correctness movement.

Today’s so-called Progressives are not anti-establishment: to the contrary, they support the biggest establishment in the world: its called the U.S. Government and think it’s too small.

Hippies back in the mid 1960s (let’s say) at least were true Liberals, because they were individualists. They got the memo, or bothered to look at the calendar and figured out that it was no longer 1959 and that the 1950s was finally over. They were born either post-World War II, or during that war and did not remember any of it and decided that they did not have to live their lives of their parents and grandparents.

Hippies knew the 1940s and 1950s was not so swell after all. That mom did not have to stay home and raise the kids, while dad came home every night Between 6-7 and said: “Honey, I’m home! What’s for dinner? I’m starved. Gee, what a day. ” (Or something like that from Leave it to Beaver) Thank God that was before my time. Hippies / Liberals, we’re tired of black and white TV, or sitting around in the living room listening to the radio and were looking for a different lifestyle.

There’s a discussion among historians about when the Counter Culture actually began. Some people say 1965 with the start of the anti-war movement. I point to the 1963 March on Washington as not just one of the most important times and best times in American history, but where you literally had a million people from all over the country from all sorts of races, ethnicities, cultures, lifestyles, who were anti-establishment and were all looking for a better and different America.

If there was one point in history that I wish I was old enough to have been there and experienced it would be the 1963 March on Washington. The dawning of a new America where you had all sorts of different Americans all together at the same place having a good time together and enjoying each other with all sorts of great entertainment groups all together.

These Americans were looking for their own place in America and the freedom to be individuals. And not feel they need to work at their father’s factory, or his company, or get married and stay home and raise kids.

If you were a women back then while your husband went to work and earned a living for his wife and kids. Gays came out of the closet in the thousands in the 1960s. And according to the Christian-Right, America has-been going to hell ever since. As they’ve forgotten one of their own commandments: “Love your neighbor as yourself own.” In other words: treat others as you would treat yourself. Show respect to the other people as you want to be respected. These values are mainstream today, but fifty years ago America was going through, well a Cultural Revolution.

Romantic couples having pre-marital sex, living together before they were married. Perhaps better known as domestic partnerships, unmarried couples raising their kids together, homosexuality, marijuana, women working and managing business’s, men who cooked and spent a lot of time with their kids, marijuana, I mean all of these things are mainstream today. (More examples of why the Christian-Right believes America is going to hell)

But these cultural changes were started back in 1963 and then a mid-1960s by the people who were literally trying to change America if not the world. Not the New-Left from the late 1960s that literally wanted a different form of government for the United States and a completely different economic system and force democratic socialism if not communism on the country. The Hippies, wanted to create a new culture in America and new way of life.

The reason why the Hippies and Liberals won the Culture War has nothing to do with new arguments, or these different ways of debating issues. It has to do with the children and grandchildren of the Hippies are now grown up and experienced their parents and grandparents attitudes when it comes to things like tolerance and multiculturalism and integration and have decided that there’s nothing wrong with people living differently as long as they aren’t hurting innocent people with what they’re doing.

They know and are friends of people from other races, ethnicities, cultures, religions and even sexualities and know that they’re good people too. So why put them down, or look down upon them simply for being different from how they Are and how they were born. It took 1-2 generations of people for Liberals to win the Culture War, but we did and America is not going back to the 1950s.

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POLITICO Magazine: Jonathan M. Katz: Roger Milliken- The Man Who Launched The GOP’s Civil War

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Rik Schneider
Roger Milliken

Roger Milliken

Source:The New Democrat

I’ve always seen the Republican Party as a conservative at least in the classical sense of a party that was made of classical Conservatives, or Conservative Libertarians, small l libertarians even like Barry Goldwater. Moderate more pragmatic Conservatives like Bob Dole and a progressive wing that is all, but gone in the GOP now with people like Nelson Rockefeller. And then add the Christian-Right that started coming over to the GOP in the late 1960s and has stayed ever since, as well as Neoconservatives who are beyond hawkish when it comes to foreign policy and national security and along with the Christian-Right they haven’t gotten the message that it’s no longer 1955 and America is sixty-years older now. The Robert Taft/Barry Goldwater wing of the Republican Party has always been there.

The Republican Party just now has a hyper-partisan Far-Right that doesn’t believe in governing and perhaps even government if it means working with Democrats especially a man that they hate in Barack Obama. As partisan as the 1990s was you still had Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott leading the House and Senate Republicans in Congress, who both had a very good working relationship with Democratic President Bill Clinton. And Senate Leader Lott’s case, he had a good working relationship and even personal relationship with then Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. That is all but gone now in the GOP, other than maybe Senate Leader Mitch McConnell who I believe wants to govern and get things done, just as long as his caucus will allow him to.

Other than the emergence of the Christian-Right and the Neoconservatives, I don’t believe the GOP has changed a lot ideologically. What has changed has been their approach to politics and how they work in Congress. Where people who would backbenchers thirty-years ago like Representative Steve King and Senator Ted Cruz, are now seen as leaders in the Republican Party with real influence. Senator Cruz’s influence seems to be dying now where Mitch McConnell no longer seems concern with him and what he might do. But you still have about sixty, or more Republicans in the House that can be the difference in whether or not bills get passed over there. Which is why Speaker John Boehner has gone over to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to pick up votes on bills that have to be passed. Like government funding bills and the debt ceiling.

I believe what has really changed about the Republican Party is that they’re a lot more partisan. And because of the New Right they’ve moved further right, where fighting big government is no longer alway their biggest issue. But using government to influence even through force how Americans live their own lives. That sees personal freedom and even individualism as dangerous things now. Once you move away from Christianity, the 2nd Amendment and political advertising. And these changes are bad enough when you have a divided country politically with divided government, but you still have issues that need to be worked on and agreements that have to be made between the Republican Leadership and Democratic Leadership for the government to get its work done and do the things that we need it to do.

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Mysteries & Scandals: James Dean

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Derik Schneider
Rebel Without a Cause

Rebel Without a Cause

Source:The Daily Review

I guess I sort of see James Dean as the male version of Jayne Mansfield. (No, I’m not trying to be insulting) As a very talented entertainer, but someone who lacked personal discipline and self-confidence. I believe another good comparison to Jim Dean would be Jim Morrison. Again, talented entertainer who got as most out of their young lives as they could until they died. The Lizard King, was an alcoholic and probably addicted to illegal drugs as well and Dean was more of an adrenaline junky I guess who was always moving fast and couldn’t slow down. A Rebel Without a Cause, a famous movie. but it could be the biography of Jimmy Dean. He was way ahead of time culturally and when it came to style. Was probably born ten years too early as far as the lifestyle that he lived.

I’m not an expert on James Dean, but the information I’ve seen on him is that he’s a pop culture superstar. People love him, because he was cool. I mean lets face it, he died at 24 and had just three film credits under his belt. Not exactly a deep resume to go on and to judge his life by. People like Dean because he was cool, he was real, he was honest, he played himself in his movies, he seemed like he wasn’t acting, but being a real person instead. In many ways reminds me of the great actress Kim Novak who had the ability to literally become the person that she was playing. She also had some luck there, because a lot of the roles she had were very similar to who she was in real-life. Jim Dean is a lot like that, but of course without as deep of a resume. So there’s a lot to like about Dean and easy to see why so many people still love him.

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Ayn Rand Institute: ‘James McConnell- Interviews Ayn Rand About the New Intellectual (1961)’

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Ederik Schneider

The New Democrat_ Ayn Rand Institute_ 'James McConnell- Interviews Ayn Rand About the New Intellectual (1961)'

Source:Ayn Rand Institute– objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand, being interviewed by James McConnell, in 1961.

Source: The New Democrat 

“In this interview, which took place upon publication of For the New Intellectual, Ayn Rand discusses the nature of cultural leadership, the influence of Plato, Aquinas and Kant, the creeping mysticism infecting science and the lengthy process by which individuals become the “new intellectuals” of tomorrow.

Recorded May 15, 1961.”

From the Ayn Rand Institute

Ayn Rand

Source:The New Democrat– objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand in the 1960s.

One thing I would give Ayn Rand credit for is her consistency. She believed the same things when she became well-known in the 1940s or so all the way up until she died. We agree when it comes to individual freedom that people should have the power to live their own lives and not be interfered with government as long as they aren’t hurting any innocent person. This is something that Liberals have in common with Libertarians and Objectivists.

But I guess the reason why objectivism has never caught on anywhere in the world and why libertarianism has just become a major movement in America and Canada in the last ten years or so is because even though a lot of people tend to believe in both personal economic freedom now, we also tend at least in America believe in a public safety net for people who truly need it.

Canada and Europe, are a bit different where they don’t believe that individuals should be left to take care of themselves and go further than just a social insurance system, which is what a safety net is. And have welfare states there to meet the basic needs of the people. Mixed in with private enterprise to fund those social programs and a good deal of personal freedom as well. As least for a social democracy.

I like to call Americans Classical Liberals, or Social Liberals at least in the sense that we go further when it comes to both personal and economic freedom then Social Democrats. But one thing that separates us from Libertarians is that again we want a safety net for people who truly need it. Not a welfare state to manage people’s economic affairs for them. But social insurance for people who truly hit hard times.

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NFL Films: NFL 1983: The Story of The 1983 NFL Season

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Rik Schneider
Jim, John & Dan

Jim, John & Dan

Source:The Daily Review

I believe the story of 1983 when it comes to the NFL is the explosion of the passing age and revolution in the NFL. The NFL was moving away from ball control power football where you run the ball 3-5 times or more even when defenses are looking for that and pass only to keep the defense somewhat honest and give them something else to think about. (And perhaps give your running backs a break) To an era where if teams didn’t throw more than they ran, they were balanced at least and had both a good running game and a passing game. The 1980s was a great decade for the quarterback. It was a time when they weren’t just the most important player on the team, but now they were stars putting up all sorts of great stats.

The 1980s was a decade for the NFL where you saw a lot of great quarterbacks including three that were all drafted in 1983 that are now in the Hall of Fame. Of course Dan Marino, John Elway and Jim Kelly. But you had other great quarterbacks that were drafted pre-83 that are also in the Hall of Fame. Dan Fouts and the quarterback of the 1980s Joe Montana. Eric Dickerson, one of the top 3-5 running backs of all-time and I believe the best running back in the 1980s at least far as running the ball was drafted in 1983 by the Anaheim Rams (as I call them). Running back Curt Warner, was also drafted in 1983 and without the injuries he’s probably in the Hall of Fame as well. And great receivers like Mark Clayton, Mark Duper, both from the Miami Dolphins, Art Monk the best receiver other than Jerry Rice in that era, was a big part of the 1980s as well.

The NFL was moving away from power run ball control possession passing with the occasional threat of a deep pass, to an era that threw the ball everywhere. Short, middle and deep and threw the ball a lot. It was a passing decade with at least two different types of passing games that were prominent in that decade. The possession passing game of the San Francisco 49ers, perhaps better known as the West Coast Offense. And what I call at least the Vertical Spread Offense. Where you’re always looking deep on every pass play, but you work the whole field with multiple receivers and force the defense to cover the whole field against you. Which was run by the Los Angeles Raiders that won the Super Bowl in 1983 and the San Diego Chargers.

But this is all before you get to the two great teams of 1983 that played in the Super Bowl. By far the two most consistent teams in 1983 that of course being the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington Redskins. Both teams had great offenses that scored a lot of points both through the air and on the ground. But the Raiders were dominant on defense and simply punished teams on defense with their two press corners Lester Hays and Mike Haines, plus they could get to the quarterback with just their DL. And they could add in outside linebacker Ted Hendricks. (Arguably the best all around OLB of all-time) And the Redskins simply struggled on offense most of that game and had a hard time dealing with the Raiders speed on defense.

Not that defense was non-existent in the NFL in 1983, (Roger Goodell wasn’t Commissioner yet) but the story of the 1983 NFL season was all the new offense in the league. The great passing games, all the points, every good team in the NFL that year every good team seemed to have at least one great running back and a great wide receiver and at least a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback. You had several great offensive minds leading their teams and still leading their teams. Like Don Coryell with the Chargers, Tom Flores with the Raiders, Joe Gibbs with the Redskins, Bill Walsh with the 49ers and several others. I believe 1983 is where we really see the influence of the American Football League on the NFL and it made it a great all around season for the league.

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