BIO: Journey Into Evil- The Charles Manson Story

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Erik Schneider

Source:FRS FreeState

A lot can be said about Charles Manson most of it bad. I mean he was the leader of one of the most evil crime families that America has ever seen. And this wasn’t a crime family that was built around enriching themselves financially off the backs of people who’ve made it in life. But a crime family that was built around destroying the establishment essentially. That if you were successful in life, especially if you were a successful Caucasian-American in society in the Los Angeles area and Charlie Manson knew about you and could get to you, you were a potential target of the Manson Family.

If you were on the Manson Crime Family’s hit list, they were not going to take what you earned in life. They weren’t after the wealth, but the person themselves. That the establishment was the problem in America. And Charlie Manson had this fantasy that if all of these wealthy people were murdered, that these murders would get blamed on African-Americans in Los Angeles. And that Caucasians would be so mad by this, that it would unite some type of race war between Caucasians and Africans in Southern California. This sounds crazy, but that’s the fantasy that Manson had. But what he didn’t realize apparently as well as several other things, that he was in California not Alabama. And race wars just didn’t happen there. People in LA learned to live with each other.

Charlie Manson’s life was tragic enough and to a certain extent society was partially to blame for this. With the way Manson was raised. But the bigger tragedy was, its one thing to destroy your own life, but its another to destroy others. And his family members are responsible for their actions in the Manson Family. But without Charlie Manson the Manson Crime Family never gets created and he targeted young adults in the late 1960s to join his family and show them another way of living.

Manson gave his members what they were missing in life, in exchange for doing Charlie’s evil business. Do the deeds that Manson didn’t have the guts to do on his own, which is murder people. And thank God most people don’t have the guts to murder people, or this would be a much different country. Thats how the Manson Family operated and how they were able to be in business. Charlie Manson was sentenced to prison for the last time in his life in 1970 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder of the people his family murdered.

Charlie been in prison ever since and will never leave prison for what he did. Nor should he, because he’s clearly not rehabilitated. And even the California corrections system recognizes this. But he’s lucky in once sense to even be a live for the murders he’s responsible for. Had the death penalty not have been outlawed in 1973, Charlie and his followers would be dead right now. Probably executed by the late 1970s and early 1980s. And how his members, most of the women anyway have turned out and conducted themselves while in prison and are now rehabilitated, that may have been a tragedy. But Charlie is still the same person he’s always been as an adult.

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MASH: ‘Goodbye, Farewell & Amen (1983)’

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Derik Schneider

MASH Goodbye-Last Day At The 4077th

Source:Dylan Hollingsworth– Left to right: Alan Alda & Mike Farrell as Captain’s Benjamin Pierce and B.J. Hunnicutt.

“MASH Goodbye-Last Day At The 4077th”

From Dylan Hollingsworth

“Last Day of filming”

Last Day of filming

Source:SASSA– Henry Morgan as Colonial Sherman Potter.

From SASSA

As the people who created and written the last episode of MASH said, this just wasn’t a comedy. And as funny as the rest of its episodes. But MASH was never a pure comedy to begin with. It was a show about the Korean War and America’s involvement in it. And handled a lot of life and death serious issues, but did it with a lighter touch.

As character Captain Trapper McEntire put it (played by Wayne Rogers) who was joking around in surgery one day as he was operating on someone and his nurse said: “Do you always have joke around while you’re performing surgery?” The Captain said: “Yes, because it his what keeps me sane around all of this insanity and death that is this war”. That is what MASH was about: Humans trying to do their best under horrible, traumatic, conditions.

Humor, is a form of communication. And a way a lot of people, funny people, or people with good sense of humors at least, use to express how they’re feeling. And it can come out at anytime and be used appropriately and inappropriately.

MASH, didn’t use humor to make the Korean War look any lighter and less serious than it was. But to show how horrible and crazy of a situation that a lot of America’s Army personal had to work under as part of their service in that war.

I think I would go crazy if I had to work under those conditions with a complete straight face all the time. I think I would have a better shot at keeping my sanity in solitary confinement for ten straight years, then to try to save lives while people are being killed around me and innocent people are being killed.

This last episode was about the last days of the Korean War. A peace agreement between America and the Communist North was being worked out. And the personal at this MASH unit were waiting for the word and being told that they can go home. And how people who’ve spent a year or two-years or perhaps the whole damn war together, how they would say goodbye to each other. And get ahold of each other when they’re back in the states.

This episode wasn’t a pure comedy, but again MASH never was. But what it was, was a realistic look at how Army personal enlisted and draftees perform at an Army medical hospital during the middle of a war. Trying to save as many lives as they possibly can while so many people around them are being killed in battle. And they did a hell of a job.

You can also see this post at FreeState MD, on Blogger.

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CNN: Mike Huckabee- Announcing For President For 2016

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Rik Schneider
Attachment-1-1516

Source: CNN

Source:CNN

Well I give this to Mike Huckabee, here’s a Republican with true blue- collar appeal. Because that is how he grew up and was raised and where he’s from. Similar to Rick Santorum, but the problem that both the Governor and Senator Santorum have, is that their blue-collar support is only in the Republican Party. And within the Christian-Right of the Republican Party at that. I mean imagine Mike Huckabee as the 2016 GOP presidential nominee. And also imagine Alabama declaring Islam as their state religion, which has just as big of a chance, while you’re at it. What state north of Florida and south of Virginia could Mike Huckabee win. What state east of the Great Plains and west of California could Governor High and All Mighty Jesus win?

There are still a enough sane and smart Republicans left to prevent someone from the Far-Right of their party from winning their presidential nomination. And without gerrymandering in the House of Representatives, the GOP wouldn’t be in the majority in the House right now. And yes a lot of the Far-Right is in the House, but that is thanks to gerrymandering. Not because they’re great politicians and public servants. You can say the 1960s and 1990s ruined America all you want and its time to return America back to the 1950s and party like its 1955 all you want to. With a lot of our personal cultural freedom being thrown out in the trash all you want. But the part of America that The Huckster represents is all but dead now.

Americans by in large are comfortable with women working and working well and being paid well. We’re comfortable as a country with romantic couples who are not married living together and even having kids. We’re comfortable in most cases regardless of race, ethnicity and religion living and being around Americans of other races, ethnicities and religion. We are no longer a predominant Anglo-Saxon Protestant nation, but a nation that represents the world and have the whole world living here. And we’re also by in large comfortable with not just homosexuality, but even gay marriage. Because most Americans are smart enough to know that what people do in their private lives is exactly that. And not the business of big government.

So yeah, Mike Huckabee will be a lot of fun for bloggers, comedians and reporters to talk and blog about. And the Governor is a bit of a comedian himself with a good sense of humor and maybe he’s running for the fun of it. But what’s the point of his campaign? How does he appeal to young Republicans who tend to come from the Rand Paul conservative libertarian wing of the party. And are not interested in how Americans live their own personal lives. And certainly don’t want big government involved in their lives. And how does he appeal to the business Republicans who are interested in economic and security issues and don’t concern themselves with social issues generally. Again The Huckster will be a lot of fun in 2015-16. But that won’t be enough for him to win the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

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Robert Wise: I Want To Live (1958) Starring Susan Hayward As Barbara Graham

Posted on May 4, 2015 by kireschneider

I Want to Live!

Source:Turner Classic Movies– Susan Hayward as Barbara Graham.

“In 1950 San Francisco, vivacious petty criminal Barbara Ward is caught by the vice squad in a hotel room with a married man who brought her over the state line. To prevent the man’s arrest, Barbara willingly accepts a misdemeanor solicitation charge.

After serving a brief jail term, Barbara returns to her hometown of San Diego and resumes a life of revelry with her best friend, Peg. One evening, two friends from San Francisco visit Barbara to plead with her to provide them with an alibi for a robbery they committed. Nervous about their continual brushes with the law, Peg tells Barbara she cannot continue with their lifestyle and the friends part amicably. Barbara provides the men with a false alibi, but soon after is convicted of perjury and sentenced to a year in prison.

Upon her release, Barbara returns to soliciting and passing bad checks. One evening, bartender Henry “Hank” Graham tips Barbara off to an undercover policeman at his bar, then later introduces the grateful, unemployed Barbara to an acquaintance, thief Emmett Perkins. Perkins offers Barbara a steady job as his “shill,” bringing in unsuspecting men to fleece at his gambling parlor.”

From Turner Classic Movies 

“I Want to Live! Trailer – Directed by Robert Wise and starring Susan Hayward, Simon Oakland, Virginia Vincent, Theodore Bikel, Wesley Lau. The film tells the story of the life and execution of Barbara Graham, a prostitute, drug addict, and convicted perjurer.”

I Want To Live

Source:Movie Clips Classic Trailers– Susan Hayward as Barbara Graham.

From Movie Clips Classic Trailers

I saw this movie today in preparation for this post. Thank you, TCM! This movie is about the adult life and criminal career of Barbara Graham. And this movie gives perhaps the most positive light possible of a career criminal Barbara Graham, who before she was convicted of murder, the most serious crime she was ever convicted as far as actually hurting another person was check forgery. Not to put down check forgery and to make it look anything other than what it is which is, a serious economic crime, that has to be treated seriously with serious consequences for offenders who commit this crime. But Graham, was an economic criminal, not a terrorist, or violent criminal. But she did hang out with people like that.

If I knew nothing about this case before I saw this very good movie with the gorgeous and adorable, great actress Susan Hayward as the lead in the movie playing Barbara Graham, I would say that Graham didn’t deserve the death penalty. And if I was a judge on this case or the Governor of California back when the case was going on, I would’ve commuted her sentence to life without, or life with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years.

I think there is actual doubt in whether Graham is guilty of this murder, but I haven’t seen anything that suggests that she’s innocent either. But even if I believed she was guilty, I would still give her life without or second degree murder.

Barbara Graham, was no angel. She just looked like one and was a career criminal, but a small time economic criminal at worst. Someone who wrote bad checks, prostitution, doing and perhaps using illegal narcotics. But she wasn’t again violent criminal, at least in the sense that she made a career out of physically hurting people.

Even if Barbara Graham did commit the murder that she was convicted of, life without parole or twenty-five to life would’ve given everyone involved the opportunity to prove one way or another where Graham was guilty or not. And again, we’re talking about one murder, which is bad enough, but she wasn’t likely to murder again. At least based on her personality and past. And was someone who society could’ve worked with and even gotten something out of.

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Dyan Cannon & Raquel Welch: The Last of Sheila (1973)

Posted on May 3, 2015 by kireschneider

Raquel & Dyan

Source:The New Democrat – Hollywood Goddesses Raquel Welch and Dyan Cannon, in The Last of Sheila from 1973.

“A year after Sheila is killed in a hit-and-run, her wealthy husband invites a group of friends to spend a week on his yacht playing a scavenger hunt mystery game. The game turns out to be all too real and all too deadly.

Sheila Green (Yvonne Romain) is killed in a hit-and-run car accident while walking home from a party one night. A year later, her multi-millionaire husband, Clinton (James Coburn), invites a group of friends (James Mason, Raquel Welch, Dyan Cannon, Richard Benjamin, Joan Hackett, and Ian McShane) to spend a week with him on his yacht. Clinton loves to play elaborate games and he assigns everyone a secret – one is an alcoholic, another an informer and so on – that they are not to share with anyone. Every day for the next six days, they will call into a port where they will be given clues to discover one person’s secret. The game takes a deadly twist when a murder tales place and it all has to do with the game they have been playing and the secrets that Clinton assigned at the outset.

From IMDB

“Richard Benjamin plays the has-been screenwriter who needs a job – so he spends far too much time sucking up to James Coburn…and he has a few secrets of his own as well…

From John Reiber

The Last of Sheila is a very good movie and very funny, but you take Raquel Welch and Dyan Cannon out of the movie and you have a good movie, but you don’t have the eye-candy that can take a b-movie and make it look like an a-movie, because of the great humor and acting, but the sexuality as well in it.

There are other great scenes in The Last of Sheila, most of them with either Raquel or Dyan in the movie, but the swimsuit edition of the movie with Raquel and Dyan, brings guys into a movie and forces them to watch a soap opera crime story, that most guys at least back in the 1970s wouldn’t be caught dead watching, unless their girlfriend was interested in it, because they would’ve viewed this type of movie as feminine or gay.

You can also see this post at The Daily Times, on WordPress.

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CBS Sports: NFL 1985-Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears: Full Game

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Ederik Schneider

Vikings-Bears
I think at least and I bet a lot of Vikings and Bears fan agree with this, but I believe this is one of the most under appreciated rivalries in the NFL. It is not the Bears-Packers rivalry, or the Vikings-Packers rivalry, but it is at least as good the Packers-Lions rivalry, which use to be a very good rivalry at least. I don’t know if there are two better teams that better represent the old NFC Central, or as ESPN’s Chris Berman called it the NFC Norris Division, play better than the Vikings and Bears. Both teams, are traditionally tough and physical on defense and come right at you on offense. And both teams love to play in cold weather and won a lot of big games in cold weather.

The 1985 Vikings, were a lot different from the traditional Vikings teams that we saw in the 1960s and 70s and the late 1980s. They no longer had the great defense or running game that they could count on. They were a pass first and almost pass all the time team. And the running game they got was from their passing game. And defenses having to respect their passing game a lot. Tommy Kramer, was a very good if not a Pro Bowl quarterback, but not the type of quarterback that could put his team on his back and lead them to championships on his own. He needed a good running game and defense to play their part as well. And the Vikings from 1983-86, missed the NFC Playoffs four straight seasons. Which never happened again until the 2000s. The Vikings missing the playoffs at least four straight seasons. And a big part of that was they no longer had that great defense and running game to complement their powerful passing game.

Teams like the 85 Vikings, played into the Bears 46 Defense perfectly. The Bears were always going after the quarterback with their defensive line and blitzes. And probably blitzed 90% of the time. And if they didn’t have a running game to have to worry about and giving up a big running play on a blitz, it meant they could blitz all the time and attack the quarterback every single play. Remember, the 85 Bears were 18-1 including playoffs and Super Bowl. The only team that beat them in 85 were the Dan Marino Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins had Dan Marino, but they also had a very good offensive line, that could pick up their own man and pick up blitzers on the same play. And they also had 4-5 really good and quick receivers. And could spread the Bears out on defense. And had enough of a running game to keep defenses honest. The Vikings, weren’t that good of a football team.

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Warner Archive: Back to Eternity (1956) Robert Ryan & Anita Ekberg Star

Posted on May 2, 2015 by kireschneider

Source:Warner Archive

This is one of the best soap opera/airplane disaster movies that I at least have ever seen. They set up very well as far as what the crew and passengers are about and why they’re on the plane and what they’re trying to accomplish. You have a couple that wants to get married, trying to get to South America. You have men simply trying to get there to open and be at a new casino there. You have a Nordic goddess, played by the great Anita Ekberg, whose former boyfriend a mobster, is simply trying to get rid of her. And sends her to South America with a lot of money. She essentially has to go, or risk being killed by this mobster. You have a hotshot pilot played by Robert Ryan, who is probably a bit too cocky and doesn’t take all the precautions that he should. And is a reason why the plane crashes.

You have a condemned convicted murderer, who is being extradited to some South American country to be executed, played by the great Rod Steiger. Whose character gets to decide who leaves the jungle and goes back home on the plane once it is fixed and who stays and has to take their chances. Simply because he has the gun and the power. But he knows he’s rotten, or garbage, perhaps you have another word you prefer. And decided the people who are the most unselfish and the people who are the best in the group will leave on the plane. And people who are closest to him as far as goodness, I guess and character, will stay with him.

Anita Ekberg, is a goddess and was a goddess in this movie. And she was hot, sexy and really adorable in this movie. But she also plays a big important role as the person who essentially takes over as the parent or guardian of the lone kid on the plane. Whose mobster father has sent him away. She also serves as inspiration for the Captain and Co-Pilot, who aren’t sure they can pull this off and get the back and running. The first seventy-minutes or so of this plane, are really good and interesting. The last twenty other than the killer deciding who gets to stay and go, slows down somewhat. But this is still a very exciting and interesting movie.

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NBC Sports: NFL 1980- AFC Championship- Oakland Raiders @ San Diego Chargers: Full Game

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Derik Schneider

1980 AFC Championship Game - OAK @ SD [FULL GAME]

Source:Raiders Classic– Oakland Raiders QB Jim Plunkett.

“Jim Plunkett and the Raiders go into San Diego and beat Dan Fouts and the Chargers in a wild one to go to the teams 3rd Super Bowl.”

From Raiders Classic

With all due respect to the Air Coryell Chargers, they weren’t a complete all around great football team. They had a great offensive minded head coach in Don Coryell. They had a Hall of Fame quarterback in Dan Fouts and a great passing game with great receivers, Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joyner, John Jefferson and perhaps a few others. And they had a pretty good running game with Chuck Muncie.

This was a team in the late 1970s, through 1987, which was Dan Fouts last season, that scored a lot of points and gained a lot of yards. But gave up almost as many points and yards as they gained. Great teams don’t do that. If they have a great offense, they at least have a good defense to go with it. So they aren’t winning and losing a lot of shootouts. But winning a lot of blowouts. The San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s are a great example of that.

The 1980 Raiders, were a great team, at least in the second half of the season and through the playoffs, including the Super Bowl. Because they could score a lot of points and gain a lot of yards. Both passing and running, but their defense shut teams down.

The Raiders  shut good offenses down, like the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 15. And this first quarter is a great example of that. The Raiders scored 21 points, the Chargers scored a touchdown. But the difference being the Raiders were able to shut down the Chargers in that quarter, even though the Chargers did score a touchdown. And the Chargers, give up three touchdowns in that quarter.

The Raiders, simply matched up very well with the Chargers that season. The Chargers had the great passing game, but the Raiders had a great pass rush and great secondary. They were big and quick on defense and caused a lot problems for the Chargers offense.

And the Raiders had a balanced offense and with the Chargers being prone to giving up a lot of yards both from the pass and run, meant the Raiders could move the ball and score and get the ball back. Which created separation on the scoreboard.

Super Bowl teams, aren’t great on one side of the ball and weak on the other. Even if their strength is on one side of the ball, they’re good enough on the other side to complement their strengths. Which gives them a good team. That was the difference between the Raiders and Chargers in this game.

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NFL Films: NFL 1984-Super Bowl 19-Miami Dolphins vs. San Francisco 49ers: Highlights

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Erik Schneider
Super Bowl 19

Source:NFL Films– 49ers QB Joe Montana, vs the Dolphins defense.

“Mejores jugadas del super tazón Numero 19 (1985)
Best Highlights of Super Bowl Number 19.”

From NFL Films

I remember this game fairly well as a nine-year old who was already sports junky and loved football and football was probably already my favorite sport to watch. I remember looking forward to this game and then watching it. The two best teams in the NFL the Dolphins and 49ers, with the two best quarterbacks in Dan Marino and Joe Montana. And arguably the two best head coaches as well in Don Shula and Bill Walsh. Similar to 1983 with the Redskins and Oakland Raiders, this looked like a real Super Bowl matchup between two great teams. And if you’re familiar with football and this game, you also know that games aren’t played on paper and the game didn’t live up to the billing.

The difference in this Super Bowl, is that the 49ers were truly a great team. On both sides of the ball. They had the best defense in the league in the NFL in 1984. They had a great quarterback, with a lot of good receivers. Dwight Clark, Freddie Solomon, Earl Cooper and others. And a great running game as well. Their running game might have been better than their passing game. If you look at the fact that they had two Pro Bowl running backs in their backfield. In Wendell Tyler and Roger Craig. And that Roger Craig, who should be in the Hall of Fame was also a great receiver and perhaps the 49ers best receiver and a great blocker as well. The 84 49ers, you could make a case that they are the best team of all-time in the NFL.

The 1984 Dolphins, I believe were actually somewhat underrated. They weren’t a one man team with Dan Marino with a great coach in Don Shula. With no running game and no defense. They had a very good offensive line, which allowed Marino to throw the ball as much as he did and gave him the time to throw the ball as well as he did. They did have a running game at least in 84. With Woody Bennet and Tony Nathan. But losing Andra Franklin, who would’ve given them that one lead running back and a power running game was a big lost for them. And without Franklin, they didn’t have that one great running back that could put the team on his shoulders and lead them. And defensively, they gave up a lot of yards on the ground. But teams ran the ball a lot against the Dolphins in 84 to keep the Dolphins offense off the field. And the Dolphins were solid against the pass.

What I think the difference in this game is that the 49ers again were great on both sides of the ball. They ran and threw the ball very well. They had a very good strong and athletic offensive line. That pass and run blocked very well. They had a great QB obviously and also had a great defense. The best defense that the Dolphins saw during the 84 season, was against the 49ers. Who practically shut them down after the first quarter in this game. And then add that the Dolphins didn’t have a lot of speed on defense to matchup with all the 49ers receivers and had a hard time getting to Montana most of the game and the 49ers ran the ball so well in this game, meant the 49ers could move the ball up and down the field in this game. And as a result this game turned into a blowout.

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NBC Sports: NFL 1980-Super Bowl-Oakland Raiders vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Full Game

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Rik Schneider

Super Bowl 15, was a very interesting matchup between two very good football teams. The 1980 Raiders, perhaps one of the most talented teams on both sides of the ball to ever play in the Super Bowl. The 1980 Eagles, were very good, perhaps not deep in great talent, but with a lot of good players. The 1980 Raiders, might be the best 11-5 team that has ever played. They were 2-3 at one point that season and at around 500 at the half point of the season. Jim Plunkett, wasn’t their starting quarterback going into the season. Dan Pastorini, was their quarterback going into the season and got off to a bad start, as did the Raiders. And was replaced by Plunkett and the Raiders started to put it together and almost won the AFC West.

The Eagles, were already good in 78 and 79, making the NFC Playoffs both seasons. And saw 1980 as their season to step up and make a run at the Super Bowl. Especially with the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams both slipping and the Minnesota Vikings no longer a Super Bowl contender. The Redskins, struggling in the NFC East and hadn’t made the playoffs since 1976. 1980, was seen as the year for the Eagles, if they got past the Cowboys and won the NFC East. Which was a big goal of there’s. Win the East so they don’t have to play in the NFC Wildcard and win the NFC Divisional to get to the NFC Final. And Head Coach Dick Vermeil, put together a very tough physical blue-collar team. That played great defense and ran the ball real well and could throw the ball to keep defenses balanced.

I think this was a matchup of two of the toughest teams to ever play in the Super Bowl. That had great coaching and character and didn’t expect anyone to give them anything and worked very hard for everything that they accomplished. And they met in the Super Bowl, but I think there were several differences in this game that all favored the Raiders. Not just Super Bowl experience, but experience winning the Super Bowl. Twelve Raiders, were on the 1976 Raiders Super Bowl team. The Raiders also had more weapons on offense and could kill you with the pass and run. And the Raiders defense could take away the Eagles strength which was their power running and make them throw more than they wanted to. And throw when they didn’t want to and you see these differences in this game.
SB 15

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