Raw Story: Arturo Garcia: Bill Maher Slams Berkley Protestors: Who Said You Only Had to Hear What Didn’t Upset You?

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Derik Schneider
Real Time

Real Time

The New Democrat

Raw Story: Blog: Arturo Garcia: Bill Maher Slams Berkley Protesters: “Who Said You Only Had to Hear What Didn’t Upset You?”

Finally someone who calls them self a Liberal other than myself, who of course is a real thing (self-high five for me) who calls people to the left of us the far-left. Because that is exactly what these Berkley Bill Maher protesters represent in America. The far-left and their political correctness movement of “if we don’t like what you have to say, we’ll shut you up, or sure as hell try to shut you up!” Again I’m being nice and they would probably use their free speech rights that apparently only believe they should have and put it stronger than that.

To Bill Maher’s point, what happened to the free speech movement at Berkley? The hell with the political correctness movement that perhaps has replaced the free speech movement at Berkley that is supposed to be some champion of liberalism. I want to know what happened to the free speech movement at Berkley of the 1960s and the Baby Boom Generation there. And as far as Ben Affleck, here’s another opportunity to have fun with his logic (if you have to call it that) when it comes to racism. Islam is of course not a race, but a religion Big Ben. If you don’t believe me, ask Reza Aslam.

Liberals believe in free speech and if you only support free speech that you support, please remove the liberal label from your chest voluntarily, or I might rip it off for you. Free speech is not just speech you agree with. It is also speech that you may not like and it might be speech that you not only not like, but is accurate and goes against whatever ideological argument that you are trying to make. Which is what are called inconvenient facts or the inconvenient truth. To paraphrase Al Gore.

Bill Maher understands these things and so do real Liberals who truly live up to liberal values with free speech being at the top. It is not called the First Amendment because speech won some lottery and the Founding Fathers the Founding Liberals knew exactly how important free speech was. Which is why they made it the First Amendment. And if you don’t believe in the First Amendment, even if you support all of the other liberal values, you come up way too short to be a Liberal.
.

Posted in Real Time, The New Democrat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ESPN: 30 For 30- Marcus Dupree: ‘The Best That Never Was’

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Ederik Schneider
THE BEST THAT NEVER WAS - Trailer

Source:Hock Films– From the ESPN 30 For 30 film about Marcus Dupree.

Source:The New Democrat

“Philadelphia, Mississippi, was the site of the most notorious crime of the Civil Rights Era: the murder of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner, three young men who had come to Philadelphia in 1964 to investigate a church burning. Marcus Dupree was born three weeks before the killings, and eventually would join the first class to go through integrated public schools in the state. By the time Marcus was establishing himself as the best high school running back in the nation – some say ever – Philadelphians white and black took pride in him, and in the fully integrated team that he led. He was the town’s first shared joy, and the school’s games became the first place where groups of whites and blacks ever came together as one community.”

From Hock Films

If talent and the ability to play football were the only things that people needed to be successful football players, then maybe Marcus Dupree ends up as the great running back whose ever played. Because he was 6’3 225-230 pounds of muscle, speed and vision. Sounds like Eric Dickerson right, but Eric Dickerson is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with a college degree and is very intelligent. And not the feature in an ESPN film called the Best That Never Was.

Maybe instead Marcus is in a film called The Best Who Ever Lived winning awards at Sundance and so-forth. Marcus Dupree unlike Eric Dickerson didn’t even finish his first year of college at Oklahoma. Not calling Marcus a dumb man, but he didn’t have the education, maturity and probably people around him to show him that “you are blowing this you are blowing a golden opportunity to be a great football player. Perhaps the greatest who ever ran the ball, why are you doing this?”

Marcus Dupree is the perfect example of why there should be a minor league pro football system in the United States. A place to go for high school football players who’ve at least graduated from high school, but not ready at least for major college. And perhaps not college at all who do not even have any interest in attending college and wouldn’t do the work at college to be successful.

If the NFL had that back then like baseball and hockey already have in America, Marcus plays 3-4 years of minor league football and get’s drafted in the NFL by a team that wants him. And knows how to utilize him and Marcus probably goes down as the top pick or one of the top picks in the. 1985 or 86 drafts. Never tries to play in the United States Football League and probably has a 12-13 year career in the National Football league headed to the Hall of Fame. Because Marcus wasn’t college material as a student, but someone with a great gift to play football.

The Best That Never Was is the title for a player who would’ve been the greatest running back of all time. But never lived up to that because he was a guy who went to college even though he probably shouldn’t have been in college. Because he was there to play football not be a student who needed other options post high school to be successful as a pro football player. But who didn’t have those options for him at the time.

Posted in FBS Films, The New Democrat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ESPN 30 For 30: The Pony Express: The Best College Football Program Money Could Buy

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Rik Schneider

.
Source:The Daily Post

The Southern Methodist Mustangs football program went from being a minor to mid-major FBS program in the early and mid 1970s in the former Southwest Conference, that included schools like, Texas, Texas A&M, Arkansas, all traditional FBS powers and national championship contenders, as well as Houston and Baylor, to becoming a national championship contender by the late 1970s and early 1980s.

SMU had a backfield that included two future NFL running backs in Eric Dickerson who’s in he Hall of Fame. And Craig James who played for the New England Patriots and was a member of the Patriots 1985 AFC Championship team. Southern Methodist was like the Miami Florida Hurricanes or the Tallahassee Florida Seminoles in the early and mid 1970s.

Back before SMU became a national power, if they had a winning record and went to a minor bowl game or something like that, that was a huge season for them. They weren’t really known for football at all, the Dallas Cowboys were thought of as the only football team in the Dallas area in the late 1970s. Southern Methodist wasn’t a big deal for them. If they followed college football, it was the Texas Longhorns, especially when they played Oklahoma Sooners every year at the Cotton Bowl.

Bobby Bowden and Howard Schnellenburger built the Seminoles and Hurricanes football programs respectively. With a lot of hard work, both essentially starting from scratch and knowing for their programs to get the attention that they needed for them to be successful in the future, they had to convince some of the best players not only in Florida, but around the country to take a shot at Tallahassee and Miami.

Tallahassee and Miami knew they needed players in Florida and outside of Florida and not only get their education, but to be part of something in the future. Knowing that they had a much better opportunity at going to a program that was already on the map in college football. Like Florida, Georgia and Alabama, Oklahoma and many others.

Ron Meyer the head football coach at Southern Methodist and others there, didn’t have the patience for that. Didn’t go to Southern Methodist to lose at all and weren’t going to wait around for 5-10 years for them to be successful there. Southern Methodist literally treated their football program in the late 1970s and early 80s like a pro football franchise.

To be the best, you have to pay the best and literally paid high school football players money, to come to their school and play for them. And bought a lot of players as if they were the Dallas Cowboys or some other NFL franchise. And as a result perhaps the largest FBS scandal if not college football scandal of all-time and received the death penalty for it.

Posted in FBS Films, The Daily Post | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fire Cloud: The Contender (2000) ‘The Church of Liberalism’

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Erik Schneider

.
Source:The New Democrat 

Except for the part about taking every gun out of private hands and private homes, which might be a far-left Hollywood fantasy and clearly against the Second Amendment and the Right to Self-Defense, this was a very good speech by Vice Presidential nominee Senator Lane Evans in The Contender. She was talking about the women’s Right to Choose, of course referring to abortion. The constitutional amendment that gave women the right to vote. Freeing the African slaves in the civil war and using military force to fight for human rights.

If I wrote that speech, I would’ve taken out the part about the guns, left everything else in there. And also talked about Freedom of Speech for everyone, the Right to Privacy for everyone to do everything as long as innocent people aren’t hurt as a result. The right to a quality education for all, which I believe we should have for freedom to really be available to everyone. Instead of writing a speech that makes liberalism look like some form of statism, I would’ve talked about the freedom that liberalism is actually about and not statism. But this for the most part was an excellent speech.

Posted in Political Cinema, The New Democrat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

PBS NewsHour: Shields & Brooks On The MidTerm Mood

Posted on October 31, 2014 by kireschneider

.
Source:The New Democrat 

Most likely and for me that means the best guess and best educated guess, Senate Republicans win back the Senate on Tuesday and perhaps add five seats to their House majority as well. I don’t see a wave for 2014 where Republicans win 8-10 seats in the Senate and twenty or more in the House. But things are so bad for Democrats right now that Republicans despite their own problems with voters, do not need a wave to do well in Congress on Tuesday.

Democrats still have hope even in the Senate. They win Georgia and Kansas where they are currently ahead with Michelle Nunn over David Perdue in Georgia and Greg Orman over Republican Senator Pat Roberts has been in Congress since 1981 and maybe Democrats hold Republican gains to four or five and barely hold the Senate having to rely on a couple of new Independents to hold their majority. But they would also need to hold North Carolina and New Hampshire with Kay Hagen respectfully to pull that off. Also may need to hold Arkansas or Louisiana as well.

What may be the only victories for Democrats on Tuesday night could at the state level and not in Congress. But governor’s races and legislature races where Democrats have real pickup opportunities in both areas. Pennsylvania, Florida, perhaps even Georgia, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan. If they win those states or just a few of them and not lose any big states where they currently are in power, we could see better redistricting that could favor House Democrats in the future.

Posted in Shields & Brooks, The New Democrat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Salon: Magazize: Gabriel Arana: ‘Bill Maher’s Islam Silence: Why Canceling His Berkeley Speech is a Mistake’

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Derik Schneider

Bill Maher's Islam silence_ Why canceling his Berkeley speech is a mistakeSource:Salon Magazine– Real Time With Bill Maher.

Source:The New Democrat

“Talk-show host Bill Maher’s recent comments about Islam have set off a chorus of condemnations among activists and scholars on the left. Now they have students at liberal bastion University of California at Berkeley calling for an upcoming appearance by the comedian at the school to be canceled.

For those of you who usually tune out Maher like I do, here’s the back story: In an exchange a few weeks ago with Ben Affleck, who was on Maher’s show promoting his new movie, the discussion turned to Islam. “Islam is the only religion that acts like the mafia, that will fucking kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture or write the wrong book,” Maher said. Affleck challenged the comedian, calling his comments “gross” and “racist.” “You’re saying that the idea that someone should be killed if they leave the Islamic religion is just a few bad apples?” Maher replied.

In my personal view, Maher is kind of a jerk (he was even a jackass in his recent interview with Salon). As a fellow liberal, I agree with many of his views, but his shtick — loudmouthed, overgrown frat boy — starts to grate on my nerves if I have to listen to him for longer than a two-minute YouTube clip. He hacks at ideas like a blindfolded person wielding a meat cleaver — there’s little room for nuance.”

From Salon Magazine

“I remember during the Bush years doing segment after segment on the way Republicans would support Bush no matter what he did. Whether it was sending troops to die in Iraq, or his plan to privatize Social Security, Republicans believed that it was their duty to agree with everything Bush did. They didn’t have the ability to disagree with him on a single issue. For Bush Republicans, it was all or nothing.

Sadly, Democrats today have fallen into the same mindset. To them, there are only two settings: Either someone is always right, or someone is always wrong. They can’t have an opinion that is different from someone without discounting everything that person has done for the entire Democratic movement.

Bill Maher is a great example. And the loudest criticism comes from UC Berkeley of all places as if they somehow have the high ground to criticize Bill Maher about controversial comments – while they are paying full professor salary to John Yoo, a vile murderous political Cheney thug who created the law that triggered the brutal murder and torture of Gitmo prisoners for a decade.”

01e54eb460e3258cc3ae31aba3ebe936

Source:The Ring of Fire– Real Time With Bill Maher.

From Mike Papantonio

I’m going to give you a prefect example of what right-wingers are talking about when they say what conservative writer Jonah Goldberg titled in his book back in I believe 2008, what he called Liberal Fascism. Even though the title Liberal Fascism is a bogus title. I mean you can’t be both a Liberal and a fascist, you know it is one or the other. Just like you can’t be both a Socialist and a corporatist. You can’t be anti-corporate, which is what Socialists are and be a pro-corporate, which is what corporatists are.

Berkeley University (which is what I call California University) has or a group of their left-wing ill-liberal students have decided that they not only do not agree with comedian, left-wing comedian, by the way Bill Maher’s views on Islam, but that they do not want him speaking at their university. So the school has canceled the Maher speech there. Now here’s a couple of reasons why that is a big mistake. One is practical, because Berkeley is a public university and part of the California State Government. So Maher’s free speech rights to me (at least as a non-lawyer) are being violated.

But the other issue gets to a philosophical one. Banning someone or canceling on someone because you not only disagree with your views, but you are offended by them: “Don’t allow that guy to speak because we disagree with him and he would be saying things that we don’t want our people to hear”. is Fascism 101. And why right-wingers call some on the Left “liberal fascists” even though again there’s nothing liberal about fascism, because the main value of liberalism is free speech and the right for one to speak freely regardless of what others may think about what they have to say.

I mean you are so offended or believe what someone is saying is no wrong and just utter garbage (or something else), let the person speak and then show people how wrong they are. That is what liberal democracy and free speech are about: the right to be heard and to be able to make your case. Knowing that you are not the only person in that country with that right. And that may include people you make disagree with. Which is something that people who are on the far-left in America (people who I call leftist fascists) who are addicted political correctness, do not understand.

Posted in Real Time, The New Democrat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lib Dem Voice: Barry Holliday: Electoral Reform, How To

Posted on October 29, 2014 by kireschneider

Source:The New Democrat 

Things are already changing very fast in the United Kingdom. Thanks to the Scottish independence referendum in September, devolution and federalism is coming to Britain perhaps as early as next year. At least an agreement on what a federalist United Kingdom would look like. With the unitarian socialist state in Britain collapsing, with more power headed to the states as Americans would call it and the people of Britain over their own domestic affairs.

But devolution and federalism I believe will only work as an American outsider looking in on Britain, if they reform their Parliament as well. Because at the end of the day, for England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland to be able to function properly in the United Kingdom, they will need to be well represented in Parliament in London with a functioning bicameral Parliament so not all over the power and resources are not so centralized in London with the national or federal government and in England.

For a bicameral Parliament to work in Britain the House of Lords or whatever they may call it in the future, perhaps the U.K. Council or Lordship, perhaps even Senate, needs to function like the upper chamber of Parliament that it is supposed to be. Where they actually have a say in what laws are passed in Parliament and not just be a rubber stamp for the House of Commons. Where they can conduct real oversight of the U.K. Government and have at least the same power and authority as the House of Commons. And where members of this body can be part of Prime Ministers Questions.

The way I would reform the U.K. Parliament is similar to how the U.S. Congress looks. The lower chamber the House of Representatives where Representatives represent districts inside of states. And where the upper chamber the Senators represent the whole state in America. But since Britain is a lot smaller physically and in population to America, where they would represent districts as well inside of a state. But with each state lets say in the U.K. Senate getting an equal amount of Senators. But in the House the Commons would be proportioned based on population.

England would still have more Commons than anyone else because they are by far the biggest state in the United Kingdom. But this would be a real bicameral parliament and the Lordship or Council or even Senate, each state would be represented equally. So England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland would all have the representation in parliament needed to bring back the resources that their districts and states need from London to be able to function properly.
.

Posted in The New Democrat, U.K. News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Salon: Britney Cooper: ‘We Must Abandon Bill Cosby: A Broken Trust With Women, Black America’

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Derik Schneider

The New Democrat

Salon: Opinion: Britney Cooper: We Must Abandon Bill Cosby: A Broken Trust With Women

In 1984 when the Cosby Show came on the air on NBC, I was eight years old in September, 1984. Actually I have more to say about this, but in the mid 1980s African-American families were stereotyped as poor, low-class, un-educated, single-parent with the mother trying to raise multiple kids on her own in some run down ghetto inner-city area. Dad completely out of the picture, perhaps in prison, or mom unaware of who the father of her kids are. The Cosby Show certainly not by itself, but they changed the way Americans looks at African-Americans and African-American families.

That alone makes the Cosby Show a success. Because even thirty-years ago not all African-American families were in that poor situation. Sure a lot of them and more than the national average as still is the case today. But the Cosby Show did what few other shows and perhaps only the Jefferson’s did in the 1970s. Which was to show successful African-Americans and their kids. And that they have made it in America and that the entire community is not poor, un-educated, low-class, not knowing who their father was or dad leaving them when they were young.

The Cosby Show was sort of a stereotypical American dream. Dad is a successful doctor, mom is a successful lawyer. They live in a beautiful upper class neighborhood and house in New York City. They have great intelligent beautiful kids who are all doing well and are all successful. They were living the upper middle class dream and showing Americans another side of African-American life that probably far too many Americans perhaps of all races were not aware of.

And as funny as this show was and I don’t know if there has ever been a funnier and better comedian on TV with their own sitcom than Bill Cosby, but as funny and as popular that show was, it had a very serious message. That African-Americans can make it in America and that Americans of all races can live, work, socialize with each other and not be bogged down by the fact that someone in the group or multiple people in the group has a different complexion or from a different race.

The Cosby Show was about a successful New York African-American family, but the show wasn’t about race. It was about the lives of these people in this family and the show hardly focused on race at all and rarely if ever cracked racial or ethnic jokes on the show. Because that is not what the show was about, but it was about another side of the African-American story that hadn’t been told up to that point. That not all African-Americans are poor and un-educated with criminal records etc. But that they are also successful and educated and doing very well in America.
.

Posted in Life, New Left, The New Democrat | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Salon: Jeffrey Taylor: Reza Aslam’s Atheism Problem

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Derik Schneider

The New Democrat

Salon: Opinion: Jeffrey Taylor: Reza Aslam’s Atheism Problem: Fundamentalists Atheists Aren’t the Problem, Apologists For Religions Are

Jeffrey Taylor makes a good and I would argue real Atheist argument against religion. Even though he writes for Salon, (ha ha) he didn’t use his article to bash Christianity. But to say that all religions have serious issues more or less and that is a big reason why he doesn’t believe in religion. Which has been my whole point and is my whole point about religion and a big reason why I’m Agnostic. That religions are too restrictive for my more liberal outlook on life as someone who wants to and lives openly. And religions tend to be followed by people who don’t understand their religion and do horrible things as a result.

There are good people of all faiths and I doubt anyone serious disagrees with that. And yes there are radicals probably in all religions that give that religion a bad name. But the problem is there are enough radicals to not only give Christianity and Islam a bad name, but to do a lot of damage to society and other societies that hurt a lot of people. Including people who follow the same religion and follow that religion incorrectly and do horrible things in the name of their religion. Even though their religion does not sanction their horrible acts.

I’m not saying that religion is bad and that all religions are bad and dangerous. That is where I would probably separate from Sam Harris and I’ve backed him several times on this blog the last few weeks. It is people who don’t understand the religion that they follow, including religious leaders that don’t follow the religion they follow. And lead that inspire people to do horrible things that is the problem. And something that is going to have to be addressed if the Middle East is ever to become a stable place where people can live in peace and live good lives.
.

Posted in New Left, The New Democrat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Politico Magazine: Larry Sabato: How Goldwater Changed Campaign Forever

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Rik Schneider

Source:The New Democrat 

Not many if any Republicans including Senator Barry Goldwater expected Goldwater to win the 1964 presidential election by defeating President Lyndon Johnson and for Congressional Republicans to do anything in Congress. They were expecting big defeats as it related to both the presidential election and Congress. But that wasn’t what the 1964 general elections were about for Goldwater Republicans Goldwater Conservatives.

1964 to follow-up about what I wrote yesterday, was to create a choice and give Americans a choice in who to vote for. Present a Republican Party that was completely different from the GOP from the 1950s and completely different from the FDR/LBJ progressive Democratic Party. A party that was a lot less government especially federal government oriented. A party that was lot more federalist and more individualistically oriented. That wanted to turn power over to the states and people over their own affairs.

They wanted to create a new party that Conservatives and other right-wingers would feel welcome in. And take power away from the Northeastern Progressives that had been running the GOP and perhaps even make Progressives feel unwanted in the GOP. 1964 wasn’t about winning for Barry Goldwater and other Republicans, but building a winning coalition that could put Republicans back in power in the future. That they simply didn’t have going into the 1964 general elections.

1966 was about Republicans winning right-wing seats in Congress in House districts and Senate seats. So they could become a factor in Congress again and no longer be buried in the minority in Congress. 1968 is when Richard Nixon figured out how Republicans can win back the White House and win more seats in Congress. And 1968 is where we really see the political flip in American politics. Where Southern states look Republican and Northern states look Democratic. But it all started in 1964 and Barry Goldwater deserves a lot of credit for it.
.

Posted in Mr. Conservative, The New Democrat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment