Malcolm X’s message was about self-reliance and self-defense for the African-American community. Not trying to destroy any other community in the United States. Which is something that the right-wing especially the far-right does not understand that prefers to view Malcolm X as a racist. At least towards Caucasians and a criminal looking to destroy the United States. What Malcolm X believed instead was empowering an entire community to be able to live in freedom. Wherever they wanted to live and be able to take care of themselves instead. And not have to be dependent on government or anyone else for their well-being. Conservatives should like Malcolm X actually because of his beliefs in self-reliance and education, freedom for people to be able to make their own decisions. And not have to be dependent on government for their economic survival.
A crowd of less than eight-thousand at a major league pro football game. I guess the USFL was slow to catch on Boston which is too bad. Because the USFL had very good teams in it and a lot of NFL caliber players. Of course the weather looked horrible for this game. Which isn’t uncommon in Boston in early spring. But the Breakers were one of the USFL franchises that relocated and ended up in Portland in 1984 or 85. Boston was one of the mistakes if the USFL. Their idea that the USFL could take on the NFL in their own markets was one of their fatal errors. Oakland was one of their good moves, because Oakland is crazy for major league pro football. And the Raiders had just moved to Los Angeles in 1982. So the USFL going to Oakland was perfect timing on their part.
Baltimore the only city to win the Super Bowl, 1970, 2000 and 2012, the USFL Championship in 1985 and the CFL Grey Cup in 1995. And the Baltimore Colts won the NFL Championship in 1958 and 59 before that game was called the Super Bowl. So this is a big city with a great American pro football history, with a bunch of championships as well as playing in a lot of championship games. And some of the best American pro football fans in the world.
The USFL didn’t fold because of lack of support, or lack of good players, or lack of coaching, or lack of quality play. They folded because of lack of management in the league administration and how their clubs were run. Had they stayed in the spring and summer and stayed out of NFL markets, they could very well still be in business today.
The perfect example of the lack of quality management in the USFL, had to do with the so-called Baltimore Stars. As ABC Sports announcer Keith Jackson said, the Baltimore Stars is a bit of a misnomer since the Stars never even played a single game in the City of Baltimore. They didn't even play a game in Baltimore County for that matter.
The Stars moved to College Park, Maryland in 1985 and played their home games at Byrd Stadium there and called themselves the Baltimore Stars for the 1985 USFL season, before having a stadium agreement with the City of Baltimore, because the USFL was a spring league and the Orioles obviously play baseball in the spring and Baltimore Memorial Stadium was their home.
With even decent management, the Stars wouldn't have even tried to move to Baltimore, without a new stadium agreement in Baltimore, whether it was either at Baltimore Memorial, or another stadium there. And even if the Stars tried to move under those circumstances, that USFL shouldn't have let the Stars move from Philadelphia and let them call themselves the Baltimore Stars, when they don't even play in the Baltimore area, let alone in Baltimore. College Park, Maryland, is part of the Washington area, not Baltimore.
As far as this game, definitely the two best, all around teams, in the USFL in 1985 and both had a lot of NFL quality talent on their clubs. Which is why ABC Sports showed this game and it was an excellent championship game.
Just when I thought the American Thinker couldn’t be more neoconservative and big government enough. I read an article on their blog today from writer Peter Skurkiss who I’m sure means well. But a lot of bad things come from good intentions and his plan to outlaw tobacco in the United States is a perfect example of that. And why would we do it now when first of all it is already legal. Second we already tax and regulate the hell out of it and perhaps we should do even more short of outlawing it. Like moving the legal age from eighteen to twenty-one like alcohol. But third smoking has already come down so far in this country from what we’ve already are doing right now to it.
Look if we as a society do not like the actions others take and primarily the reasons for that is because we do not want to pay for their mistakes, remember a lot of America is about our economy and money, so if we do not want to pay for others mistakes, gee here’s an idea and let’s stop doing that. And let stupid people pay for their stupid mistakes instead. Not just tax tobacco, but tax it to the point that smokers will have a decision to make. “Do I really want to spend so much money on a product that could kill me?” But second to transfer that tax revenue to the health care that smokers will need to pay for their smoking.
Alcohol prohibition didn’t work, the War on Drugs has failed. Just look at all the ruined lives from it as a result. Like people not being able to get good legal jobs because of a drug conviction. Even though they didn’t actually hurt anybody. Same thing would happen with tobacco prohibition. Arresting people for what they do to themselves and overflowing and already overcrowded criminal justice system. Source:America's Heartland
"American entrepreneur and brothel owner Dennis Hof makes an argument for decriminalizing prostitution. Special guest host Ana Kasparian of The Young Turks joins us as well!
Moonlite bunny ranch owner Dennis Hof legally operates a brothel in Nevada. With a strict screening process, safety precautions, security cameras, Dennis makes a case for taking the sex industry out of the dark and adding regulations to curb HIV transmission and sex trafficking.
Also, sex worker Ava Adora chimes in with her support of the industry and even refers to the brothel as simply "a singles bar with amazing odds."
You can always watch the most recent FULL EPISODE at:Take Part Live."
This is a tough issue for me and certainly not an issue at the start of my day I was expecting to blog about. Because we are talking about a very dangerous business whether it is legal or not. And prostitution will always be a business in America illegal or otherwise.
Prostitution is not the oldest profession in the world for nothing. Dangerous business, but then you also have the side that I tend to fall down on as a Liberal that we are talking about what adults do with their own lives both personal and economic lives. Who should make that call the state meaning government or the individual.
I look at prostitution similar to how I look at illegal narcotics and gambling: how many people do we really want to arrest and lock up for what they do with their own personal lives. This is not a profession that is going to go away there will always be a market for it. That is just type of country we’ve always been and will always be and if anything it will just grow. Because again of how liberal and libertarian we are becoming as a country.
Again, I look at prostitution the way I look at gambling and marijuana.
1. Legalize it and then tax it and regulate it to make it as safe as possible. Regulate prostitution like alcohol. Twenty-one or over to work in the profession or be a customer in it.
2. Require workers and customers to be licensed by the state they work in.
3. Random medical tests for customers and workers to make sure they are healthy and not spreading diseases.
4. Tax profits made by workers and companies in this business. And tax the customers for what they pay for these services.
That is just how I view government that it is not the job for government to protect us from ourselves. But to protect innocent people from predators who would hurt us. And to make the activities that we choose in life as safe as possible through smart commonsense regulations.
Some of these stories sounded like the could’ve been written by The Onion. Like the anti-bussing advocate in Boston losing her City Council seat. Politicians collecting public assistance. I know law enforcement, teachers, fireman and the military are underpaid, but if anything politicians are way overpaid, at least at the federal level. And maybe that is why these real public servants, the teachers, law enforcement etc are so underpaid. There’s not enough cookies left in the jar and money in the piggy bank to pay everyone else what they deserve and even need just to pay their bills. As far as blizzards in the Dakotas in the fall, as if I didn’t already have enough incentive to live there. And TV ratings, if you don’t like what is popular, gee here’s an idea, don’t watch it and share that advice with others.
The thing about the St. Louis Cardinals is that they are not only one of Major League Baseball’s best franchises right now, but all-time as well. And perhaps the premier franchise in the National Baseball League and haven’t had any real off decades were they weren’t contending at all, or stuck in mediocrity except for perhaps the 1970s and 90s. Where they didn’t make the NL Playoffs at all in the 70s and only made the NL Playoffs once in the 1990s.
Which would be 1996 Tony LaRussa’s first season in St. Louis, which means there are a lot of great player from the Cardinals to choose from a franchise that has won eleven MLB World Series. Something like twenty National League Championships and a bunch of division championships. A franchise that at best plays in a mid-size market in St. Louis, but has fans and reach that goes all over the Midwest. Especially the Western Midwest.
This would be my all-time Cardinals lineup as someone whose not even a Cardinals fan.
1. Leading off Lou Brock- I would have of course Lou Brock and in the outfield. The only leadoff hitter I would take over Brock would be Rickey Henderson. Brock stole over eight-hundred bases, hit around three-hundred in St. Louis scoring a lot of runs. And even had occasional power as a leadoff hitter.
2. Hitting 2nd and playing 2nd Base Rogers Hornsby- Perhaps the best all around 2nd Baseman of all-time hitting four-hundred with power twice in his career. Had a lot of great years in St. Louis.
3. Hitting 3rd and in the outfield Stan Musial- Even with Albert Pujols I still have Stan The Man as the greatest Cardinal of all-time. Especially considering he played his whole career in St. Louis. And by the time Big Al is done he may have played about half of his career somewhere else.
4. Cleanup Hitter Albert Pujols- With the Cardinals Big Al was not only the best hitter in baseball, but I believe the best all around player in baseball. And a very good first baseman as well.
5. Ken Boyer hitting fifth and playing 3B- A very solid power hitter with the Cardinals and a very good third baseman as well. Hit over two-hundred home runs in St. Louis and drove in over a thousand runs as well.
6. Hitting sixth and doing the catching Ted Simmons- Unfortunately for Ted Simmons he played for the Cardinals in the 1970s the entire decade. When they were in transition and no longer a NL contender. So he doesn’t get the respect owed to him for being a great player. But perhaps only Johnny Bench with the Cincinnati Reds was a better all around catcher than Ted Simmons in his era. Someone who hit three-hundred, with power and would drive in over a hundred runs as well. And was a very good defensive catcher as well.
7. Hitting seventh and playing in the outfield Enos Slaughter- With Enos Slaughter you have a three-hundred hitter hitting seventh for this Cardinals team. I have him there because the guys ahead of him have better power.
8. Hitting eighth the best all around defensive SS of all-time Ozzie Smith- Almost exclusively known as a great defender before he came to St. Louis, but someone who developed into a solid 270 hitter, run scorer and base stealer who fit the 1980s Cardinals offense perfectly as a solid contact hitter. Who didn’t strikeout with great speed who was also a great baserunner.
9. Hitting ninth and doing the pitching Bob Gibson- Bob Gibson might have been a better hitter than Ozzie Smith and you could go the other way with Gibson pitching. And have Lou Brock end up following Ozzie Smith and sorta have a lineup with two leadoff hitters. But Bob Gibson I believe is the greatest big game pitcher at least of his generation. And only Sandy Koufax was better in the 1960s.
You would win a lot of championships with this lineup. A team that could hit for power that wouldn’t need to score much with Bob Gibson pitching, but would be able to do so anyway. That would’ve also had a lot of speed and would’ve been able to steal a lot of bases as well.
