Life is a Highway

Life is a Highway
Source: Haiku Deck

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Camp Constitution: Dan Smoot Report- The United States Constitution

Source:Camp Constitution- the Dan Smoot Report.

Source:FreeState Now 

"Dan Smoot Report.  The late Dan Smoot was a pioneer in the Freedom Movement.  He was one of the first Constitutionalists to have a Televison Show.  He authored "The Invisible Government," one of the earliesft exposes on The Council on Foreign Relations.  This is a series of shows delaing with numerous issues-a timeless classic." 


"Thereafter, Smoot published his weekly syndicated The Dan Smoot Report. He also carried his conservative message via weekly reports over radio. The Dan Smoot Report started with 3,000 paid subscribers; at its peak in 1965, it had more than 33,000 subscribers.[3] Each newsletter usually focused on one major story. One issue, for instance, was devoted to the Alaska Mental Health Bill of 1956, which Smoot claimed was a communist conspiracy to establish concentration camps on American soil. Another issue lionized Douglas MacArthur after his death in the spring of 1964.

A subsequent 1964 issue opposed a proposal by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson to transfer sovereignty of the Panama Canal to the Republic of Panama. Johnson failed in his attempt, but President Jimmy Carter in 1978, with bipartisan U. S. Senate support led by Moderate Republican Howard Baker of Tennessee, prevailed by a one-vote margin to extend control of the Canal Zone to Panama. It was Moderate Republican support for many Democratic proposals that particularly angered Smoot, who gave up on the national Republican Party as a viable alternative to the majority Democrats of his day.

In 1962, Smoot wrote The Invisible Government concerning early members of the Council on Foreign Relations. Other books include The Hope of the World; The Business End of Government; and his autobiography, People Along the Way. Additionally he was associated with Robert W. Welch, Jr.'s John Birch Society and wrote for the society's American Opinion bi-monthly magazine.[4]

In 2000, Conservative activist Peter Gemma wrote a biographical sketch of Smoot in The New American. Gemma recounts that Smoot, among his other aberrant positions, challenged Barry Goldwater during the 1964 presidential campaign for the nominee's embrace of NATO, which Smoot called a globalist organization of questionable value.[5]

In 1970, Smoot opposed the selection of a future U.S. President, George Herbert Walker Bush, as the Republican nominee for the United States Senate from Texas. He claimed that Bush's political philosophy was little different from the Democrats that he sought to oppose. Bush lost the Senate election that year to Lloyd M. Bentsen of Houston and McAllen. Oddly, eighteen years later, Bush would head the Republican presidential ticket, and Bentsen would be the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for vice president." 

From Wikipedia

The whole purpose of the United States Constitution, is to layout what are the powers and responsibilities of the Federal Government. As well as how the Federal Government interacts with state and local governments and what are the powers of the people as well. What freedom the people in the country have and what is our relationship with the government and what authority does government have to represent us in a civilize society.

This is how we establish rule of law and what makes us a Constitutional Republic in the form of a liberal democracy. Without a constitution, we wouldn’t have limited government and rule of law. Because government in theory anyway, would have unlimited power to either represent us, or rule over us. Which is why the Constitution is so critical so government knows what powers and responsibilities it has. But also to protect the people from unlimited government and authoritarian rule.

The Dan Smoot Report was done in 1962-63. Some time around then when the Kennedy Administration, had a broad economic agenda built around on building the safety net in America. Which was part of Jack Kennedy’s Great Frontier agenda. And part of that had to do with expanding affordable housing, medical insurance for senior, citizens, as well as the working poor and low-income Americans in general. As well as an across the board tax cut to deal with an economy that was growing slowly. And Federal aid to education.

What Dan Smoot and other Conservatives and people who would be called Conservatives Libertarians today, such as Senator Barry Goldwater, argue is that the U.S. Constitution, did not grant the Federal Government all of this power. They argued that the New Deal in the 1930s, was unconstitutional. The Federal Highway System of the 1950s and every new Federal social insurance program like the Great Society of the 1960s, are all unconstitutional. 

The values that Dan Smoot promoted is why I say Dan Smoot, is one of the first Tea Party leaders. But from the 1950s and 1960s, because they make similar arguments today and perhaps use Mr. Smoot as one of their inspirational leaders.

Monday, April 15, 2013

ABC Sports: USFL 1983- Week 1- New Jersey Generals @ Los Angeles Express: Full Game

Source:ABC Sports- the New Jersey Generals and Los Angeles Express, kicking off the USFL in 1983.

Source:Real Life Journal 

"The high-priced running back who left the University of Georgia a year early for a $5 million, three-year contract, did score the game's first touchdown. But he gained only 65 yards on 16 carries and by the second quarter, was largely forgotten by the crowd of 34,002 in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Instead, all eyes were on Tom Ramsey and Tony Boddie as the Los Angeles Express beat the Generals 20-15 in a season-opening United States Football League game, one of five played that Sunday. 

Ramsey, who played his college ball in the same stadium last year when he was the nation's college passing percentage leader, turned things around when he replaced former National Football player Mike Rae with the Express trailing 9-6.

Boddie, a 12th-round draft choice out of Montana State, rushed for 77 yards on 13 carries and caught five passes for 49 yards.

Meanwhile, Walker was generally ineffective. Usually a prime pass receiver as well as a runner, the Heisman Trophy winner caught only one pass for three yards." 


I can see why ABC Sports and the USFL would want New Jersey and Los Angeles for their week 1 matchup on ABC. The biggest markets in America in Los Angeles and New York/North Jersey. And try to get a big week one TV rating from this game. And maybe they did, but the New Jersey Generals were 6-12 in 83 and were much better in 84 and 85, but they were a bad team in 83, at least as far as what they showed. And the Los Angeles Express were 8-10 a mediocre team that again were better in 84 and 85.

I think what is rememberable about this game is that it was Generals running back Herschel Walker’s first professional football game. No question the best college running back in 1982 and instead of playing in the NFL, he ends up in the USFL because he lost his college eligibility for speaking to pro agents too soon. Either a bad rule or big mistake on Herschel’s part. Because had Herschel played his whole career in the NFL, we are talking about a guaranteed first ballot Hall of Famer. But that is how good the USFL was as far as the talent that they had and the players they brought in.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Raymond Fisher: 'Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Debate'

Source:Raymond Fisher- Nation of Islam Minister Malcolm X in 1963.

Source:Real Life Journal 

"Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Debate" 


The Ali-Frazier of the American civil rights movement and what made this debate inside the African-American civil rights movement so interesting was how different the personalities of Martin King and Malcolm X were. And their different strategies and tactics in accomplishing what they wanted which was freedom, civil rights the constitutional rights to be enforced equally under law for African-Americans.

Martin King played the numbers game (so to speak) knowing that African-Americans only represented around ten percent of the population at this point. Knew that he would need the support of others in the country to accomplish his goals. Including like-minded Caucasian-Americans, as well as Jewish-Americans and Latino-Americans, in order to build the movement to pass the laws he was in favor of. 

Malcolm X took a more unrealistic approach which was that: “We are here and want what is already entitled to us. Which is our freedom and since the Caucasians are in charge, they should simply just give our freedom to us.” 

Dr. King had the approach that brought about the civil rights laws of the 1960s and all of those victories. But Malcolm X had a better post-civil rights movement approach for how to fix the African-American community going forward, which was about individual freedom based through education, economic expansion, for the African-Americans to have the resources to build their communities and run their own business’s. 

Whereas Dr. King had more of a government centric, pubic assistance approach. That government should just give poor people money and take care of them.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Minister Malcolm X: Malcolm X Debate With James Baldwin: September 5, 1963

Source:JD Productions- Nation of Islam Minister Malcolm X in 1963.

Source:Real Life Journal 

"Malcolm X Debate with James Baldwin September 5, 1963" 


This is the perfect debate to have because what is integration worth if it doesn’t come with freedom. You could have different races and ethnicities integrated in the same community, city, state or even country. But if one race of people or one ethnicity of people doesn’t have the same freedom and constitutional rights under law as another and can be fired and denied the right to vote, or live in a home or speak out in public simply because of their race, then what is integration worth for the people who do not have freedom. 

Malcolm X wasn’t interested in integration at all and simply not integration at the sake of integration. But he was interested in freedom for an entire race of people who had been denied it for their entire existence in North America. Since the time they were African slaves to Europeans in the British colonies and then later the United States, to post Civil War where they were denied the same freedom as European-Americans as officially American citizens and free people.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Minister Malcolm X: New York City Radio (1964)

Source:Truth Hitman- Nation of Islam Minister Malcolm X, on NYC Radio in 1964.

"Radio program with Malcolm X and members of the public who phone in" 

From Truth Hitman 

This interview was very important because Malcolm X was being interviewed about one of the key aspects that he preached about during his movement, which was African-American identity and what it means to be an American of African descent. 

The term African-American became popular or mainstream in America in the early 1990s. Before that Americans of African descent were called Black or Negro by non-racists as well as African-Americans themselves. 

But the term African-American or Afro-American was actually introduced in America by Malcolm X and his movement in the early 1960s. Which is the term I use to talk about or describe Americans of African descent. 

Black along with White or Brown or Olive are colors and not races. A race is a group of people who originally come from a certain part of the world. Made up of similar ethnicities that of course aren’t the same, but share similar characteristics. Like Asian or African, European, Middle Eastern (To use as examples) But colors are a way to describe one’s complexion and not race. At least that’s how I look at it.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Malcolm X Files: Malcolm X vs Bayard Rustin (1962)

Source:Malcolm X Files- Malcolm X and Bayard Rustin in 1960.

Source:Real Life Journal 

"Malcolm X: In the past two years, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad has become the most talked about black man in America because he is having such miraculous success in getting his program over among the so-called Negro masses. Time magazine last year wrote that he has eliminated from among his followers alcohol, dope addiction, profanity—all of which stems from disrespect of self. He has successfully eliminated stealing and crime among his followers. Time also pointed out that he has eliminated adultery and fornication, and prostitution, making black men respect their women, something that has been characteristically absent among our men... 

From the Malcolm X Files 

"Malcolm X Debates Bayard Rustin (1962)" 

Source:Sandeep Atwal- Nation of Islam Minister Malcolm X in 1962.

From Sandeep Atwal 

I’m going from first impressions here after seeing this debate for the first time tonight, but this debate sounds like to me anyway as a debate representing the main two wings of the American civil rights movement of the 1960s. The let's call it the "Black Power" movement, represented by Nation of Islam Minister Malcolm X who I believe is the founding member of the movement who had all the intellect and knowledge to lead a movement like this because he knew African-American history very well and what was the state of this community back in the 1960s. 

And I believed Malcolm X knew exactly what the community needed and what direction it should be moving in, which was freedom. He wasn’t calling for an expanded welfare state to take care of the African-American community. But he was calling for the same basic freedom that Caucasian-Americans had which was the ability to live their own lives and not be discriminated against based on race. And have the same access to education, healthcare, economic development that Caucasians already had. 

Thats one side of the civil rights movement in America that of course was represented by Minister X. The other side led by Dr. Martin L. King of course was more inclusive and realistic. And Dr. King again another brilliant man with superior intellect who knew African-American history very well. And what millions of Africans in America we're living through and we're fighting for similar things. But against this is where the realism of Dr. King was so brilliant because it was very simple. 

A numbers game that was going to have to be overcome for African-Americans to have the same freedom under law as Caucasians and the numbers game was very simple, its called 4-1. His community was outnumbered 4-1 by Caucasians and other communities as a total and knew that for his movement to accomplish what they wanted, they were simply going to have to have more support and bring in other Americans outside of the community to work with them. Which is why he brought in Anglos, Jews, Latinos and other Americans and this faction was represented by Bayard Rustin at this debate.

As I blogged last night and the reason why I’m writing this post tonight is that one of the comments on last night’s post was a suggestion to check this video out as well. But as I blogged last night, MLK’s movement of civil rights and freedom through non-violence was the path to get to the civil rights laws of the 1960s. 

But Malcolm X represented the post-civil rights movement of now.: "Since we have this freedom under law this is what we should do with it”. Which was about empowerment, education and economic development, and not about the welfare state.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

WWE: King Kong Bundy vs Jake Roberts- January, 1987



Source:WWE- King Kong Bundy. I would say the nickname goes with him like burgers go with fries.

"Live from the Philadelphia Spectrum 10th January 1987" 

On paper, this looks like a total matchup. Jake Roberts, maybe 260 and in great shape with a lot of that weight being muscle on his 6'5-6'6 frame, but King Kong Bundy at 475, maybe bigger than that and he does look like a big fat man, obese even, but a lot of that weight was actually bulk and muscle. Similar to Andre The Giant, but King King was a foot shorter. So this looks like a mismatch. But to sound corny: pro wrestling matches aren't won on paper. They're won in backrooms by the producers of these shows. 

You can also see this post on WordPress.

ABC Sports: NASL 1977- Dallas Tornado @ New York Cosmos: Full Game

Source:ABC Sports- the NASL on ABC in 1977.

"24/4/1977 New York Cosmos VS Dallas Tornado - full game" 

From MVP MItsui

You might recognize the Vern Lundquist's voice who called this game for ABC Sports. He's the voice of college football, at least for CBS Sports and is the voice of Southeastern Conference, at least for football and one of the best college football announcers ever. 

Vern Lundquist was also an excellent NFL announcer for CBS Sports in the 1980s and 1990s. But before the 1980s, Lundquist was the voice of the Dallas Cowboys on radio in the NFL and the Dallas Tornado in the NASL on TV. And is someone I grew up listening to in the 1980s and is one of my favorite sports announcers. 

Monday, April 1, 2013

WWE Smackdown: King of The Ring 2002- Hulk Hogan vs Triple H: World Heavyweight Championship



Source:WWE- Smackdown showing the World Heavyweight Championship match between Hulk Hogan and HHH, at Backlash.

"Triple H Vs Hulk Hogan 720p HD Full Match" 

From WWE Shield 

A great World Championship match, I just wish Hulk Hogan was 10-15 years younger in it. 

According to WWE announcer Jim Ross who is at least arguably the voice of pro wrestling, similar to how Keith Jackson has that honor college football and and Pat Summerall has that honor for NFL football, HHH at this point in his career, didn't view himself as a power wrestler. Even though he's 6'4, 270 pounds or so, bigger than Sting and about the same size Lex Lugar, two of the best power wrestlers ever. 

Perhaps HHH wants to viewed as a great pure wrestler and the big strong heavyweights the guys who are 260 or bigger and mostly if not all muscle don't tend to be great pure wrestlers and they generally don't need to be, because they're so big and strong. 

But when you are as big and strong as HHH, especially back in the early 2000s when he was always 270 or bigger, with almost no body fat, on a 6'4 frame and you have the devastating power moves that he had like the pedigree and the reverse spine-buster, of course you are a power wrestler. And HHH is one of the best ever.