Life is a Highway

Life is a Highway
Source: Haiku Deck

Sunday, August 31, 2014

USFL Forever: Video: Small Potatoes: Who Killed The USFL


This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on Blogger

I could just write that Donald Trump by himself killed the old United States Football League that only lasted for three seasons from 1983-85 and I'm actually old enough to remember games from all three seasons. I could write that and it would be mostly true about Donald Trump. Because he was involved in the league owning the New Jersey Generals, but he was the Dan Snyder of the USFL. A great businessman outside of pro football with no business being involved in pro football.

But the whole story is that the USFL folded for multiple reasons and even though The Donald had a hand in several of those reasons why the league folded. It wasn't all his fault but with The Donald I could put down the facts that the league grew way too fast going to eighteen teams by 1985. And also expanding in NFL markets that already great established pro football franchises and weren't looking for another pro football franchise like. Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Tampa, and Denver. And I could put the fact that Donald Trump decided the USFL should be playing in the fall and go up against the NFL. When they had the spring and summer all to themselves.

So yeah I could put most of the failures of the old USFL on Donald Trump. Because he had a hand in a lot of their management failures. But he wasn't the Commissioner of the USFL, but the majority owner of one of their franchises. And the USFL didn't have strong enough people amongst their other owners or a commissioner to stand up. And say "you know what we shouldn't be doing this. Going up against the NFL in their own markets and playing when they do. When we have all of these other major markets that do not have a major league pro football franchise yet". If they had strong smart people like that, they probably never go out of business. And have the spring and summer to themselves and still be in business in today. 
The Donald 

Friday, August 29, 2014

The Phil Donahue Show: The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson (1970)

Source:The Phil Donahue Show- The Tonight Show Johnny Carson on Phil Donahue, in 1970.
Source:The New Democrat  

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From My Inner Eye Interview

Johnny Carson is not the best interviewer of all-time, but he was a very good interviewer. A bright guy who did his homework. Johnny is not the best standup comedian of all-time, but he's certainly on the short list of greatest standup comedians who have ever performed. 

But what Johnny is, is the best comedy talk/variety show host of all-time because of his ability to do so many things and play so many roles. That generally started off with a very good standup performance of his own, followed by an interview that he would do.

I think what made the The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson work (and there is really only Tonight Show, at least as far as I'm concern) but what made that show work was that it didn't try to be anything other than what it was. 

Johnny would interview everybody and only interview those people as himself. Not interview a politician as if he was Walter Cronkite. Not interview a great athlete as if he was Curt Gowdy. Or interview a great entertainer as if he was Barbara Walters. He was comedian first and foremost and played the other roles on the show as himself doing the best job he can.

The Johnny Carson Show was real and it was about Carson and what made Carson work. The standup part for him and perhaps the comedy skits were natural for him. But the interviews and preparation were work because that wasn't his background, but he was intelligent and knew enough about the other issues he dealt with like interviewing public officials and politicians and interested in those things as well that he could interview people well and have intelligent conversations with them.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Hail to the Redskins For Life: News: Dan Snyder: "Plans Have Already Started to Build New Redskins Stadium"

Home of the Redskins 
This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on Blogger

This is something that should've been done twenty years ago. But back then Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke was dealing with Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly and her administration in Washington. And even though Mr. Cooke had offered to build the stadium himself and pay for the whole thing, which is something he and the Redskins can afford to do because of the value of the franchise, he couldn't get an agreement with the Kelly Administration in Washington to build the stadium there. There was also a factor with RFK Stadium because Washington was still looking for a new MLB franchise.

Times are much different now and not only is the City of Washington run much better and no longer dealing with runaway crime, or runaway deficits, or runaway debt, or runaway poverty. The education system is getting better and the city is no longer losing people, but actually adding people and has become one of the safest big cities to live in America. As well as having one of the best economies. And has Mayors and a government as well as City Council that knows how to govern and to make deals.

The point is because of all of these factors not only does Washington want the Redskins back in the city. But the Redskins also want to back in the city they represent and Washington is still the best location for them in the Washington metro area. Because it is a great big beautiful city where a stadium there would be easy to for everyone to get to and where fans will no longer have to worry about getting stuck in Maryland traffic because they could either drive downtown, or take the train.

For just the simple reason that Washington now has MLB again and has it downtown at Nationals Parks with the Nationals, RFK Stadium not in its current form, but either though renovation and expanding it with two or three additional decks and perhaps a retractable roof dome for a Super Bowl and other indoor events. Or simply tearing the stadium down and replacing it with a hundred-thousand seat stadium, that spot becomes a perfect location for the Washington Redskins in Washington where the Redskins now and always have belong. 

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder: Ayn Rand (1979"

Source:The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder- Objectivist author Ayn Rand, on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder in 1979.
Source:The New Democrat 

"Ayn Rand Interview with Tom Snyder" 


Tom Snyder trying to learn about Ayn Rand’s objectivism and in this interview they are getting into religion. And Ayn telling Tom that “religion is wrong and not for people who base their beliefs on religion”. And that is probably putting it nicely. 

Snyder was a lifelong Catholic, so probably hearing Ayn Rand who was what I would call a fundamentalist Atheist talking about why she doesn’t like religion is probably hard for him to hear. But that is why Snyder did these interviews to learn about how others think even when he disagrees with them.

Friday, August 22, 2014

ABC News: 20/20: John Stossel: Stupid in America

Source: ABC News- 20/20's John Stossel 
Source:Real Life Journal Plus

I take stupidity seriously and when you have a lot of Americans who are stupid, meaning they don’t know important basic things that they should know. Like what state the Kentucky Derby is in, (first word being the giveaway clue there) I get concern simply as an American who wants to see my country do as well as it can. And as much as the Great Recession was caused by Wall Street, the fact that our workers especially the ones that lost their jobs during it do not have the skills they need to get another job, or our college and high school graduates do not have the skills that they need to get a good job, you know we have a serious problem.

And as serious as a problem that stupidity in America is, it is also impossible for me as someone with a quick off the cuff sense of humor to just let slide by without making fun of it. I mean seriously we have Americans who know what the latest smart phone is, or what’s the latest rehab clinic or jail that Lindsay Lohan is at. But couldn’t tell you to save their life who is on Mount Rushmore, what is the Bill of Rights, who was our first President, what was the Civil War fought over. How many states does America have and you can go down the line.

We have become as a society where whatever is considered hot, awesome and popular at the time and that generally comes from either Silicon Valley or Hollywood, or it is not important “and like so not worth my time to like totally notice”. To paraphrase some valley speak. “What is hot is what is now, and history is in the past” and when it comes to learning it is about what is hot and what is now so you can fit in and be as popular as possible. Where you are judged by how many followers you have on Facebook or whatever the hot social network is at the time and what is the latest technology. Instead of being judged based on how much you know and what are your actual skills.

I know this might sound nerdy or whatever, but people who believe that aren’t my target audience and those people are the problem to begin with. If you want to be hot, awesome or cool, (and cool might sound old at this point) you might have to be stupid as well. And sound like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Sarah Palin, or even Johnny Football soon to be Johnny headed for Hollywood after he gives up on football Manziel. But if you want to be intelligent and successful outside of Hollywood or sports in America, then you have to be intelligent. And that only happens from learning about things that are actually important that gives you the skills to be successful in America.
ABC News: 20/20- John Stossel: Stupid in America