Johnny Carson: 'Best Moments on Politics on The Tonight Show'

Source:Sovereign Rebellion- The King of Late Night Johnny Carson, talking to CBS News's Mike Wallace, on 60 Minutes, in 1979.

Source:The Daily Review 

"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

In addition, the Center for Media and Social Impact (CMSI) has adopted a set of best practices as it relates to the copyright doctrine of fair use when making online videos. Specifically, any reproduction, reposting, or quoting in order to memorialize, preserve, or rescue an experience, an event, or a cultural phenomenon is an acceptable use of copyrighted material under fair use."  

From Sovereign Nation

Source:The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson- Some guy named Jim & President Ronald Reagan.

"Johnny Carson's Best Moments on Politics." From Johnny Carson. The video has since been deleted or blocked on YouTube.

I haven't seen them all, but I believe my favorite Johnny Carson political skit is the politician under the lie detector. Because that plays so well with today's American politics and I'm sure it played very well back in 1982 politics when that skit was done. Just imagine how many politicians would disqualify themselves from running for office, or would have to resign from office if they were always under a lie detector every time they spoke in public.

Imagine if politicians had to answer questions in public about their records under a lie detector test and here are some examples of what that could be like.

Question- "Senator Jones, why did you vote against the clean energy bill?" Answer-"Because Big Oil told me if I did, they wouldn't bankroll my reelection campaign.

" Question- "Representative Smith, why did you vote against the middle class tax cuts?" Answer-"Because I believe middle class Americans are too stupid to spend their own money wisely. Besides, it's not the people's money anyway, but the government's money."

American politicians have a bad habit of promising their constituents things from government that they don't want to ask the people to pay for. Because they know raising revenue, (another way of saying increasing taxes) or moving funds around, (another way of saying cutting popular programs) could cost them politically. So what they say is they'll give people free roads, or education vouchers, free health care, (to use as examples) instead the theory being if that government does it then the service is free. But anyone familiar with American politics, Milton Friedman and pays taxes, knows there's no such thing as a free lunch. At least when it comes to government.

Imagine if American politicians were asked to explain how they would pay for their new popular government programs and were under a lie detector and didn't know that.

Question- "Senator Wilson, how do you plan to pay for your national childcare program? Well, with the debt and deficit being as high as it is, we're going to have to increase payroll taxes out of people's paychecks, or ask wealthy people to retire later, or a combination of both." Unless Senator Wilson represents Massachusetts, or Vermont, two states that fills out their taxes with smiles on their faces and actually celebrates National Tax Day and sees it as a holiday, he can probably forget about reelection. Because his opponent would call him a tax and spender. Who thinks Americans are under taxed and that government should take more of their hard-earned money from them.

Lying politicians is as common in America as snow is as common in Canada and socialism is as common in Sweden. If a politician is asked at a party by someone who doesn't know them and has never seen them before, what they do for a living? And the politician tells them I'm a state senator, or U.S. Representative, or something like that, the politician might get a drink thrown in their face. And if the politician happens to be President or Vice President of the United States, the drink thrower would probably get tackled to the ground by a Secret Service agent. And be arrested for being so stupid as to not know who the President and Vice President of the United States are. Well, at least not knowing who the President is.

So a full-time lie detector at least for Congress, would throw out a lot of the trash that currently stinks up the House and Senate, because Members of Congress would no longer get away with lying. 

Lifetime: Lynda Carter 2000 Intimate Portrait

Source:Lifetime- Wonder Woman Lynda Carter.

Source:The Daily Review 

"A biography on Lynda Carter. Narrated by Mary Hart." 

From Lifetime

I'm sure Lynda Carter is more than Wonder Woman and has more credits to her life than that. I think the problem that she and its not a weakness on her part, but similar to Catherine Bach as Daisy Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard, she played Wonder Woman so well and doesn't have another role that comes close to the popularity of Wonder Woman, that she's not that well-known for anything else. Except for perhaps her most die hard fans. Which is a shame, because she might be the best looking and sexiest women on TV from the 1970s. A gloomy decade in a lot of ways, but her and that show gave millions of Americans a lot to be happy about and look forward to for about five years. In the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Lynda Carter, is one of the top Hollywood Goddess's of all-time. I'm not sure a better looking women has ever been on TV, to be frank about this. A gorgeous and yet baby-faced adorable brunette, 5'9, 130 pounds or so, great body. Built like a great tennis player. You can see why the creators of Wonder Woman wanted her so much and wanted her in that outfit so much. She truly looked like a goddess  and played one on TV as well. I don't know of another women at least from that era, who cold have played that role better, or as well. When you're talking about her physical presence and the fact that she's a hell of an actress as well. She made a guest appearance on the hit police detective show Starsky and Hutch in like 1975 or 76 , before Wonder Woman and you could see then that she was going to be a star.

I'm surprised that Wonder Woman didn't lead to other great roles for her on TV and in the movies. I could easily have seen her on a hit cop show in the 1980s where she plays a detective or detective sergeant, kicking ass and saving the day. (So to speak) I think she would have been great in roles like that on TV, or doing action/comedy movies like that. And perhaps even having another hit show. Similar to Angie Dickinson with Police Woman in the mid and late 1970s. But she has made a very good career for herself doing other movies, as well as putting together a pretty successful singing career. But even being typecast as this Wonder Goddess from Paradise Island, (of all places) I believe even with that she should have had other opportunities like that in the 1980s and 1990s. And had more great credits on her resume.

The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson: Ronald Reagan's Funny Return to California (January 4, 1989)

Source:The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, talking about Ronald Reagan's "funny return" to California in 1989.

Source:The Daily Review

I think Johnny's best line here was about President Reagan reaching a deal with Random House to write his presidential memoirs and getting a big advance for it. If you're familiar with Ron Reagan's second presidential term and I am even though I was a kid for his entire presidency and had just started junior high when he left office, you know that President Reagan claimed to not remember a lot of key parts of his second term. Iran Contra, being a perfect example of that and claiming if he didn't know if he had agreed to the arms for hostages deal in 1985-86. And his own Vice President, his first officer in his administration, a man who was a very active and responsible VP who was in on everything that the President did, George H.W. Bush, claiming to know nothing about Iran Contra. Even though he was at all the meetings.

Johnny's joke being that, "funny how a big advance from Random House to write your memoirs can jumpstart your memory." In this case the memory about Iran Contra and a lot of the key moments of his second term as president. There are only a few ways this could have gone down.

President Reagan, came down with alzheimer's as President of the United States and that is why he forgot so much about his presidency even as President. And if you believe that I have a ski resort in Los Angeles where they get the best snow that I would like to sell you.

President Reagan, was too much of a delegator and not on top of things that were going on at his National Security Council. Which is very believable.

Or of course he knew what was going on the whole time and didn't want Congress to know about arms being traded for hostages in Iran. Because he didn't want to get into trouble for it. Which is also very believable.

A good line Johnny had about Vice President Elect Dan Quayle, who of course was President George H.W. Bush's Vice President. Dan Quayle, was a young U.S. Senator who had only been in Congress for less than twelve years between both the House and Senate by the time Vice President Bush selected him in 1988 and didn't have much a resume before Congress and was 41 at the time, was viewed at the very least by the national media to be not ready and immature and not real bright. He got a bad wrap as being known as an idiot and perhaps immature, but he didn't do much as Vice President to show anyone outside of him that he was up for the second ranking position in the U.S. Government. And Johnny making the crack that Ron Reagan will be having dinner with talk show Merv Griffin. While he will be having finger food at Jack in The Box. (A California fast food joint)
Source:Johnny Carson

Sargon of Akkad: 'Hipster Racists'

Source:Sargon of Akkad- probably crossing a line by comparing OWS with Adolf Hitler.

Source:The Daily Review 

"Progressive hipsters have decided that "racism" is no longer a concept but a "structure" or "system" as a rationalisation to see racism against non-white people everywhere or in turn be prejudiced against white people.

Which, incidentally, is exactly the opposite of what Martin Luther King Jr wanted, but I'm sure they know better than he does."

From Sargon of Akkad

When did race and color blindness become "like so not awesome and old school", or whatever with the New-Left in America? I mean how can someone call them self an admirer of Dr. Martin Luther King when they don't get his basic messages of non-violence and color blindness. 

And let's be clear about what color blindness is and what I'm talking about here is race blindness. Only blind people don't see race and color. So thats not what this is about. What I'm talking about is not judging people based on their complexion and race. I don't think Joe is better than John, or anyone else, because I like his complexion and race, or that we share those things. Their race and color has nothing to do with how I feel about Joe, or John, Mary, Sally, whoever the hell it may be.

"People of color", there's a great hipster term that I hate. As opposed to people who don't have color? Well, if that was true how would you describe people of olive complexion? Which includes Mediterranean-Europeans, Southern Slavs, Jews, Arabs, and other people's? They obviously have color and so do people of Anglo and Nordic descent and Germanic descent. We all have color, just not as much color as other people of color like Africans and South Asians. (To use as examples) 

Again, it goes back to color blindness which is another way of saying not judging people by color, race, or ethnicity. Hipsters don't have a problem with judging people by color and race. Just as long as they aren't Caucasian. Because in their little Pluto size world of the hipster New-Left there's no such thing as racism against Caucasians.

I guess what is called hipster racism and I call it ignorance, because I'm not ready to label all leftist hipsters as racist and I imagine most of them aren't, but hipster ignorance is another example of one things. How tragic the death of Dr. Martin Luther King's was who was the ultimate leader when it came to racial tolerance and equality where he truly wanted an America where Americans weren't judged by race and color. And had the New-Left bothered to study MLK instead of, gee I don't know, Karl Marx, or Che Guevara, well for one, the New-Left in America wouldn't be the New-Left. Because they wouldn't be so far out on a marijuana trip ideologically. 

The Far-Left in America would be a lot smarter and not making people on Left in general look like bigots. But good tolerant people who believe in opportunity and freedom for all. Where we aren't judged by race and color.

Ayn Rand Institute: 'James McConnell- Interviews Ayn Rand About the New Intellectual (1961)'

Source:Ayn Rand Institute- Objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand, being interviewed by James McConnell, in 1961.

Source:The New Democrat 

"In this interview, which took place upon publication of For the New Intellectual, Ayn Rand discusses the nature of cultural leadership, the influence of Plato, Aquinas and Kant, the creeping mysticism infecting science and the lengthy process by which individuals become the “new intellectuals” of tomorrow.

Recorded May 15, 1961." 

From the Ayn Rand Institute

One thing I would give Ayn Rand credit for is her consistency. She believed the same things when she became well-known in the 1940s or so all the way up until she died. We agree when it comes to individual freedom that people should have the power to live their own lives and not be interfered with government as long as they aren't hurting any innocent person. This is something that Liberals have in common with Libertarians and Objectivists. 

But I guess the reason why objectivism has never caught on anywhere in the world and why libertarianism has just become  a major movement in America and Canada in the last ten years or so is because even though a lot of people tend to believe in both personal economic freedom now, we also tend at least in America believe in a public safety net for people who truly need it.

Canada and Europe, are a bit different where they don't believe that individuals should be left to take care of themselves and go further than just a social insurance system, which is what a safety net is. And have welfare states there to meet the basic needs of the people. Mixed in with private enterprise to fund those social programs and a good deal of personal freedom as well. As least for a social democracy. 

I like to call Americans Classical Liberals, or Social Liberals at least in the sense that we go further when it comes to both personal and economic freedom then Social Democrats. But one thing that separates us from Libertarians is that again we want a safety net for people who truly need it. Not a welfare state to manage people's economic affairs for them. But social insurance for people who truly hit hard times.

Classic Film Glamour: Hollywood Goddess Faye Dunaway

Source:Classic Film Glamour- Hollywood Goddess Faye Dunaway.

Source:The Daily Review 

"My Faye Dunaway video from my old channel OldHollywoodVideos08...

Background Information (From Wikipedia)

Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress.

Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network (1976) after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Chinatown (1974). She has starred in a variety of films, including The Thomas Crown Affair (both the 1968 and 1999 versions), The Towering Inferno (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and Mommie Dearest (1981)." 

From Classic Film Glamour 

I guess when I think of great dramatic comedic actress’s and what I mean by that is actress’s who combine both dramatic and comedic abilities in the same role, not actress’s who are great at both comedy and drama, but women who do both in the same roles, I think of Faye Dunaway, Liz Taylor, Lauren Bacall and a few others. 

But Faye is towards the top of this list if not at the top, because she has this great ability at putting things exactly as they are with real feeling, but doing it in a great comedic and humorous way as well. Like the line she had in Network when she tells the Max Schumacher character (played by William Holden) that: “You aren’t the worst lay I’ve ever had. God knows I’ve had worst.”

Faye Dunaway is this tall gorgeous, baby-faced adorable actress, with this great dramatic and comedic abilities. Who seems to specialize at playing very cute gorgeous women who are very sharp and have a lot of energy and who are also smart asses. 

I swear to God (even though I’m Agnostic) that if Faye were a career soap opera actress she would be the best ever at that. She would have won have multiple awards for that every year and been on the top soap if not top show on TV every year. Best Actress should almost be her title. She’s really the best at whatever she does at least from her era. (Let's call it the Baby Boom) Network is one of my favorite movies and other than maybe Peter Finch she was the best actor/actress in that movie. And Network is the perfect example of what dramatic comedy is: a movie that takes on serious subjects, but does it in a humorous way.

In many ways I see Faye Dunaway as a satirist. Someone who uses both drama and comedy to talk about serious subjects and does it in a very entertaining and sexy way. Chinatown with Jack Nicholson is another example of this where detective movies tend to be funny and Jack Nicholson is pretty funny in really anything he does so putting together with Faye Dunaway is an all-star combination. 

Network is Fay’s best and most famous part and where she was really the best on a great all-star cast with a great production team. But she’s had a lot of other great roles that’s shown all of her great abilities. Like Chinatown, The Towering Inferno. She’s a Hall of Fame actress who could’ve gone into the Hall of Fame thirty-years ago and I hope she’s around forever.

Jim Files: NY Giants Chronicles- The 1960s and 1970s

Source:Jim Files- The 1960s New York Giants. 

Source:The Daily Review 

"1970 New York Giants Highlight Video"

From Jim Files

I believe Bob Papa had the best line when he said that the New York Giants by 1964 were in transition. The great teams and success that they had in the 1950s and early 1960s was gone by 1964. 

Giants running back Alex Webster (not Barney Rubble) had a great line as well when he said in 64 that the Giants had a bunch of players who played a year too long. They were an aging team that was carrying a lot of aging veterans who were past their primes and should’ve retired after the 62 or 63 seasons and simply no longer had it in 64 and the Giants collapsed and finished in last place in 64. And guys like Y.A. Tittle, Frank Gifford and Alex Webster, all retire after the 64 season. Leaving the Giants being forced to start rebuilding in 65.

To give you an idea of how good the Giants were from 1964-80: they never made the playoffs and had I believe had two winning seasons. The worst team in the NFC East in the 1970s. Again, one winning season and year after year competing with their arch-rival the Philadelphia Eagles for last place in the NFC East. Two of the biggest markets and cities in the country and two of the most storied franchises in the NFL and yet they were consistently competing for last place in the NFC East. 

I think the problem with the Giants of this era was that they fired Allie Sherman too soon after the 68 season and then not finding a good head coach for them until Ray Perkins in 1979. They had several different head coaches during this period that all had one thing in common: losing season after losing season.

As great as Wellington Mara was for the New York Giants franchise he made a lot of mistakes in the 1960s and 70s. Not having the right general manager and head coach in the 1970s and poor drafting set this franchise way back. 

Also, not finding a replacement for Yankee Stadium which was really a baseball park that the Giants shared. (With the guess who) All of these things that contributed to the Giants essentially being asleep as a franchise especially in the 1970s. Even the Chicago Bears who were pretty bad in this period as well-managed a couple of winning seasons and made the playoffs in the 1970s. 

The Giants did make a few good draft picks in the mid and late 1970s like Harry Carson, George Martin and Phil Simms that set them up well for the 1980s. But by in-large the 1970s was a bad decade for the New York Giants.