CBS News: 60 Minutes Presents Crime and Punishment: The Capture of James Whitey Bulger

Source:CBS News 60 Minutes with a look at Irish-American mobster James Whitey Bulger.

Source:The New Democrat

James Whitey Bulger
To say that James Whitey Bulger is not your average criminal would be like saying that Larry Bird isn’t your average basketball player. (Another famous Boston figure) I’m not a criminologist obviously and yes it also snows in Minnesota, (thanks Captain Obvious) but Whitey is a criminal genius. And if he gets to spend any real-time outside of his cell in the hell hole that he’s going to die in his fellow inmates are going to be able to learn a lot from him. Unless they’re serving life without in prison as well. Here’s a guy whose guilty of at least nineteen murders and yet up until recently hasn’t spent much of his life in prison. He’s been on the streets for most of his life.

Neo-Nazis
I think the only way you can become a Nazi especially as an adult is like the guy in this story. Is that by in large you’re a good person and you’re doing well in life, but suddenly you find yourself out of work and your bills are piling up and you go years without at least a full-time job. You lose your home and perhaps now living a one-room apartment, or maybe in the basement of your parents home. And you’re trying to figure out where you go from there and you run in people you should have nothing to do with. And they start telling you about the dangers of the other races. In this case non-Caucasians in America especially non-Anglo Saxons. I have a hard time believing that a good person whose grown up with people from other races and ethnicities would suddenly become a racist for no apparent reason.

CBS News: Baseball Great Yogi Berra Dead at 90

Source:CBS News-

Source:The Daily Review

I think it would be fairly easy just to write a piece about Yogi Berra featuring a lot of his great one-liners. But we're talking about one of the top 3-5 catchers in the history of Major League Baseball. And yes he was a great comedian, but how many catchers do you know of that were great behind the plate who also have a career 285 bating average with 358 home runs and 1430 RBI. At least statistically we're talking about a better hitting catcher than Johnny Bench who is still the best all around catcher of all-time. Yogi is at least the best all around catcher pre-Johnny Bench who came up with the Cincinnati Reds in 1967.

As far as his humor I love people who put things in a very direct way telling it exactly how it is and using humor with it. Especially when they're not making fun of someone, or some group of people. Who can say ironic things and stuff that they know can't be true, but do it so well and intentionally that you have to laugh at it. Like the Yogi line about baseball being 90% half mental. Well anyone with a basic understanding of mathematics knows that can't be true. But he was so clever about how he said that, that you had to laugh at that. Or saying obvious things, but doing it with perfect timing that again you have to laugh. "When you come to a fork in road, take it."

"You can observe a lot just by watching." Which of course sounds like Captain Obvious under attack and everyone must duck, or get hit in the head with useless information that they've known since they were born. But if you're not someone who tends to be very good about knowing your surroundings and tend to miss things that are right in front of you, that little piece of obvious information can help you. And tell you to pay attention so you don't miss what is going on right in front of you.

"It aint over till it's over." Good message for players who are down a lot in a game, but still have time to turn it around. And instead of thinking, "damn we suck! We're not only going to get blown out, but we might not bother to score!" You would have Yogi saying something like, "relax, I know its 6-0, but its only the 3rd inning. Besides I got a guy in there who can actually pitch now. So just relax and play the game right and we'll get back in it." Telling his players there's a reason why a World Series is seven games and games themselves are nine innings, because you don't win those things early on.

Yogi Berra, again one of the top 3-5 catchers of all-time, but similar to Billy Martin and Phil Rizzuto if he wasn't playing and managing baseball, he could have been a great comedian and talk show host as well. Because of his ability to put things exactly as they are with a little touch of great wit. Which is what great one-liners are. The ability to use common sense to make fun of life and even people in life. The ability to state the obvious without someone saying,"no shit Einstein! You got any other brand new discoveries you would like to share with us?" And because of that and I think especially the humor he's going to be missed for a long time.

Lifetime: Intimate Portrait- Dame Elizabeth Taylor

Source:Lifetime Network with a biography of Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

Source:The Daily Review

Liz Taylor is the Jim Brown, John Unitas, Babe Ruth, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Frank Sinatra, the person in her profession that everyone who comes after her his judged by. The greatest at what she does. Are you as good as Elizabeth Taylor as an actress? If you are, well now you’re the best, but if you’re anything close to her even light years from her you know you’ve made it. If you’re in her class, or just a few classes back from Liz Taylor you’ve made it. You’re not just a successful actress, but you’re a great actress. I’ve gone back and forth between Liz and Lauren Bacall when I try to decide who’s the best actress of all-time, because you could make a great case for either and I’m blogging now about Liz, so I’m going to make her case.

But I’ve just don’t know of another actress whose funnier, one of the funniest people who has ever come out of Hollywood. As she said she’s an instinctive and if you’re a great instinctive actress you are also a great improv actress, because you go off of feel about who you’re playing and where the role and the movie, or show is going. That is Liz Taylor and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Which isn’t a question, but a movie) Is a perfect example of that where she’s playing a women whose losing her mind and going crazy if not already there. Its is a very serious role and movie and yet she and Richard Burton are very funny in that. And maybe that’s just because they were working with each other and the chemistry they had. But they made that movie a great movie by themselves.

When it comes to dramatic actress’s I don’t know of a better actress. Again Virginia Woolf, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Butterfield 8, The V.I.P.’s again with Burton and The Sandpiper again with Burton. She’s great at making very serious roles in serious movies seem very entertaining and even funny. Virginia Woolf, is a very serious graphic even movie with this couple that looks like they’re getting ready to divorce, because of how they argue and the clean shots that they throw and land at each other. And of course with Liz’s character going insane as the movie moves along and yet they were both hysterically funny together in this movie. She might be the best improvisational actress of all-time as well and Lauren Bacall does very well in this area as well.

Liz Taylor very similar to Ava Gardner took charge of her life and lived her life exactly the way she wanted. And essentially said the hell with the future and the consequences and lived her life her way. I think that’s how a women is married 6-7 times, or whatever it was and drinks and eats too much. She lived a roller coaster life including all the tragedies that she suffered around her husband Mike Todd dying and other loved one around her dying. But with all the ups and downs that she had in her life she lived a great 79 years that has millions of people who love her and will always love her. And we’re also talking about one of the two best actress’s ever. And when you live a life-like that and enjoy so much and have so much success with so many people who love you, what do you have to complain about. She lived a great life and had a great roller coaster ride.
Source:Lifetime

Green Party: 'Bill Kreml Envisioning a Functional Government'

Source: Green Party USA-Bill Kreml-

Source:The New Democrat

I gotta admit and there are not many Social Democrats, or Democratic Socialists that actually empress me, but Bill Kreml even with his hippie socialist look came off as very sober and knowing exactly what he's talking about here. We don't agree on social democracy, or democratic socialism, but he made an excellent presentation here.

I've said for about four years now as a blogger that Social Democrats in America, of course they want to change the U.S. Constitution. If not throw it out, or start over, or not bothering to replace it with anything else. And change the Federal Government and that is assuming they would leave our Federal system in place, change it to a social democratic majoritarian system. Where the people in power could essentially do whatever they want, because who, or what the hell would stop them? America is a Constitutional Federal Republic with liberal democratic values and protections that protect us from a majority that would go to far. Of course our Constitution is anti-majoritarian. Why should Americans lose their constitutional rights because of a big government party right or left that comes into power that doesn't believe in them?

The one suggestion that Mr. Kreml made that I actually like not sure if I'm in favor of it, but is certainly worth consideration would be to have the House of Representatives serve four-year terms instead of two. I would be open to this as long as you split up the House and 218 Representatives run during a presidential year and the other half run during mid-terms. So the people could still hold the President and his party accountable before the reelection campaign if they don't like what the current administration is doing and don't like what his party in Congress both House and Senate is doing either. But a better solution here would simply to hold Congress more accountable. End gerrymandering in the House whether it comes from Republicans or Democrats. And establish full-disclosure for all Senators and Representatives and Congressional candidates. So if someone is being bought the people will know who those people are.

Mr. Kreml hinted that a pure social democracy wouldn't work in America because of our size and political diversity. And neither would a unitarian government to replace our federal system. You take away the federal system and replace it with a unitarian system and you would see states leaving the union with Washington having to decide if they should use the military or not to prevent Florida. Texas, California, Alaska, whoever it might be from leaving the union. Because those states and perhaps every other state would say, "why should Washington tell us how to educate our kids, build our roads, get to spend most of our tax revenue, etc, etc, when we're more than capable of doing these things for ourselves?" But Mr. Kreml does make a good argument about the House of Representatives. Which of course needs to be reformed, but the question is how to do that.
Source:Green Party

Biography: Ava Gardner (1999)

Source:The Daily Review-

Source:The Daily Review

In Ava Gardner’s narration in this video you’ll see here where they use her actual voice Ava talks about that she was basically just a North Carolina country girl at heart. And how nice it would have been to just live in the country. I can’t think of a more modest thing a Hollywood star has ever said. I mean we are talking about one of the best looking women who has ever lived and one of the best actress’s who has ever lived. Perhaps the voice of her generation as well with that sweet and yet sexy voice. Perhaps she got that from hanging out with the Chairman of the Board Frank Sinatra and perhaps attending his board meetings. But imagine had all of that talent stayed in Asheville, North Carolina or some place. Only they would have known how great she was.

Even though Ava Gardner did live still 68 which is not a real short life, I mean you’re collecting Social Security and Medicare at that point, so you’re certainly not young in years, but the average America women lives to about 80 now, but I’m not sure she was built to last. She was a true star a Hollywood Goddess and stars tend to burn out at some point. And when you are a carefree individual that she was and live your life your way, (to paraphrase The Chairman) you’re going to do things that aren’t real smart if you’re looking to live a long time. She partied too much, drank too much, had a lot of bad relationships with the same man. (I think you know who I’m talking about) She got out of life as much as she could before it was taken from her, but made a hell of a life and career for herself.

Ava Gardner is literally one of the top actress’s of her generation if not all-time. The same league as Lauren Bacall, Susan Hayward and many others and perhaps not even a handful of actress’s are better. And yet she was a true star both on the screen and in real-life and lived her characters off stage as well with her lifestyle. She played the role of a women who couldn’t get enough out of life in her personal life and simply enjoyed life too much before it finally caught up with her. But in the time she had she put together a great resume including in the 1964 movie Seven Days in May where she played the girlfriend of the general was who trying to create a coup and take over the United States. And is still one of the top Hollywood Goddess’s and actress’s of all-time.

The Doors: Jim Morrison and The Doors- 'Hello, I Love You: From 1968 In Color'

Source:The Daily Review- Jim Morrison and The Doors: Live from Frankfurt, Germany in 1968.

Source:The Daily Review

"The Doors - Hello, I Love You (Subtitulos Español - Ingles). Gran canción de una gran banda! Suscribanse."

Source:The Doors- Jim Morrison and The Doors: Live from Frankfurt, Germany in 1968.

From The Doors

It’s a rare treat that you get to see Jim Morrison and The Doors perform in color. Even though they came out and became a hit in the late 1960s most of their concert footage and music videos were done in black and white. Almost like watching music performances from 1955 or something even though color video and footage for both TV and movies was pretty common if not expected by 1968 when this video in Frankfurt Germany came out.

But since this video was shot in color, you get to see Jim Morrison and The Doors the best blues rock band I believe of the 1960s playing in color. With Jim Morrison performing in his go to black leather suit and suede cowboy boots. And you get to see parts of downtown Frankfurt, Germany as well. The song Hello I don’t think is that great of song. But it has a great guitar and drums beat to it and with the Lizard King and his great voice and with the timing down can make ordinary lyrics like “hello, I love you”, sound better than they actually are.

And then you throw in Morrison’s skin-tight black leather jeans and concho belt that almost made him look like his crotch was sticking out (and that is as graphic as I’ll get) and you had women who simply were in love with him especially when they got to see him perform up close and wanting to touch him. A big reason why you would see women jump up on the stage trying touch and grab him while her performed in the 1960s. So you put all of these things together and you have a pretty good video here.

Bernie Sanders: Rachel Maddow- Bernie Sanders Consistency

Source:U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Democratic Socialist, Socialist Republic of Vermont)

Source:The New Democrat

This video of Bernie Sanders would have been much more enjoyable to watch if Rachel Maddow wasn't in it, or I didn't have to hear her speak. She's just one example of why MSNBC is so unwatchable and why they're going to change their prime-time lineup. According to Rachel, Bernie Sanders has served in both the Congress and the Senate as if they're separate institutions. I guess she's another American who failed social studies in high school, or didn't bother to take it. And could get use out of taking a U.S. Government course. And why we're somewhere around 40 when it comes to education in the world.

What is appealing about Senator Bernie Sanders who is still the only self-described Democratic Socialist in Congress, but not the only one, just the only one with the balls to call them self a Democratic Socialist, is his consistency. Other than consistently attacking, or going after Republicans, he doesn't sound like a politician. Unlike Hillary Clinton he knows who he his and what he believes and always has. He doesn't figure out what office he wants to run for and then decide who has to be and what special interest support he believes he needs to win that office and then figure out what his positions are going to be based on that. Because the man already knows what he believes and why he believes it and was introduced to himself before most of the country was born and knows exactly who he is.

I believe Senator Sanders is running for president because he actually wants the job. Unlike a Ron Paul from 2012 who was running for the most part to gain national attention for his libertarian message. Senator Sanders wants to be President of the United States and believes he at least has a competitive shot at winning the Democratic nomination for president next year and then winning the presidency. But again, because he knows who he is and what he believes and why he believes it and is a man of great character he's not going to say whatever he believes he needs to win. Which is something that if America had a lot more of in our politicians then a lot more Americans would bother to vote, because they believe they would know who they're voting for and why.
Source:Bernie Sanders