Alison Martino: Marilyn Monroe Mysteries & Scandals

Source:Alison Martino- Mysteries & Scandals Marilyn Monroe. I believe Alison Martino was one of the producers of that program.

Source:The New Democrat

I’ve seen several documentaries this month alone about Marilyn Monroe and her life. Because I’m very interested in her and was looking for new material that I could blog about Marilyn’s life. And in every show except for this one, they all suggested that Marilyn died from the wrong dosage of pills and then combined those pills with alcohol and you have the deadly combination which is what killed her. The idea that Jack or Bobby Kennedy killed Marilyn, is stupid. Perhaps not as stupid as the idea that Vice President Lyndon Johnson ordered the hit of President Kennedy, but it’s still pretty stupid.

Marilyn Monroe, was certainly unhappy. You don’t drink and take as much medication as she did in the last few years of her life, if you’re mentally healthy. But suicide, especially considering everything else she had going for her, is a little hard to buy. She had a lot of people around her and if this was on her mind, someone would’ve probably picked up on that and hopefully would’ve done something about it. Peter Lawford, who was sort of a personal consultant and assistant to President John F. Kennedy, if he’s involved in this, it would’ve come out. Simply because of his relationship with the Kennedy’s and Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn Monroe, was drunk the night she died and yet felt the need to have more sleeping pills. And not that I know this from personal experience, but when you’re drunk especially lets say, shit-faced drunk, you’re pretty stupid, or at the very least you act very stupid and do a lot of stupid things. Simply because you’re not in control of yourself and do things that you wouldn’t normally do. Some people say that drunkenness, makes honest people out of everyone. Marilyn, didn’t know what she was doing on the last night of her life. Because she was drunk and as a result, she took the wrong pill combination and then add all the drinking and that is what killed her.

Allen Gregg: Christopher Hitchens Interview (2001)

Source:TVO- Canadian talk show host Allen Gregg interviewing British political columnist & author Christopher Hitchens, in 2001. 

"Christopher Hitchens 2001 Conversation with Allan Gregg on Bill Clinton" 

From the Hitchens Archive

Before I get into what I really think about Christopher Hitchens and his take on Bill Clinton, I'm going to give him credit for one thing. 

The Liberals (meaning the real Liberals) really love Bill Clinton. The Republican Party gets stereotyped as the party of wealth and rich people and some of that is true. But a lot of the money and well-educated in this country is in the liberal wing (center-right-wing of the Democratic Party) of the Democratic Party, who have a tendency to talk like whacked-out, hippie-leftists. But who love liberal democracy and American capitalism (at least privately) because they've benefited so much from the American system of individual freedom, choice, rights, rule of law, separation of powers, and federalism. 

American Liberals even though at times talk like leftists who at times act like the America is the real empire in the world and we need to replace the American federal, liberal democratic, form of government, which some type of socialist state, actually, at least privately love America and what we're supposed to stand for.

American Liberals (again, meaning the real Liberals) in and outside of Hollywood, New York, the establishment of the Democratic Party, love Bill Clinton, because he's one of them culturally and ideologically.  

Now I'm not a mindreader (hopefully that's not a newsflash for anyone) but Chris Hitchens represents the Democratic Party of the 1960s, the New-Left of the 1960s, the George McGovernite wing of the Democratic Party of the 1970s and 80s. The Democratic Party that was stereotyped as people who value the welfare state, over education, opportunity, and individual freedom. A Democratic Party that was stereotyped as soft of communism, because the Far-Left of the party didn't have problems with Communists and communism. A Democratic Party that was viewed as soft of crime, who favored the rights of criminals and prison inmates, over the rights of their victims. 

When Mike Dukakis when he ran for President and won the Democratic nomination in 1988, he started to try to change the image of the Democratic Party and take back the party from the Chris Hitchens's and other far-leftists in the party, but lost badly against George H.W. Bush. 

Bill Clinton in 1992 and as President of the United States, was successful in taking back the Democratic Party from the Far-Left and turning the party back into a center-left and in some cases a center-right party, that was seen as responsible on fiscal policy and with American tax dollars. A party and government that would defend the country domestically and against foreign powers,. A party and government that wanted people on welfare to get an education, a good job, and move to the middle class. 

This is what Chris Hitchens really hates about Bill Clinton. Clinton took the Democratic Party away from him and people who think like him. That's what I believe anyway. 

VOA News: Janet Weinstein- Activists: 'Higher US Minimum Wage Still Not High Enough'

Source:VOA News- Rally for a higher minimum wage, in Washington.

Source:The New Democrat

"Communities across the country have been debating - and raising - the minimum wage workers can be paid. The federal government requires employers to pay at least $7.25 an hour. Some states and cities mandate more. Here in Washington, D.C., July marks one year since the nation's capital city raised its minimum wage from $8.25 an hour to $9.50. Janet Weinstein went to find out what the impact is one year on for VOA.

Originally published at VOA News."

The so-called conservative economist in this piece, said something that is simply false and perhaps even insulting to minimum wage workers, that I have to correct, or I don’t think I would be doing my job. He said that if you force employers to pay minimum wage workers more than they are worth, that will cost jobs, because employers would find robots to replace those employees. Well, if you’re a cashier at a fast food restaurant, or retailer, or grocery store, you’re an essential employee. Why, because without those employees, those business’s couldn’t stay in business. No one has yet to invent a robot that can do the job of a fast food cashier, or cook. These restaurants have to have those employees in order to stay in business.

So this idea that these positions are only worth the bare minimum, or even less than that for people who believe the minimum wage shouldn’t even exist, is simply not true. Because without these employees, these business’s couldn’t operate and serve their customers. So given all this minimum wage workers are simply underpaid, because their employers have to have them in order to stay in business. And not only do these employers get away with underpaying their employees, but they are able to pass the cost of living of their employees, that don’t cover at all in many cases other than the minimum wage, onto hard-working middle class taxpayers. Who not only struggle to cover their own cost of living, but have to cover at least part of the cost of living of minimum wage workers. Because employers simply underpay and under benefit their essential workers.

One thing that I agree with Democratic Socialist Senator and Democratic Party presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on and I you’re familiar with my blogging, you know it’s not a long list, but he’s said that if the Federal minimum wage kept up with inflation from where it was in 1968, it would be over twelve bucks an hour right now. So-called Conservatives and Libertarians, like to say that the market should decide what people are worth. But the market doesn’t decide that, employers do. Employers are only part of the market. And the Federal Government shouldn’t decide what everyone is worth either.

But employers shouldn’t be able to pass their cost of doing business and their employees compensation on to the backs of hard-working middle class workers. That money should go from the employer to their employees. With a twelve dollar an hour minimum wage. Along with having employers pay their share in payroll taxes to cover public assistance programs. Instead of workers having to pay for all of that themselves.

Janson Media: The Hollywood Collection: Marilyn Monroe Beyond The Legend

Source:Janson Media- Marilyn Monroe Beyond The Legend.

Source:The New Democrat

Marilyn Monroe, did seem to lack self-confidence and live in some cocoon or something and not able to see what she really had going for her. From both a personal and physical perspective. And yet the way she carried herself, you would almost have to believe that she knew she was hot, sexy, great body, baby-face adorable, with voice as cute as her face. And the things that she said and how she expressed herself and how she played her parts, you would have to think that she knew that she was very funny as well.

She wasn’t a blonde bimbo, some airhead who looked great, but had nothing else going for her. But she did lack maturity and seemed to stop aging both physically and emotionally when she reached 17, or 18 and never really grew up inside. And yet she was a hell of a talent as an actress, singer and comedian even. Similar to Shelley Winters and Elizabeth Taylor, she made her serious roles and parts look like funny people. Because she was a very funny person herself, who brought herself to all of her roles. And because she didn’t see how talented she was and what she had going for her, abused herself and was depressed a lot.

If Marilyn just bothered to grow up personally and just had a healthy sense of self-worth and self-confidence and bothered to take care of herself and not drink and take all the pills that she did, she could easily still be alive today. I mean, a women with all the skills and talent that Marilyn had, to die at 36 and have died in a plane crash, or a car crash, but to die the way she did from a pill overdose and being drunk at the time as well and all by herself, is one of the biggest damn shame’s of all-time. I can’t think of a sadder way for such a talented women to die than to be that young and alone and die from an overdose. But in her short life, she accomplished so much and left so much behind for people to remember her. And most of it positive.

The Economist: 'What Happened When Portugal Decriminalized Drugs?'

Source:The Economist- The War on Marijuana, coming to an end?

Source:The New Democrat

"For 20 years The Economist has led calls for a rethink on drug prohibition. This film looks at new approaches to drugs policy, from Portugal to Colorado."

From The Economist

I believe what Portugal is saying with their drug decriminalization policy is that narcotics are bad for you, but is locking up people simply for illegal drug possession or illegal drug use is also not only bad for you, but bad for the society as well. That Portugal, is not endorsing the usage of cocaine, meth, or heroin, but they’re saying there are better and more cost-effective ways of dealing with narcotics in this country.

And instead of sending drug addicts and users to prison for simply using narcotics, they send those people to drug rehab. Which frees up jail and prison space for actual criminals. People who pose an actual threat to the security of Portugal.

And hopefully this works, because as bad as the War on Drugs might have been in Portugal, it isn’t a positive thing in any other country. Especially America.

US News: Eric Schnurer: 'Don't Look Back to Move Forward'

Source:US News- former Governor Martin O'Malley (Democrat, Maryland) announcing his 2016 presidential campaign.

Source:The New Democrat 

"I once had dinner with Martin O'Malley – who announced his presidential candidacy last weekend – at a National Governors Association meeting. From what I knew of him, I expected something similar to Olivia Nuzzi's recent description of him in The Daily Beast as "sociopathically charming." Instead, I found O'Malley, as both a speaker and a dinner companion, so earnestly mired in policy details as to be almost boring: In short, I liked him." 

From US News 

Martin O'Malley: "New Leadership" 

Source:Martin O'Malley- Governor Martin O'Malley (Democrat, Maryland) talking about his presidential campaign.

From Martin O'Malley 

I agree with Eric Schnurer, that Martin O’Malley is an old-school Liberal. But we differ on what it means to be an old-school Liberal. Schnurer, seems to think that an old-school Liberal is someone who believes that government has a program that can solve every problem that comes up. That big centralized government has all the answers. That we’re always one new tax increase, or new tax, new social program, or new investment in a current social program from solving all of our problems. And this type of political thinking does have a label for it, but it’s not Liberal. And liberalism is not that government and statist centric.

Jack Kennedy, when he ran for President in 1960, gave a speech at the New York Liberal Party convention and he defined liberalism and liberal there and I’m paraphrasing JFK, but he said that: “If liberal means someone whose soft on defense, irresponsible with tax dollars, believes in a superstate to solve everyone’s problems for them, then I’m not that Liberal.” Then Senator Kennedy went on to say: “But if a Liberal is someone who looks ahead and not behind, whose concern about the welfare of others, who believes we can always do better, then I’m that Liberal.” JFK, is Bill Clinton’s political hero and they think a lot alike when it comes to politics and policy.

Martin O’Malley, is not a Centrist and someone who is basically in the middle on most issues and perhaps leans left on social issues and leans right on fiscal issues. But he’s also not a Democratic Socialist, or perhaps even a New Deal Progressive. He’s someone who believes government can’t do everything, but can help people who especially need it move ahead, move forward and be able to live in freedom with the rest of the country. As his record as Mayor of Baltimore and then Governor of Maryland indicates. He’s someone who believes in making government work and making it efficient to serve as many people as possible. Not making government bigger, just to create more government jobs and spend more money.

Governor O’Malley, has been light on details as far as his presidential campaign so far. But I believe that is how he’s going to run for President. He’s not going to try to out Socialist the Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders, or get stuck in the middle with Hillary Clinton. But you’ll see the JFK New Democratic Liberal leanings in him and policies. As someone who wants to bring young voters with him and show them how government can work to help people improve their own lives. Not to try to take most of their money from them and try to run their lives for them. And I believe he’ll be able to bring a lot of Democrats with him with that type of campaign.

C-SPAN: Hillary Clinton’s FDR Park The Bargain Speech

Source:CSPAN with Hillary R. Clinton's (Democrat, New York) 2016 presidential campaign announcement speech.

Source:The New Democrat

Hillary Clinton, finally found her vision and theme for running for President. Which is to create and build an America where all Americans can succeed. Where everyone who plays by the rules, works hard and is productive can make it in America and live in freedom and security. Unlike Senator Elizabeth Warren, even though this speech did have some progressive populist themes in it, it was much more positive. And not talking about the rules are rigged just for the wealthy, or corporations and the rich are screwing the rest of America. But instead talking about an America where everyone can do well if they work hard and are productive.

By talking about how the wealthy have done so well, while the rest of the country is still struggling, but at the same time talking about an America where everyone did better and well, which was the 1990s, she offered a contrast and vision from the neoconservative trickle down supply side economic policy of the Republican Party right now. The theory supply side being that if you cut taxes and regulations for business’s and the wealthy, somehow that will benefit everyone else. That theory has never been proven to work, but that is still the main Republican economic policy. And she was able separate from the Sanders/Warren social democratic wing of the Democratic Party that wants more taxes and social programs for everyone to close the economic gap.

What Hillary did, was separate from both the Tea Party and Reagan Republican wing of the Republican Party and the Sanders/Warren social democratic wing of the Democratic Party. And carve about a big area where most of the rest of the country is in between. Not a centrist message, but a message and vision of her own. That says government can’t do everything for people, but it can’t do nothing. That it should focus on people who are struggling and empower them to be able to do well in America. Get them the tools to do well. With traditional Liberal Democratic policies of individual initiative, education, infrastructure and economic development. So everyone can do well in America and I think she hit out of the park.