CNN: Marilyn Monroe in The Kennedys

SourceCNN- left to right: Robert F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy.

Source:The Daily Review

John F. Kennedy, is my number one political hero, but as great as a politician as he was and in many ways a great man, he never becomes President of the United States if the media back then bothered to report on the personal lives of politicians. Only tabloids did that and as most people know tabloids aren’t taken seriously especially when it comes to politicians. At least by intelligent people. Because Jack Kennedy, is simply one of the most irresponsible politicians we’ve ever had at least as far as how he lived his personal life. He had personal and even friendly relationships with gangsters and friends of gangsters. And even had an affair as a married man with the girlfriend of a gangster in Judy Campbell. The girlfriend of Italian gangster Sam Giacana.

Marilyn Monroe, is an example of the recklessness of Jack Kennedy. Not that Marilyn was a bad person, because the opposite is true there, but she was a very immature baby-faced adorable women, whose personality and maturity didn’t seem much older. Who was mentally unstable and had Hollywood fantasies that Jack would divorce his wife Jackie and that Marilyn would become next First Lady of the United States. All Jack wanted from Marilyn was her body, sex and a good time. Which might sound really rude, if not crude, but he never saw Marilyn as long-term romance material and not marriage material. But to be completely honest, I don’t believe he ever saw any women as marriage material. In the sense he would settle down with her and give up all of his affairs.

Jack, officially broke it off with Marilyn in 1962 and of course didn’t have the decency and wasn’t man enough to personally tell her that himself. And had his brother and most trusted aid Bobby do that for him. But that is as far as it goes with how Marilyn was after she got the news and how they effected her. There’s no real evidence if any evidence, of anyone being in the house other than Marilyn and her housekeeper the night that she died at home. The most loyal of Marilyn fans will never except that a women this sexy, beautiful and adorable, with the great personality, sense of humor, talent and everything else, and entertainer who was headed to Hollywood Hall of Fame has she lived in normal live in years, that she killed herself. Accidentally, or otherwise and that is why these conspiracy theories that someone murdered her exist.

Marilyn Monroe Documentaries: 'Unsolved Mysteries- Who Killed Marilyn Monroe?'

Source:Marilyn Monroe Documentaries- Hollywood Babydoll Marilyn Monroe.

Source:The Daily Review 

"A Documentary surrounding the death of Marilyn Monroe."

Source:Marilyn Monroe Documentaries- talking about the death of Marilyn Monroe.

From Marilyn Monroe Documentaries

We know who killed Marilyn Monroe. Well that is everyone familiar with the story and this incredible for good and bad Hollywood Goddess and her life and how she lived, who is not a current resident at a mental hospital, an escaped mental patient whose on the lam, as well as anyone capable of understanding commonsense and real evidence that is right in front of them that even a blind person could see.

Marilyn, not intentionally, but again that is the question here whether this was suicide, or an accidental death like someone driving off a cliff after losing control of the car. Because she was both a very irresponsible woman, who had real mental issues and not always in complete control of what she was doing. Who for whatever reasons could never understand everything that she had going for her.

“A depressed Marilyn Monroe who committed suicide.” That is the only question here. Did she kill herself intentionally, or accidentally. A depressed woman who one hot night in Los Angeles decides that life is hell and she can’t take it anymore and takes enough pills to kill three people. Well, that is more believable than U.S. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy coming by one night and killing her so the affair she had with his brother President Jack Kennedy, doesn’t get out.

But again we’re talking about an unstable woman who drank too much, who perhaps could have given Jim Morrison a run for his money when it came to drinking alcohol in one night. Who took a lot of pills as well to make herself feel better and numb her reality which she thought was hell. But would have been paradise for perhaps 9-10 other Americans. Which again goes to her mental unbalance.

I believe the only solid theory to how Marilyn Monroe died was that she accidentally killed herself from a drug overdose. A bad combination of alcohol and sleeping pills. Remember, a mentally unbalanced woman who drank a lot and probably drank herself to sleep on a regular basis, especially since her career was basically on hold now, because she was becoming even more unprofessional at work and getting fired from movie roles. Who also took sleeping pills every night to numb herself along with the alcohol.

This is the only believable theory here, because no one has offered any evidence that someone else killed her. And has no evidence of anyone else being there and who that person could have possibly be. She wasn’t alone that night, because her housekeeper was asleep down the hall. Had someone broke in to kill Marilyn, the housekeeper would have known about it. Which is why the second killer theory simply doesn’t hold. Along with no evidence of anyone else being there. 

Martin O'Malley: Governor Martin O'Malley at the Iowa Jefferson Jackson Dinner

Source:Martin O'Malley- The Progressive With Results.

Source:The New Democrat

I think Martin O’Malley is finally getting it as a presidential campaigner. “The Progressive with results”, to paraphrase Hillary Clinton from the Democratic debate a couple of weeks ago. The difference between Governor O’Malley and Secretary Clinton, has been impact. And a record of accomplishments on the key issues that Liberal and Progressive Democrats care about and a lot of other Americans. But it’s really Senator Clinton, because it’s as Senator Clinton that Hillary Clinton has had the biggest impact in her career on all the issues. Secretary of State, is a huge job, but its a national security job primarily and you’re not that involved in issues outside of foreign policy and national security for the most part. Hillary Clinton, can say she’s fought the good fight and fought hard on these issues when she was in Congress. But Governor O’Malley can say he won those fights in Maryland as Governor. The difference between an executive and a legislature.

Executives, have to govern, they have no choice. Your state doesn’t pass an annual budget, your agencies run out of money and as a result have to suspend business. Because there’s no money coming in and they can’t afford to pile up debt and deficits, because there’s a hard limit to what they can borrow, because they don’t have their own currency. But when you’re a legislature especially in Congress, a Representative, or in Hillary’s case a Senator can say, “we fought the good fight on this issue and almost had the votes to get it passed in this Congress. We’ll come back in the next session, or next Congress and get it done, especially if more of us are elected to Congress.” A governor, doesn’t have that luxury. They have to pass a budget, they have to make sure that roads get built, schools and colleges are funded, law enforcement officers are on the street, well-equipped and so-forth. Governor O’Malley as a record of accomplishing things into law that Democrats say they support.

Of the three remaining Democrats for president, only Martin O’Malley can say he got a same-sex marriage law passed, decriminalized marijuana, had the best public schools in the country for five years, got a minimum wage law passed, passed middle class tax cuts, increased investment in public infrastructure, kept the cost of college down. All of these accomplishments in a very high cost of living state and doing it during the Great Recession and the slow recovery from it. Senator Bernie Sanders, can say he supports all of these causes and I’m sure he does and Hillary, I guess can now say she does to, because her polling is telling her that, (ha, ha) but only the Governor, because Martin was a Governor and a damn good one and was a Progressive with real results. Who just didn’t talk the good game and fought hard, but actually won a lot of those battles and had real victories there.

Perhaps Martin’s campaign theme, should be, “The Progressive Governor With Real Results.” And run on someone who actually broke gridlock. And tell voters that all the issues you’ve cared about he just doesn’t care about them, or has shown up to the dance late on them. But he’s actually come through and won a lot of those battles already. Again, minimum wage, same-sex marriage, marijuana decriminalization, lowered crime and increased put more police on the street. Who thought Baltimore would actually be livable 10-15 years ago and now its a big thriving growing city with all sorts of new white-collar business’s coming there. Including a brand new casino that has kept millions of tax dollars in Baltimore and Maryland, instead of going to Delaware, New Jersey, or West Virginia. All of this progress that true Progressives believe in happened under Martin O’Malley. Not Hillary Clinton, or Bernie Sanders. And that is what the Governor should be telling Democrats. He’s a Democrat whose accomplished progressive goals and brought progress to millions of Americans.

NFL Films: The Story of The 1982 St. Louis Cardinals

Source:Wikipedia- The Cardinals playing the Green Bay Packers, at Lambeau Field, I believe in 1982.

Source:The Daily Review

"The 1982 St. Louis Cardinals season was the franchise’s 63rd year with the National Football League and the 23rd season in St. Louis. It was the Cardinals first postseason appearance since 1975, and their last before the team’s 1988 move to Arizona, as well as the last NFL postseason appearance for any St. Louis franchise until the Rams’ Super Bowl championship season of 1999. The 1982 Football Cardinals were 5–4 during the regular-season.

This season would be the last season the Cardinals made the playoffs until 1998, when the team was far into its current tenure in Arizona."  

From Wikipedia 

I remember the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals pretty well, because I started watching football in the early and mid 1980s and even though the Cardinals are from St. Louis, they played in the NFC East with the Redskins. So I got to see the Cardinals twice a year for about six seasons. 

And I always remember them playing the Redskins very tough even though the Redskins were always better. The Redskins won two Super Bowls and won three NFC championships and the Cardinals made one playoff appearance, but they had three winning seasons. They were a very talented group that would win 8-9 games and barely miss the except 1982 under head coach Jim Hanifan. And I guess that is why I’m interested in a team that only made one playoff appearance in the 1980s.

The 1980s Cardinals, probably should have won more. They had an All-Pro quarterback in Neil Lomax. Who if his career wasn’t cut short due to injury is probably in the Hall of Fame today. If you look at their backfield they had OJ Anderson, who perhaps should be in the Hall of Fame today. Definitely one of the best tailbacks of the 1980s. Who had great size and power at 6’2 225 pounds, but was also fast and could run away from you. Very similar to OJ Simpson, Jim Brown, or Eric Dickerson. 

The Cardinals also had Stump Mitchell behind OJ. Who was a great runner and receiver, similar to Joe Washington. And Neil Lomax had receivers Roy Green, Mel Gray and later JT Smith and tight end Pat Tilley. And a good offensive line with Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf, Louis Sharpe and Joe Bostic. This was a team that had a lot of talent on offense and had good players on defense. Like defensive Freddie Joe Nunn and linebacker EJ Junior.

The 1980s St. Louis Cardinals, were very good and contended a lot, but they had a habit of putting scares into good winning teams that won consistently, but not enough to actually win the game. They would upset a very good team and then lose to a bad team. They either gave up on Jim Hanifan too soon, or replaced him with the wrong head coach in Gene Stallings. 

I think pretender is the best way to describe the Cardinals of this era. Seemed like every season they looked like they were good enough to win and would get back to the NFC Playoffs and maybe even win the NFC East. But they wouldn’t close the door and would lose at the last-minute. Make a key mistake when they couldn’t afford it. But similar to the New Orleans Saints pre-Jim Mora they were a fun team to watch. But only better than the Saints.

Inside the NFL, Featuring The New Orleans Saints (12/10/87)

Source:Inside The NFL anchor Nick Buoniconti interviewing New Orleans Saints QB  Bobby Hebert.

Source:The Daily Review

The New Orleans Saints finally not just make the playoffs in 1987, but had their first winning season as well. But several of those players that played for the 87 Saints were also there before Jim Mora got there. Like their great outside rush end Rickey Jackson, their great inside linebacker Sam Mills, their great halfback Rueben Mays, safety Dave Waymer, tight end Hobey Brenner and many others. The Saints under Bum Phillips and later Jim Finks and Jim Mora, drafted very well for the Saints for about five years in the 1980s. What Jim Mora brought to the Saints was teaching them how to win. He won championships in the USFL with the Baltimore Stars and that is the only reason why he went to the NFL which was to win. But he inherited a talented team and added to that.

If you look at the Saints of the early 1980s and then later in the late eighties and early nineties they were basically the same team on both sides of the ball as far as their philosophy, they were just better. But run they ran the ball real well and got big pass plays off of their running game and could put together long ball-control drives. And then on defense they could take away your running game and attack your quarterback with their 3-4 blitz pressure defense. Their 3-4 blitz defense was called the Dome Patrol. Where you had Rickey Jackson on one side and Pat Swilling on the other side. Both linebackers the essentially the size of smaller defensive ends with great speed. Where you would need an offensive tackle to block them. And then your three down lineman are there to eat up blocks and space to free up your linebackers to rush the quarterback and attack the runners.

As I mentioned in the piece about the 1983 Saints, Jim Finks and Jim Mora, didn’t inherit a bad 2-14 football team. The were 5-11 in 85 and 6-10 in 86, the first season under Mora. Mora, inherited good players on defense and offense and what he did with that was added to that and bring in more players on defense and offense. Like quarterback Bobby Hebert, who gave them a consistent passing game. And wide receiver Eric Martin, who gave them a very good possession receiver on the outside with good speed. And then they had Dalton Hilliard to go with Rueben Mays in the backfield. It took the Saints 21 seasons to become winners, but it didn’t happen overnight. They were building their good team for several years and finally put it all together in 1987.

Alan Krueger: The Minimum Wage: How Much is Too Much?

Source:The New Democrat

Good question, because how is a job where the employee bags groceries, rings up groceries, makes cheeseburgers, cleans up after people, takes orders from customers, worth. Not as much as the person who hires those people, or as much as the people who supervise those employees. In a not free, but private market economy, a lot of this is left up to the employer as far as how much their employees are worth over the minimum wage. Whatever the minimum wage should be, it can’t be so high that small employers especially simply can’t afford to pay their entry-level employees that wage. You don’t want a minimum wage that equals the amount of money of a supervisor, or a manager. Because the supervisor and manager simply has more responsibility and value to the company, then someone who is just starting with the business. Perhaps coming off Welfare and might only have a high school diploma.

I hate the term non-essential employee, because it implies that other employees are not essential. Which comes up in the minimum wage debates and opponents will say that entry-level and other lower-level employees aren’t worth much more than the minimum wage, or even worth less, because they’re not essential. Which is a bogus argument, because how would you run a grocery store with cashiers and stockers. You might not need cashiers now because customers can now ring up their own groceries, but you eliminate all cashiers, now you’re spending more money on computers. Which might be more expensive. But someone has to stock the store, work in the bakery, work in seafood, work in the deli, etc. And the store wouldn’t be open without these employees who in many cases are making 8-9 bucks and hour and that is if they have experience working there, or at another store.

The United States poverty level is roughly twenty-thousand-dollars a year, give or take. Which is about four-hundred-dollars a week for a full-time employee. The current Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour and if you work forty-hours a week fifty-two weeks a year and if that is what you’re making you probably don’t have vacation pay, that comes out $290 a week. Just over fifteen-thousand-dollars a year, which roughly 3-4 of the poverty level in the United States. So minimum wage employees in America don’t even make the official poverty level in America, but about seventy-five-percent of that. And again we’re talking about essential employees that without their employers couldn’t be in business and yet their employers feel they’re paid adequately. Which of course is not accurate.

I don’t know what entry-level and other lower-level workers are worth. But again their employers wouldn’t be in business without them, so that tells me they’re worth a hell of a lot more than they are. I’m not on board for a fifteen-dollar an hour minimum wage at least at the Federal level. What states and localities do is their business. But 10-12 an hour and again not a lot of money even for a full-time employee, they’re certainly worth that, because again their employer wouldn’t be in business without them. And then help small business’s with a tax credit so they don’t get hurt by it. While large employers who are clearly underpaying their employees would have to pay the full amount. And Libertarians and Conservatives will say that, “the market should decide all wages and compensation in America.” But the fact is the market doesn’t do that, but employers only with government setting basic standards for workers compensation.

NFL Films: 1987 Minnesota Vikings- Making a Move

Source:NFL Films- Joey Browner and Anthony Carter from the Minnesota Vikings.

Source:The Daily Review

"The late Pat Summerall hosts a look at the Minnesota Vikings 1987 season. Probably not the best Vikings team ever but they had some exciting playoff wins and a heartbreaking final loss to the Redskins in the NFC Championship game. I don't own the rights to this NFL films does."

From NFL Films

1987 was a big season for the Minnesota Vikings for several reasons. Their first playoff appearance since 1982 and they were stuck in mediocrity from 1983-86 with 7-9 and 8-8 records. Actually their 1987 8-7 record wasn’t much better, but they did finally get back to the NFC Playoffs. 1987 was also the Vikings first trip back to the NFC Championship since their last Super Bowl team which was 1976. The Vikings became winners again in 1987 and won a couple playoff games and one play away from getting back to the Super Bowl. The 87 Vikings, were good, but certainly not great. Perhaps could’ve won a few more games. But this is a team that got hot in the playoffs after struggling just to get there and came together at the right time.

If you look at the good Vikings teams from the 1970s on offense, they were very similar to the Vikings of the 1980s. A finesse possession passing pass first team that ran the ball off of their passing game and ran the ball by committee. But also threw the ball to several different receivers. Instead of having one or two great receivers they had several good receivers that they could throw the ball to. Anthony Carter, was a great big play receiver and you team him a Chris Carter, Jerry Rice, Art Monk, or another great possession go to receiver on the other side and he would’ve had a great career, because he never would have been double teamed. But he never had that great receiver on the other side that the quarterback could always go to. So the 87 Vikings instead spread the ball around to several different people. Like TE Steve Jordan and halfback Darin Nelson.

The 87 Vikings defense, again very similar to the Purple People Eaters of the 1970s. Not a big blitz team, because they didn’t have to. They could attack the quarterback with just their front four. With defensive end Chris Dolman, who should be in the Hall of Fame, defensive tackle Keith Millard, who was a Pro Bowler for them, defensive tackle Henry Thomas, who perhaps should be in the Hall of Fame as well. Defensive end Doug Martin, was a solid pass rusher for them. And when you can get to the quarterback with your defensive line, it allows for you to drop your linebackers and defensive backs back into coverage and knock passes down, break up big plays, attack receivers with big hits and pick off passes. Which the Vikings were good at with their coverage.

When you have an 8-7 team that barely makes the playoffs and you upset two teams on the road just to get to the conference championship, you by definition are not a great team. But a team that struggled through the season and then got hot in the playoffs. Which is what the 87 Minnesota Vikings were, but they had very good talent on both sides of the ball. That came together at the time and almost beat the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins in the NFC Championship. And then you look at where the Vikings were the previous four seasons before the 87 season where they would just miss the playoffs and finish 8-8, or 7-9, the Vikings did have a great year in 87, became winners again and very close to even getting back to the Super Bowl.