What are the Police?

Posted on August 22, 2014 by admin

There is much popular anger over the police atrocities against the people of Ferguson, Missouri.
What’s happening there is what goes on everyday in NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and any other large US metropolitan area.

Tactical officers fire tear gas into the crowd Ferguson MO 8-11-14

The #myNYPD hashtag campaign fiasco, only proved how out-of-touch the cops are with the population they claim to serve & protect.

The still-unexplained events of 9-11 and the reaction in its wake, allowed the ruling establishment to build a police state.
US military & CIA techniques of urban warfare, drones, death squads, and torture are all now in place at home.
Tanks, police in riot gear using tear gas, SWAT teams, and ‘black hole’ prison sites are now a living US reality.
Their use against its working people is a conscious class policy of the ruling elite, fronted today by president Barack Obama.

The political establishment in its entirety represents the largest stakeholders & CEO’s of Bank of America (CEO- Brian Moynihan), Walt Disney (CEO- Bob Iger), Microsoft (CEO- Satya Nadella), Exxon (CEO- Rex W. Tillerson), etc.; who are determined to maintain their inequality at any cost.
The philanthropy of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, etc., is a thin veneer to cover up their selfishness & ruthlessness.

The Boston Marathon lockdown of April, 2013 represented a watershed moment in American history; the first time one of its cities was placed under martial law.
Warrentless, mandatory house-to-house searches were conducted– in seeking a lone fugitive.
For an entire week, citizens of Boston were not allowed to freely move or assemble; as the FBI, police and the military controlled the city.

—–

While the police are a tool of the ruling class, it doesn’t take much insight to realize that most cops are themselves working class.
This is the revolutionary potential that must be harnessed by the working people.
Like the US military which has its conscious objectors, the police must also have those within its ranks who are disgusted with its state of affairs.
Police families have some of the highest incidences of alcoholism, domestic violence, and murder/suicides.
From this diseased institution, any healthy wheat must be separated from its rotten chaff, in order to seed a revolutionary people’s militia.

The working people must consciously fight to gain control of the police, wherever possible.
In places where police corruption is thorough, preparations must be made for resistance.
In these cases the population’s overwhelming numbers will be decisive in removing guns from the hands of these killers-with-badges, and putting them in jail where they belong.

Finally, the power behind the police needs to be disarmed.
These puppet masters are the real criminals, and they must be exposed.
Remember–the masters of capitalism will never voluntarily give up this fight, and they must be completely rooted out, arrested & tried before a jury of peers for their crimes against humanity.

Only then, will the police brutality cease.

==============================================>>

NFL History: The Super Bowl Era

Posted on August 18, 2014 by admin

The inaugural Super Bowl (January 15, 1967); the AFL/NFL merger in 1970; and the premiere of Monday Night Football (ABC 1970), helped catapult the NFL past MLB as America’s game by the 1980’s.

American football in its Super Bowl era is defined by specialists on offense; at quarterback, running back, lineman, and receiver. Defenses also became specialized, but less so, as it has always been every defensive players job to tackle & create turnovers. Special teams were one of the biggest innovations of this era; as coaches started realizing its value in scoring and determining field position.

Straight-ahead toe punchers were the NFL place-kicking style since its beginnings and predominated since the drop-kick disappeared in the 1930’s, when the rugby ball was replaced with the more throwable modern design.
In the early NFL, many games were lost/tied due to missed extra points/short field goal attempts. In the era of 16-20 man rosters, where physical survival was always the most important skill; those who took kicks could not be called place kickers in the modern sense.

Norwegian place kicker Jan Stenerud (K Kansas City Chiefs 1967-85) revolutionized American football with European football (soccer) skills, bringing distance and accuracy to NFL kicking during his 19 seasons. NFL field goal percentage increased steadily during his career, as did the distance from which head coaches would allow their kickers to attempt field goals.

In the KC Chiefs 23-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV (1970), Stenerud scored the first nine points on field goals of 48, 32 and 25 yards, in a game that was over by halftime. He led the league in FG % 4 times, and was always at or near the top in FG% from 40+ yards. Jan Stenerud was the first place kicker to regularly convert 50+ yard FG attempts.

Ray Guy (P Oakland/LA Raiders: 1973-86) specialized in punting opponents into poor field position. In ways never seen before, Guy revolutionized NFL punting with his whip-like flexibility, leading the NFL in punting average 3 times and finishing 10 seasons in the top-5. His accuracy at pinning opponents close to their goal line compelled the NFL to start tracking “punts inside the 20” in 1976. He was the first punter to understand the importance of net yards per punt (punt yards minus return yards), applying extreme “hang time” to his punts. Ray Guy would boom 50- yard cloud-scrappers, allowing his coverage teams time to defend against a big returns. Many times from his end zone, he would blast a punt over the returner’s head, completely flipping field position for his team.

Ray Guy, a #1 pick by innovative owner Al Davis in 1973 (and one of the most valuable players in modern NFL history), was finally inducted into Canton in 2014. He’s currently listed beneath “Coaches” and “Contributors” in the NFL HoF ‘by position’ listing. Most old-timers don’t consider punters & kickers as ‘real’ football players, even though these positions have historically had a huge impact on winning & losing.

The 1970’s NFL was innovated and dominated by modern-era coaches including; Don Shula (Miami Dolphins), Chuck Noll (Pittsburgh Steelers), Al Davis/John Madden (Oakland Raiders), and Tom Landry (Dallas Cowboys). Steroids became part of the landscape for NFL linemen, and artificial turf added another occupational hazard for players. An increased incidence of skin burns, ligament tears and concussions all awaited those who played in stadiums equipped with artificial turf.

The greatest QBs of the day were Bob Griese (Miami 1967-80), Roger Staubach (Dallas 1969-79), Dan Fouts (San Diego Chargers 1973-87), and Ken Anderson (Cincinnati Bengals 1971-86) . The best running backs of this era were O.J. Simpson (Buffalo Bills 1969-79) and Walter Payton (Chicago Bears (1975-87). Both of these ball carriers played on poor teams for most of their careers, which added proof to the argument that a great quarterback was necessary for a championship team.

O.J. Simpson was a college football star at USC, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1968 before transitioning into a NFL superstar. The charismatic Simpson was a poster child for the NFL in the 1970’s & 1980’s. After retiring from the NFL, he did color commentary on Monday Night Football, starred in television commercials, and even Hollywood movies– always as a friendly & joking personality. Simpson was notorious among ex-players for beating his wife, and his true nature was finally revealed to the American public in 1994-95; when he was compelled to hire a top legal team to buy an acquittal for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, despite overwhelming physical evidence against him.

In 1997, a civil court awarded a judgment against Simpson of the $33.5 million for their wrongful deaths. In September 2007, Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas and charged with numerous felonies, including armed robbery and kidnapping. He was found guilty in 2008, and sentenced to 33 years in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until 2017.

More than anyone else, O.J. Simpson personifies the ugliness lurking behind the NFL’s benevolent mask.

—–End of 1st Quarter

NFL HoF comparison Example #2: 1970’s-era WR comparisons

Fred Biletnikof (1965-78 Oakland) 190 G, 589 Catches, 15.2 Yds/Catch, 76 TD
Cliff Branch (1972-85 Oakland) 183 G, 501 Catches, 17.3 Yds/Catch, 67 TD
John Stallworth (1974-87 Pittsburgh) 165 G, 537 Catches, 16.2 Yds/Catch, 63 TD
Lynn Swann (1974-82 Pittsburgh) 116 G, 336 Catches, 16.3 Yds/Catch, 51 TD

Listed alphabetically, the best player of these four was Cliff Branch, and he’s only one not in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Mobsters were still welcome to buy NFL franchises. In 1977 Eddie DeBartolo, Sr (after being refused in a half-dozen attempts to buy a MLB franchise) purchased the San Francisco 49ers and turned it over to his son, Eddie, Jr. Wikipedia describes DeBartolo Sr. as “a powerful strategic thinker.” Dan Moldea shares this research:

“U.S. Customs Service had received information from one of its special agents, William F. Burda, in January 1981 that the DeBartolo organization ‘through its control of particular state banks in the state of Florida is operating money-laundering schemes, realizing huge profits from narcotics, guns, skimming operations, and other organized-crime-related activities. This organization is reported to have ties to [Carlos] Marcello, [Santos] Trafficante, and [Meyer] Lansky; and because of its enormous wealth and power has high-ranking political influence and affiliations.'”

In other words, the shopping malls that made Eddie DeBartolo’s fortune were financed with laundered Colombian drug money.

The 1980’s were dominated on the field by Bill Walsh (San Francisco 49ers head coach & GM) and Joe Gibbs (Washington R-word head coach), both winning 3 Super Bowls for their franchises. Pro football’s greatest stars were Joe Montana and a legendary college draft class in 1983, that had three HoF QBs: Dan Marino (Miami 1983-99), John Elway (Denver 1983-1998) and Jim Kelly (USFL/Buffalo 1983-96).

Outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor (NY Giants 1981-93), became the new NFL prototype on defense, terrorizing offenses with his unique brand of intelligence, athleticism & skill. He was unintentionally responsible for one of the most gruesome injuries in modern football history, breaking Washington R-word QB Joe Theismann’s leg [and ending his career] on Monday Night Football. To Taylor’s credit, he immediately signalled to the R-words bench to get their medical staff on the field, as Taylor was horrified by what he had just done. ABC showed the definitive shot, a ‘reverse angle’ replay of this injury, over & over during its broadcast.

The USFL challenged the NFL monopoly from 1983-85, and did well in three seasons using a spring schedule that challenged MLB. Casino & real estate mogul Donald Trump owned the New Jersey Generals. In his blustering George Steinbrenner-like fashion, Trump outbid the NFL for one college star after another; while never coming close to winning a championship.

By 1985, Donald Trump was using his free-spending ownership in the New Jersey Generals to push for a merger with the NFL, which would significantly increase the value of his franchise.

Trump’s clout forced the USFL into rapid expansion, as they moved to a fall schedule in 1986. Other USFL owners realized the futility of going head-to-head with the NFL, and the league went bankrupt before the ’86 season– slowly dying in court. Its greatest stars such as QBs Jim Kelly and Steve Young went back to the NFL teams that claimed their draft rights.

The NFL Players Association had misrepresented & betrayed its rank-and-file since its inception in 1956. The NFL owners didn’t even he recognize the NFLPA as the official bargaining agent for the players until 1968. A 1974 players strike ending in a defeat for the players. The 1982 strike ended with a players revolt against their own union, with NFLPA executive director & head lawyer Ed Garvey stepping down.

Even more disastrous for the NFL players, was the 1987 strike which collapsed within a month, after the owners brought in replacement players. Approximately 15% of the NFLPA’s members crossed picket lines to play during the strike including veteran stars: Mark Gastineau, Randy White, Joe Montana, Doug Flutie, and Steve Largent.

A collective bargaining agreement that allowed NFL players to benefit from free agency wasn’t ratified until 1993. Still today, no NFL contract is guaranteed. If a player blows out a knee after signing a multi-million dollar deal, he can be cut & released from his contract by the team. Signing bonuses have been notoriously clawed back by ownership.

—-Halftime

In 1985, William “Refrigerator” Perry (DT 1985–1993) became a prototype for sports de-evolution, by becoming the first 300-pound NFL lineman; helping the Chicago Bears win the Super Bowl—-

In 1979 ESPN was launched, providing 24-hour a day sports programming. In 1987, ESPN gained partial rights to the National Football League. Players salaries and owner franchise values have skyrocketed since, due to massive broadcast revenues. Today the NFL Network is a successful premium channel, delivering 24/7 NFL content.

The NFL adopted instant replay into its officiating in the 1980’s/1990’s, due to massive referee incompetence. Instant replay has likely been used to fix NFL playoff games and decide Super Bowls; the most infamous example is the Tuck Rule game, which is better seen than explained.

The NFL in the 1990’s was initially dominated on the field by the post-Bill Walsh San Francisco 49ers, led by QB Steve Young (1984-99) & WR Jerry Rice (1985-2004); then the Jimmy Johnson coached Dallas Cowboys, led by WR Michael Irvin (1988-99), RB Emmitt Smith (1990-2004), and QB Troy Aikman (1989-2000).

Three-time MVP, QB Brett Favre (1991-2010) restored legitimacy to the Green Bay Packers, with his unique combination of gun-slinging playmaking & good-sport toughness. Deion Sanders (ATL/SF/DAL, 1989-2005) was likely the best NFL cornerback and one of the best punt returners, ever– an electrifying playmaker. Barry Sanders (RB Detroit Lions 1989-98) may have been the NFL’s best ball carrier ever.

In the 2000’s the New England Patriots, coached by Bill Belichick were the NFL’s only sustained dynasty. Free agency, with its salary cap restrictions made it difficult for championship teams to maintain a stable nucleus, with contending teams constantly poaching their rosters.

Belichick and the Patriots front office, were among the first in football to use statistical analysis metrics, equivalent to sabermetrics in baseball, to quantify player value in terms of wins. This gave New England a consistent edge in player drafting as well as on-the-field tactics & overall strategy.

Modern NFL play-calling is high-percentage short-gain/low-risk passing on early downs, and going for it more frequently on 4th-down; passing up field goal attempts for potential touchdowns– providing the distance for a first down/touchdown is makeable. The most valuable position in football is by far, quarterback. It’s not impossible, but it is very difficult to win a Super Bowl without at least an above-average QB.

Some of the best players from 2000-present were/are: QBs Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts 1998-present), Tom Brady (New England Patriots 2000-present), Drew Brees (SD/New Orleans Saints 2001-present). The best play makers were RB LaDainian Tomlinson (SD Chargers 2001-11), WR Randy Moss (MN/OAK/NE 1998-2012) and punt return specialist Devin Hester (Chicago Bears 2006-present).

Unfortunately by this time, off-the-field problems were starting to overshadow the actual football. Team captain & star middle linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, Ray Lewis was a suspect under investigation for a double murder committed on Jan. 31, 2000. The NFL intervened on Lewis’ behalf, and he was dropped as a suspect by the police.

Lewis was never able to produce the clothes he was seen wearing the night of the homicides. The Ravens won the Super Bowl a year later, and Ray Lewis (1996-2012) went on to become arguably the greatest middle linebacker in NFL history. The murders have never been solved.

In June 2002 Pat Tillman, a linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals enlisted in the United States Army, motivated by patriotic duty after 9-11. The NFL assisted the Bush administration in its use of Tillman as propaganda to sell its dirty “War on Terror.”

Pat Tillman served several tours before he died in the mountains of Afghanistan on April 22, 2004– in a friendly-fire incident.

The US Army initially reported Tillman had been killed by enemy fire, and maintained this lie for over a month; until the Pentagon notified the Tillman family that he had died as a result of friendly fire. In 2007, Kevin Tillman also an Army Ranger in a convoy behind his brother Pat at his end; read testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, of the Pentagon’s version of Pat’s ‘heroic’ death.

“Above the din of battle, Corporal Tillman was heard issuing fire commands to take the fight to an enemy on the dominating high ground. Always leading from the front, Corporal Tillman aggressively maneuvered his team against the enemy position on a steep slope… in the face of mortal danger, Corporal Tillman illustrated that he would not fail his comrades. His actions are in keeping with the highest standards of the United States army.”

Pat Tillman was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for valor, for his fictional bravery. The Bush administration cynically lied about Tillman’s friendly-fire death, to exploit its propaganda value.

—-End of 3rd Quarter

By 2006, Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick was implicated in a dog fighting scandal, involving over seventy dogs, most of them pit bulls showing signs of injuries. Vick and four of his associates were convicted for conspiracy in interstate commerce and unlawful animal cruelty. Michael Vick served 21 months in prison. He was reinstated by the NFL in 2009.

Sexual assault allegations were made against Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger in 2008 & 2009. In 2010, after intense pressure from the NFL, the district attorney for the plaintiff held a press conference to announce that Roethlisberger would not be charged; expressing how the plaintiff no longer wanted to pursue criminal charges due to the level of media attention. The district attorney stressed that she was not recanting her accusation.

The NFL handed Ben Roethlisberger a 6-game suspension (later reduced to 4 games) in 2010, for “ungentlemanly conduct.”

From 2009-11, the New Orleans Saints operated a slush fund that paid out bonuses for inflicting crippling injuries on opposing players. Players targeted by the Saints coaching staff included star QBs Brett Favre (Vikings) & Kurt Warner (Cardinals). NFL officiating was so incompetent that none of the bounty hits in question were ever penalized or deemed illegal by in-game officials.

In 2012, the NFL owners locked out its referees, and started the season with replacement officials, despite safety complaints from the NFLPA. The owners were refusing to pay the modest referee union demands, amounting to a $3.2 million/year, in a $9 billion/year league. By Week 3, hapless NFL officiating was taken to a new low during Monday Night Football, when Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson threw the first game-winning interception in league history. Embarrassment over the inexplicable replay decision forced the owners to give in to union demands, which amounted to an extra $100,000/year expense for each of the 32 NFL team owners.

New-era NFL owners are mostly billionaires, buying franchises for personal amusement as well as seeking public subsidies for new stadiums. Since the 1980’s, 70% of the cost for new NFL stadiums has been paid for by taxpayers; for which team owners keep all revenues on tickets, concessions, parking and television broadcasts– for games played in publicly-financed buildings.

In 2013, Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, was ordered by a federal judge to pay $85 million for “organized crime fraud,” finding him in violation of the New Jersey state RICO act.

Today, the NFL is still opening new stadiums with synthetic playing surfaces, despite overwhelming research and player preference towards playing on natural grass.

Player compensation for concussion related diseases and other realities of post-NFL life have been slow in actualization. The NFL continues to take the stance that its game is safe, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The NFL denies players are getting brain damage from concussions received during NFL games & practices.

Performance-enhancing drug (PED) suspensions are a weekly occurrence; here is the ever-expanding list. Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is now the preferred PED, due to its difficulty to detect with testing.

Obesity and unhealthy playing weights for modern NFL linemen is an ugly scanda l the NFL refuses to seriously discuss publicly. Player weights at all positions have increased at least 30-50% since the 1970’s.

As discussed earlier, alcohol & gambling have always been part of the NFL. Bootleg whiskey from the 1920’s has been replaced with omnipresent beer advertising for every game. In the 2000’s, domestic violence & DUI arrests for NFL players became common news.

Today, billions of dollars are collectively bet on every NFL contest. Nevada is the only state where sports bookmaking is legal in the US. Las Vegas bookies establish and monitor the betting line of every NFL game. Over 99% of football betting (office pools, fantasy leagues, handshake wager, etc.) is illicit. Accurate team injury reports are required by the NFL, and teams are fined by the league office if they don’t strictly comply. Cooperation from the NFL is insisted upon by their mobster partners, so they can set an accurate betting spread.

NFL Security is employed by the league to deal with every scandal in this media-driven age. Justice Department officials are employed by the NFL to do research, use their contacts, and develop attack-campaigns designed to intimidate, squash and/or blacklist any perceived opponents of the NFL.

The NFL is a non-profit, and Commissioner Roger Goodell takes home over $30 million annually for carefully filtering & interpreting any NFL information released to public. He has been aggressive in his use of public relations in the NFL’s attempts to bury all scandals. Dan Moldea’s Interference, neatly characterizes the function of NFL Security officials:

Phil Manuel, former Senate investigator: “The oldest trick in the book is to hire old Justice Department officials and make them understand that they are to protect the security of the NFL owners.”

An IRS agent taken off an NFL-related gambling probe: “What we’ve got here are connections among the Cosa Nostra, the federal government, the big attorneys in the D.C. area, sports figures, and the television news media. We were getting too close to the people at the top. [He] was being protected by people within the Justice Department.” p. 171

“We have a basic rule in the NFL,” says a former law enforcement official who advises the NFL of security matters.” It is to keep it upbeat and keep it positive. But above all keep it quiet.” p. 33

—–Two-Minute Warning

As far as what sports fans can learn about the NFL from its pre-Super Bowl era– it is sketchy at best.
Too little data exists (even for many skill-position players such as QB, RB, WR), while most players (offensive linemen & all defensive players) have no meaningful records of their actions.
The all-NFL/all-pro designation is nothing more than sportswriter & coaches opinion, from its inception in the 1930’s.
There is virtually no game film, and what little exists is usually of poor quality and not available to the average fan.
This lack of objective data for player performance, along with its omnipresent mobster & gambling influence, are the defining features of early American football.

In 1985, a Harris Poll showed the NFL was more popular among US sports fans than MLB: 24% to 23%. In 2014, 35% of sports fans called the NFL their favorite sport, while only 14% preferred MLB.

The NFL reflects popular culture in decline. Its glorification of violence dovetails with militarism and ruling-class values. It is a difficult, but necessary task to reduce it’s hold on popular consciousness. The NFL, like capitalism itself, is rotten to its core and cannot be reformed– both will have to be revolutionized by the people, before its self-destructiveness reaches the limits of human sustainability.

Click here to read Part 1– American Football: Early NFL History

American Football & Early NFL History

Posted on August 18, 2014 by admin

Baseball has many hidden lessons in its vast database, as every player’s actions are precisely recorded at the plate, in the field, and on the mound.
These player records exist back to baseball’s infancy, in the 19th century.

American football (NFL in particular) on the other hand has very little historical data for its individual players as field goals (FG), extra points (XP) and safeties, as well as any touchdowns (TD) scored via offense, defense or punt/kick returns; weren’t recorded in the NFL until 1932. Rushing attempts, number of receptions (& total yards for each), along with quarterback (QB) stats; were also not kept until 1932.

Passer rating was first developed in the 1930’s, using available measures to determine overall effectiveness at the quarterback position. Although its formula has varied, it is still the best statistic for the position; as all the best quarterbacks, 1) stay on the field and, 2) have the highest passer ratings of their era. The first great NFL QB [and nickname] was Slingin’ Sammy Baugh (Washington R-words 1937-52).

MLB vs. NFL stats comparison

Jim Thorpe was a multi-sport star in the early 20th century; here are his MLB career numbers in six seasons, mostly with the NY Giants.
In 289 games (1913-1919) as an outfielder, Thorpe batted .252/.286/.362.
NL averages in 1917 were .249/.305/.328, so we can rate him as slightly below-average in getting on-base, but above average in power; making him roughly an average big-leaguer of that era.

Jim Thorpe is also in the NFL Hall of Fame (HoF), a charter inductee in 1963.
These are his career NFL stats: Eight seasons, 52 games played as a halfback; 6 TD rushing, 4 TD passing.

With this paltry amount of data, how is anyone supposed to know anything about what kind of football player Jim Thorpe was, outside of anecdotal & subjective opinion?
If it is impossible to determine this for a charter NFL HoFer, then what does that say about the less-than-star players of the early NFL era?
It says their contributions in blood, broken bones & shattered teeth weren’t even worth noting, because the only records that mattered were gate receipts & betting slips.

—– Timeout!

American football has its origins in English rugby.
By the late 19th century, most Ivy-league & midwestern universities had rugby & football clubs.
As a violent mob game, deaths from injury were common in its early era.
The popular use of mass-formations such as the flying wedge, in which a large number of offensive players charged as a unit against a similarly arranged defense, resulted in brutal collisions often leading to serious injuries and deaths.
Helmets weren’t mandatory in the NFL until 1943.

Walter Camp (player Yale 1876–1882) has been given the title “Father of American Football”, for inventing football’s line of scrimmage and the system of downs.

Field goals were lowered to 3 points in 1909, and touchdowns were raised to 6 points in 1912.

The NFL was formed in 1920, primarily as a vehicle for gamblers. MLB owners had just installed judge Kenesaw “Mountain” Landis as their commissioner, in order to clean up the Black Sox Scandal and restore public trust in baseball. Judge Landis was firm & uncompromising in banning eight Chicago White Sox players for life, for conspiring to throw the 1919 World Series. Gangsters were shut out of baseball and needed a new sport to fix.

Much like professional boxing, NFL history is dominated by organized crime. In the early 1920s, Chicago Bears owner George Halas turned to Charles Bidwill, gambler & bootlegger associate of kingpin gangster Al Capone, for financial help.

In 1932, Charles Bidwill bought the Chicago Cardinals, which his family still owns today.

In the 1920’s, towns like Hammond IN, Pottsville PA, and Duluth MN had NFL teams. The NFL needed a franchise in New York for the league to succeed. In 1925 NFL President, Joseph Carr recruited bookmaker Tim Mara to establish the NY Giants football team.

Art Rooney, a notorious gambler purchased the rights to establish the Pittsburgh Pirates (renamed Steelers) in 1933. Rooney financed the team for its first decade on racetrack winnings– via inside tips courtesy of his bookie friend, Tim Mara.

These are just a few capsule biographies of the legendary owners enshrined in Canton, OH. More can be read in Dan Moldea’s book Interference: How Organized Crime Influences Professional Football.

In its earliest days, professional football was shunned by universities, with many college administrators prohibiting their players from having anything to do with the NFL. It wasn’t until 1936, that a college draft system was finally agreed upon by the universities & the NFL.

Most players were paid under $100/game, and NFL games were commonly fixed. Players would also bet their game salary, if they were confident of a win. Key players could be bribed to throw a contest since there was little media interest outside of the tabloid press. Football players & fans were heavy-drinking roughnecks, so mobsters in the bootlegging & gambling rackets were natural partners for the NFL.

The NFL Championship Game of 1946 proved how deep gambling interests ran in professional football. New York Giants players, Frank Filchock & Merle Hapes, took bribes from gamblers to throw the championship game; which the Bears won 24-14.

—–Halftime

The best-known early-era football player was college star, Harold “Red” Grange.
Grange earned football fame & glory for his electrifying runs at the University of Illinois from 1923-25.
In his 20-game college career he ran for 3,362 yards; caught 14 passes for 253 yards; and completed 40-of-82 passes for 575 yards.
Grange, a 3-time All American, scored at least one touchdown in every college game he played, but one.

Nicknamed the ‘Galloping Ghost’, Grange barely lasted two seasons as a star in the NFL.
His left knee was crippled in a game against the Chicago Bears in 1927.
Grange missed 1928, and then re-joined Halas’ Bears for six relatively mediocre seasons, until he retired in 1934.

College football was more popular than the NFL into the 1950’s.
Michigan & Notre Dame built huge stadiums where students & alumni flocked to the spectacle, in a time before radio & television.
College coaches Glenn “Pop” Warner (coach 1895-1938)) and Knute Rockne (coach Notre Dame 1918–1930), are considered football’s greatest innovators of this era.

The NFL was dominated by tough and punishing two-way players such as Chicago Bears RB Bronko Nagurski (1930-43) and Green Bay Packers RB Johnny Blood (1925-38). In 1925, rosters were limited to 16 players and the fat rugby ball couldn’t be thrown very far. Stretchers were routinely used to carry off injured players.

Curly Lambeau, head coach for the Green Bay Packers (1919-1949) had been an early innovator; developing a passing attack and winning 6 NFL titles with great players such as Arnie Herber (QB 1930-45) & Don Hutson (WR 1935-45).

Every NFL franchise has its sordid past, and the publicly-owned Green Bay Packers are no exception. The most notorious events in Packers history involved Curly Lambeau’s stand-off in the late 1940’s with the team’s executive committee, for control of the team.
The executive committee were a dozen power-hungry local businessmen that served as the Packers de facto front office.

Conflicts of interest arose over Rockwood Lodge, the training facility for the Green Bay Packers from 1946-49; insisted upon & designed at great expense, by Lambeau.

Rockwood Lodge was reviled by Packer fans, because it necessitated a drive outside the city to watch practices.
The players hated practicing on the field of rock, which created injuries and depleted their roster; the Packers went 3-9 in 1948, followed by 2-10 in 1949.
At the end of the 1949 season, the Green Bay Packers were on the verge of bankruptcy; three weeks behind on payroll & gate receipts to opponents, with no incoming revenue.
The Packers had become a target for contraction, as the impending AAFC merger would add new NFL franchises in large-city markets of Cleveland, San Francisco & Baltimore.
Curly Lambeau reportedly wanted to move the Packers to California; while fans & the executive council insisted the team stay in Green Bay.

Rockwood Lodge was almost completely vacant on January 24, 1950, when it mysteriously burned to the ground; its cause remains unsolved to this day.
The only official response from the team after the incident came from Packers secretary-treasurer Frank Jonet, when he confirmed that Rockwood Lodge was fully insured.
One week later, Lambeau resigned his position with the Packers and moved to Chicago to coach the Cardinals.
The Packers, fell firmly under the control of the executive council and eventually received a $75,000 settlement from their insurance company; which prevented the team from folding.

Larry Names, author of a definitive early history of the Green Bay Packers states: “Everyone in Green Bay knew at the time, that they went out there and burned that place to the ground to save the franchise…torching Rockwood Lodge is what allowed the Packers to survive.”

NFL Integration & Specialization of the Game

Black athletes had been allowed to play college football since the 19th century, although the ACC & SEC didn’t integrate until the 1960’s & 1970’s.
The NFL had a handful black players in its early years, but none ever played under a professional contract.
A Jim Crow owners agreement in 1932 (insisted upon by Washington R-words owner George Preston Marshall), barred blacks from the NFL until after WWII.

In 1946, the Cleveland Rams received permission from the league to move to Los Angeles.
Los Angeles civil-rights activists successfully lobbied the (publicly-funded) LA Coliseum commission; insisting upon an integrated team as a term for lease approval.
UCLA football star Kenny Washington played for the LA Rams in 1946, becoming the first black athlete to receive a contract to play a professional American team sport.

The NFL initially adopted the rules of college football. Starting in the 1930’s, the NFL made significant rulebook changes to separate itself from the college game.
The most significant NFL rule changes in its pre-Super Bowl era were:

1933– legalizing the forward pass from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage.
1950– unlimited free substitution.
1951– no tackle, guard, or center is eligible to catch a forward pass.

The new substitution rules were designed to open up the game by specializing offense, defense & special-teams platoons. As the number of players/team was steadily expanded from 32 in 1950, to 40 in 1964, these now-available roster spots would be filled with valuable specialists.

By the 1950’s, specialization of the game started to change its style, particularly in the evolution of the modern QB, led by Otto Graham (Cleveland Browns 1946–1955) and Johnny Unitas (Baltimore Colts 1955–1973). This led directly to the television success of the NFL in the 1950’s, when it finally passed college football in popularity.

Early modern-era QBs: Bart Starr (Green Bay Packers 1956–1971), Len Dawson (Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs 1962–1975), and Fran Tarkenton (Minnesota Vikings/NY Giants 1961–1978); helped move professional football from a three-yards-in-a-cloud-of-dust style, into a more wide-open passing attack.

Jim Brown (Cleveland Browns 1957-65) and Gale Sayers (Chicago Bears 1965-71) were the greatest running backs of the pre-merger era.

RB Paul Hornung (Packers) and DT Alex Karras (Lions) were suspended by the NFL in 1964, for betting on games. In Dan Moldea’s Interference, QB Len Dawson candidly discusses throwing games for money in the 1960’s.

Hornung and Bart Starr led the Green Bay Packers, coached under Vince Lombardi from 1959-67, to NFL dominance; winning 5 NFL championships, including the first two Super Bowls. Lombardi retired from coaching after Super Bowl II, and died of cancer in 1970. The Super Bowl trophy has since carried his name.

The arrival of the AFL in 1960, challenged the NFL’s monopoly and brought other innovations to the pro game. Franchises were established in seven new cities: Houston, Denver, San Diego, Oakland, Buffalo, Kansas City & Boston; along with the Jets in NY. All are still in existence.
AFL team photos from the 1960’s show rosters filled with one-half black players; while the average NFL roster was less than one-quarter black players, and the Washington Redskins were the last NFL team to integrate in 1962—by government order.

The 1963 AFL San Diego Chargers are widely credited as pro football’s first steroid team, with its offensive lineman compelled to take steroids during training camp & throughout the season.
The Chargers won their only AFL title that year.

The NFL Hall of Fame opened in 1963 in Canton, OH, with a charter class of 17 members; six of them coaches, owners or league executives.
Standards for the NFL Hall of Fame are inconsistent and nebulous, as demonstrated below:

NFL HoF Comparison Example #1: Linemen from the 1950’s & 60’s

Art Donovan (DT) Baltimore Colts (1950-61):
Career stats: 12 seasons, 138 games, 8 fumbles recovered, 1 safety
HoF card reads, “Five time All-Pro…Donovan developed into one of the best defensive tackles in league history…one of the most popular players in the league…many feel he was at least as valuable to the Colts as a morale builder with his sharp wit and contagious laughter.”

Jerry Kramer (RG) Green Bay Packers (1958-68):
Career Stats: 11 seasons, 130 games
Not in the HoF; although he too was a five-time All-Pro, anchoring multiple championship teams.
There is no real career performance data for either, outside of all-pro voting. As far as anyone can tell, Donovan and Kramer were both dominant linemen, on opposite sides of the ball– essentially the same players in value. Can anyone explain why one is in the Hall of Fame and the other isn’t? Maybe Jerry Kramer wasn’t very funny or popular.

Click here to read Part 2— NFL History: The Super Bowl Era

What is Zionism & Antisemitism?

Posted on August 5, 2014 by admin

Atheist Psalm mp3
RS: gtr & vocal
TomP: percussion & production

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Zionism is Israeli/Jewish nationalism.

Most Jews live in Israel (42%) or the US (42%), and their aggregate population of 14 million comprises 0.2% of the world’s total.

Judaism’s Old Testament texts, traditions, values and hierarchy, strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions such as Christianity & Islam.

Historically, Jews were educated servants of the aristocracy as moneylenders, rent collectors, etc; any jobs the ancient Greeks, Romans or medieval Church aristocracies considered too odious for their own hands.

This is the origin of the merchant class under feudalism, and the bourgeois class under capitalism as defined by Karl Marx.

This hatred, by the ancient aristocracy of the rising business class, is the modern origin of antisemitism.

The great bourgeois revolutions of the late 18th (US & France) and 19th (Napoleonic Wars) centuries, swept away monarchies and reorganized the world under the modern system of nation-states.
The historically stateless Jews were now being systematically persecuted by nationalist racism & terrorism.

By the early 20th century, Jewish immigration to the US increased sharply; first under the whip of tsarist terrorism in feudal Russia, then under the rising tide of European fascism after WW1.
Six million Jews were murdered by Nazis in Europe during WW2, because fascism was allowed to grow unchecked worldwide in the preceding decades.

The capitalist Cold War solution to prevent another Holocaust was to create a nation-state for Jews.
On May 1, 1949 Israel was recognized by the UN as a nation; occupying Palestine– previously a nation of Islam.
Millions of Palestinians were evicted by US/NATO-assisted military force, in order to build Jewish settlements.

This conflict has steadily escalated ever since.

The Six-Day War in June 1967 and the current Israeli Defense Force (IDF) assault on Gaza, are historical markers for Zionism’s war crimes against the people of Palestine.
Since May 1, 1949 anyone expressing sympathy for Palestinian civilian casualties caused by indiscriminate IDF shelling is slandered as antisemitic.

————

Fascism is antisemitism applied indiscriminately.

Zionism is conservative Jewish fascism.

While a mortal enemy of European (Nazi) fascism, Zionism shares many Nazi attributes in ethics, style and function.

Since Zionism is a religious-based ideology, it is important to have a clear understanding of religion.

ALL religions are mythology, and have no basis in scientific fact.

Religion offers ancient philosophy, wisdom & poetry; but no material solutions to complex modern problems– be them technological, economic or political.

————-

The state of Israel serves US ruling interests in the Middle East, as a permanent garrison in the most petroleum-rich portion of the globe.
Oil is the most important natural resource commodity under modern capitalism, replacing cotton in the late 19th century.
Human labor is the most valuable commodity–Karl Marx, Capital

Israel currently has an estimated 120 nuclear-tipped ICBMs.
That is only an estimate, because the state of Israel refuses to even acknowledge it has a nuclear arsenal.

Israel (goaded by ruling fanatics in the US) remains a potential flash point for global nuclear war– which human civilization will not survive.
Once started, human civilization will burn (or perhaps fossilize) into geologic ash, as Mutually Assured Destruction is the only possible outcome to WW3.

Short-sightedness & hubris are threatening our species’ survival, which only measures a fraction of the dinosaur’s geologic existence.
The dinosaur’s demise was after over 150 million years of surviving & thriving– by a chance asteroid collision.
Homo sapiens have only lasted a few hundred-thousand years in total, and we are already facing self-annihilation– which would be a senseless act of species suicide.

If that becomes our fate, then maybe in a few billion years when life can finally return to this beautiful planet, a more highly-evolved species will discover and properly interpret why we didn’t have it in us to survive.

********************************************************************************

Why Hollywood Entertainment Sucks

Posted on August 1, 2014 by admin

1-3-14 Yahoo! headlines

Snaps From Jennifer Aniston’s Sun-Soaked, Star-Packed Mexican Vacation
By Elizabeth Durand Streisand January 2, 2014 11:56 AM omg!

Hillary Clinton Debuts New Haircut, Bangs: See the Picture

Alyssa Milano Responds to Jay Mohr After Comedian Takes Jab At Her Weight

The best US films made today are independent documentaries.
Hollywood is organically incapable of making any kind of meaningful film anymore, due to its myopic class perspective which can only guess as to the needs and aspirations of working people everywhere.
Hollywood mostly offers animated pablum; action flicks that glorify the military, police & violence along with uncompelling dramas & unfunny comedies– all reflecting a misanthropic glorification of the wealthy & powerful.

Medical & Recreational Marijuana

Posted on July 14, 2014 by admin

Ric Size ” The Cliche Song”

Florida’s Amendment 2, is a popular initiative ballot measure concerning legalizing medical marijuana; which the public will vote upon this coming November 4.
Early polling shows public support in Florida to be 70-80% in favor of legal medical weed.
Unless there is major manipulation of the electronic voting from conservative interests, this measure is likely to pass.

The origin of this amendment is, of course, the grassroots campaigning of pro-pot activists to legalize marijuana.
Reformists & their business partners always insist on a multi-staged approach, as this slows things down enough to make sure the money gets funnelled to the right people.
John Morgan, an Orlando-based attorney has spent $4 million getting this measure legal traction through Florida’s notoriously murky political machinery.
The Good Old Boys have been paid for now, and Morgan can add Amendment 2 to his resume when he runs for political office in 2016, as is widely speculated.

Unfortunately, Amendment 2 leaves many hurdles to be cleared after it is approved by the voters, and very little public discussion is currently taking place.
One issue that is conveniently being ignored is that there is no provision for patients to grow their own medical marijuana.
Production is limited to five (5) select large-scale growers, thus establishing a monopoly.
Patients who can’t afford dispensary prices (estimated to range from $225-450 per ounce) are priced out of their medicine, and have no right to grow their own.

Is marijuana medicine?
The correct answer is: yes, for some.
Generally speaking, medical marijuana used for pain relief has higher cannabidiol (CBD) and lower tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content.
It is THC that gets the user high; CBD does not.

For most, marijuana is about getting high, which makes it roughly equivalent to alcohol & tobacco; and therefore it is sensible for its recreational use to be regulated in a similar manner.
Obstacles to legalization will continue to be religious groups everywhere, as well as the pharmaceuticals, big alcohol & tobacco; who use their influence & lobbying money to keep a strategic competitor out of their market space.
The major breweries would also take a hit in revenue if recreational marijuana was legalized.
Legalized marijuana federally would wipe out billions in annual profits for these industries, which is considered anti-capitalist in ruling circles.

Marijuana comes from cannabis, an extremely versatile plant.
The banning of hemp, one of the most useful industrial crops known to man, only proves how unscientific & unreasonable the anti-cannabis position has become.

Hemp is a high-growing variety of cannabis that has many useful qualities such as: strong & durable fibers that can be made into rope, paper & clothing.
It has resins & oils that burn cleaner than petroleum-based comparables.
Hemp can replace Styrofoam, plastics, nylon and other petroleum-based synthetics that end up polluting our Earth.
Hemp seed is widely understood to be healthy food.
It has a low THC content, but is kept illegal under federal law as part of a fanatical ‘zero-tolerance’ policy in its war on marijuana.

Federally, marijuana is a Schedule I drug, and the DEA can always claim jurisdiction to bust pot growers, dispensaries and users.
DEA funding is starting to scale back, as it’s becoming clear to most that legal marijuana is going to happen, eventually.
Legalizing medical marijuana in Florida sends a clear message, which is: if one of the most conservative & politically-rigged states can pass medical weed, then it’s time to legalize it everywhere.

Florida will have a long way to go after November 4, to win the rights the voters of Colorado & Washington have earned.
Unless all people are allowed to grow marijuana, then there really is no freedom won in Florida’s Amendment 2.
Still, Amendment 2 is a clear signal that the tide has qualitatively shifted in the war on drugs, as the greater public is no longer heeding Uncle Sam’s ethics.

When enough people finally realize the war on drugs is really a war on the working class, then the fight for legal marijuana will become a plank in the program for medical science & revolutionary socialism.

———————————

Post Script: Amendment 2 was killed by $6.2 million [mostly] from Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson:

Legalization reformists vow they will be back in 2016

The Video Game Phenomenon

Posted on May 24, 2014 by admin

All the best games are easy to learn and difficult to master. –Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, Inc.

You may have noticed, kids play video games and they don’t quit when they reach adulthood.
Today, gaming is the largest entertainment industry for children.
According to this 2008 survey, 97% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 play video games.
Gender distribution of gamers is roughly 60% male and 40% female, with the average age around 30 and getting older.

Mine was the first generation that grew up with video games.
For better or worse they are a permanent fixture in popular culture, thus they should be understood in their correct historical & material context.

This piece is written from a retro-gamer perspective.

Japan spearheaded the PC and video game revolution that eventually became popular culture, ever since it took the lead in the global electronics industry in the 1960’s.

Early video game templates were SpaceWar! (1962 MIT) & Computer Space (1971 Nolan Bushnell & Ted Dabney).

Atari is a Japanese verb meaning “to hit the mark.”
Atari, Inc, was established by Bushnell & Dabney in California in 1972.
Atari was a pioneer in arcade games (1972 Pong) and home video game consoles (1977 Atari VCS); defining & dominating the industry until the North American video game crash of 1983.

US video game manufacturing was led by Atari, after founder Nolan Bushnell sold it to Warner Communications in 1976 for $28 million.
Bushnell designed the Atari VCS (Video Computer System– later re-named the Atari 2600), and it started retailing at Sears in fall of 1977 for $199.
By 1979, it was the best-selling Christmas gift in the US.

The Atari 2600 was the first true home gaming console of the arcade era.
By today’s standards this machine is archaic.
Memory for computers was very expensive at the time, and the Atari 2600 ran on a mere 128 bytes RAM, 4 KB ROM, with a CPU @ 1.19 MHz.
Graphics were blocky and game-play was limited to 2-D, but the games themselves although much inferior to their arcade versions, were still intense & addicting to many.

The success of the Atari 2600 forever established the home video game market.

The success of Space Invaders (1978 Taito) & Asteroids (1979 Atari) sparked the golden age of arcade video games.
Prior to this era, pinball machines were dominant.
The limitation of pinball was that it tested a very limited skill-set, as every game depended solely on flipper control.

Video games established in the Golden Era of Arcade Games broke through this, with a variety of different types of games; from Shooters to Maze, Puzzle & Platform styles.
Pac-Man (1980 Namco) & Centipede (1981 Atari) crossed-over to females, making video games a permanent phenomenon.

Nintendo entered the market with Donkey Kong (1981), a deceptively simple design that is still one of the most difficult (and simultaneously amazing) games ever created.

Defender (1981 Williams Electronics) was a scrolling Shooter with multiple controls, needing to be used with split-second precision.
Only the best gamers could dominate this mind-blowing masterpiece.

Professional computer programmers soon became professional game designers, employed by emerging Japanese multinational giants including:

Taito (1978 Space Invaders, 1981 Qix)
Namco (1979 Galaxian, 1980 Pac-Man, 1981 Galaga, 1982 Dig Dug, Pole Position)
Nintendo (1981 Donkey Kong, 1983 Mario Bros., 1984 Punch-Out!!)
Konami (1981 Frogger, 1983 Track & Field)
Sega (1982 Pengo, Star Trek, Zaxxon)

In this period, designers were cut out of the royalties for the hit games they created.
Before disenfranchised Atari programmers created Activision in 1979, third-party game developers did not exist.
Atari (owned by Warner Communications) ruled the market, and was the only publisher of games for the Atari 2600.

Activision created a new model, by rewarding, crediting and promoting game developers; along with the games themselves.
Activision included a page to the developer in their instruction manuals, and encouraged players to send in screen-shots of high scores, etc.
This grassroots, fan-based approach helped the newly-formed company attract experienced talent.
In 1982, Activision released Pitfall!, a best-selling game for the Atari 2600.
Today, Activision is one of the largest third-party video game publishers in the world.

Warner responded by releasing the Atari 5200, for the 1982 Christmas season.
The Atari 5200 is both the best and the most-maligned home console from the arcade era (defined as pre-NES).
Released with great fanfare, just before the industry collapsed, the Atari 5200 was rushed to market by Warner with serious design flaws; namely it’s controllers were poor quality & unreliable, plus the system wasn’t compatible with old 2600 cartridges until an expensive adaptor (which didn’t fit all 5200 models) was later made available for purchase.
In spite of these limitations (which were never addressed due to market crash) the Atari 5200 was still the most advanced non-PC gaming console of its time.
All the best titles of the arcade era from Berzerk to Zaxxon (except Donkey Kong which was licensed by Nintendo to ColecoVision) were available on the 5200.
The 5200’s signature game was its port of Star Raiders (1979 Atari; designer-Doug Neubauer), but nearly every title was clearly superior to the 2600 in graphics & game-play.

Industry revenues in 1982 had peaked at $3.2 billion, then fell in 1983 over 95% to around $100 million; wiping out Atari and dozens of other US video-game manufacturers.
The cause was: over-saturation of the market with hundreds of lousy games (on over a dozen different platforms), which resulted in high prices & loss of consumer confidence.
The fastest-growing company in the history of American business, Atari Inc would go on to lose $536 million in 1983, and was sold off by Warner Communications the following year.

The North American video game crash of 1983, was an abrupt mass-extinction in the industry that lasted until the Nintendo Entertainment System arrived in 1985.
It wasn’t until Microsoft’s Xbox in the 2000’s, that a U.S. manufacturer became competitive in the home gaming console market again.

The widespread success of the NES, was made possible by Nintendo introducing a now-standard business model of licensing third-party developers.
This authorized (recognized & paid) game designers to produce and distribute titles for Nintendo’s platform.
Compensating game designers more fairly led to higher-quality titles, and helped restore consumer confidence.

Nintendo would revolutionize the industry again in 1989, introducing the Gameboy, the first high-quality portable gaming console.
The Gameboy bundled-in Tetris, a simple yet addicting puzzle game, which became a cultural phenomenon.

By the early 1990’s the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (1991 killer app–Sonic the Hedgehog) & Super Nintendo upped their consoles to 16-bit microprocessors, which allowed graphics and game-play to approach and even exceed arcade machines.
This was the death knell for mall arcades, as new best-selling titles were now released directly for home consoles or PC.

Video games of this era became more graphic in their representations of sex, death & violence. In 1993 Sega started rating its video games for content, in a similar way to which films were rated.

Best-selling games of this era included:
Grand Theft Auto (1997 DMA Design), notable for its violent content.
Final Fantasy (1987 Nintendo) & Diablo (1996 Blizzard Entertainment) were massively popular role-playing games.
Doom (1993) & Quake (1996, both from id Software) were 1st-person shooters for home computers, which upped the ante on anti-social violence, while pioneering play over the Internet.
One of the best-designed games for PC & Mac in this era was SimCity (1989 Maxis), a city-building simulation video game.

Sony entered the 32-bit console market with its PlayStation in 1994.
The PS2, released in 2000, became the best selling console in history, with over 155 million units sold in its 13-year manufacturing run.

Microsoft’s Xbox (2001) entered the market with it’s killer app, Halo: Combat Evolved; an ultra-violent first-person shooter that fit in perfectly with the cultural militarism of the period.
The Xbox was reportedly sold to consumers at a loss to achieve market penetration, in order to realize its overall objective of being a leader in online gaming which was still in its infancy at the time.

The Nintendo Wii (2006, pack-in game: Wii Sports) capitalized on the intuitive nature of motion control, and once again Nintendo revolutionized video gaming.

By the early 2000’s, mobile phone gaming had been hugely popular in Japan for years.
The popular US conversion to Smart phones and the iPhone (2007 Apple) brought the mobile gaming phenomenon to North America.

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It is always imperative to understand that video games are a form of television, which is boredom-killing entertainment.
Video games are isolationist & voyeuristic by their very nature, making them unproductive while highly addictive.
Video games, along with all other forms of mass media, reflect society’s values which is why they are now largely misanthropic.

Controlling these media means real power & influence, for those who own it.

Imagine this scenario:
Ten people in a room competing for attention– the least assertive person gets pushed into the background.
Next, the marginalized person obtains a remote control to DirecTV or a game console– and suddenly this non-entity transforms into the most powerful person in the room.
His/her choices in volume & programming become impossible for anyone to ignore.
This effect is the same on a global scale, which is the reason why it needs to taken out of the hands of private corporations, and brought under the ownership & democratic control of working people, meaning everybody.

Today, all mass media is far too violent, sexist, misanthropic, etc. to have much educational value for children or anyone else.
Homo sapiens must do better if we are to prepare our children to solve the many problems we have created for ourselves and our planet.

In short, the history of the video game industry is the story of globalization, advances in technology, and idea sharing.
Innovation runs into the barrier of private ownership, which slows down development in the name of profits & reactionary ideology.
This leads to vapid content using sophisticated technology, which dovetails into apathy & militarism.

Steam Locomotion & Modern Economics

Posted on May 13, 2014 by admin

Mount Dora has tried this before.

Here is what I found to be the most helpful review of the Mount Dora Railroad (MDRR) on Yelp, published by Steven I. on 2/27/2010:

“I suppose a child who has never seen a train before might be curious, but on a scale of 1-10, these trains are 1’s. They have bought old commuter train cars from around the country and somehow got them down here. When they arrived, they are rusted hulks in need of windows, paint, chairs etc. Many came from electrified tracks. Well guess what, these tracks are not electrified. So they have to retrofit them with car engines to make them run. Track foundations are not frequently inspected by the government with sections washing away by rain and erosion. No routine maintenance is performed on tracks since it is cost prohibited. This tourist train has been leased out to several companies over the past ten years. None of them had any great success. Most of the track runs along side the road. Great scenery eh?”

Baldwin Locomotive Works originally located in Philadelphia, PA; stopped producing locomotives in 1956. Bankrupted in 1972.

History: steam locomotives are a relic of our nation’s past and part of our history. They deserve to be appreciated in their proper historical context. The steam engine is a symbol of rising American capitalism. It’s revival as a tourist industry in Mount Dora, FL under modern capitalism, is the nostalgic vision of decision-makers who think (& live) in the past.

The introduction of electric locomotives at the turn of the 20th century, and later diesel-electric locomotives, ended the era of 19th-century wood/coal steam locomotives.
Steam engines are considerably less efficient than modern diesels, requiring constant maintenance and labour to keep them safely operational.

According to the engineer and his assistants, the MDRR burns a cord of good wood per day, in its three trips to nearby Tavares & back.

For longer distances, water is required at many points throughout a rail network and becomes a major problem in drought & desert areas.
The reciprocating mechanism on the driving wheels of a two-cylinder single expansion steam locomotive tends to pound the rails, thus requiring more maintenance.
Smoke from steam locomotives is deemed objectionable, although diesels can not be considered “clean” by any modern rational standard.

————All Aboard!!—————

Tip of the Cap— Ric Size, Tom Pearce, Craig Roy, Bill Pelick

As far as the railroad being a modern tourist attraction goes, consider this: How many Floridians do you think are interested in riding at a leisurely pace, without air conditioning in 90+ degree heat? Most Americans consider that a Third World experience, meaning they’re likely not up for much of it.

The city of Mount Dora tries to market itself as quaint, but that shouldn’t mean short-sighted and wasteful.
Over $1,000,000 was spent repairing the tracks which run from Mount Dora to Tavares.
Based on past history, and ongoing maintenance needs; what is this costing? How much of a deficit is it running? These are typical fair citizen/taxpayer questions that are never answered with honesty or accountability, anywhere.

The MDRR runs only on weekends (Fri-Sun), during the snowbird season (roughly Nov-April).

Snowbird (n.)– self-acclaimed, old folk know-it-alls with money, who vacation in Florida during the winter months; then leave when the going gets tough from heat & hurricanes, in order to migrate ‘home’ and gossip to their colleagues about how superior they are.

Sits idle most days

Diesel MDRR workhorse here, as the steam engine is usually only fired up for big chamber of commerce events

There has been an inherent lack of openness & coordinated planning in this whole railroad-as-tourist-attraction scheme.
The resources wasted on this effort would have been much better used for constructing sidewalks, as well as a much-needed FREE public-parking garage; so people can get around Mount Dora more easily & safely.
The owners of Mount Dora have proudly marketed their quaintness; and if that’s their way of saying: it’s the same corruption here as everywhere else since the dawn of capitalism, then Mount Dora is a picture of American quaintness.

================================================================

Football or Baseball Nation?

Posted on May 5, 2014 by admin

The United States of America was once a baseball nation.
Today it is a football nation.
It is in our national interest to become baseball again.
Here is why?

Football tries to win every game, often regardless of cost.
Baseball knows this is not only an impossibility but also foolish, and therefore accepts losing as a cost of the game.
The baseball metaphor more resembles a healthy & manageable life.

In baseball the best team usually wins around 100 games, which means they’ve also lost around 62.
Even in the best years of living, successful people have losing days when they must deal with falling short of expectations.
These (generally) successful people go home to their families, and don’t forget their true wealth is in their happiness, with those they love.
It is similar in baseball where the emphasis is on: staying positive in the face of daily adversity, consistently putting forth good effort, and learning to accept losing– because some days you just can’t win.
This approach avoids extended losing streaks, and its realization is the difference between winning and losing, over a long season.
Life, like baseball, is a marathon.

In football, the best teams are urged to try for 16-0, plus the Super Bowl.
Only the 1972 Miami Dolphins (17-0) ever achieved a perfect season, making them a statistical outlier.
Few experts even list them as the greatest single-season team ever, as compared to the Steel Curtain Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bill Walsh-era SF 49ers, or the 1985 Chicago Bears.

The fact that no team has matched Miami’s 1972 perfection doesn’t keep teams from trying. Every year, the media hypes fans into expecting another statistical miracle.
The problem is: Undefeated is an unrealistic expectation in sports and a dangerous expectation for reality. This becomes a societal problem when it becomes predominant ruling-class thought, imitated by the most backward layers of the working class.
It is unhealthy to not accept losing.
Only insecure losers believe they can completely prevent losing.

Bill Belichick is a certainly a great football coach, but does that make him happy?
I wonder this, because I never see him laugh or smile.
He’s often put forward as a role model to others.

The NFL & College Football seasons unfold in a weekly series of violent spasms, with six days of recuperation before the next battle.
The NFL season is a meat-grinder by any fair description.
The average NFL career length is 3.3 years, as compared to 5.6 in MLB.

The mentality of too many football fans is often one of intolerance towards others (all opponents), with an uncompromising win-at-all-costs approach.
There are too many murders & rapists in the NFL, simply because they help win Super Bowls.
There is too much PED abuse at all levels of football, which only follows the pioneering example of the NFL.
There is no serious comprehensive concussion prevention (or treatment) program at any level of the sport.
Any attempts to question the NFL on these topics, leads to defensive double-speak & fierce lobbying resistance.

Of course, these problems also exist in baseball, but they are much less fundamental & pervasive than they are in American football.
To the extent they have penetrated baseball can be seen as a general follow-the-leader shift (with football leading) in popular sports thinking. Generally, the term ‘sports thinking’ is an oxymoron.
MLB accepted football’s methods such as steroids in the 1990’s & beyond, because it improved player performance (at least in the short-term) and also because many owners agreed that by making the game more like football, it would be more popular.
It worked in 1998 with Sammy Sosa & Mark McGwire chasing (and obliterating) Roger Maris’ season HR record.
In 2001, when Barry Bonds obliterated it again, baseball fans were no longer excited.
The ugly truth, which had finally become apparent to most, could not be ignored. It seemed impossible for most to cheer.

Unfortunately. much of this ugliness goes directly to the heart of what football is.
It is often too violent, too destructive, and too degraded a spectacle– to be watched by anyone who thinks with compassion for others.
When players are lying on the field–concussed, TV audiences are promptly cut to a commercial.
Announcers often only comment on this phenomenon in passing, as their jobs are threatened by the NFL (through its Network broadcast partners), if they raise serious medical player-safety issues on the air.
Football announcers are too often ex-jocks, simply cheerleading for their game.
Their cliched claim to be bringing fans the “inside experience” rings hollow, as their function (besides their celebrity) is to keep fans away from the game’s dirty secrets.
It is the Player’s code: For the good of the game, it is best to deceive the fans about how players really make themselves ready to perform on Gameday.
It’s all about winning the ratings.

The best aspect of the NFL’s concussion crisis is that sports fans are now more aware of the true cost of playing football.
Too many NFL players retire into a life of chronic pain, depression, Alzheimer/dementia, and even suicide.
It is too terrible a trend to ignore, especially when it happens to some of its greatest stars.
Playing professional football is one of the most dangerous & unhealthy careers a man can choose, yet most fans think it is an honor to play in the NFL.
There is a huge disconnect from the wanna-be’s who obsessively follow the game, and the actual players who view the NFL as a short-term, high-risk/high-reward job.
Most NFL players don’t talk about the privilege of playing anymore, as that old-school mentality went out with billion dollar TV contracts, $10-millon signing bonuses, and the medical science on post-NFL life.

Baseball has become more difficult for its core fans to watch, because it has been turned into football, in many ways.
PEDs, Wild Cards, expanded play-offs, garrulous announcers, exploding graphics, replay umpiring, etc… all take their toll on the roots of our national pastime.
Baseball is a game that is deceptively simple in its elegance, and lends itself to contemplation during its periods of inaction.
Its natural rhythm & pace, allows time for actual thought.
Football attempts to fill every second of its broadcasts with hype & pizazz.
There are only 11.5 minutes of actual game action in a typical NFL contest.

When baseball tries to imitate football, in an attempt to close the ratings gap, it loses its identity.
When, We the People, let ourselves be herded into group-think by violent & uncritical mindsets that serves ruling interests, we lose our identity.
These are fascist tendencies, which must be recognized & resisted.

May Day: International Labor Day

Posted on May 1, 2014 by admin

Today is May Day, the great unknown American holiday. It is unfortunate that here in the United States, we don’t know our history.

Outside the US, May Day is recognized in over 80 countries around the world as a day of international labor solidarity.

The first May Day of this kind was in Chicago in 1886, when organized workers energetically demonstrated on May 1st for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, along with other proletariat class demands.

Three days later, the demonstration was broken up by police force, in what is known as the Haymarket Affair. There is still a statue in Chicago commemorating this historical event.

THE DAY WILL COME WHEN OUR SILENCE WILL BE MORE POWERFUL THAN THE VOICES YOU ARE THROTTLING TODAY.

The US history of worker militancy needs to be re-learned by its population, and drawn upon. The war against capitalist exploitation needs history (with the invaluable lessons it contains), to guide the working masses fighting spirit.

Workers of the world, unite!!

Ric Size

Songwriter, Musician, Artist

Category Archives: Politics