Zombieland Redux

Posted on October 31, 2014 by admin

Moneybug — Ric Size

RS: How’s the practice of dentistry going in Zombieland?

DDS: Not pretty. It’s always been difficult enough just doing the dentistry, but on top of everything else now, we’re dealing with the plague of the 21st century: a fast-acting virus that swells your brain; and makes you feverish, hateful & violent.

RS: It’s amazing how quickly things can go from bad– to total shit-storm. Tell us what happened?

DDS: Check out the photo…

Eustis, Zombieland

RS: Whoa, looks like zombie wasteland.

DDS: Actually, that’s just Eustis. I remember just minding my own business, practicing out of a 3-chair dental office, late in the summer of 2013. It had been the severest economic drought my local-area colleagues & I could ever recall, when an 18-year old black female emergency patient walked-in; needing an extraction of an abscessed upper molar. She was given an emergency treatment plan with complete fees, which were agreed upon by her & her partner; a 30-year old black male. Both had clusters of red-flag indicators for crack-cocaine use, which was spotted by my receptionist & myself. After the tooth was successfully & painlessly extracted, her partner (whom had left) returned to the office even more agitated– refusing to pay the bill my receptionist presented. I was forced to nut-up-or-shut-up, to an out-of-control individual who possibly/likely had a weapon in his vehicle. He finally relented and paid for services, but his anger continued & escalated as he left the parking lot. It shook everyone up, quite a bit. After that, I realized I couldn’t expose my staff and/or my patients to that, anymore.

RS: When friendly & affluent people are driven away by an economic apocalypse; and what’s left are mostly fucked-up monsters, then maybe it’s time to close the practice?

DDS: Exactly. Cutting emotional ties with my staff & the patients I cared for was a difficult decision. I LOVE my staff & auxiliary team. We had treated and gotten to know MANY real patients over the years, who made our lives infinitely richer for the experience; but I can’t expose them to the threats of ravenous zombies, just to make a living. Many of my long-time patients were shocked & saddened when I made the announcement, but my staff & I knew it was the right decision. It just didn’t make good fiscal sense for me to re-invest in a office in Zombieland. I’m a practicing locum tenens dentist now, and my headaches are much fewer. I still maintain the website for my practice at EustisFamilyDentist.com— totally zombie-free.

RS: That means you travel light, right?

DDS: Nothing but my duffel bag, and the new backpack I bought for carrying my dental tools; I’m pretty good about wearing seatbelts.

RS: It’s been 6+ years since those fuckin’ zombies who run Wall Street, flushed all the decent-paying jobs down the crapper– and there ain’t no gettin’ them back; how is dentistry different today?

DDS: At ground zero [September 15, 2008], most dentists still had steady-to-thriving practices, with plenty of patients who had good-enough paying jobs to afford regular treatment; including occasional restorative upgrades like crowns, bridges, and dental implants. After the financial crash, zombies began to outnumber people; and corporate dental chains undercut traditional solo family practices with their low-end retail approach. Many real people couldn’t afford actual dental care anymore, and the zombies couldn’t tell the difference. Many practitioners had already turned to meat, so a mass extinction of solo practices ensued. As you can see by the illustration above, I was caught up in the wash.

RS: Bummer. In my experience, any practice with more than two locations is a clinic, whose business model is low-cost/ high-volume production; are these the only jobs new dentists can expect to find in the market?

DDS: Yes. Debt for recent graduates is absurdly high; $250,000-$500,000 in many instances now. This puts young dentists on the corporate treadmill, just to make their monthly student loan payments; which can be $5-10+K/ month. Very few high-calibre private practices will hire recent graduates, as they don’t have the necessary skills or experience. Corporate dental chains offer around $150,000-$200,000 per year–depending on production. Getting paid that, isn’t even really guaranteed. Do the math: after repayment of student loan debt, there’s not much left for a fledgling dentist to live on. Today, corporate dentistry is wracked with over-capacity, poor morale, and an upside-down office model that will cause these corporate chains [Aspen, Christie, Coast, Heartland, etc…], to collapse like a house of cards when their day comes. Still, it’s amazing to see how far you can get with costume dentistry & a cut-throat attitude.

RS: Better fasten your seatbelts folks, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. How can young dentists be expected to learn their profession under such scorched-earth conditions?

DDS: They can’t, for the most part; even though evidence-based dentistry & the Internet have made these graduates smarter & more-prepared than ever for real-world practice. By today’s professional standards, dentists are physicians of the oral cavity & its surrounding structures; diagnosing and appropriately treating: tooth decay, gum disease, TMJ & occlusal diseases, oral cancer, etc. The erosion of the standard-of-care through the economic warfare policies of lenders, insurance giants, pharmaceutical/supply companies, etc.; has lowered the quality-of-care for most people, despite all the gains in science & technology. The only practices that are thriving now are the elite, boutique-style offices in the 90210-type districts. That represents about 1% of all the practices.

RS: So, how are you surviving in Zombieland?

DDS: I play it smart and follow the rules– My Rules. Rule # 1: Look yourself in the mirror, every day. Rule #2: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, everybody makes them– that’s why it’s called a practice– it’s how you manage them that counts. Rule #3: Flexibility & Core Strength. Rule #4: Enjoy the little things 🙂

RS: What are your thoughts on organized dentistry?

DDS: The American Dental Association (ADA) is an ossified bureaucracy, just like every other union. The ADA blocks information flow & open discussion on water fluoridation & amalgam safety— just to name two high-profile examples. Capitation insurance (HMO/DMO) has been allowed to eat away at working dentist’s bottom lines while lowering the quality-of-care to patients; as ADA careerists are wined-and-dined & perked by the insurance industry. Today most wet-gloved dentists are toiling longer & harder, for less. Most of these practitioners (80% ADA members) have no idea who the ADA president is? The ADA HQ is in Chicago, Zombieland. Its presidents are installed, and not constituency elected.

RS: I’ve heard there’s a place untouched by all of this…

DDS: Out west?

RS: Yeah. You heard that too?

DDS: Out mid-west (where I’m from), that say it’s better back east; back east they say it’s better out west–it’s all nonsense. You’re like the ‘patient’ who needs a root canal/crown vs. an extraction; arguing with me over Tylenol #3 vs. Oxycontin. I tell real patients after extractions that Tylenol #3 is what you use if Ibuprofen 800mg alone isn’t cutting the pain; most just take Ibuprofen. Those who take a few Tylenol # 3 as needed; often tell me they had to cut it in half, because it’s so strong it made them vomit. Narcotic-addicted zombies react with disappointment in their corpse-language when I hand them a script for twelve (12) Tylenol #3, which is the maximum number I prescribe. Their protests to my staff & myself always include: not strong enough, not enough, allergy to Ibuprofen & Tylenol #3 — but NKDA to every other strong synthetic opiate known to man, etc…

RS: Wow. People lying & getting in my face like that, would provoke me to make them feel how hard I could punch– even if it was just using words.

DDS: That’s a line that doctors are pulled towards by manipulators & other socio-paths– but can never be crossed. It’s one of the things that really sucks about being a professional in Zombieland.

RS: You seem to have a sick sense of humor when it comes to zombies; do you really hate them?

DDS: I’m beyond hate. This has become a war for survival– real people vs. zombies. We can’t co-exist, because zombies are completely selfish & irrational. If allowed, they will continue to munch on & defecate all over this Earth, until everything decays into a sea of pus. Once those of us who still think & feel understand that we are ALL orphans in Zombieland, and we come to realize it never really was OUR country to begin with; then we can achieve a permanent socialist revolution, because we truly have nothing to lose.

RS: Time to nut up or shut up; how do you get around & keep in shape?

DDS: I try to blend in– suits my style. I’m active and like to get out and do stuff. Zombies generally don’t mess with their own, so a goofy hat & sunglasses keeps me mostly under their radar. Occasionally, I can bike out to the courts to hit up against the wall; just enjoying the serenity of being the ball…

RS: You expressed that last thought very poetically.

DDS: That’s because I am you, pleased to meet me — LOVE our Music!!

RS: That’s why we do it. Thank you 🙂

DDS: So, have you considered a collaboration with Eddie Van Halen; any upcoming live shows?

RS: I would have loved to with Eddie, but he’s a zombie; as far as playing live goes– the promoters & venue owners are ALL hardcore zombies, who have it locked up to themselves pretty tight.

DDS: That totally blows…

RS: …my mind is wondering if you have any final, good-for-the-whole-family Pearls of Wisdom?

DDS: Just this: In those moments of doubt after you’ve eaten, when you can still feel the food in-between your teeth; don’t get all stingy with your floss. Just think, if those edentulous zombies had simply flossed, brushed, improvised with a toothpick, or even rinsed after meals; they could have avoided becoming dental cripples with plastic teeth that don’t work.

RS: Woulda/Coulda/Shoulda

This is Central Florida, signing off from Zombieland

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Moneybug– Ric Size

TomP: percussion, backing vocals & production
Craig Roy: bass
Jessica Lynn Martens: violin & backing vocals
RS: vocals & guitar

Hand claps by TomP, BeccaP & RS

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Derek Jeter & Respect

Posted on September 27, 2014 by admin

Derek Jeter: career .310/.377/.440 post-season: .308/.374/.465
Alex Rodriguez: career .299/.384/.558 post-season: .263/.369/.464

Alex Rodriguez was a much better SS, so the Captain should have moved to CF when A-Rod arrived.
This created friction, and egos clashed in NY.
In their time as teammates, they would only win one World Series– and that was on the shoulders of Alex Rodriguez in 2009.

These two great players have nearly identical career post-season batting value in the stats that matter most, which are OBP & SLG.
Jeter had the good fortune of being part of the nucleus of a Yankee dynasty, which accounts for their difference in championships.

All non-Yankee, true baseball fans respect Derek Jeter.
He respects the game, and apparently never used PEDs.
This is why he is loved by the fans, and A-Rod is not.
Let that be a lesson.

Music & the Medium

Posted on September 15, 2014 by admin

The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison in 1877.

The earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound were phonograph cylinders, made of wax and later– hard plastic.
They were replaced by disc records during the 1910’s.

A vinyl record is an analog sound storage medium, inscribed with a modulated spiral groove.
The groove starts near the periphery and ends near the center of the disc.
Phonograph records are generally described by:

1) Their diameter in inches: 12″, 10″, and 7″
2) Their rotational speed in Revolutions Per Minute (RPM): 33 1⁄3, 45, 78

The earliest rotational speeds varied widely.
Most records made from 1900–1925 were recorded at 74–82 RPM.

In 1925, 78.26 RPM was chosen as the industry standard.
After the 33 1/3’s & 45’s were introduced, these records became retroactively known as 78’s.

The 33 1⁄3 RPM LP (Long Play) format was developed and released by Columbia Records in 1948.
It was 12″ in diameter, and could hold 20-25 minutes of music on each side.

In response, RCA Victor introduced the 45 RPM format in 1949.
The 45 was 7″ in diameter, and could hold 5 minutes of music on each side, making it ideal as a singles format.

Post-war innovations in science & technology, along with industry cooperation on projects like RIAA equalization, cleared the way for major improvements in the quality of recorded music.

When rock & roll arrived in 1955, the 45 was the dominant medium.
This lasted until the mid-1960’s, when Album Oriented Rock (AOR) radio started to emerge.
All singles in the golden era of early rock & roll, were 2-3 minutes in length.
This was prescribed by commercial radio, which was (and still is) ruled by payola.

Elvis Presley had the most hit singles, making him the King of Rock & Roll.
A 45 had a ‘hit side’ and a ‘flip side’, offering an economical cross-section of the artist.
Any performer that could consistently rip up both sides, was considered a star.
Upstart independent record labels like Sun & Motown, built their empires on the 45 single.

The 33 1/3 LP of this age was used as a round-up of current singles, with the rest of the record usually padded with filler.
The modern LP album began in the early 1960’s, when artists such as Bob Dylan & the Beatles made records without filler.
The LP medium defined rock & popular music from the mid 1960’s until 1990, when it was replaced by the compact disc.

The 8-track tape was widely marketed in the US in the 1970’s, as a portable format, usable in an automobile tape deck.
8-Tracks had 4 programs/tape, and often would cut off songs to change programs.
Other major problems with the 8-track format included: severe wow & flutter, tape hiss, and the ribbon getting eaten by the deck; and was eliminated by the early 1980’s.

8-Track Cartridge

The cassette tape was brought to market in the early 1970s, and quickly became one of the dominant formats for prerecorded music, alongside the LP.
Additionally, when blank cassettes became widely available, fans finally had convenient means to record and share music with others.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), from the early 1970’s onward, consistently fought against the availability of high-quality blank cassette tapes; claiming piracy & lost artist revenues.

Automobile tape decks, boomboxes, and the Sony Walkman (1979) were all huge booms for cassette tape popularity.
From an audiophile perspective, limitations of the cassette tape format were similar to the 8-track; but their portability, along with the ability to home record, outweighed the inferior sound quality in comparison to LP records.
From a popularity standpoint, cassette tapes ruled the 1980’s.
Smart consumers with a good stereo system would buy the LP, which had superior fidelity and artwork; and then record it onto a blank cassette tape for portability.

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On August 1, 1981, incipient cable-television giant Viacom launched MTV.
It was part of a massive cultural revolution, in which cable would conquer television audiences with 24-hour-a-day programming in news (CNN), sports (ESPN), movies (HBO), and popular music (MTV), etc…

MTV was initially AOR-based, featuring only major-label artists.
During MTV’s early years, very few black artists outside of Michael Jackson & Prince were in their rotation.
When hip-hop & rap conquered white kids in the suburbs, black artists started appearing on MTV.

MTV was at its best when it played videos regularly, and had a formatted series for different music genres such as:

Yo! MTV Raps (rap/hip-hop: 1988-95)
Headbangers Ball (metal: 1987-95)
120 Minutes (alternative/college/indie: 1986-2000)

Teen-targeted series, The Real World debuted in 1992; and is commonly credited with launching the reality-TV genre.
Real World became a seismic cultural hit with kids, and began MTV’s evolution away from playing music videos.
From 1995 to 2000, MTV played 36.5% fewer music videos; and basically eliminated its video rotation by the mid-2000s.

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Advances in optical technology, and cooperation between industry leaders Phillips (Germany) & Sony (Japan); led to the introduction of the compact disc (CD) in 1982.
CD’s, for the first time, provided the consumer with a copy that was equivalent to the master recording.
Its 44khz sampling rate, 90db signal/noise ratio, and complete channels separation was a revolutionary improvement in sound quality for newly recorded music.
Unfortunately back catalogue CD re-issues tended to be of poor quality, as often master tapes weren’t located, in the industry rush to cash in on the CD boom.
Consumers were hyped into replacing their entire music collections on CD, and many did.
Hardcore vinyl supporters fought a losing battle against the record industry in the 1980’s, protesting poor-sounding CD’s with skimpy/shoddy packaging.
In the mid-to-late 1980’s, a record that cost $6, retailed for $12 on CD.

By 1990, vinyl was pulled from the shelves, and new releases had to be purchased in CD format.
Mega-chains then drove most of the neighborhood record shops out of business.
The mega-stores would follow them into bankruptcy in the 2000’s, when Amazon.com became the world’s largest Internet retailer.

By the end of the 1990’s, the record labels had merged into 4 major giants (Sony-BMG, Universal, EMI, & Warner), all of whom stuck it to the consumer for $20+ a CD for a new release.
CD singles were priced around $5.
Many, many back catalogue artists still hadn’t been revived on CD, meaning they were publicly inaccessible– since vinyl & cassettes had been deleted.

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Napster (1999-2002) was a pioneering peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing program, created by 19-year old Shawn Fanning & his young colleagues; they released it as freeware in 1999.
Running Napster on a computer allowed mp3-formatted music to be freely shared on the Internet.
Everything in music was suddenly available!
Napster was a lightning-fast program, and since music is emotionally-charged, it quickly revolutionized the Internet.

The RIAA acted as puppet masters, in recruiting superstar artists around Metallica & Dr. Dre to kill Napster over copyright infringement.
Napster was finally shut down by the courts in 2002.
This can be seen historically as the RIAA’s attempt to stop the Internet.
Today 95+% of copyrighted music online is shared & downloaded ‘illegally’, by Napster-like sites.

By 2010, industry revenues were half of their 2000 level.

Dominant industry models for the 5% of paid-for downloaded music, since the destruction of Napster have been:
YouTube— video streaming paid for by advertising
iTunes— pay per download
Internet Radio (Pandora, Last.fm, etc.)— advertising/fee-based subscription service, for automated-recommendation streaming
Spotify— advertising/fee-based subscription for catalogue streaming

YouTube is one of the most useful distribution channels for emerging artists, as videos are a powerful medium. YouTube & Google are useful resources for fans, as much of the history of recorded music can be found through their search engines.

Some superstar artists still choose to ban free content on these engines– and the kids just go to Pirate Bay, etc. It’s time these old-school dinosaurs & their labels realize: they’ve been paid. Classic rock has become so ubiquitous, it’s now devalued. Kids rightfully refuse to pay for it.

iTunes, Pandora, and Spotify are notorious for stiffing non-superstar artists. These services are strictly superstar promotional channels, and the latest format for re-selling old music to new consumers.

American Idol (AI) on FOX, largely defines mainstream popular music since 9/11.
Piloting on June 11, 2002, this live talent audition quickly became the most successful show in American television.
From 2003–11, AI was the #1 TV show in the US.

The model of AI was to create the illusion that fans actually had a say in the selection of superstar performers.
In 13 seasons, with billions of dollars in hype, this show has launched the idol careers of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, etc.; all of whom sing beautifully, but have little to say.

American Idol fits in well with the propaganda model of the post-9/11 world; by homogenizing culture, encouraging conformity, and de-valuing art.

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The upshot of all this is the record industry always opposes creative control for artists, as well as public freedom for fans to access and share music.
The CD is dead, so the future of music is FREE– therefore artists must change their relationship with fans.
For emerging artists, this means connecting with new fans directly; through a website with killer content, social media for fan interaction, and YouTube for video promotion, etc…

DIY artists seeking mainstream breakthrough should read Donald Passman’s classic All You Need to Know about the Music Business, in which this top entertainment lawyer describes the maze of pitfalls aspiring musicians are facing. Major labels now demand 360 deals, which make every aspect of an artist’s life industry property. In dealing with people in & around the music industry, lie spotting is an essential skill.

All of this means that musical artists, beyond creating new music, will have to become their own managers, publishers, webmasters, videographers, bloggers, and whatever else is necessary to connect with the world.

The technology is in place, ready to connect revolutionary artists with music lovers around the world– just plug yourself in.

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9/11: Connecting the Dots

Posted on September 11, 2014 by admin

[download label="Download 9-11"]http://ricsize.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/RicSize_911.mp3[/download]

Preface: The current US military re-entry into the second Iraq War (2003-11), should give us all pause to re-examine the events of 9/11 which have led to this crisis. The official US enemy is now the Islamic State in Iraq & Syria (ISIS). Just months earlier, ISIS was a US proxy in its joint effort to overthrow Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and before that Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. Such is the Orwellian logic of US imperialism, in which there are no permanent allies or enemies—only permanent interests.

The best available evidence overwhelmingly supports the 9-11 Truth position, which is: the events of 9/11 were a massive conspiracy against the American people by US deep state figures.
The list begins with Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Richard Perle, Richard Armitage, Paul Wolfowitz, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, John Ashcroft, etc…
It was a joint financial-elite/military operation, and its cover-up a bi-partisan political affair, from the top ranks down; with complete compliance from a corporatized media.

Dust samples from ground zero reveal traces of nanothermite, a military-grade pyrotechnic composition, which was likely used to facilitate a controlled demolition of the twin towers.
WTC Building 7 also collapsed later in the day, in the same manner, at near free-fall speed; even though it wasn’t struck by a plane.
Eyewitness testimonies from firefighters & survivors consistently refute the US government’s official conspiracy theory, which is:

Nineteen fanatical Arabs hijacked four US commercial flights, none of which ever emitted a distress signal, then disappeared from radar and flew unchallenged into the WTC twin towers and the Pentagon.
The most sophisticated and well-funded intelligence & security apparatus in human history had no inkling that any of this was about to happen, due to a failure to connect the dots.
Therefore, no US official is accountable for the events of 9/11.

Bush administration officials immediately blamed Al Qaeda & Saddam Hussein for the September 11th attacks, calling for an invasion.
Phony Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) claims were floated to the American public & the UN, as a pretext for war.
On March 19, 2003, despite the largest global anti-war protest in history a month earlier; shock & awe was unleashed on the people of Iraq.

By 2004, the Bush administration admitted there were never WMDs in Iraq, but the wars still continued…
Fallujah
Abu Ghraib
1,000,000 Iraqi’s dead
4,500+ US soldiers dead & forgotten.
Millions maimed and psychologically scarred in this dirty imperialist adventure.

Oil is the most important commodity in the modern world.
It surpassed cotton in the late 19th century, when the internal combustion engine became widespread throughout the industrialized world.
The US ruling-class interest in Iraq (and more generally, the Middle East) is simple: monopolize the most important resource in the world.

The true targets of the Middle East wars are China & Russia, who are considered strategic competitors.
The ruling class ‘thinking’ is to keep these competitors from getting the oil they need to help their economies grow.
The US has lost its position as the undisputed world’s economic superpower, and thus uses its military supremacy to maintain global dominance.

The same methods are now used to maintain rule at home.

Of course, the world can not be conquered militarily, so this ‘plan’ is complete madness.
It ends with either a permanent international workers’ revolution or mutually assured destruction, via nuclear weapons.

The events of 9/11 must be understood in this context for there to be any progress towards truth and ending the destructive capitalist policies of the ruling elite.
The deep state figures who led us into these conflicts, must be held accountable for their war crimes.
This is not merely an empty gesture, but rather a necessary step towards ensuring humanity’s survival.

Brothers [Official Video]

Posted on September 9, 2014 by admin

Another Chance: Hope and Health for the Alcoholic Family (1989) written by Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse, is a classic text on recovery for alcoholic families
Alcoholism is a family disease, in which everyone plays a role
Educate & recover yourself

TomP: percussion & production
Craig Roy: bass
RS: guitars & vocals
Video production by TomP; photo by RS
Copyright/Publishing– No Cliche Songs/Infinitelink Records 2014

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Modelling as Art

Posted on September 2, 2014 by admin

Anna Rex mp3
RS: gtr & vocal
TomP: percussion & production
Craig Roy: bass
Jessica Lynn Martens: violin

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What is art? A conscious creation of beauty.

What is modelling? A display of human beauty.

Modelling is never about perfection; it is about how flaws & imperfections are tastefully concealed and/or overcome.

The qualities of character & beauty are inseparable.

Men & women are beautiful when their appearances, words, and actions consciously point towards: intelligence, health, character, poise, strength, flexibility, youthfulness, happiness & love.
This requires the application of intellect & hard work.

Shortcuts that Don’t Work

Diets & pills: rebound & side effects
Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs): serious side effects
Cosmetic Surgery: morbidity
Throwing money at it: symptom of laziness & mental disorders

Beauty is Not

Airbrushed
Anorexic/bulimic
PED enhanced
Weaved hair
Heavy makeup
Loud fashion

Fashion

Create your own style and be 100% confident in it, otherwise people will know.
It should compliment your age, sex, body-type, skin color, and any other orientation…

A model represents their own personal version of human beauty– approaching, but never reaching perfection.
The human face & body have inspired the artist in all of us, throughout the millenia. Its interpretation is always subjective.

Golden Proportion Symmetry is a modern mathematical science of beauty, which has fundamental proportions in nature.
For instance in the human smile, the upper front teeth are ideally displayed in a width ratio of 1:1.618–called ‘phi’ in the language of math.
Leaves & petals exhibit these same mathematical ratios.

Leaves in Nature are in Golden Proportion

Human attractiveness is measured in overall proportion & symmetry, mostly importantly in the eyes & smile.
The teeth are the more controllable variable through preventive care, orthodontic/orthognathic correction, and cosmetic restorations.
A natural, healthy smile is always the most attractive– natural teeth (size, shape & color) compliment body type.
Gingival (gum) & osseous (bone) surgery can also improve health & appearance.
Home bleaching is safe & effective, when done correctly.
Patient compliance is always critical in any health–seek a competent & caring professional, and heal thyself!

Physical beauty is sustained by core strength & inner health.
We all have it in us to be beautiful.
If we don’t take care of ourselves, our health erodes quickly.
Beautiful people age well when they understand it as a process, working from the inside out.

Sleep is essential.
Not getting enough REM sleep, is a common problem in this modern industrialized world.

Diet is crucial– an epidemic U.S. health crisis.
Rate your Plate, means filling half your plate with fresh vegetables, with one quarter each, for lean proteins and carbohydrates.
Adjust your need for fats according to your body, any variance for indulgence (okay in moderation) is recognized as poor diet, requiring compensation.

Your choice of protein is a thoughtful personal decision, with its privacy respected by all.

Whole Food Diet

Avoid “dead food”, which is anything packaged in a can or box.
You can’t “stock up” on fresh fruits & vegetables for more than a few days.
Switch to organic dairy & local free-range from a real butcher, if meat is your preference.
Buy local: truck farming yields unripe GMO fruits & vegetables, lacking the natural sugars needed for energy boost & nutrients for health.

If you aren’t eating 5-7 servings of vegetables/day, then you must juice the difference to make it up.

Nutrient-dense food costs more, but its nutritional value is priceless; Americans on a budget, bombarded by mass-media hype are still struggling with that concept.
Knowing how to prepare & cook food, is always an essential skill for health & good living.
The unnaturalness of GMO corn subsidies for agri-business, along with the owning of copyrights to nature’s seeds, is fundamentally anti-democratic & nefarious.
The agri-business policy of ‘GMO-improved’ food, floods our grocery stores with a surplus of cheap, unhealthy food.
Seek alternatives for your benefit.

Health & Fitness Summary

1.) Diet: local, organic, fresh, whole foods
2.) Exercise: enough to meet your body-type needs, without over-training
3.) Sleep: get the REMs you need
4.) Recreational drugs & alcohol: okay in moderation–for adults only
5.) Sex: be active & safe

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Why Marxism?

Posted on August 25, 2014 by admin

Just Because mp3

RS: gtr & vocals
Tom Pearce: percussion & production
Bill Pelick: lead gtr & bass
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The economic level of all societies in human history is the foundation for its political & social culture.
Marxism is a scientific method for measuring & understanding capitalism.
Capitalism is the ever-evolving economic system we all live in.
Capitalism is about money & power, which are emotionally-charged interests for everyone.
Marxism provides an objective measurement of capitalism, by boiling everything down to its atomic root–the commodity.

All commodities can be thought of as a congealed amount of human labor.
Human labor creates all commodity value, which is measured in money.
A commodity is worth the money-amount of human labor it contains.

Human labor itself is a commodity; it is in fact the most unique & valuable of all commodities.
It is from the theft of worker labor-value, that the capitalist becomes rich & powerful.

All modern philosophical, political and social ideologies reject Marxism’s fundamental adherence to rational Enlightenment principles.
Marxism is also unique in embracing dialectics, which all bourgeois ideologies virulently oppose.
Dialectics is the study of motion & transformation, recognizing the significance of changes in quantity/quality, possibility/inevitability, etc…

For example: when a sufficient quantity of heat is added to water, it qualitatively changes form– turning into steam.
Revolutions are achieved in the same manner.

Marxist philosophy is dialectical materialism.
It recognizes matter [1] as primary, rejecting all variants of idealism; all of which inevitably introduce ‘god’ into their equation.
Marxists think dialectically, correctly interpreting deep-going economic, political, and social processes.

The greatest classical Marxist of the 20th century was Leon Trotsky.
Trotsky ranks second only to Karl Marx, in terms of socialism’s historical importance.
Trotsky collaborated with V.I. Lenin to achieve the first [and only] successful worker’s revolution in human history.
This revolution was strangled by a combination of imperialist encirclement after WW1, Russia’s historical backwardness, and critically by the lack of an industrialized ally in the west– namely Germany.

After WW1, reaction spread across the globe and revolutionary party leaders were exterminated by fascist death squads in Europe & China, or jailed in liberal democracies such as the US.
After Lenin’s incapacitation by stroke in 1923, Trotsky was isolated by a growing bureaucracy which was conservative & reactionary in nature.
The bureaucracy was ultimately embodied in Joseph Stalin, whose secret police murdered millions of old Bolsheviks & revolutionary fighters in the 1930’s, devouring the revolution from the inside.
It is still a testament to the power of socialist property relations & centralized state-planning, that a backwards & defeated Russia in 1917 would survive imperialism’s attempts to strangle their revolution; and still catapult itself to world superpower status under Stalinism– until the USSR’s final collapse in 1991.

As an alternative to Stalin’s ‘Socialism in One Country’, Trotsky posed his Theory of Permanent Revolution.
In essence it states, a revolution that achieves socialism will be permanent in nature.
This implies its international character; its permanence will prevent the growth of bureaucracies.
The workers of the world must own this revolution and be its caretaker.

Trotsky is the great unmentionable in official 20th-century history & political discourse.
His contributions include: planning & carrying out the Bolshevik revolution with Lenin’s Bolshevik party; forming & commanding the Red Army during the civil war (1918-22); and establishing the Left Opposition line in opposition to Stalin’s “Socialism in One Country.” Trotsky’s contributions were expunged and his character distorted in all the history textbooks composed by Stalin’s censors.
This exiled revolutionary found no asylum in the US or Europe, and was forced to flee to the third world as WW2 broke out.

One of Trotsky’s most far-sighted achievements was to build a 4th International.
Stalinism’s Communist Party [3rd International] had capitulated to fascism, allowing Adolph Hitler to take power in 1933, without firing a shot.
The 4th International was founded in Paris in 1938, two years before Trotsky was assassinated by an agent of Stalin– in Coyoacan, Mexico.

Trotsky’s life & writings still remain a target of gutter journalism, especially among the intelligentsia.
Their mainstream filth is easily exposed & refuted by Marxists, as the 4th International is still in existence.
Its daily organ is the World Socialist Web Site.

Dialectic Art

A boy wanted to be a rock star, so he learned music
To create new music, she had to become an artist
In becoming an artist, they became a revolution

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

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