Battle Cry For Freedom: Ronald Reagan- Peace Through Strength: 1980 Campaign Commercial

Source:Battle Cry Of Freedom- from the 1980 political ad.

"To preserve our peace and our freedom we must maintain a margin of safety. Not numerical superiority in arms and armament , but a margin of safety that is a combination. A balance of a strong economy, mutual respect and unity among our great allies and a revitalized up to date military capability. History has taught us only too well, that tyrants are tempted only when the forces of freedom are weak, not when they're strong."

Source:Battle Cry Of Freedom

This looks similar to a 1968 Nixon For President ad where Richard Nixon saw a country coming apart because of the Vietnam War and how the country was so divided on that. And to a certain extent America looks weak as a result, in the late 1970s and 1980, because of Russia invading Afghanistan which at the time was an American ally and the Carter Administration looking like they were unable or unwilling to do much about that and then the Iranian Hostage Crisis happens right before the Afghan invasion in late 1979 and the Carter Administration looking somewhat paralyzed and not able to effectively deal with Iran on that.

America was also going through the weak economy with the high inflation, high interest rates, millions of Americans out-of-work, the recession of 1979-80. America just looks very weak during this period.

And you have Ronald Reagan former two-term Governor of California and a very popular one that comes in and says he has a plan to return America to it's greatness and a time and we were dominant. And saying the only way we can establish peace in the world is for America to be strong both economically and militarily. So no other country would even try to threaten us because of what we would be able to do in response. 

Scott Brown MA: 'Let America Be America Again'

Source:Scott Brown MA- U.S. Senator Scott Brown (Republican, Massachusetts)

"Let America Be America Again" 

From Scott Brown MA

What Senator Scott Brown's campaign is doing here is explaining the two visions of what makes America work, the philosophies that about how you make America work so Americans can make it in America. Meaning being successful and being able to live on freedom in America. 

One vision for how to make it in America is bipartisan that's about opportunity and freedom, what President Bill Clinton who was a Progressive Democrat (meaning real Progressive) called the opportunity society. 

And the other vision being about more government and that no one really makes it in America. Those wealthy people who came from nothing didn't make it on their own, they had help from government. Which would be the left-wing vision for how people make it in America. 

Senator Brown is obviously taking the side that what Americans need to make it in America is just a good opportunity, even if they came from poverty, or a lower-middle-class background. And he's trying to pit his opponent Professor Elizabeth Warren on the side of the Democratic Socialists like Senator Bernie Sanders and others in Congress who are always arguing for more government intervention, especially Federal intervention, as well as more taxes, especially on the wealthy. 

I think this is a very effective ad, even in a state like Massachusetts that gets labeled as a very left-wing state, but that has a lot of blue-collar, as well as white-collar, wealthy people, especially in Boston and isn't as left-wing as it gets stereotyped.

NFL Films: 'Kardiac Kids: The Second Season Under Sam Rutigliano-1979 Cleveland Browns'

Source:NFL Films- Cleveland Browns QB Brian Sipe.

"This video is a telecast, broadcast, and production of NFL Films. I claim no ownership of this material, and do not profit from it in anyway. This video is intended for historical and educational viewing purposes." 

From Grey Beard

The Kardiac Kids were very good regular season teams, but not strong enough on defense to be a serious Super Bowl Contender, losing in playoffs in 1980 to better, stronger teams, that we're more balance and better on defense.

The Sam Rutigliano Browns were called the Kardiac Kids for very good reasons, because they were behind a lot. Perhaps in half of the wins that they had from 1978-80. In 1978 and 79, they were 9-7 both seasons, barely missing the AFC Playoffs. 

We're not talking about great football teams here, but teams that were good enough to play well and be competitive with great football teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers (they're arch-rival) and the Oakland Raiders. But the Browns weren't better than the elite teams, at least not in the AFC, during that era.

A&E: Bill Kurtis- Investigative Reports: 'Watergate -- Reasons Behind The Burglary (1992)'

Source:A&E- Frank Sturgis was one of the Watergate burglars.

"It's amazing that this was ever made, but here it is -- in six parts. "The Key to Watergate" (Barbara Newman's 1992 documentary) explores what was behind the Watergate burglary. In particular, why did the burglars have a key to a particular desk drawer at the DNC? The key -- and the reasons -- have been long suppressed. A real shocker! Don't miss it." 

From Eric Scheie

The reasons for the Watergate scandal, had to do with the paranoia of the Nixon White House. President Nixon, as far as we know didn't order the Watergate burglary, but he did establish this type of culture, where actions like this, as legal and unconstitutional as they were, were acceptable if there were a national security reason behind them. And the more intelligence that we have against their enemies, that are trying to destroy America. (As they see it) 

That was reason enough to do things like that, even if that means breaking into the Democratic National Headquarters. A party at the time that was in debt, because they knew they were probably going to lose a landslide in the presidential election. But that you could never get enough solid intelligence about the opposition.

This was the mindset of the Nixon White House, us against them, American vs Un American, you are either with them or against them, no middle ground or compromise and so-forth. And is what led to the fall of the Nixon Administration, where several of its key leaders ended up doing time in prison.

CBS Sports: NBA 1977- WC Playoffs- Los Angeles Lakers @ Oakland Warriors: Kareem Abdul Jabbar's 43 Points

Source:CBS Sports- the Lakers and Warriors during the 1977 NBA Western Conference Playoffs.

"Quick compilation of Kareem scoring 43 points on Warriors in game 6 of  1977 WCSF. Kareem scored 40+ four times in this series despite being doubled/tripled/fronted most of the time. He also had 20 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks." 

From Fish

1977 is 3 years before Earvin Magic Johnson shows up in Los Angeles. So there's no question who the leader of the Los Angeles Lakers is at this point, but the greatest players of the 1970s (if not all-time) in Kareem Abdul Jabbar. A man who was almost impossible to cover in the post because of his height, physical strength, footwork, quickness, athletic ability. And he was probably the only player that could beat the Oakland Warriors (as I call them) at this point anyway.

CBS News: The Longine Chronoscope- U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen (1952)

Source:CBS News- U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen (Republican, Illinois) on The Longines Chronoscope in 1952.

Source:The FreeState 

“LONGINES CHRONOSCOPE WITH SEN. EVERETT M. DIRKSEN – National Archives and Records Administration 1952-05-07 – ARC Identifier 95971 / Local Identifier LW-LW-417 – TELEVISION INTERVIEW: William Bradford Huie and Donald I. Rogers talk with Sen. Dirksen on his Senate bill to limit the powers of the Wage Stabilization Board, government seizure of steel industry, credit controls, and the presidential campaign 1952. Copied by IASL Master Scanner Thomas Gideon.” 

From Public Resource

Members of Congress in both parties are always looking to weaken executive power (until they become President themselves) specially since President’s are always looking to increase executive power. Which is what this debate is about and what Senator Dirksen was trying to do to have the members of this board having to all be approved by the U.S. Senate.

During the 1930s the Roosevelt Administration under the New Deal, created all sorts of new programs, boards, agencies that had jurisdiction over the economy. And what Senator Dirksen wanted to do was to have these boards and board members have to be approved by the Senate. With both the Senate and House having Congressional oversight over these boards.

Many of these boards and agencies that were created by the New Deal were permanent boards and agencies. The President can put together short-term commissions and boards to study issues and come up with policy proposals and these things are put together all the time. But these commissions don’t have subpoena power generally and can’t issue new rules and regulations that business’s and individuals have to comply with.

What Senator Dirksen wanted to do here with this board since it was permanent with regulatory power was to have the members be approved by the Senate and have to report to Congress both the House and Senate.

This interview was done in 1952 when the country was at peace for the most part even though we were involved in the Korean Civil War. And the economy that was in depression for most of the 1930s and came out of that and recovered in the 1940s thanks to World War II.

Senator Dirksen’s line in this interview about “fake prosperity” had to do with the fact that the American economy was booming at this point, because we were at war and had so many me oversees and fighting. Which created millions of jobs at home with so many men out of the country. Plus with all the middle class jobs that were created at home to fight World War II and then later the Korean War. And I guess Senator Dirksen was saying that America wouldn’t have the prosperity at home if we weren’t fighting abroad.  

National Geographic: 'Boston Gang War- Bullets Over Boston: The Irish Mob'

Source:National Geographic Channel- Boston Irish mobsters. 

"Decades ago, Boston was a hotbed of crime.  Explore the bloody underworld as told by mobsters.
Bullets Over Boston: The Irish Mob:National Geographic."

Source:National Geographic

The Irish Mob was a big deal in the Northeast in the 1960s, 70s and 80s but have had similar problems that the Italian Mob has had the last twenty years. They've lost most of their leadership to the FBI and US Attorneys and a lot of them are now in prison and doing long sentences if not life sentences. People like James Whitey Bulger, as well Irish hitman Mike Mad Dog Sullivan, who'll probably never get out of prison, even though he wasn't officially sentenced to life. And the Irish Mob has kept alive the Irish stereotype that the Irishman have short and vicious tempers.

Irish mobsters are known for fighting and killing and actually enjoy doing those things. Mad Dog Sullivan is responsible for killing somewhere in the neighborhood of hundred people. You aren't able to kill that many people, if for one you aren't good at it, meaning you pull it off and get away with it. But also if you don't mind doing it, especially if you are killing bad people. People who have killed and have hurt innocent people on purpose. Italian mobsters kill for business, but Irish mobsters seem to enjoy killing people, something that has set Irish gangs apart.

PBS: The Choice (2012) Mitt Romney vs Barack Obama

Source:PBS- Governor Mitt Romney vs President Barack Obama, for President (2012)

"A journey into the places, people, and decisive moments that made the men who are competing for the presidency. Hundreds of hours of research and dozens of original interviews reveal new details and fresh insights about the two candidates — and our choice this November." 

From PBS

This should be interesting and informative, because it will give Independents especially a better idea of who Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are and what their backgrounds are as well. 

If you take Mitt Romney's word for where he is politically now today and pretend his politics from the 1990s and early 2000s never existed (perhaps you're an Alzheimer's patient or not even old enough to vote yet today) then this really is clear choice.

You have a Center-Right somewhat neoconservative Northeastern Republican in Mitt Romney, (or at least that is how he's running for president) vs a Progressive Democrat in Barack Obama.

Barack Obama who believes that government can be used in a positive sense to give people in need a boost to get on their feet. Who really isn't a Socialist as his haters say he is who believes government can do practically everything for everybody if government were just allowed to consume most of our money and spend it on our behalf. President Obama is more of a Jack Kennedy Progressive, than a George McGovern Democratic Socialist.

Versus a Republican in in Mitt Romney, who 10-15 years ago would have probably fit in pretty well with the Democratic Party. Sort of like Joe Lieberman. But today is running as more of a neoconservative hawk on national security and foreign policy and a George W. Bush supply sider on economic policy. Who believes you cut taxes and regulations for the top and that somehow will benefit everyone else as well. 

Caz Taylor: Ronald Reagan- 'On Health Care Legislation'

Source:Caz Taylor- this photo is from the video.

"America is under attack from the inside out. A Reagan message from the 1950 is very revealing about today's plans for Healthcare. Isn't it time to make a godly stand? Produced in association with:Biz Video Communications." 

From Caz Taylor 

The part-time actor and perhaps full-time Conservative Republican political activist Ronald Reagan, speaking at the 1964 Republican National Convention. He talked about Medicare and other social programs that were part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society agenda during this speech.

Source:Caz Taylor- Ronald Reagan speaking to the 1964 Republican National Convention.

Ron Reagan was clearly not a statist. And another thing I respect about him, was he anti-statist across the board, whether it related to the economy, social issues, as well as civil liberties.

You had Classical Conservative Barry Goldwater running for President in 1964, in a Republican Party that still had a strong Northeastern progressive faction led by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. The Northeast being one of the few solid factions of the country where the Republican Party could do well. The civil rights legislation of the 1960s doesn't pass without these Progressive Republicans in Congress. Especially in the Senate where the Southern Democrats could block all legislation with just 34 votes. Most of their coalition and a handful of Conservative Republicans who were in the Senate at the tine.

And here you have newly born again Conservative Republican Ronald Reagan, who was anti-Communist Progressive Democrat in the 1940s and 1950s, but still a Progressive and not a Conservative, speaking in lockstep with Senator Barry Goldwater, who was Mr. Conservative before Reagan ran for President in 1980. Saying no to high taxes, big government, communism, socialism in general, and many other things the Far-Left of the 1960s and 70s was pushing. 

ESPN: SportsCentury- Jim Plunkett

Source:ESPN- SportsCentury Jim Plunkett.

"ESPN Classic's biographical series "SportsCentury" episode on former NFL quarterback Jim Plunkett." 

From Cacable 

"Jim Plunkett: Under Center" 

Source:Sports Odyssey- Oakland Raiders QB Jim Plunkett.

From Sports Odyssey

I don't mean to be disrespectful, because I have a lot of respect Jim Plunkett both as an NFL talent, as well as his character to go through everything that he did for the first half of his NFL career and then sticking with it until he finally found the right situation for himself with the Raiders first in Oakland and then later in Los Angeles, but I have him down on the what if list of what could've been, had only his situation been better. 

I'm not saying what would've happen to Jim Plunkett's career, if only the Oakland Raiders drafted him in 1971, because they already had a young Ken Stabler who I believe is one of the 3 best NFL QB's in the 1970s. But imagine had the San Francisco 49ers drafted Plunkett in 1971 when they were still good and he was brought in to takeover for John Brodie who was towards the end of his career at that point. If the 49ers had Plunkett in the early 1970s, to go along with WR Gene Washington and the other talent that the 49ers had on offense, with Ted Nolan as their head coach, instead of signing Plunkett in the mid 1970s when the 49ers were in decline, I think Plunkett's career turns out a lot differently. 

Just as far as pure NFL talent, I think Jim Plunkett was a great player. He was 6'2 or 6'3, 200 plus pounds of muscle, great arm, great character, mobile enough to at least avoid pass rushers in the pocket and then throw the ball to open receivers downfield. But he's not a Hall of Fame QB simply because he was never able to show the NFL how great a QB he was, simply because he was never in a situation until the 2nd half of his career, where he could show the league how great a player he was. Even with the Raiders first in Oakland and later in Los Angeles, he was a part-time starter because he was towards the end of his career and dealing with a lot of injuries.

NBC News: Election Night 1968- The Congressional Races

Source:NBC News- anchor John Chancellor.

"Now I am going to attempt to pick up where I left off from in the NBC coverage. This is from another DVD set that I have received recently from a friend so it will be different than the rest a little bit." 

From EFAN 

George Wallace running for President for what was called the Independence Party back in 1968. The American Independence Party (as it was called in 1968) was somewhat of a forerunner of the Reform Party and the Ross Perot movement of the 1990s. Fiscally conservative Americans from the South and Midwest. Who believed there was too much power in Washington and that the Federal Government was too powerful. Right-wing nationalistic Dixiecrats and ex-Democrats who were looking for something else. And not quite sold on the country club Republican Party. But thats the topic for another piece.

Governor Wallace blew a golden opportunity of having a say or a shot even at winning the presidential election when he selected General Curtis Lemay who of course made that crazy statement at that press conference about nuclear weapons. Without that maybe Governor Wallace wins 25-30% of the electoral vote, sweeps the South or a least becomes a big enough factor there to prevent Vice President Hubert Humphrey or Richard Nixon from winning the Electoral College and forcing the presidential election into the House of Representatives. Where George Wallace believed he could've picked off enough Southern Democrats to perhaps win the election or force either Humphrey or Nixon to adopt a lot of his platform.

This was Wallace's strategy to win the 1968 presidential election and to be a factor in Southern House races and elect enough Conservative Republicans down there to win the presidential election in the House. It was a long shot but the House GOP did pick up seats in the House, thanks to the South, making them a major player there in the next Congress.

But what you have to know about 1968 is how divided America was. Not just politically, but culturally as well, because the country was progressing so fast and changing so much culturally. Which is how we got the Culture War and the Christian-Right later on, as a response to the 1960s and the Cultural Revolution. 

So someone like a George Wallace who represented the old America without the new Americans and where non-male Anglo-Protestants were not powerful in America, his strategy to win the presidency was not far-fetched. 

NFL Network: America's Game- 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers

Source:NFL Network- Pittsburgh Steelers CB Mel Blount.

"NFL America's Game Super Bowl 13 Champions 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers" 

From David Stronach 

"Hall of Fame defensive tackle "Mean" Joe Greene (75) of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the Steelers 35-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII on January 21, 1979 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida." 

Source:Getty Images- Pittsburgh Steelers DT Joe Greene.

From Getty Images 

"UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1978: Randy Grossman #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on during an NFL football game circa 1978. Grossman played for the Steelers from 1974-81." 

Source:Getty Images- Pittsburgh Steelers TE Randy Grossman.

From Getty Images 

"Rocky Bleier isn't sure how his valiant story -- from Purple Heart honoree in the Vietnam War to four-time Super Bowl winner with the Pittsburgh Steelers -- would have played out had it happened this decade.

More media coverage, he figures. More opinions about the merits of war, thanks to social media." 

Source:ESPN- Pittsburgh Steelers tailback Mel Blount.

From ESPN

Mel Blount had the perfect comment that perfectly summed up the 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers and how they transitioned from where they were just 3 years earlier in 1975 when they won their 2nd Super Bowl. Blount said that: "The NFL is a physical game (or it used to be) and we beat teams by out-hitting and being stronger and more physical than our opponents." 

Because of the offensive rule changes in 1978 that turned the NFL from more a pound the ground, Big 10, running attack on offense, with the rules favoring the defense, the 1978 rule changes relating to both blocking and taking away the head slap on defense, and how defenders could cover receivers, 1978 was the start of the NFL becoming a lot more balance. 

Starting in 1978 there were now not just power-run, ball-control offenses, that only threw off of play action when the defenses were trying to take the run away, to now where NFL teams were not just balanced, but even threw the ball more than they ran it, like with the San Diego Chargers and Clevleland Browns in the AFC and other clubs. 

The 1978 Steelers weren't as good on defense because they were getting older on defense and losing some of their key veterans and the NFL taking away what they could do on defense. But now because of the rule changes and the emergence of Terry Bradshaw becoming a great QB, John Stallworth and Lynn Swann becoming great receivers, the emergence of Randy Grossman at TE, the Steelers offensive line now being able to block great pass rushers on because of the rule changes and perhaps the Steelers o-line becoming better pass blockers, the Steelers were now a great offensive team, to go along with what was still the best defense in the NF. Even if they weren't as dominant as they were in the mid 1970s. In 1978 we saw the 2nd installment of the Steel Curtain Pittsburgh Steelers and they might be the best NFL team ever. 

NFL Network: Full Color Football: Part 2 (2010)

Source:NFL Network- Full Color Football from 2009/2010.

"Episode 2: "Times They Are A Changin'" (original air date: 9/23/2009) highlights how the San Diego Chargers (powered by coach Sid Gillman's offensive schemes) and the Buffalo Bills (and their dominating defense) became the AFL's premier teams. Societal effects on the AFL are also examined, from the John F. Kennedy assassination to the relocation of the league's January 1965 All-Star Game from New Orleans to Houston after several black players were refused service in the former city." 

From The AFL History

What we learned in the 1960s as a country and as pro football fans, is there simply wasn't enough pro football clubs and I mean major league pro football clubs and there weren't enough players either. Not because there weren't enough cities and markets that couldn't support a major league pro football franchise, or there weren't enough major league pro football players to go around to make either the NFL or AFL as good as it could be. 

The NFL in the 1950s and 60s saw itself as a small club and organization and didn't want to risk expanding to non-traditional NFL markets like Miami, Florida, or Kansas City, Missouri, Houston, Texas, San Diego, California, Oakland, California, etc, and other markets that the American Football League went into. 

Also because as they talk about in this documentary, the NFL had an unofficial quota as far as how many African-American players that they would allow to play in their league. Which meant there was a lot of great pro football talent in America that wasn't allowed to play pro football in the 50s and 60s simply because of their race. Which is how we get the American Football League in the 1960s, because you had cities and markets that the NFL was ignoring. As well a lot of great players simply because of their race. 

Liberty Pen: 'Ronald Reagan- Message To Washington'

Source:Liberty Pen- President Ronald W. Reagan (Republican, California) addressing a joint session of Congress.

"The words of Ronald Reagan return to deliver a most timely message. Liberty Pen." 

From Liberty Pen

President Reagan speaking in favor of individual freedom and not big government. Taking on big left-wing big government supporters in Congress who wanted to make America like Europe, the Ted Kennedy's/Tip O'Neal's in Congress that wanted a Scandinavian style welfare state in America financed with high taxes across the board.

Barry Goldwater obviously wanted to take on big spenders in Washington when he ran for President in 1964, but ran at a time when the New Deal and Great Society approach to economics and having a central government safety net for people was very popular. And where perhaps 1/2 Americans if not more expected their government to provide lot of economic insurances for them.

But by the time the mid 1970s comes around where a lot of the country was dealing with high taxes and the recession of 1974-75 and a weak recovery of 1976, big central government was becoming unpopular in America.

By 1976 and certainly 1978/79, country was not just moving right and right-wing Democrats were moving out of the Democratic Party and into the Republican Party. Which is how along with The Deflation and the economic malaise of 1978-79 that went though 1980, is how Ronald Reagan defeats President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and becomes President of the United States.

But Reagan wasn't a Phyllis Schlafly/Pat Buchanan right-wing Nationalist Republican, that wanted to take America back to another time when their faction of the country was in control of the country. And where ethnic, racial, and religious minorities weren't as prevalent. The Schlafly-Buchanan wing of the Republican Party who hated big government in the economy, but believed big government could be used to set basic moral standards in America and direct how Americans should live their personal lives.  Which is one reason why he wouldn't fit into today's Christian-Right Republican Party that might not want big government in the economy, because they want it in our homes and personal lives instead.

Reagan wasn't a Libertarian Republican, at least in the classical sense. His support for the War on Drugs is an excellent example of that. But he didn't believe government should be dictating how Americans should live their own lives. And believed in personal choice and privacy, short of harming others and society.

Reagan was very conservative in how he lived his own personal life and had very culturally conservative views like women's place in the world and romantic couples living with each other before marriage. But he didn't believe that government should make these decisions for everyone else. Especially at the Federal level.

Ronald Reagan really is the closest thing we've ever had to a Libertarian Republican, at least in the television era and it really isn't close. His hawkish views and beliefs in a conservative internationalist foreign policy, is another example of why Ronald Reagan wasn't a Libertarian. But he truly was someone who believed in individual freedom both from an economic and personal standpoint. Which is something I respect about him. 

NFL Network: NFL 1974- America's Game: Pittsburgh Steelers

Source:NFL Network- LB Andy Russell.

"NFL America's Game Super Bowl 9 Champions 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers" 

From David Stronach 

"Joe Greene, Pro Football Hall of Famer and arguably the greatest player in Steelers franchise history, was born this day in 1946.

Greene was the team’s first-round selection with the No. 4 overall pick in the 1969 NFL Draft out of North Texas, the first pick with Chuck Noll as the team’s head coach. Noll and Greene helped turn the Steelers into the greatest dynasty in NFL history, winning four Super Bowls." 

Source:Steelers Now- DT Joe Greene.

From Steelers Now  

"The Steelers were losing in the waning moments of their 1972 AFC Divisional playoff game against the Raiders, facing a 4th-and-10. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a pass, which was deflected by an Oakland defender. Game over? Hardly. Running back Franco Harris caught the deflection and ran it in for a touchdown, giving the Steelers a 13-7 victory." 

Source:Sports Illustrated- RB Franco Harris.

From Sports Illustrated

"Mel Blount was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 1989. Blount was also an inaugural member of the Steelers Hall of Honor as a member of the Class of 2017.

There aren't many players who cause the NFL to change the rules because of their play, but there also weren't many players like Blount.

Blount, the Steelers third round draft pick in 1970 out of Southern University, came into the NFL with everything a coach would want…size, speed, quickness, mental and physical toughness and a work ethic that came from growing up working on a farm in Valdosta, Georgia.

"Growing up in the South, the youngest of 11 kids, growing up on a farm, my parents were farmers and that is how we made our living," said Blount recently while recalling his road to the Hall of Fame. "We worked the fields, went to school, and this little thing called a football we threw around. We started playing and the next thing you know I get a scholarship to Southern University and I get drafted in the National Football League and came to a great organization like the Steelers." 

Source:Pittsburgh Steelers- CB Mel Blount.

From the Pittsburgh Steelers 

The 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers were obviously not a bad team, I mean just look at their roster, record, and coaching staff. But if the 4 Super Champions that the Steelers had in the 1970s, the 1974 Steelers were number 4. 

It took the Steelers 3 months to figure out who they were on offense and who their QB should be. Joe Gilliam gets the start to start the season, but then struggles halfway through the season and the Steelers start losing. And then they go to Terry Bradshaw to finish the season and that's where they come together offensively. 

Towards the end of the season is where Bradshaw wakes up as an NFL QB and puts it together and that's where their offense comes together. And the Steelers are now not just a great defensive team, with a great RB in Franco Harris, but now they can not just throw the ball, but throw it deep with Bradshaw. And you see the Steelers become a great complete team that they took to the AFC Playoffs and dominate there, including the Oakland Raiders at Oakland and dominate the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl 9.

CBS News: Jimmy Carter vs Ronald Reagan (1980)

Source:CBS News- news anchor Walter Cronkite telling the America people the way it is.

"Sampling of television network news coverage (ABC, NBC and CBS) of the 1980 presidential election." 

From Robert Smith

President Carter conceded so early in 1980 that the sun was still up in some places. Imagine being in a football game and you feel like the game is already over after the first quarter. Perhaps the score is 35-0 because one team ran the first kickoff of the game back for a touchdown. Then ran an interception back for a TD after they kicked off, got a quick stop and then ran the punt back for a TD as well. Well, that is about 3 TD's in probably about 5 minutes in the 1st quarter alone. 

Granted, these presidential landslides almost never happens, but neither do presidential landslides where it's the President of the United States and back in 1980 that would be Jimmy Carter, who is getting landslide. A man who the country got to know for four years and were so unhappy with his presidency that 44-50 states voted against him. 

That was 1980 and that is how Ronald Reagan who had no government experience other than two terms as Governor of California and a brief stint in the military during World War II. Not to put Ronald Reagan down who I do believed was qualified to be President of the United States, but Jimmy Carter was certainly more qualified in 1980 than Ron Reagan. 

Roger Sharp Archive: 'Analyzing The 1980 GOP Wins (11-5-80)'

Source:Roger Sharp Archive- WABC-TV News political analyst Roger Sharp.

"WABC-TV Eyewitness News Political Correspondent Roger Sharp analyzes the impact of the Ronald Reagan victory and GOP gains in Congress the day after the 1980 Election." 

From the Roger Sharp Archive

When talking about the 1980 general elections in America, people tend to concentrate a lot and justifiably so on Ronald Regan's landslide victory over President Jimmy Carter. Where Governor Reagan defeats President Carter with 55% of the vote and wins 44-50 states. Holding a sitting President of the United States under 100 electoral votes. Which almost never happens. But what people tend to leave out are the other major important Republican victories of 1980.

The Republican Party won back the Senate for the first time since 1953, giving the Republican Party control of a chamber of Congress for the first time since 1953. President Reagan probably doesn't get his economic recovery plan of 1981 without a Republican Senate, even if he defeated President Carter in 1980 in a landslide. And it's not just that Senate Republicans win back the Senate for the first time since 1953, but how they did it.

In the Congress of 1979-80 Senate Republicans only had 42-100 seats. Giving Senate Democrats an 8 seat majority, not filibuster proof, but damn close. And Democrats also had a large majority in the House with about a 3-5 majority there and of course Jimmy Carter was President. 

After 1980 Republicans win back not only the White House, but did what Richard Nixon failed to do which was to give Republicans a majority in at least one chamber of Congress. And not only win back the Senate, but Republicans pick up eleven seats when only 1/3 Senators are up for reelection.

House Republicans also pick up 33 seats leaving them in the minority in the House, but making them much larger players in the House. And even a workable majority if you include the Southern Democrats that were still in the House. 

The 1980 was a revolutionary election where Democrats were kicked out as the governing party in America. And where Republicans were brought in to push their agenda and to work with Democrats where they could. Especially since Democrats still controlled the House of Representatives. 

C-SPAN: Clint Eastwood- Speaks at The Republican National Convention: To An Empty Seat

Source:C-SPAN- actor and wannabe standup comedian Clint Eastwood, speaking to the 2012 Republican National Convention.

"Clint Eastwood speaks at the 2012 Republican National Convention (C-SPAN)." 

From CSPAN 

First of all, before I get too far into Clint Eastwood, I just want to put all of my cards on the table about him. Or do the best I can of doing that from a non-card player, perhaps one of the few left in the United States. I just want to say about Clint, that he's one of my top three actors of all-time. He's one of my three favorite actors of all-time. Not saying he's one of the three best actors of all-time, but he's one of my three best favorites. He's also a great director and perhaps one of the best directors as well.

I own several of Clint's movies, including all of the Dirty Harry movies, my favorite cop movies as well. He's also my favorite action/comedy actor. If you look at all of his action flicks, they all have a lot of humor in them as well, a lot of that humor and improv coming from Clint himself. 

The Gauntlet from 1977, Enforcer from 1976, Pink Cadillac from 1989, are all excellent examples of that, where he's delivering very funny lines, but also improvising. There's a scene in Pink Cadillac where he plays a skip tracer (another way of saying bounty hunter) where Clint plays a pimp in order to get closer to a woman he's trying to bring back to justice. (So to speak) Heartbreak Ridge from 1986, where he plays a U.S. Marine Gunnery Sergeant, a great Marine movie, is also a very funny movie.

As far as Clint's speech Thursday night, it was better than the guy who would end up being the Republican nominee for President. It was more entertaining, I laughed through a lot of it, I thought he made a better case of why President Obama should be defeated than Mitt Romney did. That when things aren't going very well, it's time to make a change and go in a different direction. Which is how people tend to get fired, if they aren't getting the job done, it's time to let them go.

Clint's whole routine with the empty chair, was a perfect way to summarize the 2012 RNC, where most of the speeches we heard there were full of nothing. They spent most of the time talking about what they would do, even though they couldn't match what they were saying with any policies, or their records up to that point. What Clint Eastwood did, unintentionally (if I had to guess) was to summarize the 2012 RNC as the Empty Chair Convention.

When a political convention or at least the acceptance speech of the next leader of the party, is remembered for a speech that was given off the cuff and is combined with an improv, rather than the leader of the party and the speech they gave, you know that the acceptance speech wasn't very good. Or didn't come off very well. Because you want the convention to be remembered for the speech that the leader gave, rather than some speech that was given by a Hollywood actor playing a standup comedian.

ABC News: Nightline- October 1980 Presidential Campaign

Source:ABC News- Nightline anchor Ted Koppel.

"ABC's Nightline looks at the 1980 Presidential Campaign" 

From Bob Parker

The last week of the 1980 presidential election was actually fairly close, but it became a landslide for Ron Reagan during the last weekend of this election. It was probably the presidential debates where you could argue that President Jimmy Carter won on points and knowledge of the issues, but where Governor Reagan came off as likable, witty, optimistic, a man with a vision and enough knowledge of the issues to do a good job as President. 

Even if Americans weren't with Ronald Reagan on even many issues, they we're tired of the gloom and doom of Jimmy Carter, the Congressional Democrats and the late 1970s and wanted real positive change for America. Which is very understandable if you are familiar with the 1970s and especially the late 1970s with high unemployment, high inflation, and interest rates. And an administration and Congress that didn't seem to know what to do about any of these issues. And you have a Conservative Republican in Ronald Reagan who at least had a vision for where he wanted to take the country built around lower regulations and taxes. 

NFL Films: NFL 1974- Great Teams Great Games- AFC Divisional Playoff: Miami Dolphins @ Oakland Raiders

Source:NFL Films- The Dolphins vs the Raiders, from December, 1974.

"NFL - 1974 - Great Teams Great Games - AFC Divisional Playoffs - Dolphins Vs Raiders" 

From RSS Empresas 

This AFC Divisional Playoff between the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders was coined the Sea of Hands game, because of Raiders RB Clarence Davis's shocking catch in the end zone, to give the Raiders the victory over the Dolphins in this game. 

Sea of Hands makes sense, but another good name for this game could be The End of an Era, because this is the last game where the Dolphins were one of the best teams of the AFC and a Super Bowl contender for the rest of the 1970s. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers won the first Super Bowl during the 1974 season and would go on to win 3 more during the 1970s, including two repeats. The Raiders would go on to lose to the Steelers in the 1974 AFC Championship, lose to them again in the 1975 AFC Championship, beat the Steelers in the 1976 AFC Championship and win Super Bowl 11 by crushing the Minnesota Vikings 33-14. 

The Dolphins would slip into mediocrity after the the Sea of Hands or End of An Era game and would missing the AFC Playoffs for 3 straight seasons from 1975-77, while the Raiders and Steelers dominated the AFC for the rest of the 1970s. 

NBC Sports: MLB 1968- World Series- Game 7- Detroit Tigers @ St. Louis Cardinals: Jim Northrup's Triple

Source:NBC Sports- St. Louis Cardinals ace pitcher Bob Gibson.

"Jim Northrup triple - Game 7 1968 World Series - Tigers vs. Cardinals" 

From Wayne Smith

I don't think there's a better big game pitcher in the 1960s than St. Louis Cardinals ace pitcher Bob Gibson and that includes Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. But Bob Gibson wasn't perfect in this game, especially when he had to be. 

The Detroit Tigers and Cardinals were very evenly matched in 1968 with both clubs having excellent pitching and hitting. The Cardinals might have had a better defense. And when you get to teams that both want the World Series badly and are so evenly matched, you can lose a game like this simply by being less than perfect and not as great as your opponent.