Sorry Haters: Shamus (1973) Burt Reynolds & Dyan Cannon Star

Source:Sorry Haters- Burt Reynolds & Dyan Cannon.

Source:The New Democrat

To be completely honest with you, I watched Shamus because Dyan Cannon and Burt Reynolds were in it. Two of my favorite actors and one of the best comedic duos you could ever put together. Dyan, is so adorable, as well as sexy, gorgeous and then she’s also a hell of an actress and one of the funniest actress’s who has ever lived. They especially make a great male/female comedy duo. And they were both great in this movie, but they were great together. Not saying the movie wasn’t a good movie. Because it is a very entertaining and good action/comedy. Especially when you consider that Dyan, Burt, and Joe Santos, are the only names in the movie. The only well-known actors who’ve had long successful careers.

Shamus, is about a very good, but perhaps not a very well-known Brooklyn private detective. But someone who is very good at his job who have very good and useful friends and references. Who is hired by a New York crime boss (played by Ron Weyland) to find out who robbed one his jewelry stores. Shamus McCoy, (played by the great Burt Reynolds) perhaps the best action/comedic actor who has ever lived, takes the job, but is suspicious of his new client right away. And digs up dirt on his client to find out what he’s about and who would rob them and why. Another crime group separate from Shamus’s client, somehow finds out quickly that Shamus is working for the man they just robbed. And try to get him off the case, if not put him out of business all together.

Dyan Cannon, plays the sister of one of the people who this group robbed. And Shamus uses her to get to her brother and his connections. That have all of these things that the group has stole and wants to steal more of. Including military surplus equipment. Shamus decides that his new and only wealthy client is no longer worth working for. And ends up taking Alexis, (played by Dyan) as his new client. Because she wants to know who is trying to hurt her brother. This is a fairly complicated movie and fairly violent movie as well. Where Shamus is not the Devil or the Saint in the movie. And uses a lot of ruthless and abusive tactics to solve the case. Even though he doesn’t have a full-time client in the movie. And is an interesting and funny action/drama. With a lot of humor in it, mostly coming from Burt. Who of course is a master smartass.
Source:Sorry Haters

My Vintage Video: The McLaughlin, February 24, 1989

Source: The McLaughlin Group-John McLaughlin-

Source: This piece was originally posted at The New Democrat Plus

John Tower, was a Republican Senator from Texas, elected in I believe 1960 and served four terms in the Senate. The first Republican elected statewide in Texas, in I don’t know, a hundred years or whatever. And was a very popular Republican in the Republican Party and very conservative as well. With a deep knowledge of foreign policy and national security issues while he was in Congress. But he wasn’t very popular with his colleagues in Congress in either party, especially in the Senate. And when President Bush nominates him in 1989 to be his Secretary of Defense and nothing bad had broken for him after that, Tower probably gets confirmed as Secretary of Defense even in a 55-45 Democratic Senate that year. Because he was very knowledgable about national security. But then a story breaks about his alcoholism and that he was a recovering alcoholic. And Senate Democrats didn’t need much more than that to vote him down.
My Vintage Video: The McLaughlin Group- February 24, 1989

My Vintage Video: The McLaughlin Group 10/03/03- No WMD in Iraq

Source:My Vintage Video- Lawrence O'Donnell.

Source:The New Democrat

Eleanor Clift, nailed it early on in this show when she said the War in Iraq was over soled and the evidence going in never justified for the War in Iraq. She makes this seven months after the War in Iraq was launched in March, 2003. Remember, the original justification for the War in Iraq was to eliminate weapons of mass destruction from Iraq and get them out of the Saddam Hussein Regime. And then they don’t find them. The reason and evidence for the War in Iraq was never there.

Neoconservatives in and out of the Bush Administration blew this story and war from day one and they haven’t gotten any better. And why the Republican Party is struggling so much at the presidential level and even within their own party. With Conservatives, “saying America shouldn’t try to police the world and that we should even be fiscally conservative with the defense budget and not run up our debt and deficits with the military budget.’ To Neoconservatives still saying, “that we should spend whatever takes to police the world. Because no one else will and debts and deficits don’t matter to begin with.”

As far as the Joe Wilson story. I just wish this was as big as a story in 2003-04, as it was in 2005-06 and John Kerry beats President Bush by winning both Ohio and Florida. Had this story broke in 2001 or 02 and then continued to grow instead of late 2003, I think President Bush would’ve been in huge trouble going into the fall of 2004. In a lot of way George W. Bush is one of the luckiest politicians who has ever lived. Because even with all the obvious mistakes he and his administration made in their eight years, the Democratic Party for the most part was never in strong enough position to take advantage of them. In his first term, but in his second term they came together and went to work politically on the Bush Administration and scored a lot of points.
Source:My Vintage Video

The McLaughlin Group: Martin O'Malley vs. Hillary Clinton

Source:The McLaughlin Group- TMG regular Eleanor Clift 

Source:The New Democrat Plus

As far as Martin O’Malley beating Hillary Clinton next year, no one is expecting him to do that. But plenty of upsets have happened inside of the Democratic Party during presidential years in the past. And all the Democratic nominees coming out of nowhere were all serious intelligent candidates, who were successful in their current and previous jobs. Who were great politicians and communicators, who very likable and spoke very well to the Democratic base. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. All current or former President’s of the United States. Martin O’Malley is just as good as a politician as Jimmy Carter at least and perhaps Barack Obama.

As far as the NCAA. Why should just student athletes not be able to earn money while at college either though their field or outside of their field? Why should athletes suffer, while law students, medical students and everyone else are not only allowed to work their way through college, but earn money while at college. And a lot of these athletes come from lower-middle class to low-income families. Where their parents can’t afford to pay for their cost of living and send them money while they’re at college. They don’t have to worry about their schooling, but they have to be able to pay their other bills while their at school.

As far as Carly Fiorina, she is less accomplished than Mitt Romney as a politician. Which is sort of the death knell for a potential serious presidential candidate. Had she defeated Senator Barbara Boxer in 2010, then maybe she would be a serious candidate right now. Because she could say that she’s one statewide in one of the bluest states in the country. And now has foreign policy experience on the Foreign Relations Committee or Armed Services Committee. She has business experience and was a successful business executive and everything else. But that didn’t happen and now she looks like someone who is just trying to get any big job and get her name in the public eye.
The McLaughlin Group: Martin O'Malley vs Hilary Clinton

PBS: Video: NewsHour: Shields and Brooks on Making a Deal With Iran

This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on WordPress

As far as the nuclear deal with Iran, what is the alternative? Invading a large country that is physically the size of Saudi Arabia, but with seventy-five-million people, where the people there tend to be somewhat pro-American, at least the young people. I mean look at Iraq, anyone want to call that a success? Iran is three times the size of Iraq with three times as many people. You want to take their nuclear program out through the air? You have to find it first. Again large country with a lot of people. There’s nothing to lose here for America and everything to gain. If Iran behaves, they won’t get nuclear weapons, they misbehave and will continue to pay the economical price for their bad behavior. Their people want to end the economic sanctions and it looks like so does their government. If you can negotiate with a giant the size of the Soviet Union back in the day that already had nuclear weapons and around four-hundred-million people, you can negotiate with a country that is not nearly as powerful or as large.

BBC: David Frost Interview With Muhammad Ali (1974)

Source:BBC- interviewing The Greatest of All-Time in 1974.

Source:The New Democrat 

"Sir David Frost interviews legendary boxing champion and former World Heavyweight title holder, Muhammad Ali. During the interview Frost presses Ali on a number of topics, particularly his forthcoming title fight with opponent George Foreman who Ali says has two chances of winning - 'slim and none'. As the interview progresses Ali talks about his religious faith, his thoughts on the civil rights movement and integration before ending with a characteristically poetic view on how he would like to be remembered." 

Source:BBC- interviewing The Greatest of All-Time in 1974.

From Gemma Wood

Was Muhammad Ali a great boxer? Was he a great champion? Was he a great entertainer? What he a great comedian? Was he a great poet? Was he a great civil rights spokesperson? Well, the answer to all of these questions, except for maybe poet is yes. He was all of these things and did all of these things very well. Perhaps The Greatest of All-Time doing all of these things. 

That is how quick and intelligent Muhammad was. No one has known them self better and the people around him better than Muhammad Ali. And really the only mistake he’s ever made in life was fighting too long. Which of course has cost him the rest of his life. And he has to live with Parkinson’s.

But here’s a guy who dominated the media from a news, entertainment and sports perspective, as well as the heavyweight boxing division for about 15-20 years. He only time he didn’t dominate these fields was when he lost his boxing license because of his opposition to the Vietnam War. But he was the best, The Greatest of All-Time for a very long time. We never saw anyone as good pre-Muhammad Ali and haven’t seen a boxer and entertainer as good since. Muhammad Ali, is truly an American original.