NBC Sports: NFL 1977-AFC Final-Oakland Raiders @ Denver Broncos: Full Game

Source:The New Democrat

With all due respect to the 1977 Denver Broncos, even though this game was played in Denver, this is one of the biggest upsets in NFC conference final history. If you look at the two teams and the two squads, the Raiders clearly had a better team man for man and as far as talent. The Broncos might not even had a single Pro Bowler on offense. The Raiders had four Hall of Famers on offense alone. OT Art Shell, OG Gene Upshaw, WR Fred Biletnikoff and TE Dave Casper. Arguably and I believe the best all around TE of all-time. The Raiders should have at least two other Hall of Famers on offense. QB Ken Stabler and WR Cliff Branch.

What the Broncos had in 1977 and really all the way even perhaps through the Dan Reeves era in the 1980s, but defensively not as good, was a great defense. Especially their linebackers, in Randy Gradishar, who should be in the Hall of Fame. Tom Jackson, Bob Swenson and Joe Rizzo. And Pro Bowler DL Paul Smith, Barney Chavous, Pro Bowler Lyle Alzado, who should probably get consideration for the Hall of Fame. NT Rubin Carter, who was a stud in the middle. Which you must have in order to play a 3-4. Louis Wright and Steve Foley in the secondary. They didn’t need a lot of talent on offense, because they didn’t need to score a lot of points. They only gave up ten points a game.

Going into this game, you would have to think the Raiders simply because they had a very good if not great all around team and the defending Super Bowl champions, would be the clear favorite in this game. Great quarterback, the best offensive line in football, great running game with Mark Van Egan and Clarence Davis. Great receivers and one of the best defenses in the NFL. That this would be the year we finally got to see the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl. Which would’ve been a classic in 1977, but the Broncos defense could shut anyone down. And then score enough points to win the game. And you can see it for yourself.

NFL Network: NFL 1975- America's Game- AFC Championship Highlights

Source:NFL Network- the Raiders-Steelers rivalry is always a man's game.

Source:The New Democrat 

"Highlights of the 1975 AFC Championship Game between the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Clip from America's Game.

With thanks to NFL Films for the use of their film. We do not own the rights to any of this film. This film is being used for teaching and educational purposes only. No copyright infringement intended." 

From Classic Sports

Source:NFL Films- the Raiders-Steelers rivalry is always a man's game.

This was the second of three-straight AFC Finals that the Raiders and Steelers played against each other. (1974-76) Steelers won the first two and the Raiders finally broke through after losing six straight AFC Finals from 68-75. Six in eight years and this game in 75 was one of the better games in this rivalry, which I believe was the best rivalry in the 1970s in the NFL. Especially conference rivalry and between teams from different divisions. Even better than the Redskins-Cowboys rivalry in the NFC, because these teams were better and they were playing in the playoffs every year and played three conference finals against each other.

Rivalries are only good and even real if the teams are good. And great rivalries are only great if the teams are great. And that is what separates the Raiders-Steelers rivalry from I believe the rest that we’ve seen ever. Because in the 1970s both teams year after year only had one goal, which was to win the Super Bowl. And they knew if they were going to do that they were going to have to beat the other team. Probably in the AFC Final just to get to the Super Bowl. Two very tough, well-coached teams, that both had power running games. That both had vertical passing games and great quarterbacks.

Both teams were very similar that they won by beating their opponents up: running the ball right at the defense and doing it over and over and having very tough defense that could stuff the run, attack the quarterback and pound the receivers in the secondary. But they did it differently which gave fans something else to se. 

The Raiders, with their 3-4 defense that would use their DL to occupy the offensive line and have their linebackers make the plays and blitz the quarterback. The Steelers, were a 4-3 two-gap defense that could attack the QB and stuff the run just with their great defensive line. And play their linebackers and DB’s deep. And these teams were great at what they did, similar in how they did, but different enough to make their games even more interesting.

Public Resource: Longines Chronoscope- Senator Joseph McCarthy (1952)

Source:Public Resource- U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy (Republican, Wisconsin) on CBS News Longines Chronoscope, in 1952. 

Source:The New Democrat  

"LONGINES CHRONOSCOPE WITH SEN. JOSEPH R. MC CARTHY - National Archives and Records Administration 1952-06-25 - ARC Identifier 95766 / Local Identifier LW-LW-114 - TELEVISION INTERVIEW:  William Bradford Huie and Donald I. Rogers talk with Sen. McCarthy on presidential and senatorial campaigns in Wisconsin, his book McCarthyism - The Fight for America, and exposure of "communists and crooks" in the federal government. DVD copied by IASL Master Scanner Katie Filbert." 

From Public Resource

This is 1952, so the Democrat Party still controls Congress, (House and Senate) as well as The White House with President Harry Truman. Republicans won a clean sweep in 1952 and won back the White House and both chambers of Congress. Which meant Senator Joe McCarthy would become Chairman of the Government Oversight Committee in the next Congress in 1953. 

The Army-McCarthy hearings got started in 1953, because Congressional Republicans won back Congress in 1952. And Senator McCarthy was essentially able to put Congress through hell in 1953 and up to 1954, before he was censured  in 1954, because of his handling of these hearings, when the American people and Senate Republicans along with Democrats got tired of Chairman McCarthy and his McCarthyism hearings. And they shut him down.

As far as Corliss LaMont with the American Labor Party: he was a Democratic Socialist, but further Left then Norman Thomas, who ran for President several times for the Socialist Party. Norman Thomas was a Democratic Socialist in the European sense combining private enterprise with democratic socialism and the welfare state.  Corliss LaMont wanted government owning and operating the business sector, as well as the social welfare sector, making him a Communist.

USA Survival: 'Allan Ryskind Exposes the Hollywood Traitors'

Source:USA Survival- Author Allan Ryskind, talking about Communists in Hollywood.

Source:The New Democrat

"Allan H. Ryskind is the son of famous Hollywood screenwriter Morrie Ryskind and a long-time editor of Human Events who worked on this very important book "Hollywood Traitors" for many years. He says: "...I would now like to challenge Hollywood movie makers, actors and directors, conservatives, liberals and even some progressives. It’s hard for me to believe that most of you honestly think of yourselves as backers of Joe Stalin and all his criminal activities that are now part of history.  So why, if you don’t view yourselves as worshippers of this evil ruler, do you keep celebrating the lives of your colleagues who did?"

Source:The New Democrat- From author Allan Ryskind's book about Communists in Hollywood.

From USA Survival

Who are these people making the case that there weren’t Communists and Socialists in Hollywood? Of there were and still are today! Some of them are self-described as Socialists and supporters of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Fidel Castro in Cuba. Sean Penn and Michael Moore, would be excellent examples of that. But we aren’t talking about the Rosenberg’s here who were put to death for espionage in favor of the Soviet Union against the United States. We are talking people who support an economic and political system that is much further left than our liberal democratic private enterprise system.

Socialists and Communists in and out of Hollywood like Cornel West and Angela Davis, support completely transforming the American liberal democratic federal form of government. Where so much is expected out of the individual to take care of themselves and live in their own freedom. And creating an economic and governmental system where the national government would have a lot more responsibility for looking after the welfare of the people and taking care of them. They don’t want to turn America into a Soviet style authoritarian state. But create a social democratic state where the central government has a lot more responsibility for the people’s welfare. Similar to Scandinavia.

The so-called Hollywood Reds of the 1940s and 50s were very similar . They had their own Far-Left political beliefs and spoke out in favor of socialist causes in America. But weren’t traitors to their country and looking to overthrow it and certainly didn’t try to do that. But simply use their First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights to advocate for socialist causes in America. And move America into a more socialist direction. But with the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee, you things these Hollywood workers were secret spies for Russia or something. Trying to overthrow the American liberal democratic form of government.

Politics and Prose: John Dean: 'The Nixon Defense'

Source:Politics and Prose- Former White House Counsel to President Richard Nixon, John Dean speaking at Politics and Prose in Washington.

Source:The New Democrat

"What did the president know, and when did he know it? That was the iconic question of the Watergate scandal and Dean, who served as Nixon’s legal counsel, argues that it remains to be answered. Using his own transcripts of conversations with Nixon and his circle as well as drawing on archived documents, Dean resolves the outstanding mysteries surrounding the break-in and cover-up. (Penguin Press)"

From Politics and Prose

Not being there or even being alive in 1972, I would say that President Richard Nixon was involved in the Watergate burglary coverup the day he found out about it. The President is on tape like the day after they find out about in June, 1972 as telling his Chief of Staff to direct the FBI not to go into this Watergate business any further, period. I first heard about that in the early 1990s when I was in high school. President Nixon didn’t have someone on his team in the White House to say, “with all due respect sir, this is very important story and case. We can’t cover it up. It would be bad for American justice and bad for this administration.” Perhaps being a big more diplomatic, but he didn’t have someone to tell him no. And this is what should be done instead.

What President Nixon essentially had was a team of loyalists. A team of yes men who believed in him so much, or at the very least believed in how far they could go with him. They weren’t there to say this is what should be done here and there and give their advice. But to find out what the President wanted to do and go about accomplishing those things the best way that they can. President Nixon didn’t have a good team in his White House at least when it came to people who knew what was right and wrong and what should be done. Other than maybe Al Haig who was his second and final Chief of Staff who told him when it was time to step down and resign.

PBS: David Frost-Richard Nixon Interviews

Source:PBS-

Source:The New Democrat

As far as messing around with other people’s elections, that is something that the United States shouldn’t be involved with. If that kind of thing happened here and you could make a strong case that it did in 1996 with President Bill Clinton’s reelection from the People’s Republic of China, we would be freaking out in America over that and did. Congress actually investigated that election both in the House and Senate in 1997. Let other countries elect their own people and then make the best of it as far as how you relate with them. In defending your own interests and standing up for human rights in other countries. That is how you build up credibility with other countries and their people.

As far as Vice President Spiro Agnew, it always brings a big smile to my face every time I hear that. And not because a fellow Marylander made it to the Vice Presidency of the United States. But how would someone of a Spiro Agnew’s limited experience in and out of government makes it that far in this country. One thing you can say about the Richard Nixon White House and before that their political campaigns that ran Dick Nixon’s 1968 and 72 presidential campaigns, is that they didn’t do their homework on their own people. Spiro was already suspected of being corrupt when he was Governor of Maryland in the mid and late 1960s. You can see why President Nixon didn’t give his Vice President a lot of work and didn’t keep him very busy. Because he wasn’t very impressed with him and didn’t see him as much of an asset.

President Nixon was investigated for more than just Watergate in Congress, when the House of Representatives looked into his financial affairs as President in 1974. They reported that the President owed taxes to the IRS that he by law of course was obligated to pay back. But a lot of people owe back taxes that they haven’t paid back. And in most cases they’ve put that off because they can’t afford those taxes because they’ve run up debt. And are looking to put their tax payments off. I’m sure President Nixon had the money to pay his taxes assuming that the only income he earned while as President was his presidential salary. So I don’t know why he had back taxes to begin with.

The National Interest: Seyed Hossein Mousavian: How to Fix The Syrian Mess

Source:The New Democrat

I think I found an issue where I agree with Senator John McCain on. Someone who when it comes to foreign policy we rarely agree on anything. It is about Syria where four years ago I believe a NATO no fly zone was a good idea to stop the Assad Regime from murdering its own people, simply because they opposed the Assad Regime and made those feelings public. A no fly zone over Syria or at least parts of it would give the Syrian rebels a fighting chance, literally of taking out the current government there. Or at least bring President Bashar Al-Assad to the negotiating table and negotiate how he would step down from power peacefully.

One of the mistakes that America made in Iraq in 2003, is the same mistake that both America and Europe made in Libya in 2011. Which was to take out the current government including the military without anything to go in and immediately replace the government. So the country could function while they are transitioning and building their new country. So knocking out Bashar in Syria shouldn’t be the ultimate goal at least through military means. But to bring him to the negotiating table to get him to step down from power. And transition to a new government that could and would govern the country responsibly and respect the human rights of their people.

Bashar Al-Assad can’t govern a united Syria now or into the future. He’s lost the ability and credibility to do that. And leaving him in power even to help us take out ISIS there wouldn’t work either. Because he would go back to doing what he’s done before which started the crisis in the first place. All he’s interested in is staying in power at all costs. So what America and Europe could do is to aid the Syrian rebels in the air, but not arm them with lethal weapons. As the Syrian rebels take on the Assad Regime and at least bring Bashar to the negotiating table. But without destroying the government. Especially the military and law enforcement.