Video Detective: The Seduction Of Joe Tynan (1979) Starring Alan Alda & Meryl Streep

Source:Video Detective- Meryl Streep & Alan Alda

Source:The Daily Review

"An ambitious young senator's affair with a beautiful attorney places his family life and career under a strain. Written by Alda!

Movie, The Seduction Of Joe Tynan Movie,The Seduction Of Joe Tynan Trailer,The Seduction Of Joe Tynan 1979, Jerry Schatzberg,Alan Alda, Barbara Harris, Melvyn Douglas, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn."

From the Video Detective

The Seduction of Joe Tynan is one of the best political movies I’ve ever seen and it reminds me a little bit of the Ted Kennedy-Jimmy Carter 1979-80 Democratic race for president, which I’ll get into later. Alan Alda plays Senator Joe Tynan from New York, who has solid Progressive Democratic credentials. Who is in love with his job and wants to move up and be a national player in the party if not President of the United States.

What separates him from Senator Ted Kennedy is that Senator Tynan, actually wants to be President. Ted Kennedy ran for president in the 1980, because he didn’t like where the country was going with the bad economy and everything else, didn’t think President Carter was progressive enough, but more importantly he felt some obligation to the progressive wing to run for president and put another Kennedy in the White House.

Joe Tynan, loves the president, loves campaigning, loves politics. I would say loves his kids back in New York as well, just not enough to make them a major priority as far as attending their major events. And I would say likes his wife a lot and perhaps loves her and is attracted to her, but doesn’t have much respect for her and sees her as bit of lightweight, at least as far as the people he deals with in Washington. And I believe this comes out pretty clearly in the movie as far as how Tynan talks about his wife whose played by the adorable and funny Barbara Harris.

What makes Tynan a strong potential presidential candidate is that the President a Democrat, has a U.S. Supreme Court nominee up. Who is a bit of a right-winger, at least on civil rights issues and supported forced segregation in the past, who comes from Arkansas. And that puts Senator Tynan in a tough position of having to consider taking on the leader of his party.

Joe Tynan, doesn’t want to take on the President and his Democratic Leadership in the Senate, but he’s not going to support right-wing Supreme Court nominee who supports forced segregation either. Especially since he’s looking at running for president himself. And is approached by civil rights and labor lawyers in the party who want him to vote against Supreme Court nominee. And is approached by Karen Traynor. (played by Meryl Streep)

Who is one of the Democratic activists trying to bring Tynan to their side and oppose Edward Anderson (played by Maurice Copeland) who is the Supreme Court nominee. She gets Tynan real evidence that he’s against civil rights with video of a speech that he gave in the 1960s and that’s how Senator Tynan comes out against Anderson. Which pisses off his close friend Senator Birney (played by Melvyn Douglas) who is a close friend of Anderson and a big supporter of him.

What you have in Joe Tynan is a workaholic who has become a career politician whose always focused on politics and always looking for the next big move in his career and when he’s not doing that and takes any free time, he does it with people other than his wife and family. Starts an affair with Karen Traynor, becomes a national player and hero in the Democratic Party, decides to run for president without even talking to his wife and kids.

Who starts off the movie having basically everything he wants and has everything going for him as a young influential U.S. Senator who can move legislation. But sees an opening to furthering his political career and jumps on that and in the process almost loses everything that he has. I think this is a very good movie about an ambitious workaholic career politician who is never completely happy and satisfied. And is always looking for more, even if it means losing everything that he already has.

AlterNet: Adam Johnson: 'Richard Dawkins & Bill Maher Still Baffled Why So Many Far-Leftists Think They're Bigots'

Source:AlterNet- left to right: Richard Dawkins & Bill Maher: two men the Far-Left hates.

Source:The Daily Review

“Bill Maher and his good friend, Richard Dawkins, sat down on his show Real Time Friday night for the fifth time in almost eight seasons. Their discussion, per usual, was an agreeable, tedious mix of self-victimization and indignation about why so many on the left – specifically the Twitter left – think their obsession with “radical Islam” makes them bigots.”

From the AlterNet 

You couldn’t count how many times you’ll see and rightfully so how many times the AlterNet and Salon in particular, will how some piece about the Christian-Right and how radical they are and show this bigotry, or that bigotry from them. They both everyday have some negative piece about the Christian-Right and this blog posts a lot negative pieces about the Christian-Right as well. That is not why Richard Dawkins (can I call him Dick) and Bill Maher are annoyed, or surprised by the New-Left in America. People that author/blogger Sam Harris calls regressive leftists. It’s when something radical and horrible is done by non-Christians in America especially right-wing Muslims who believe women should be treated like second-class citizens that the New-Left will either ignore, or defend that gets to Dawkins and Maher.

Atheism and liberalism and they’re not the same thing, is not about going after Christianity and only defending speech that critiques the Christian-Right and the broader right-wing in America. Liberalism is not about defending speech against Christians while trying to censor speech against Muslims. It’s about defending speech regardless of who it comes from and what the speaker says. Short of libeling people and inciting violence. Which is why the New-Left aren’t Liberals, but what I at least call New Marxists, because they don’t understand that. And have this real fascist element that says they’re going to defend their right to free speech to the hill, as they try to shut down speech and speakers they disagree with. The Real Liberals in this debate are the defenders of free speech regardless of who is speaking. Which are Richard Dawkins and Bill Maher, because they’re defending free speech.

I’ve made this point several times before, but you can’t be a Liberal if you don’t believe in free speech. And you’re not much of an Atheist if you only concentrate on one religion and in this case that religion being Christianity and the Southern Anglo-Saxon right-wing form of it. If you have a problem with Christian Conservatives who say that women’s place is in the home and that gays should be in a mental institution, or someplace, great! I’m with you, but how about Muslim countries that don’t allow women to even drive, or vote, show their faces in public even. Do you not have a problem with that and just view as part of their culture? Is so like Richard Dawkins said, the hell with their culture! Because that is not a culture that is worth defending. Not talking about ignoring the problems with the radical Christian-Right. Just saying that they aren’t the only source of radical religion in the world. 

Real Time With Bill Maher: Richard Dawkins- Regressive Leftists

Source:The Daily Review

I believe Sam Harris’s term regressive leftists is perfect. I mean if you call yourself a Liberal, but you don’t believe in free speech, just speech that you agree with that some collective has decided is appropriate speech, in other words collective speech, you’re not progressive and not a Liberal. But you’re regressive and perhaps collectivist, or statist would be a more appropriate political label for you. Being a Liberal whose against free speech would be like being a Conservative whose against free enterprise. Well, if you’re against free enterprise, you would be a Marxist, which is a hell of a lot different from being a Conservative. Or being a Catholic who doesn’t believe in God. A quarterback who doesn’t believe in the passing game. Well then what the hell are you doing as a quarterback?

The New-Left in America, which is what we are really talking about here when it comes to regressive leftists, has this far out on Mars one month-long of nothing but marijuana type of trip that Muslims and other minorities aren’t subjected to criticism in America. Even though they live in America where we have a Constitution with the first amendment to it being our First Amendment (surprise, surprise) that guarantees our Freedom of Speech. That can’t be taken away from us, because some political correctness tight ass who apparently has nothing better to do with their time than to protect all minorities from criticism, disagrees with what’s being said. If you don’t believe in free speech whether it’s about Muslims, Christians, or anyone else, America might not be the country for you.
Source:Real Time With Bill Maher

LA Progressive: W.J. Rorabaugh: Hippies Culture War

Source:The Daily Review

The one thing That I like about the 1960s culturally other than the music, the movies and Jim Morrison, were the Hippies. And as much as todays so-called Progressives claim to love the Hippies and respect them, the Hippies represent the opposite of what today’s so-called Progressive represent. Hippies, Liberals were true, because they were anti-establishment and pro-individualism. Today’s so-called Progressives, are anti-individualism and pro-big government to the point that they want government to check what people eat, drink and even what we can say to each other with their so-called political correctness movement. Today’s so-called Progressives are not anti-establishment. To the contrary, they support the biggest establishment in the world. Its called the U.S. Government and think it’s too small.

Hippies back in the mid 1960s lets say at least were true Liberals. Because they were individualists. They got the memo, or bothered to look at the calendar and figured out that it was no longer 1959 and that the 1950s was finally over. They were born either post-World War II, or during that war and did not remember any of it and decided that they did not have to live their lives of their parents and grandparents. That the 1940s and 1950s was not so swell after all. That mom did not have to stay home and raise the kids, while dad came home every night Between 6-7 and said, “honey, I’m home! What’s for dinner? I’m starved. Gee, what a day. ” Or something like that from Leave it to Beaver. That God That was before my time. Hippies / Liberals, were tired of black and white TV, or sitting around in the living room listening to the radio and were looking for a different lifestyle.

There’s a discussion among historians about when the Counter Culture actually began. Some people say 1965 With the start of the anti-war movement. I point to the 1963 March on Washington as not just one of the most important times and best times in American history, but where you literally had a million people from all over the country from all sorts of races, ethnicities, cultures, lifestyles, who were anti-establishment and were all looking for a better and different America. If there was one point in history that I wish I was old enough to have been there and experienced it would be the 1963 March on Washington. The dawning of a new America where you had all sorts of different Americans all together at the same place having a good time together and enjoying each other with all sorts of great entertainment groups all together.

These Americans were looking for their own place in America and the freedom to be individuals. And not feel they need to work at their father’s factory, or his company, or get married and stay home and raise kids, if you were a women back then while your husband went to work and earned a living for his wife and kids. Gays came out of the closet in the thousands in the 1960s. And according to the Christian-Right, America has-been going to hell ever since. As they’ve forgotten one of their own commandments. “Love your neighbor as yourself own.” In other words, treat others as you would treat yourself. Show respect to the other people as you want to be respected. These values ​​are mainstream today, but fifty years ago America was going through, well a Cultural Revolution.

Romantic couples having pre-marital sex, living together before they were married. Perhaps better known as domestic partnerships, unmarried couples raising their kids together, homosexuality, marijuana, women working and managing business’s, men who cooked and spent a lot of time with their kids, marijuana, I mean all of these things are mainstream today. (More examples of why the Christian-Right believes America is going to hell) But They Were started back in 1963 and then a mid-1960s by the people who were literally trying to change America if not the world. Not the New-Left from the late 1960s that literally wanted a different form of government for the United States and a completely different economic system and force democratic socialism if not communism on the country. The Hippies, wanted to create a new culture in America and new way of life.

The reason why the Hippies and Liberals won the Culture War has nothing to do with new arguments, or these different ways of debating issues. It has to do with the children and grandchildren of the Hippies are now grown up and experienced their parents and grandparents attitudes when it comes to things like tolerance and multiculturalism and integration and have decided that there’s nothing wrong with people living differently as long as they aren’t hurting innocent people with what they’re doing. They know and are friends of people from other races, ethnicities, cultures, religions and even sexualities and know that they’re good people to. So why put them down, or look down upon them simply for being different from how they Are and how they were born. It took 1-2 generations of people for Liberals to win the Culture War, but we did and America is not going back to the 1950s.

Mysteries & Scandals: James Dean

Source:IMDB- I don't know who is in this photo.

Source:The Daily Review

"E! Mysteries & Scandals: James Dean (1998)

Marcus Winslow (Dean's cousin), David Loeh (Dean curator), Darlene Campbell (historian), Julie Harris, Vampira, David Dalton (biographer), Kenneth Kendall (sculptor) and Warren Beath (author) are interviewed about the short life of James Dean.

If you're a fan of Dean then you'll enjoy this episode as you get a pretty good bio of the actor before getting into his tragic death. We hear from friends of his as well as historians who discuss the events of that day. People also talk about who was to blame for the wreck and we also hear from a couple of the police who were on the scene that day. There are a lot of great interviews here that make this worth watching to both fans of Dean as well as fans of the show. We also get clips from his movies but there's no question that the highlights are the interviews... 

From IMDB 

I guess I sort of see James Dean as the male version of Jayne Mansfield. (No, I’m not trying to be insulting) As a very talented entertainer, but someone who lacked personal discipline and self-confidence.

I believe another good comparison to Jim Dean would be Jim Morrison. Again, talented entertainer who got as most out of their young lives as they could until they died. The Lizard King, was an alcoholic and probably addicted to illegal drugs as well and Dean was more of an adrenaline junky I guess who was always moving fast and couldn’t slow down.

A Rebel Without a Cause, a famous movie. but it could be the biography of Jimmy Dean. He was way ahead of time culturally and when it came to style was probably born ten years too early as far as the lifestyle that he lived.

I’m not an expert on James Dean, but the information I’ve seen on him is that he’s a pop culture superstar. People love him, because he was cool. I mean let’s face it, he died at 24 and had just three film credits under his belt. Not exactly a deep resume to go on and to judge his life by.

People like Dean because he was cool, he was real, he was honest, he played himself in his movies, he seemed like he wasn’t acting, but being a real person instead.

In many ways reminds me of the great actress Kim Novak who had the ability to literally become the person that she was playing. She also had some luck there, because a lot of the roles she had were very similar to who she was in real-life. Jim Dean is a lot like that, but of course without as deep of a resume. So there’s a lot to like about Dean and easy to see why so many people still love him

Lifetime: Intimate Portrait Angie Dickinson

Source:Lifetime Intimate Portait Angie Dickinson.

Source:The Daily Review

When I think of Angie Dickinson I’m staring at those eyes and locked into that voice. She reminds me a of smaller Gena Rowlands, another women who just looks and sounds incredible, but who is also a hell of an actress. A true goddess who is both hot and baby-faced adorable where they don’t seem to age and always look like very young women even if they’re in their forties and fifties. Gena is a bigger and taller Angie, but she might be just as adorable. When you look this great and you also can act and make people laugh and sing, you’ll never have to worry about finding a job in Hollywood. Just as long as you don’t piss off the wrong people. And an actress will always be able to be either on TV, or doing movies, or both.

There two movies and perhaps a certain TV show that you’re familiar with when I think of Angie Dickinson. Ocean’s Eleven from 1960, where she plays the wife of compulsive gambler Danny Ocean (played by Frank Sinatra) and The Chase from 1966 where she plays the girlfriend of the sheriff. (played by Marlin Brando) She has a small part in Ocean’s, but a key one and has a great scene where she tells of Danny’s mistress on the phone. When the mistress is confessing to her that she’s seeing her husband. And Angie tells the mistress that, “what you’re saying just makes me want him more.” She has a much bigger role in The Chase where she’s the girlfriend of the sheriff and is very close to Marlin in that movie.

But I believe Angie’s Dickinson’s most important accomplishment to Hollywood is Police Women. Where she plays a police detective sergeant in that movie. That show comes out in 1974 three years before Charlie’s Angels and she plays this gorgeous sexy smart detective sergeant on that show. Who leads police investigation’s and kicks ass at the same time. Police detective shows with female leads now are common and have been since the 1990s. But a big reason for that was Police Women and Angie Dickinson. She showed that you could look like a goddess and also be smart and professional and do important jobs in society and be in charge. And because of Angie NBC, CBS and ABC, (and perhaps even FOX) are always looking for that new hit female detective show.

Angie is simply one of the cutest, hottest, sexiest actress’s with the great voice to match of all-time. I could listen to her read from a phone book, or a tennis rule book and I would end up being fascinated with that bland material that would be great reading material for insomniacs if it was read by just about everyone else. But she makes everything look and sound interesting simply because of who she is. She was great on the Alfred Hitchcock Hour in the early 1960s, playing a women who simply marries men for money and tries to get her latest boyfriend to murder her husband. She’s a true Hollywood Goddess in the sense that she’s an incredibly attractive women, but also a great actress. And she’s one of the top actress’s of her generation and in the business today.
Source:Lifetime

CBS News: 60 Minutes Presents Crime and Punishment: The Capture of James Whitey Bulger

Source:The New Democrat

James Whitey Bulger. To say that James Whitey Bulger is not your average criminal would be like saying that Larry Bird isn’t your average basketball player. (Another famous Boston figure) I’m not a criminologist obviously and yes it also snows in Minnesota, (thanks Captain Obvious) but Whitey is a criminal genius. And if he gets to spend any real-time outside of his cell in the hell hole that he’s going to die in his fellow inmates are going to be able to learn a lot from him. Unless they’re serving life without in prison as well. Here’s a guy whose guilty of at least nineteen murders and yet up until recently hasn’t spent much of his life in prison. He’s been on the streets for most of his life.

Neo-Nazis
I think the only way you can become a Nazi especially as an adult is like the guy in this story. Is that by in large you’re a good person and you’re doing well in life, but suddenly you find yourself out of work and your bills are piling up and you go years without at least a full-time job. You lose your home and perhaps now living a one-room apartment, or maybe in the basement of your parents home. And you’re trying to figure out where you go from there and you run in people you should have nothing to do with. And they start telling you about the dangers of the other races. In this case non-Caucasians in America especially non-Anglo Saxons. I have a hard time believing that a good person whose grown up with people from other races and ethnicities would suddenly become a racist for no apparent reason.