Tuesday, October 29, 2024
1618 English adventurer, writer, and courtier Walter Raleigh was beheaded for allegedly conspiring against King James I of England
1922 Italian King Victor Emmanuel III appointed Benito Mussolini (Il Duce) as Prime Minister of Italy
1929 Stock market crash on Wall Street, known as "Black Tuesday," triggered the Great Depression
1945 First ballpoint pen went on sale, manufactured by Reynolds in the US
1969 US Supreme Court ordered the end to all school segregation "at once"
1998 South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission presented its report, which condemned both sides for committing atrocities
I was in bed by 9, awake at 5:05, and up at 5:25, thinking of Ray J. Aiken, Pat Aiken, Jeff & Tim, the house purchase on Newberry, and yesterday's interview.
Prednisone, day 168, 5 mg., day 19. Prednisone at 5:35.Three pieces of soda bread at 5:50. Morning meds later in the morning. COVID and flu vaccinations this afternoon at the VA.
'Nuf said' From an article in yesterday's NYTimes "For a Stalwart Voice of Liberal Catholicism, A Complicated Centennial" by Jennifer Schuesler:
Today, attendance at weekly Mass continues its decades-long decline. There are sharp political divisions in the pews and in leadership, while the ranks of newly ordained priests are trending overwhelmingly conservative, theologically and politically. And in the intellectual realm, conversation is dominated by conservative Catholic “postliberals” who argue that liberal individualism has eroded culture and community. Some call for a toppling of current elites — or even an end to the separation of church and state.
2001, A Space Odyssey I watched the middle portion and end of the film when I returned from the VA. "Open the podbay door, HAL." "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave." Then, Dave's arrival at Jupiter and the spectacular visual effects leading up to the images of the "space child" and the unending questions as to what the image means. Ditto the black monolith.
Geri reset the bird feeders this afternoon. I helped. She came in when finished and lay down. I refilled the feeders, hoping for a repeat of this morning's bird action, and put out the recycling cart for tomorrow morning's pickup. On the way back up the driveway, I enjoyed the great beauty of the fallen, golden yellow. ginko leaves, The ginko berries seem to have all fallen and been spirited away. The temperature has been unseasonably warm lately, over 80 today, more tomorrow.
Dr. Chatt. My semi-annual visit went well. Good blood pressure, good glucose, good A1c (6.7), good cholesterol, etc. She ordered a "swallow test" on me. I got to chat with an old Marine in the waiting room when I finished. He had served from 1953 to 1953. Chatted with another Marine in the elevator about him getting leave from RVN when his father was very sick. I also had a long chat with the LPN who gave me my flu shot and covid booster, drew my blood, took my BP, etc. On the way in, I drove through the Wood National Cemetery, as usual, and again one road was blocked by markers for "Funeral" and "Privacy Requested, " the second time recently I have seen such signs. The bad news was that my favorite ancient maple tree in the cemetery has been felled. It was old, twisted, and gnarled, like many of the veterans I see in the corridors, elevators, and waiting rooms at Zablocki Medical Center, including me and the two other former Marines I encountered and chatted with this afternoon.
Anniversaries. First, it is widely thought that it was the trial of Walter Raleigh for treason that led to the development of the hearsay rule of evidence, which I used to teach at the law school, and the right to confront witnesses in the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense."
Second, we tend to forget that Hitler was hardly the first fascist dictator in 20th-century Europe. Mussolini beat him in Italy by more than 10 years.
Third, the stock market crash. My Dad was 9 years old and my mother 7. My paternal grandfather maintained his employment at Western Electric throughout the Great Depression. For my maternal grandfather, it was a struggle that led him from Taconite/Grand Rapids, Minnesota, back to Chicago, down to San Antonio, and back to Chicago.
Fourth, I remember early ballpoint pens. My recollection is that they tended to be smudgy. In school, we used only graphite pencils and ink pens filled with ink from the ink wells in our desks. Those were the days of getting free "blotter" from insurance agencies to keep from smudging wet ink.
Fifth, the Supreme Court's order in 1969 to end school desegregation "at once" was just as effective as its order in 1954 to end it "with all deliberate speed," to wit, not at all. It's a huge mistake commonly made to think that passing a law, or getting the same result from a court decision, or n, will cause big changes in social behavior. If it were true, statutes criminalizing murder result in the abolition of murders. As if.
Lastly, the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission report reminds me of Israel, Hamas, and Hezbollah: guilt for atrocities on all sides. We will never see a similar commission in Israel.
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