Sunday, November 10, 2024
D+5
1775 U. S. Marine Corps was founded at Tun Tavern, Philadelphia
1940 Walt Disney began serving as an informer for the Los Angeles office of the FBI; his job was to report back information on Hollywood subversives.
1951 1st long-distance telephone call without operator assistance
1954 "Marine Corps War Memorial" was unveiled in Arlington County, Virginia, dedicated to US Marines who died in defense of the US since 1775 (inspired by the 1945 Iwo Jima photo of servicemen raising the US flag)
1969 "Sesame Street" premiered on PBS TV
2012 The final US presidential election results were declared after Barack Obama won Florida to defeat Mitt Romney 332-206 in Electoral College votes
In bed by 8:45, awake and up by 4:35 from an unpleasant dream of law school days. Too much watching the oral history interviews? I let Lilly out at 5:40.
Prednisone, day 180, 10 mg., day 1/5. Prednisone at 5:30 followed by two "Brogies" at 5:40. Morning meds at noon.
The bait bucket. (1) The endless theorizing and analyzing of the presidential election reminds me that so much of "news" is wasted time, twaddle, and drivel.
(2) The news in the Times that the burning of fossil fuels - coal, oil, gas - has increased substantially in the last year, since the last international climate conference when the major nations pledged to reduce emissions. Now we have Trump in office with his major priority being "drill, drill, drill." Moral Man and Immoral Society.
(3) I'm struck by how perverse Trump's victory is. Some voters wouldn't vote for Harris because of Biden's unconditional support of Israel's war on Gaza, but Trump is even more supportive of Israel and Netanyahu than Biden. Some voters wouldn't vote for Harris because of the inflation under Biden but Trump's announced policies of massive tariffs and more tax cuts are much more inflationary than Biden's/Harris's. Some voters wouldn't vote for Harris because of the Democrats' domination by elites, but Trump is surrounded by the likes of Elon Musk and other multi-billionaires who are about as elite as elite can be. Some voters voted for Trump because of his tough-on-China policies, but China holds a massive amount of American debt and could create havoc with our economy and financial system by weaponizing it.
(4) “Historians have a word for Germans who joined the Nazi party, not because they hated Jews, but out of a hope for restored patriotism, or a sense of economic anxiety, or a hope to preserve their religious values, or dislike of their opponents, or raw political opportunism, or convenience, or ignorance, or greed.
That word is "Nazi." Nobody cares about their motives anymore.
They joined what they joined. They lent their support and their moral approval. And, in so doing, they bound themselves to everything that came after. Who cares anymore what particular knot they used in the binding?”
― A.R. Moxon
(5) I've been thinking quite a bit about the MULS Oral History interviews. I wonder what selection principles were at work for choosing the persons to be interviewed, especially w/r/t me. I was struck by how both Jim Ghiardi and I provided quite a historical overview of our respective periods as students at the school in the early 40s and the late 60s. I was a bit surprised at the similarities in our experiences. We were both veterans when we started teaching. We both had heavy teaching loads. We were both inbred, MULS grads. Both of our own classes were decimated by the draft. Watching and listening to him also reminded me of what a domineering presence he was in the school, how he lorded it over everyone, including other faculty members and over Bob Boden, the dean he had installed by O'Hara Hall. I noted that he was "secretary of the faculty" or essentially acting dean for 8 or 9 months between Judge Swietlik and Reynolds Seitz. I was disappointed that Dan Blinka, who conducted the interview, asked no questions about the ousting of Dean Seitz and his replacement by Bob Boden. On the other hand, I was struck by Ghiardi's description of the law school culture between the post-WWII era and my Vietnam era. His description of the law school's Christmas parties for faculty, staff, and students, and of the law school chorus, which was led for a time by Ray Aiken, the law school's musicals and skits. Clearly, the atmosphere in the school in those days was dramatically warmer, better, and more fraternal and collegial than it was during my law school days and even my early days on the faculty. What happened? Why did morale go so downhill? I wonder how much of that was attributable to Ghiardi himself, including but not limited to the ouster of Dean Seitz and the firing of Bob O'Connell both of which were undoubtedly prompted by Ghiardi. I was struck by how self-satisfied FD FG and JW seemed, almost smug, compared to, e.g., Deb Beck and even Joan Kessler. I wonder if a woman can come off as self-satisfied as FD, FG, and JW. I looked like a lurp compared to any or all of them.
(6) Today is the 249th Marine Corps Birthday, a time for Birthday Balls and Birthday Dinners (or "messes") at Marine Corps stations around the world. I don't know for certain but I don't think any of the Marines' sister services celebrate their foundings as the Marines do. It's truly a big deal for Marines, as the photo I printed on the first page of these notes suggests. I have deeply mixed feelings about my time in the Marines. I am embarrassed, ashamed, and guilty about my service in Vietnam. I am embarrassed by how stupid, naive, ignorant, and gullible I was in those days. I am ashamed and guilty for what we did over there, the loss of millions of lives, the terrorizing and crippling of so many others. What does it say of my moral and ethical sensitivity that I so casually and obediently participated in that lethal endeavor? That I so casually made Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, and Dean Rusk my moral and ethical decisionmakers? What does it say of my moral and ethical education, more concerned about masturbation and premarital sex, 'impure thoughts and impure deeds' than with capitalism, imperialism, and nationalism? Pray, pay, and obey - what was expected of good Catholics, and the "obey" part covered a lot of sinful territory. On the other hand, I spent a total of 8 years in the military, 4 in the Naval Reserve as a midshipman, and 4 on active duty as a Marine officer. I worked with many good men during those years. They were not born or natural killers. They were very much like me: trusting, patriotic, loyal, good citizens doing their duty. We, like millions of our neighbors, were all caught up in our sense of duty, patriotism, and good citizenship and we deferred to our leaders. Good soldiers, good Marines, troopers. I think of Ron Kendall, Ray Mendoza, Bob Hillary, Pete Peterson, 'Moon' Mullen, Pete Powell, Frank Peterson, Phil Swaim, and many others, fellow Marines, good people. I think of Larry Anderson, to whom I sent a "Happy birthday, Jarhead" greeting today. I wonder what role I may have played in his joining the Marine Corps after graduation from MULS. Happy birthday to all of them.
(7) I looked at a couple of YouTube videos on gouache painting this afternoon. I was into gouache for a while but now I can't remember what I painted or how. I have quite a good supply of gouache and have some interest in using it but can't come up with a project to start with. I should just take a piece of watercolor paper, dip a brush in some gouache, and see what happens.
Anniversaries thoughts. Enough about the Marines and no comment on Walt Disney, informer, other than to wonder who were considered "subversives" in those days, recalling the "Red Scsre" and Joe McCarthy after the war.
Regarding the 'direct dial' long-distance phone calls becoming possible in 1951, I know this was considered progress and indeed it was. No more "one ringy dingy" human intermediary between the caller and the callee. But I also recall that my Aunt Monica supported herself and her three children on her wages as a long-distance operator and that Geri's mother was an Illinois Bell operator as was my good friend Larry Stack's mother. With direct dialing many women lost their employment and source of income. Progress comes at a cost.
Regarding Sesame Street, there was little good news in 1969, but Sesame Street was at or near the top of the list.
And regarding the 2012 presidential election, it's just hard to believe that there was a time not all that long ago when Florida was a Blue State. There was a time when South Dakota sent guys like George McGovern and Tom Daschle to the Senate, Iowa sent Tom Harkin there, and Texas elected Ann Richards as governor. Now we get the likes of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis from Florida, Kristi Noem from South Dakota, and from Texas we have Ted Cruz, Greg Abbott, and Ken Paxton. How low can we go?
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