Monday, November 10, 2025
1775 U.S. Marine Corps was founded
1793 'Fête de la Raison' in France: Catholic churches, including the Notre Dame Cathedral, are ceremoniously de-Christianized and transformed into Temples of Reason
1940 Walt Disney began serving as an informer to 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 at 10, up at 4. The ankle area was tingling and a bit uncomfortable when I stood up, but not painful. I'm feeling just a little nauseous; whazupwidat? I had two slices of sourdough bread to settle my stomach. We got the water turned off to the 3 outside spigots yesterday. After sunup, sparrows or finches (or siskins) show up and settle on the tray feeder, with their feathers puffed up to trap some body heat in the frigid weather. It amazes me that they can tolerate and survive Wisconsin's winter weather. 26°, wind chill 9°, high of 36°.
Meds, etc. Morning meds. Chlorthalidone 25 mg. around 5 a.m. Reloaded my weekly medicine dispenser from the 12.45s to the 25s. My hands and left arm have been worse in terms of tingling, numbness, and pain since the EMG. I re-bandaged and wrapped my left leg. The ankle and surrounding skin seems considerably better this morning, making me think I can stop taking the nauseating antibiotics. I'll go to Walgreens to try to pick up another gauze bandage roll; I'm almost out of the VA stuff.
Marine Corps Birthday exchange with Col. Lawrence O. Anderson, USMCR:
Larry Anderson:
Happy Birthday, Skipper!
Charles Clausen:
Backatcha, Sir! 250, and feeling every year. Semper fi.
"Skipper" is a Marine Corps term for captains, my last rank on active duty.
Some thoughts from last year's journal on my Marine history.
Today is the
249th250th 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 founding 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 decision-makers? 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, Bill Space, Pete Peterson, 'Moon' Mullen, Pete Powell, Frank Peterson, Phil Swaim, John Boyan, Dick Coffman, Tom Devitt, Jerry Nugent, Pat Townsend, and so many others, fellow Marines, good people, decent human beings. 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.
My FB posting today:
Today is the 250th Marine Corps Birthday, and Marines around the world will mark the occasion in various traditional and respectful ways depending on their locations and their missions. I still think sadly of my friend in Vietnam, Bill "Moon" Mullen and of this family. I learned of his being shot down over Laos when I had been transferred from Vietnam to a Marine base on Okinawa. Remembering it, I re-experience the feeling of numbness I had when learning of it. Our government lied to his wife and children about where he was shot down, because it wasn't admitting that we were bombing Laos and Cambodia as well as North and South Vietnam. I remember my loss of innocence about being repeatedly lied to by our government during that time, which led to a lifelong skepticism, indeed cynicism, about what we are told by the politicians and bureaucrats who control our government. Just as I can't believe what I am told by our own government, I am just as skeptical, indeed cynical, about information from other governments, including those involved in the Ukraine/Russia conflict and the Israel/Hamas conflict. It is truly said that the first casualty of war is always Truth, and that applies whether we are being provided information by our friends or our enemies. All governments lie to us, repeatedly and regularly. Our current government, of course, is establishing the gold standard in this regard. We need to be at least skeptical, if not cynical, especially about information provided by those engaged in warfare.
Some other anniversary thoughts. (1) Can we imagine the American government, or perhaps the government of some state, establishing a "Fête de la Raison', or something similar here? I don't think so. It would be seen as an attack on religion, which it was, and superstition, and irrationality. Indeed, how much of our daily lives would fairly be subject to attack by a celebration of Reason? How much of political discourse, a treasure trove of bullshit? How much of advertising, another one? And, conspiracy theories? We swim each day in a sea of bullshit designed to influence the way we think, the way we feel, and the way we act. And the bullshit is used by the Influencers, the Hidden Persuaders, the Masters of the Universe, because it works. It is supported by extensive, carefully designed research on how susceptible we are to being influenced as desired by the bullshitters, the peddlers of lies and half-truths. I think of the Waco Kid's memorable lines from Mel Brooks's Blazing Saddles: "You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know, morons."
(2) Walt Disney's, father of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Bambi, and Snow White, was a snitch for the FBI in the 1940s, the targets being "subversives." Who were "subversives" in those years? Were they on the left or on the right? Look at what happened after the Big War with the House Un-American Activities Committee and with Wisconsin's and Marquette Law School's own Tail-gunner Joe McCarthy in the 50s.
(3) I personally remember the days of long-distance operators and of 'party lines.' I was about 10 years old when 'direct dialing' became possible. This was considered great 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. The cost is borne not by the corporations or their shareholders, but by the 'little guys,' the employees, the operators like Aunt Monica, Edith Aquavia, and Mrs. Stack. So it goes. Always and ever.
(4) Somewhere in the basement, I have a snapshot of my Mom and Dad standing in front of the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. I can only imagine what thoughts must have been in each of their heads during that experience. I could write my thoughts about their thoughts for the next two days, but I got a start on it in my memoir, which I won't copy and paste here, for want of space.
(5) Regarding Sesame Street, there was little good news in 1969, but Sesame Street was at or near the top of the list, despite the claims of the far-right that it was communist-inspired.
(6) 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. Last year, I wrote these words and wondered how low we could go? After 2016 and 2024, we got the answer, but, with three more years left of a corrupt, cruel, and malignant Trump administration, there is more to come. We still haven't seen how low we can go. As I often say, God help us, but we know he won't.
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