Loretta Perfectus Walsh becomes the first female sailor in the United States Navy

Loretta Perfectus Walsh joined the U.S. Navy, something that only became a legal possibility two days prior when first authorized by the Secretary of the Navy.  She joined at the rank of Chief Yeoman.

 Navy recruiting poster aimed specifically at women.

The 20 year old Walsh served throughout the war but was one of the millions of people around the world who fell victim to the 1918 flu epidemic.  Like many of those individuals, including a great aunt of mine, she was amongst those who survived the flu itself but who was left with such impaired health as a result that she ultimately died as a result of it several years later.  In her case, she died in 1925 at the age of 29.  Her service in the Navy technically ran until 1921, on a four year enlistment, but the female yeoman had been released from active service after the conclusion of World War One.

The Trump Budget. Guns, no butter, but maybe less pork? And Dangerous Assumptions

As loyal readers of this blog already know, I am not a Trump fan.  I'm not a Clinton fan either, and I think the  Democrats blew this past election as, in their heart of hearts, the party is controlled by those for whom 1973 is still with us and they won't let control of the party go until their in their graves for a decade.  The ongoing bizarre presence of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi as Democratic spokesmen is proof of that.

But I will say, to my surprise a bit, that Trump has so far been perhaps the only President in living memory who came into  office with an agenda, even an extreme agenda, and stuck with it.  And, like it or not, he's been pretty successful so far, for the most part, in getting it moving.  Chuck coming on television and complaining about it hasn't done that much. To the extent that he hasn't gotten what he's want, it's been due to reluctant Republican, not Democrat, backstage maneuvering and the Courts.  The Democrats have come across so far like limp, 1973 flavored, noodles.

Which is why when Democrats come out and declare the Trump budget dead on arrival I don't think we need to listen too much. The same party that figured they'd coronated a Boomer Queen and buried that nasty experimentation with the young (if that's what President Obama was) and which brings out the the Greatest Hits of The Watergate Era for the news of the day can't really be taken all that seriously.

And, after getting the dope slap for not doing what they said they'd do, the GOP has to be really careful about not passing a budget, good, bad, or something else, that doesn't do what they've claimed they'd do, in part, for the past 20 years.

So, we'd do well to actually look at it.

And, while I'm genuinely horrified by big parts of the proposed budget, I'm also finding, in spite of myself, that. . . well. . . some of this stuff really ought to be cut.  Or if not cut, then paid for.

Let's start with what I don't think we need to add spending for.  Defense, and the Wall.

Now, I'm not an enemy of the Defense Department.  And I was in the National Guard back in the day when Reagan's first budget hit and things really improved in every way, including moral, in the service.  It was a huge change.

But, and this is important, we were building up to fight a really big, but short, war with the Soviet Union. That was what we were doing.  Oh, we said we were preparing to fight 2 1/2 wars, but one of those wars was with the Soviets. In other words, we were preparing to fight World War Three.

We aren't doing that now.

We are fighting a couple of wars. And we've been quite a bit more active in Syria (bout which I cringe) since Trump took office. But the big event, war wise, will be a slow burn war against Islamic terrorists.  I doubt we can win that overnight, but at any rate, that's the type of war best fought, quite frankly, by small armies.  Units like the Special Forces, the Rangers, or the SAS fight that kind of war. . . and the Air Force.  Not so much big infantry or armor formations.

So why are we building a big conventional military?  It makes no sense at all, and its really expensive.

And the wall is pointless.

I have a post in immigration in the hopper, but I haven't gotten it out. Any way you look at it, however, the truth is that we now have a net population loss to Mexico.  The whole big Mexican illegal immigration problem is over, and it started being over during the Obama Administration.

Besides, the whole sneaking over the river and into Texas thing is so, well, 1970s.  Not that it doesn't happen, but it isn't the vehicle for illegal immigration, for the most part, anymore.  It might be a little for smuggling, but that's not the problem we're supposedly trying to address.

So, you want to address illegal immigration?  Don't build a wall. Enforce the immigration laws inside the United States and punish Americans who hire illegal aliens. That would do it.  We're not going to do that.  Why not?  I have no idea other than that Trump said he was going to build a wall, his supporters believe that building a wall will do something, so he's going to do it.

Okay, now what about the cuts.

A lot of the cuts are deep and even shocking.  Some of the individual cuts, maybe all of them, create gasps in certain quarters that have specific interest in them.  For instances, the ABA is noting that the proposed budget eliminates funding for the Legal Services Corp, which is a Federally funded entity that provides legal aid for the poor.   Does it provide a service worth providing?  I think so.  We would have a less just society without it and, for the most part, I don't think the state's would fill in the gaps.  Should it be paid for?  Well, if we have it, it should be paid for.

What else fits in this category, i.e., things that are just flat out cut.  There's quite a list:

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program

• Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy

• African Development Foundation

• Appalachian Regional Commission

• Chemical Safety Board

• Community Development Block Grant

• Community Development Financial Institutions Fund

• Community Services Block Grant

• Corporation for National and Community Service

• Corporation for Public Broadcasting

• Delta Regional Authority

• Denali Commission

• Economic Development Administration

• Essential Air Service program

• Global Climate Change Initiative

• Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Chesapeake Bay

• HOME Investment Partnerships Program,

Homeownership Opportunity Program

• Institute of Museum and Library Services

• Inter-American Foundation

• US Trade and Development Agency

• Legal Services Corporation

• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program

• McGovern-Dole International Food for Education program

• Minority Business Development Agency, under Commerce

• National Endowment for the Arts

• National Endowment for the Humanities

• NASA's Office of Education

• Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation

• Northern Border Regional Commission

• Overseas Private Investment Corporation

• State Energy Program

• Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants

• TIGER transportation grants

• United States Institute of Peace

• United States Interagency Council on Homelessness

• Weatherization Assistance Program

• Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

None of these programs is individually large.  And none of them make up a significant part of the budget.  But they do all add to it. While each will have their defenders, there truly does become a point, in the philosophy of tax, where you have to ask is taxing just for a program.

That may sound like an odd way to look at it, but taxation is one of the primary aspects of sovereignty.  Only sovereign entities can tax.  An entity doing the same thing that isn't a sovereign would be committing extortion doing the exact same thing.  It's legal, because the sovereign does it.

Which brings us to the budget. At the end of the day, we have to ask if forcing cash  out of individual wallets, or taking loans from the unborn to pay for things now, is just.  If we can say it likely is, then that's one thing.  But we should be careful.

Just turning to these entities again, some, while they no doubt do vital work, ought to go.  The Weatherization Assistance Program, for example, probably does vital work. But vital enough to tax everyone for?  Maybe, but it ought to be justified.

What about the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars?  Well, I doubt it deserves my tax money, frankly.  Indeed most of these are likely on fairly shaky ground, no doubt all deserving in their day, but are they collectively deserving now?  Some no doubt are, some no doubt are not.

Only the big ones, in relative terms, or the controversial ones, will receive a lot of attention.  The National Endowments (Art and Humanities) will receive a lot of attention that way.

These are interesting in and of themselves as the classic way that the sovereign sponsored arts and the humanities was when it engaged in a public project.  Great works of art have been done at public expense, through the sovereign serving itself.  I do not mean to suggest this is bad. Great monuments and buildings stand out as examples everywhere.  Which points out something that's often missed. Art, and the humanities, are always tied to sponsors in some fashion. 

In Europe most of the great art of earlier eras, which makes up most of the great art, was sponsored by the Church and the Sovereigns.  And for their own purposes.  Which doesn't mean that they are not great. What's never been done is to simply fund art or the humanities.  

Now, these grants do more than that. But we have to ask, as part of this, if funding in the fashion in which they are funded through these endowments serves a taxing authority justifiable goal.

Let's look at the NEA.  It states that:

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.

Should the Federal government be taxing to do that?  Should it be doing it at all?

One of the things the NEA is now doing is sort of campaigning for itself.  It's website has a statement about being cut and notes that it cannot campaign but that it expects this to be an active area of discussion. That's promoting, in very mild form, a campaign to save itself.

It's website also has a selection of programs and what not that sound fun and are no doubt educational. But, for example, should the NEA be sponsoring an April 3 jazz concert in Washington D.C. on my dime.  Frankly, probably not.  What about the NEH? Well, because I like some of the NEH programs quite a bit I'd be very sorry to see them go, but the same analysis has to be done. Is it just to tax for them?

If it is, and this is the rub, then its also just for anyone Administration to back only those that serve the interest of the government as they see it.  People hate that idea, but that's the gist of public funding. . . it has to be for a public purpose as the public defines it.

All of this, of course, deals with just the programs that are eliminated. What about those that are cut?  Well, the same analysis would apply.

Probably every single person could go through the list of things being cut and find things they very strongly disagree with.  For example, I strongly disagree with cutting anything having to do with science.  Funding science, it seems to me, is in our national best interest and even perhaps fits in the category of national defense in a real sense.  I'd favor funding science over the massive boost in funding to the military as, it seems to me, our national needs in this area are great.  Likewise, I"m also opposed to any cuts that cut funding for the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture.

What about the Department of Education?  We've only had that department since the 1970s, contrary to what people think. Education is a massively important aspect of real life and perhaps this brings to a head how we intent to approach it. Right now, we approach it in a highly balkanized fashion. We have a national department of education, state departments of education, and local school boards.  What is the role of each? We seemingly have never figured that out. An argument can be made for any of these, but its time to have that argument.

How about the Department of Housing? Well, having dealt with it, I'd be in favor of completely eliminating it.  And I'm not joking.  It flat out ought to go, and tomorrow.

What about Transportation?  Well, here we need to figure out what we expect.  We started a national transportation system with the arrival of the automobile, and have kept it ever since.  It's a big country, and we're complaining about infrastructure collapse. Does cutting Transportation address that?  I think not.

And the EPA?  The EPA is a constant target from the right, but the attacks on it do not seem justified to me.  It has a big job its trying to do and only a national entity can do it.

So, in short, when I went through these I find that I support quite a few things being cut, I don't support some others, and some I just don't know what they do.  

Which would suggest that if nothing else, a debate on Federal spending, a real one, is needed. We're probably not going to get that, but it is time.  And part of that debate has to be on actually paying for things.  Taxes are not intrinsically evil or anything.  Not paying for what you expect to receive, however, is really a problem.

WHEELS THAT WON THE WEST®: The Tranquility of Days Gone By

WHEELS THAT WON THE WEST®: The Tranquility of Days Gone By: Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of the twenty-first century, it’s easy to pine away, wishing for the easier, more peaceful days of old....

Vera Lynn born. And today is her 100th birthday.

Vera Lynn, was born on this day in 1917 as Vera Welch.

This is her 100th birthday, and she remains very much alive.

Vera Lynn, 1941

Lynn sang the enormously popular British World War Two song We'll Meet Again. The hugely popular song, featuring Lynn's very strong voice, was featured again ironically in the 1960s in the film Dr. Strangelove in the final sequences.  A remastered version once again hit the charts just a few years ago..

She also sang the very popular wartime song The White Cliff's of Dover.  

She is the only person whose hit have spanned from the period of inception of charts to the present day.

Branch Rickey hired to manage the Cardinals

Branch Rickey, 1912

Branch Rickey was hired on this date in 1917 to manage the Cardinals.

Rickey debuted in professional sports as a football player in 1902, playing for the Shelby Blues.  The following year however, he switched to baseball, signing with a minor league team.  In 1905 he moved to the majors and played with the St. Louis Browns.  His fortunes fell, however, and he was traded to the New York Highlanders where he set a negative record for stolen bases against him.  He retired after 1907.  

He thereafter attended the University of Michigan where he obtained a law degree.  While in law school he became the schools baseball coach.  In 1913 he returned to the Browns as a member of the managment.

His run with the Cardinals in 1917 was short, as he left to join the Army the same year.  He returned to St. Louis after the war.  He moved to the Dodgers in 1942.  While with the Dodgers he signed Jackie Robinson.

Monday at the Bar: For the want of a comma

And it goes on from there:  http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/16-1901P-01A.pdf

Revenge of the Oxford Comma?

The Wyoming Tribune for March 20, 1917. Colorado Cavalry at Ft. Russell. Lack of coat lethal?

Wyoming was contemplating adding cavalry to its National Guard, but Colorado had it. 

Colorado cavalrymen were disembarking at Ft. D. A. Russell.  They were demobilizing late in comparison to the Wyoming National Guard.

And one Wyoming National Guardsmen wouldn't be called back up for World War One.  He'd died of pneumonia. 

Pvt. Charles Schmidt of Company B, Lander Wyoming, had become ill after having to turn in his overcoat at Ft. D. A. Russell.  Apparently a lot of men were sick, and that likely explains the delay we recently read about in discharging from active service the men from Laramie, who made up the medical company.

March in Wyoming is cold and these papers have had stories of a cold spell being in the works in this time frame.  It seems a lot of men were sick and frankly viruses going through troops is a pretty common thing in military units.  Overcoats were an item of equipment, not a uniform item, which may sound odd to readers who have no military experience, but that's exactly how field jackets were viewed when my father served in the Air Force during the Korean War and how they were viewed when I was in the National Guard in the 1980s.  The National Guard had denied that it was taking the coats from the men when the story broke, but obviously there was some truth to the story for some units.

Would an overcoat have kept Pvt. Schmidt alive?  It sure couldn't have hurt.

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the West: Post Chapel. Prisoner of War Camp. Ft. Robinson Nebraska

Churches of the West: Post Chapel. Prisoner of War Camp. Ft. Robinson Nebraska

This is the second time I've posted a photo of a bare remnant of a church, but in this case, it's a much more recent structure. This is where the Post Chapel for the Prisoner of War Camp at Ft. Robinson Nebraska once was.  None of the original structures of the POW camp remain, and most is grass prairie, but where the chapel was is now this small stand of bushes.

Today In Wyoming's History: March 19, 1917; The Supreme Court upheld the eight-hour work day for railroads in Wilson v. New

Today In Wyoming's History: March 19: 1917     The Supreme Court upheld the eight-hour work day for railroads in Wilson v. New 

It was a six to three decision.

Women authorized to join U.S. Navy

Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels authorized the enlistment of women in the United State Naval Reserve Force.  Both officers and enlisted personnel were authorized to serve under Class 4 of the 1916 United States Naval Reserve Force under his act.  A new rank structure of Yeoman (F)  was created for basic female Navy personnel.

Training was obviously significantly different and involved class work for their intended role as couriers, draftsmen, fingerprint experts, masters-at-arms, mess attendants, paymasters, recruiters, switchboard operators, and translators

Female sailors of the U.S. Navy, 1918.

Hoy Oilfield near Enid, Oklahoma.

Copyrighted on this day in 1917.

The Russian Royal Family.

As published by the Bain News Service on this date, in 1917.

Poster Saturday: Blue Fund

Excélsior, Mexico City's second oldest newspaper, founded

And there was certainly a lot of news for it to follow.

Mexico, which was still fighting a civil war, but which was slowly seeing the Constitutionalist solidify their hold on the country, and which had recently adopted a new constitution and formed a new government, was much in the news.  In the US it continued to hit the headlines nearly daily, thanks to German blundering efforts to entice the country into a war with the United States, should the US enter the war against Germany.

In the midst of that, Rafael Alducin founded the Excélsior.

Rafael Alducin

He was just 28 years old at the time.  After his death at age 35 publication of the paper was taken over by a worker's cooperative. It remains in publication today, although cooperative ownership collapsed in 2006 after the fall of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, after which the paper was sold to new ownership.

Blog Mirror: Feb 18, 2013 9:40 pm - Dead Presidents

Blog Mirror:  Feb 18, 2013 9:40 pm - Dead Presidents

On the night of March 18, 1917, several hundred Republican leaders gathered in the Union League Club in New York City.  With German U-boats engaging in unrestricted warfare and sinking American ships on the high seas despite United States neutrality in World War I, the Republicans demanded that President Woodrow Wilson declare war against Kaiser Wilhelm II’s belligerent empire, infuse fresh warriors into the stagnant European war, and prove that the U.S. was a truly international power that was only getting stronger in the midst of the American Century. . .

Best Post of the Week of March 12, 2017

Bah, Daylight Savings Time

 

The feline musings of Judge Posner

The Child Newsies of Oklahoma City, March 15, 1917

 

Our Lady Derzhavnaya, Icon, found in Kolomenskoye, Russia after having been lost during Napoleanic invasion.

Working With Animals

1917 The Year that made Casper what it is. Or maybe it didn't. Or maybe it did.

I have no before and after pictures for Casper that would cleanly show what the town looked like in January, 1916 and then later looked like in December, 1917.  Indeed, while there are a couple of "birdseye" photos below, they aren't quite right.  If I did have such a photograph, it would be quite the contrast .  . .

Ireland

 

The Laramie Boomerang for March 18, 1917. Extra Edition

Pancho Villa was poised to attack Chihuahua again, which made the front page of the Laramie Boomerang, but which surely didn't cause the extra edition. The increasingly disastrous Atlantic news was causing that.

Ireland

 

Ireland was not converted but created by Christianity, as a stone church is created; and all its elements were gathered as under a garment, under the genius of St. Patrick. It was the more individual because the religion was mere religion, without the secular conveniences. Ireland was never Roman, and it was always Romanist.

G.K. Chesterton: A Short History of England, and brought here due to the G. K. Chesterton Blog.

A statement that remains true.  Ireland, without the church, is a mere European state, and nothing more.   One of many.  Its remained Ireland because of the Church, and the Irish are the Irish for the same reason.  The same could be said, we should note, for Quebec and the Quebecois, which are distinct only because of the church, and without it is nothing more than a geographic expression with interesting ethnicity.

St. Patrick's Day, 1917: British Pathe

British Pathe video of St. Patrick's Day, 1917.

Roshanara, and Ratan Devi on March 17, 1917 in Manhattan

 

Everything was tumbling into war, but entertainment hadn't stopped.  Roshanara (Olive Katherine Craddock), and Ratan Devi (Alice Coomara) on March 17, 1917 in Manhattan.

Olive Craddock was an Anglo Indian woman who grew up in India and learned to dance Indian dances there. She later made a career of it, even copyrighting ten of her dances.  Alice Coomara, aka Alice Ethel Richardson Coomaraswamy, nee Richardson, was English but had learned Indian music while living with her husband in India and performed under the stage name Ratan Devi.