Showing posts with label It was because of World War Two. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Sunday, May 30, 1943. Clash in Los Angeles.

A clash between servicemen and Mexican American Zoot Suiters set the stage for the Zoot Suit Riots that would erupt several days later.

The conflict, like so many over the centuries, erupted in a contest for the potential affection of women who were nearby. They commenced when a sailor, fearing he was going to be attacked, grabbed the arm of a Zoot Suiter and was badly attacked himself.

The All-American Girls Baseball League began its first 108-game season with four teams (Rockford, Kenosha, Racine, and South Bend).

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Mid Week At Work. The Danger of Ossified Punditry.

This slams a post by Robert Reich, who as readers here know I have sort of a love/hate reading relationship with.

Reich's an old liberal in an era in which it seems the ancient hands of the Baby Boom Generation just won't let go of the levers of government, even though they started operating those levers when they were mechanical rather than electronic. Given that, like all people do, they tend to have an understanding of problems based on the world of their youth, rather than reality,

Witness:

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Robert Reich

@RBReich

This is the graph everyone needs to see for International Workers' Day.

2:01 PM · May 1, 2023

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Lex Anteinternet

@Lex_Anteinterne

I suspect Mr. Reich doesn't appreciate what this illustrates, which would principally be the introduction of technology more than anything else.  Technological advances are making individual workers more productive, and therefore decreasing their need, and depressing wages.

Lex Anteinternet

@Lex_Anteinterne

By way of illustration, how many workers in heavy industry in 1955, when this graph basically peaks for union membership, were needed to do a task, as opposed to 2023?

Lex Anteinternet

@Lex_Anteinterne

Additionally, this graph goes from the point at which US industry was the major western survivor of World War Two, and therefore serving the world, through the point where much of American industry left to go overseas.  That was a joint project of the left and the right. . .

Lex Anteinternet

@Lex_Anteinterne

gave rise to Rust Belt discontent, and fed the populist movement the nation is now contending with.  I'm not saying the decline in Union membership is a good thing, but I am saying that the way politicians and pundits seem to imagine . . .

Lex Anteinternet

@Lex_Anteinterne

44s

American industry as frozen in time when in fact the march of time and technology has totally changed the landscape needs to be recognized.  So, yes, Mr. Reich, this really is the May 1 graph people need to see and understand, yourself included.

Lex Anteinternet?

This blog has been around since 2009. In the very first post, we asked the question: "What the heck is this blog about?"

Our answer to the question was: "The intent of this blog is to try to explore and learn a few things about the practice of law prior to the current era. That is, prior to the internet, prior to easy roads, and the like. How did it work, how regional was it, how did lawyers perceive their roles, and how were they perceived?"

We also noted: "Part of the reason for this, quite frankly, has something to do with minor research for a very slow moving book."

All of this is still true, but the focus of the blog has changed somewhat. It now focuses on the era from 1890 to 1920 in general, rather than on the law and lawyers specifically, although that may be far from obvious. It's also become the location where we comment on anything we feel moved to comment on.

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