Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist, 63d Edition. Strange Bedfellows.

 

Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.

William Shakespeare, The Tempest

The environmental populists?

Politics, as they say, makes for strange bedfellows.  But how strange, nonetheless still surprises.

Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who rose to that position by pitching to the populist far right, which dominates the politics of the GOP right now, and which appears to be on the verge of bringing the party down nationally, has tacked in the wind in a very surprising direction.  He appeared this past week at a meeting in Natrona County to oppose a proposed gravel pit project at the foot of Casper Mountain.  He actually pitched for the upset residents in the area to mobilize and take their fight to Cheyenne, stating:

We have a very delicate ecosystem, the fragility up there, the fragility of the flows … the proximity to domestic water uses. All of those things should have led to a distinct treatment by the Office of State Lands, and that did not happen.

I am, frankly, stunned.  

I frankly never really expected Mr. Gray to darken visage of the Pole Stripper monument on the east side of Casper's gateway, which you pass by on the road in from Cheyenne again, as he's not from here and doesn't really have a very strong connection to the state, although in fairness that connection would have been to Casper, where he was employed by his father's radio station and where he apparently spent the summers growing up (in an unhappy state of mind, according to one interview of somebody who knew him then).  Gray pretty obviously always had a political career in mind and campaigned from the hard populist right from day one, attempting at first to displace a conservative house member unsuccessfully.

We have a post coming up which deals with the nature of populism, and how it in fact isn't conservatism.  Gray was part of the populist rise in the GOP, even though his background would more naturally have put him in the conservative camp, not the populist one.  But opportunity was found with populists, who now control the GOP state organization.  The hallmark of populism, as we'll explore elsewhere, is a belief in the "wisdom of the people", which is its major failing, and why it tends to be heavily anti-scientific and very strongly vested in occupations that people are used to, but which are undergoing massive stress.  In Wyoming that's expressed itself with a diehard attitude that nothing is going on with the climate and that fossil fuels will be, must have, and are going to dominate the state's economy forever.   The months leading up to the recent legislative session, and the legislative session itself, demonstrated this with Governor Gordon taking criticism for supporting anything to address carbon concerns.  Put fairly bluntly, because a large percentage of Wyoming's rank and file workers depend on the oil and gas industry, and things related to it, any questioning on anything tends to be taken as an attack on "the people".

Natrona County has had a gravel supply problem for quite a while and what the potential miner seeks to do here is basically, through the way our economy works, address it.  There would be every reason to suspect that all of the state's politicians who ran to the far right would support this, and strongly.  But they aren't.

The fact that Gray is not, and is citing environmental concerns, comes as a huge surprise.  But as noted, given his background, he's probably considerably more conservative than populist, but has acted as politicians do, and taken aid and comfort where it was offered.  Tara Nethercott ran as a conservative and lost for the same office.

But here's the thing.

That gravel is exactly the sort of thing that populists, if they're true to what they maintain they stand for, ought to support.  It's good for industry, and the only reason to oppose the mining is that 1) it's in a bad place in terms of the neighbors and 2) legitimate environmental concerns, if there are any.  But that's exactly the point.  You really can't demand that the old ways carry on, until they're in your backyard.  

Truth be known, given their nature, a lot of big environmental concerns are in everyone's backyard right now.

The old GOP would have recognized that nationally, and wouldn't be spending all sorts of time back in DC complaining about electric vehicles.  And if people are comfortable with things being destructive elsewhere, they ought to be comfortable with them being destructive right here.  If we aren't, we ought to be pretty careful about it everywhere.

There actually is some precedent for this, FWIW.  A hallmark of Appalachian populism was the lamenting of what had happened to their region due to coal mining.  John Prine's "Paradise" in some ways could be an environmental populist anthem.

Hard to feel sorry.

Far right goofball Candace Owens was fired from the Daily Wire. She stated that she "cannot be silenced", but frankly the gadfly has gone from sort of being a token black populist to a has been already.

That no doubt sounds extremely harsh, but frankly it's true. Owens went from being sort of a snarky populist commenter to writing some real wack job stuff, at which time her popularity dropped off.  Part of her popularity was because she was black, and we don't think of populists being African American, although some are.  Once again, black conservatives and black populists are not the same thing.  Her status as a rare black populist, and a highly attractive woman at that, didn't hurt in her getting attention. 

I don't know what her fan base is, but this is all a sort of tragedy.  Always abrasive and controversial, her early commentary was not completely without merit.  She's really dropped off in the recent year or years and probably won't really revive.  She's sort of like Tucker Carlson that way, being a person of obvious high intelligence who really went down a rabbit hole.  Carlson looked like a complete fool with his recent trip to Russia. We hope that Owens has a legitimate conservative revival, or at least isn't touring North Korea to get a one up on Carlson.

The Dead Elephants.

There was an Irish street gang in New York at one time that bore the name The Dead Rabbits.  The House GOP is rapidly becoming The Dead Elephants.

Something is really going on.

Filled with disgust, some Republicans in the House are abandoning the House well before their terms are up. In doing that, they're setting themselves free from something. That something might just be failure, but at this rate, it suggests something else.  They almost seem set on sabotaging their party, except their party isn't a party.

In 1944 when it became obvious to those who cared to see, and many simply did not, that Germany was going down in defeat, not only did conservative German army officers but a few, albeit very few, members of the SS began to plot against him.  It's notable that the cover the July 20 bombing was given was that it was an attempted assassination by the SS.  At least one member of the SS was actually part of the plot, and the head of the Berlin police was far from a liberal democrat.  Right at the end of the war Himmler was conspiring against Hitler and notably didn't take a place among the suicides at the bunker.

The point is that when people who have been part of a movement begin bailing out, they sense defeat and don't want to be associated with it.

An added point is that with Donald Trump the effective Speaker of the House, and Marjorie Taylor Green acting as the Howler Monkey Sergeant at Arms, Trump's destructiveness has reached a new level.  Republicans lost the Oval Office in 2020 and the Senate in 2022.  Their House representation declined to perilous levels in the same time period. They were supposed to do well throughout it.  Now, not only is Trump causing the GOP to lose at the ballot box, he's causing Republicans to abandon their posts. 

In only one more Republicans leaves, the House will be deadlocked and Mike Johnson out the door.  If two leave, the Democrats are in control.  There will be replacements, but there's no guarantee that they'll be Republicans.

The Conservatives v. The Populists

While, once again, we'll have more on this later, we'll note here that the primary race in the state this year is really shaping up to be a fight between two parties, the Conservatives and the Populists, all of whom register as Republicans.  

Some Conservatives have registered to try to displace Populists, and some Populists are doing the same in regard to Conservatives.  Of note, the importation of out of state Populists is becoming really obvious, that having been a barely noticed aspect of it until very recently.

Populists are going to be howling that their Republican contenders are "RINO"s in short order, when in fact it's really the other way around, and the Populists are a sort of Neo Dixiecrat.  Republicans are late in rising to their challenge, but they are doing it.  

The primary may be quite interesting.

Last prior edition:

Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist, 62nd Edition. The trowel and musket edition.

Apostolic Christianity, Catholic, Donald Trump, Education, homosexuality, Israeli Hamas War, law, Mormon, Pope Francis, religion, Sex, theology, Zeitgeist

Saturday, September 29, 1923. Mandates and Floods.

The British Mandate for Palestine went into effect, as did the French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon.

With this, the British Empire, and I'd guess French Empire reached their maximum territorial extents.

The grim news kept coming in on the recent Cole Creek disaster.

Apparently the floods occured almost everywhere in Wyoming, and into Nebraska.

Friday, September 28, 1923. The terrible news.

The news of the prior day was in the paper, much of it horrific locally.

Abyssinia, known better as Ethiopia, was admitted to the League of Nations.

The Giants took the National League pennant, beating the Brooklyn Robins 3 to 0.

September 27, 1923. Disaster at Cole Creek.

Today In Wyoming's History: September 27: 1923  Thirty railroad passengers were killed when a CB&Q train wrecked at the Cole Creek Bridge, which had been washed out due to a flood, in Natrona County.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

It was a horrific event.

Flooding had taken out the railroad bridge over Cole Creek near Casper Wyoming, which was unknown to the railroad.   The night train to Denver approached the bridge on a blind curve, and the headlights detected its absence too late to stop the train.  Half of the people on the train were killed.

It's the worst disaster in Wyoming's railroad history.

Italian forces withdrew from Corfu.

Bulgarian troops took Ferdinand, ending the September Uprising.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court allowed a referendum to proceed to recall the legislature to take up impeachment.

German Army Maj. Bruno Buchrucker sent out an order directing 4,500 men of the paramilitary Black Reichswehr to assemble to overthrow the government on September 30.

The Soviet Union deported anarchists Senya Fleshin and Molly Steimer to Germany after they went on a hunger strike.

Col. M.C. Buckey & Laddee Buck, the the half-brother of President Warren Harding’s Laddie Boy, who belonged to the Coolidge family. Mrs. Coolidge changed his name to Paul. September 27, 1923.

Friday, August 13, 1943. Resumption of bombing of Italy.

A two week Allied hiatus of bombing of Italian targets came to an end.  Milan and Turin were struck by the RAF, which also struck Berlin for the first time since May 21. U.S. bombers began a heavier attack on Rome and a precision bombing attack on Italian rail yards at San Lorenzo and Vittorio.  The US bombed an Austrian target for the first time.

Fr. Jakob Gapp, age 46, was executed by the Germans.

Fr. Gapp was an Austrian with outspoken anti-Nazi views and had gone into exile, first in France and then in Spain, as a result.  He'd been kidnapped by German agents posing as refugees needing help to cross the Spanish border and sentenced to death.  He was beatified on November 24, 1996. 

In Natrona County, the high was 87.4 F and the low 52.3F.

Tuesday, July 31, 1923. Monitoring Harding

The nation was tracking President Hardin's health:

The Tribune was optimistic on that score.  And it was also anticipating the upcoming county rodeo.

Harding's speech planned for that day was delivered as a written statement.

The High Court of Justice in Ireland ruled that a state of war in that country was over and 13,000 prisoners were entitled to release. They were not, as the following day the Public Safety Act of 1923 was enacted, causing their ongoing internment.

Parliament passed the bill sponsored by Lady Astor prohibiting the sale of alcohol to anyone under 18 years of age.

Tuesday, July 24, 1923. Natrona County Floods. The end of World War One?

 Flooding was ravaging Natrona County, Wyoming.

The Treaty of Lausanne was signed in Switzerland.  It was the last treaty relating to World War One.

The Hague Academy of International Law was inaugurated.

Friday, July 13, 1923. Doubling down.

 

France, undeterred by criticism and results, determined to into German deeper.

And there was an attempted jail break at the Natrona County jail.

What became the famous Hollywood sign, which originally said Hollywoodland, was dedicated.  It promoted a housing development.   The sign would read in that fashion until 1949 when it was shortened.

Paleontologist lead by U.S. expeditionist Roy Chapman found fossilized dinosaur eggs in Mongolia, the first people to do so and realize what they were.

Hermann Ehrhardt, being held by Germany on high treason for his role in the Kapp Putsch, escaped.

Ehrhardt, back left of car, during putsch.

Ehrhardt, an Imperial German naval officer, lead the Marine Brigade Ehrhardt during the attempt to overthrow the government.  Ehrhardt fled to Switzerland, but returned in September.  This would establish a pattern for the rest of his active life, as the German government later sought to arrest him again, and then finally he feld to escape the Night of the Long Knives. As that would indicate, while he was in the far right, and anti Semitic, he was also opposed to the Nazis.

Tuesday, July 10, 1923. End of Paraguayan Civil War, Flooding in Natrona County.

The Paraguayan Civil War ended former President Manuel Gondra and his supporters, the Gondraists, entering the capital.  It was the second Paraguayan civil war in a decade, with the leaders of opposite sides in the 1922-23 conflict having been on the same side in the 1911 conflict.  A Third Paraguayan Civil War would be fought in 1947.

The Paraguayan military had been split by the conflict, with various units on either side.

The Curia Julia, the seat of the Roman Senate, was purchased by the Italian government.

Marguerite Ailibert, originally a prostitute and later a French courtesan, who had a wartime affair with Prince Edward, Prince of Wales and later king, shot and killed her husband Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey.  They were vacationing in London. They'd been married six months.  It was her second marriage.

Defended by Edward Marshall Hall she was found innocent of murder.  She died in Paris in 1971 at age 80.

There are probably a pile of lessons in Ailibert's story, one of which is that the fame of lawyers, and Hall was famous, doesn't survive their own era as a rule.  Ailibert was an attrative woman, and skilled in her craft obviously, which serves as a warning in and of itself.

President Harding visited Juneau.  Based on a photo of his visit, it was rainy.

It had been rainy the day before in Natrona County, Wyoming, causing disastrous flooding.

Going Feral: Hog Wash

Going Feral: Hog Wash:

Hog Wash

That's how the conservation group Center for Wester Priorities characterized a three-page letter written by Wyoming populist legislator Bob Ide which asserted that the sale of the Marton Ranch in Natrona County to the Federal Government required the state legislature's permission.

A University of Wyoming professor confirmed that state law did not support Ide's position and frankly, it's abundantly clear that the claim is not only extreme, but baseless.

Sunday, May 6, 1923. Familiar places.

The big news was the terrible mine explosion in Colorado, but I linked this in due to the news about a Boy Scout injured on Garden Creek, above Rotary Park.

Rotary Park is still there, and a very popular spot locally.

The mine explosion killed ten miners.

Apparently it was the start of Baby Week.

First annual rodeo.  I didn't realize that the rodeo got started this late, which means this year may be the 100th Anniversary of the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo.

Or not.  Last year, the rodeo advertised itself as having its 75th anniversary, which would place the first one in 1948.

Seems unlikely it was that late, but there's probably a reason they calculate it that way.

Over 300 passengers were taken hostage by bandits on the Tianjin-Pukou Railway's Blue Express train as it passed through Lincheng in Shandong Province.

The first World Congress of Jewish Women opened in Vienna.

The British Fascisti, the UK's first fascist party, was formed by Rotha Lintorn-Orman.

A youthful figure in the formation of the Girl Guides, Lintorn-Orman was from a military family. She served as a member of the Women's Volunteer Reserve, and the Scottish Women's Hospital Corps in World War One.  Her conversion to fascism was motivated by a strong sense of anti-communism combined with an admiration for Mussolini. She'd die in 1935 at age 40, at which time she was heavily dependent on drugs and alcohol, and rumors existed regarding alleged sapphic escapades.  By that time, her party had all but ceased to exist, yielding to more and less radical parties.

The fact that the UK had a fascist party at all demonstrated the drift of the times.  Ireland would soon also have one.  In both instances, they never rally amounted to more than an annoyance.

Today In Wyoming's History: "Blizzard Largest In City's History"

Today In Wyoming's History: "Blizzard Largest In City's History": 

"Blizzard Largest In City's History"

So states the Tribune in a headline.

M'eh

I’m calling bull on this one.

For one thing, snow is measured at the airport, which gets pretty high winds, I might note. This is probably the largest blizzard the airport has recorded.

Folks on the mountain found and published an article from the Easter 1973 storm in which the Trib reported the mountain got "feet", as in around 10 feet, of snow.  I vaguely recall that storm.  Was it as bad as this one?  I suspect so.

Frankly, this storm just wasn't that unusual. We were just paying attention, as we aren't used to them anymore.

We may have to get used to them again.

Saturday, November 18, 1922. Tragedies near and far.

It was Saturday on this date in 1922, and the Saturday Evening Post went to press with a female golfer, an odd choice for a time of year that's nearly winter in much of the country.

The Naval Academy formed up its midshipmen for a portrait.

United States Naval Academy Midshipmen, November 18, 1922.

On the same day, Greek residents of Gallipoli were being evacuated by sea, their city and region going over to a Turkish government that was not welcoming to Greeks, and which had entered into a treaty of population exchange with Greece.

Greeks being evacuated from Gallipoli.

While a huge tragedy was unfolding in Turkey, a smaller tragedy struck closer to home.

I know the Bolton Creek Road well, but I know of know oilfields on it, although I can think of a fwe abandoned wells.  Bear Creek enters the North Platte near where Bolton Creek does, but I don't know of any place that the Bolton Creek Road crosses it.  Having said that, there is a good modern bridge across Bear Creek, which is normally dry, on an improved road which just recently was the subject of controversy when the current owners of that ranch, the Martons, attempted to sell it to the Federal Government only to encounter the objection of the State.  Hopefully that will be worked out soon.

Anyhow, that would seem to be the probable location of this accident.

Georgetown and Bucknell played a football game.

Georgetown v. Bucknell football game.

Tuesday, October 24, 1922. Mussolini speaks and the Fascist March

Mussolini made a speech to a crowed of 60,000 diehard Fascist supporters, Blackshirts, declaring that the party would either govern by consent or seize power by marching on Rome.  Just a few days later, they'd do just that, leading Italy into tragedy.

His speech stated:

Fascists and citizens! It may be, or rather it is almost certain, that my eloquence will disappoint you, accustomed as you are to the impetuosity and rich imagery of your own orators. But since I realize my incapacity for rhetoric, I have decided to limit myself, when speaking, plain to necessity. We have gathered together here at Naples from every part of Italy to perform an act of brotherhood and love. We have with us our brothers from the borderland of betrayed Dalmatia, men who do not intend to yield. (Applause, and cries of "Long live Italian Dalmatia!") There are also the Fascists from Trieste, Istria and Venezia Tridentina, Fascists from all parts of Northern Italy, even from the islands, from Sicily and Sardinia, all come together to affirm quietly and positively the indestructibility of our united faith, which means to oppose strongly every more or less tasked attempt at autonomy or separatism.

Four years ago the Italian infantry, made great through twenty years of work and hardship, the Italian infantry in which the sons of your country were so largely represented, burst from the Piave and, having defeated the Austrians, surged on towards the Isonzo, and only the foolish democratic conception of the war prevented our victorious battalions from marching through the streets of Vienna and the highways of Budapest.

From Rome to Naples. A year ago at Rome, at one time, we found ourselves surrounded by a secret hostility, which had its origin in the misunderstandings and infamies characteristic of the uncertain political world of the capital. We have not forgotten all this.

Today we are happy that all Naples—this city which I call the big safety-reserve of the nation—welcomes us with a sincere and frank enthusiasm, which does our hearts good, both as men and Italians. For this reason I request that not the smallest incident of any kind shall disturb this meeting, for that would be a mistake, and a foolish one. I demand also, as soon as the meeting is over, that every Fascist not belonging to Naples shall leave the town immediately.

All Italy is watching this meeting, because—and let me say this without false modesty—there is not a post-war phenomenon of greater interest and originality in Europe or the world than Italian Fascism.

You certainly cannot expect from me what is usually called a big speech. I made one at Udine, another at Cremona, a third at Milan, and I am almost ashamed to speak again. But in view of the extremely grave situation in which we find ourselves today, I consider this an appropriate opportunity to establish the different points of the problem in order that individual responsibilities may be settled. The moment has arrived, in fact, when the arrow must leave the bow, or the cord, too far stretched, will break.

The Solving of the Problem. You remember that my friend Lupi and I placed before the Chamber the alternatives of this dilemma, which is not only Fascist but also national; that is to say, legality or illegality; Parliamentary conquest or revolution. By which means is Fascism to become the State? For we wish to become the State! Well! By October 3rd I had already settled the question.

When I ask for the elections, when I ask that they shall take place soon, and be regulated by a reformed electoral law, it is clear to everyone that I have chosen my path. The very urgency of my request shows that the tension of my spirit has arrived at breaking point. To have, or not to have, understood this means to hold, or not to hold, the key to the solution of the whole Italian political crisis.

The request came from me; but it also came from a party consisting of a formidably organised mass, which includes the rising generations in Italy and all the best, physically and morally, of the youth of the country; and from a party, too, which had a tremendous following among the vague and unstable public.

But, gentlemen, there is more. This request was made upon the morrow of the incidents of Bolzano and Trento, which had made plain to all eyes the complete paralysis of the Italian State, and revealed, at the same time, the no less complete efficiency of the Fascist State.

Well! In spite of all this, the inadequate Government at Rome puts the question on the footing of public safety and public order!

What we have asked the Government. The whole question has been approached in a fatally mistaken manner. Politicians ask what we want. We are not people who beat about the bush. We speak clearly. We do good to those who do good to us, and evil to those who do evil. What do we want, Fascists? We have answered quite simply: the dissolution of the present Chamber, electoral reform, and elections within a short time from now. We have demanded that the State shall abandon the ridiculous neutral position that it occupies between the national and the anti-national forces. We have asked for severe financial measures and the postponement of the evacuation of the third Dalmatic zone; we have asked for five portfolios as well as for the Commission of Aviation. We have, in fact, asked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the War Office, the Admiralty, the Ministries of Labour and of Public Works. I am sure none of you will find our requests excessive. But to complete the picture, I will add that I shall not take part with the Government in this legal solution of the problem, and the reason is obvious when you remember that to keep Fascism still under my control I must of necessity have an unrestricted sphere of action both for journalistic and polemic purposes.

A Ridiculous Answer. And what has been the Government's reply? Nothing! No; worse than that, it has given a ridiculous answer. In spite of everything, not one of the politicians has known how to pass the threshold of Montecitrio in order to look the problem of the country in the face. A miserable calculation of our strength has been made; there has been talk of Ministers without portfolios, as if this, after the more or less miserable experiences of the war, was not the culmination of human and political absurdity. There has been talk of sub-portfolios, too; but that is simply laughable! We Fascists do not intend to arrive at government by the window; we do not intend to give up this magnificent spiritual birthright for a miserable mess of ministerial pottage. Because we have what might be called the historical vision of the question as opposed to the merely political and Parliamentary view.

It is not a question of patching together a Government with a certain amount of life, but of including in the Liberal State—which has accomplished a considerable task which we shall not forget—all the forces of the rising generation of Italians which issued victorious from the war. This is essential to the welfare of the State, and not of the State only, but to the history of the nation. And then...?

A Question of Strength. Then, gentlemen, the question, not being understood within its historical limits, asserts itself and becomes a question of strength. As a matter of fact, at turning-points of history force always decides when it is a question of opposing interests and ideas. This is why we have gathered, firmly organised and strongly disciplined our legions, because thus, if the question must be settled by a recourse to force, we shall win. We are worthy of it. It is the right and duty of the Italian people to liberate their political and spiritual life from the parasitic incrustation of the past, which cannot be prolonged indefinitely in the present, as it would mean the death of the future.

It is then quite natural that the Government at Rome should try to divert and counteract the movement; that it should try to break up the Fascist organisation, and to surround us with problems.

These problems have the names of the Monarchy, the Army and Pacification.

The Acceptance of the Monarchy. I have already said that the discussion, abstract or concrete, of the good and evil of the monarchy as an institution is perfectly absurd. Every people in every epoch of history, given the time, place and conditions necessary, has had its regime. There is no doubt that the unity of Italy is soundly based upon the House of Savoy. (Loud applause.) There is equally no doubt that the Italian Monarchy, both by reason of its origin, development and history, cannot put itself in opposition to the new national forces. It did not manifest any opposition upon the occasion of the concession of the Charter, nor when the Italian people—who, even if they were a minority, were a determined and intelligent minority—asked and obtained their country's participation in the war. Would it then have reason to be in opposition today, when Fascism does not intend to attack the regime, but rather to free it from all those superstructures that overshadow its historical position and limit the expansion of our national spirit? Our enemies in vain try to keep this alleged misunderstanding alive.

Fascism and Democracy. The Parliament, gentlemen, and all the paraphernalia of Democracy have nothing in common with the monarchy. Not only this, but neither do we want to take away the people's toy—the Parliament. We say "toy" because a great part of the people seem to think of it in this way. Can you tell me else why, out of eleven million voters, six million do not trouble themselves to vote? It might be, however, that if tomorrow you took their "toy" away from them, they would be aggrieved. But we will not take it away. After all, it is our mentality and our methods that distinguish us from Democracy. Democracy thinks that principles are unchangeable when they can be applied at any time or in any place and situation.

We do not believe that history repeats itself, that it follows a given path; that after Democracy must come super-Democracy. If Democracy had its uses and served the nation in the nineteenth century, it may be that some other political form would be best for the welfare of the nation in the twentieth. So that not even fear of our anti-Democratic policy can influence the decision in favour of that continuity of which I spoke just now.

The Army. As regards the other institution in which the regime is personified—the army—the army knows that when the Ministry advised the officers to go about in civilian clothes to escape attack, we, then a mere handful of bold spirits, forbade it. We have created our ideal. It is faith and ardent love. It is not necessary for it to be brought into the sphere of reality. It is reality in so far as it is a stimulus for faith, hope and courage. Our ideal is the nation. Our ideal is the greatness of the nation, and we subordinate all the rest to this.

For us the nation has a soul and does not consist only in territory. There are nations that have had immense possessions and have left no traces in the history of humanity in spite of them. It is not only size that counts, because, on the other hand, there have been tiny, microscopic States that have left indelible marks in the history of art and philosophy. The greatness of a nation lies in the aggregation of all these virtues and all these conditions. A nation is great when its spiritual force is transferred into reality. Rome was great when, from her small rural democracy, little by little, her influence spread over the whole of Italy. Then she met the warriors of Carthage and fought them. It was one of the first wars in history. Then, bit by bit, she extended the dominion of the Eagle to the furthermost boundaries of the known world, but still, as ever, the Roman Empire is a creation of the spirit, as it was the spirit which first inspired the Roman legions to fight.

Our Syndicalism. What we want now is the greatness of the nation, both materially and spiritually. That is why we have become syndicalist, and not because we think that the masses by reason of their number can create in history something which will last. These myths of the lower kind of Socialist literature we reject. But the working people form a part of the nation; and they are a great part of the nation, necessary to its existence both in peace and in war. They neither can nor ought to be repulsed. They can and must be educated and their legitimate interests protected. We ask them: "Do you wish this state of civil war to continue to disturb the country?" No! For we are the first to suffer from the ceaseless Sunday wrangling with its list of dead and wounded. I was the first to try to bridge over the gap which exists between us and what is called the Italian Bolshevist world.

How Peace can be obtained. To prove this, I have just recently signed an agreement most gladly; in the first place because it was Gabriele d'Annunzio who asked me to, and in the second place because it was, as I thought, another step towards a national peace.

But we are no hysterical women who continually worry themselves by thinking of what might happen. We have not the catastrophic, apocalyptic view of history. The financial problem which is so much talked about is a question of will-power. Millions and millions would be saved if there were men in the Government who had the courage to say "No" to the different requests. But until the financial question is brought on to a political basis it will not be solved. We are all for pacification, and we should like to see all Italians find the common ground upon which it is possible for them to live together in a civilized way. But, on the other hand, we cannot give up our rights and the interests and the future of the nation for the sake of measures of pacification that we propose with loyalty but which are not accepted in the same spirit by the other side. We are at peace with those who ask for peace, but for those who ensnare us and, above all, ensnare the nation, there can be no peace until after victory.

A Hymn to the Queen of the Mediterranean. And now, Fascists and citizens of Naples, I thank you for the attention with which you have listened to me.

Naples gives a fine display of strength, discipline and austerity. It was a happy idea that led to our coming here from all parts of Italy, that has allowed us to see you as you are, to see your people who face the struggle for life like Romans, and who, with the desire to rebuild their lives and to gain wealth through hard work, carry ever in their hearts the love of this their wonderful town, which is destined to a great future, especially if Fascism does not deviate from its path.

Nor must the Democrats say that there is no need for Fascism here, as there has been no Bolshevism, for here there are other political movements no less dangerous than Bolshevism and no less likely to hinder the development of the public conscience.

I already see the Naples of the future endowed with an even greater splendour as the metropolis of the Mediterranean; and I see it together with Bari (which in 1805 had sixteen thousand inhabitants and now has one hundred and fifty thousand) and Palermo forming a powerful triangle. And I see Fascism concentrating all these energies, purifying certain circles, and removing certain members of society, gathering others under its standards.

And now, members of the Fascio of all Italy, lift up your flags and salute Naples, the capital of Southern Italy and the Queen of the Mediterranean!

Today, without a shot being fired, we captured the vibrant soul of Naples, the soul of all Southern Italy. The demonstration is an end in itself and can not turn into a battle, but I say to you with all the solemnity that the moment requires: either we will be given the government or else we must take it by marching on Rome. It is necessary for action to be simultaneous in every part of Italy.

And so, with a speech, Mussolini launched a march that would help take large portions of Europe into fascism, and from there, all of Europe and ultimately the world into war.

The German Reichstag voted 310 to 77 to postpone the 1924 elections into 1925 due to political unrest. It also voted to extend the term of President Ebert into 1925.  

On the same day, former German Chancellor Bernhard von Bulow gave an interview in which he indicated there was no chance for a return of the German monarchy as the republican forces were stronger than the "nationalist" ones.  He also predicated that Communism would not take hold of the country.

Closer to home, a tragedy, well actually a series of tragedies, appeared on the front page of the newspaper.

For reasons I'm unsure of now, I've mentioned Dr. Norwood, DDS's, death here before.  He came to Casper and homesteaded west of town at what is referred to here as "Six Mile Lakes".  There are some wet spots out in that general area, so presumably that's what's being referred to here.  He wasn't married and apparently desired to be a rancher while also practicing dentistry.  He rode a horse into town to his office every day.

Horse use, of course, was still very common, and a second tragedy, the automobile/team collision in a snow storm also gives us a glimpse of one of the dangers of the era.

NOTE:  These seemed familiar as I'd run them before. That's a 1920 newspaper, not a 1922 newspaper.

School Days.

Recently we ran the item below. 

Lex Anteinternet: The Wyoming Education Association Sues Wyoming: Old Boxelder School, Converse County, Wyoming. In what will turn out to be an issue in the Secretary of Public Instruction race this year, w...

This isn't really related, but it's interesting, in the school context.

1.  NCSD No. 1 is 115 people short.  It's apparently not a crisis, but they have positions they can't fill. The attribute in part to dropped enrollment in UW's College of Education. 

2.  NSCD No. 1 also just created new civics requirements.  The memo on that is below.

The text of the Social Studies Curriculum is 105 pages long, so its not a small document.  This means that any one page summary of it will be inaccurate nearly be definition.

Right at its front, it provides the following chart:

Content Standards and Rationale

2014 Wyoming Social Studies Content and Performance Standards

Standard 1 Citizenship, Government, and Democracy	Students analyze how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance to understand the continuing evolution of governments and to demonstrate civic responsibility.	Rationale: The vitality and continuation of a democratic republic depends upon the education and participation of informed citizens. All students should have opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills and participate in the workings of the various levels of power, authority, and governance, which should be applied to the rights and responsibilities of good citizenship.
Standard 2 Culture and Cultural Diversity	Students demonstrate an understanding of the contributions and impacts of human interaction and cultural diversity on societies.	Rationale: Culture helps us to understand ourselves as both individuals and members of various groups. In a multicultural society, students need to understand multiple perspectives that derive from different cultural vantage points. As citizens, students need to know how institutions are maintained or changed and how they influence individuals, cultures, and societies. This understanding allows students to relate to peoples of local, tribal, state, national, and global communities.
Standard 3 Production, Distribution, and Consumption	Students describe the influence of economic factors on societies and make decisions based on economic principles.	Rationale: In a global economy marked by rapid technological, political, and economic change, students will examine how people organize for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Standard 4 Time, Continuity, and Change	Students analyze events, people, problems, and ideas within their historical contexts.	Rationale: Students need to understand their historical roots and how events shape the past, present, and future. Students must know what life was like in the past to comprehend how things change and develop over time. Students gain historical understanding through inquiry of history by researching and interpreting events affecting individual, local, tribal, state, national, and global histories.
Standard 5 People, Places,  and Environments	Students apply their knowledge of the geographic themes (location, place, movement, region, and human/environment interactions) and skills to demonstrate an understanding of interrelationships among people, places, and environment.	Rationale: Students gain geographical perspectives of the community, state, nation, and world by studying the Earth and how humans interact with people, places, and environments. Their knowledge of geography allows students to make local and global connections. Students develop increasingly abstract thought as they use data and apply skills to analyze human behavior in relation to its physical and cultural environment.
Standard 6 Technology, Literacy, and Global Connections	Students use technology and literacy skills to access, synthesize, and evaluate information to communicate and apply social studies knowledge to global situations.	Rationale: Using a variety of resources, students will apply the inquiry process to locate, interpret, and evaluate multiple primary and secondary sources. Students will use this information to become critical thinkers and decision makers in a global community.  Social Studies Content Standard 6 was written around the Framework for 21st Century Skills and the Common Core Literacy Standards for History and Social Studies.*   *WY Social Studies teachers are responsible for the Reading and Writing ELA Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies. See Appendix

It's summary, and that's all it is, is as follows

Summary of Grade-Level Purpose Statements

 

Grade Level	A Purpose Statement describes the focus of the subject at this grade level or in this course; points out what is new or different at this level that the student will accomplish.
Kindergarten	Students will compare and contrast their family culture with other students’ family cultures. Students will identify how rules, symbols, needs and wants, changes, people, and events affect them and their role in the family.
1st Grade	Students will identify, compare, and contrast how rules, symbols, culture, wants, needs, events, United States holidays, people, places and environments affect them and their role in the classroom and school.
2nd Grade	Students will identify, compare, and contrast how rules, laws, symbols, culture, wants, needs, people, places, and environments affect them and their role in the community. Students will explain United States holidays and events and how they affect our community.
3rd Grade	Students will examine how the culture, wants, needs, events, economy, places, and environments of their community and county affect them and their role in their community. Students will apply their knowledge to identify the factors that make Casper and Natrona County unique.
4th Grade	Students will analyze Wyoming’s state history so they can explain how various cultural groups, and their tensions, led to the settlement and statehood of Wyoming.  Students will analyze how the economy of Wyoming has developed, changed, and continues to impact the state.
5th Grade	Students will examine the impact of early exploration and colonization on the founding of the United States, explain the origins of the Constitution as the framework for our government, and analyze United States geography and economy.
6th Grade	Students will analyze continents, countries, and regions of the Western Hemisphere to determine their relationships, and compare and contrast regions in terms of geography, history, economics, culture, and current events
7th Grade	Students will analyze continents, countries, and regions of the Eastern Hemisphere to determine their relationships, and compare and contrast regions in terms of geography, history, economics, culture, and current events.
8th Grade	Students will analyze the origins and development of the United States from the Colonial Period through Reconstruction to explain the foundations of modern America.
9th Grade	Students will analyze the birth of the modern United States by evaluating and synthesizing the causes and effects of major eras from westward growth through World War II and the origins of the Cold War.
10th Grade	Students will examine the continuing evolution of the United States democracy with an analysis of the U.S. Constitution and the unique characteristics of the Wyoming Constitution.  Students will examine domestic and foreign conflicts along with the policies that made the United States a superpower following World War II.  Students will then analyze and evaluate the implications of the global dominance of the United States.
11th Grade	Students will analyze multiple events and issues throughout world history and compare and contrast these in terms of the impacts of time, continuity, and change on the world.

I'm very much in favor of a solid education in history and civics, and I frankly think the school district has been doing a good job of this.  My prediction is, however, that this effort will run into protests due to the spirit of the times from people whose view of history, civics, and politics is, anti-historical.