The Distillery Bandits, who were apprehended after a gun battle, were all veterans of the U.S. Army's cavalry branch.
William Jennings's Bryan's motion that the Presbyterian General Assembly cut off financial support for any Presbyterian body teaching evolution was voted down.
The Mark dropped enormously.
The President played in a newspaper golf tournament.
There's been a lot of news on the passing of Jim Brown, the legendary running back.
Brown was a fantastic running back, and even in old clips it's impressive to watch him. A nice retrospective of his life appears here:
I'll be frank, the thing that stands out in my mind about Brown were the allegations of assault against him, and then his featuring as one of the people, like Bill Cosby, that frequented the Playboy mansion in the big party days of that depraved institution. That's hard to get around, and the stories that were related in the Secrets of Playboy are pretty much impossible for me to get around.
One thing I didn't know about Brown was that he'd been commissioned into the Army Reserve and ultimately made Captain. He enrolled in ROTC while in university and was inducted into the Army ROTC Hall of Fame (which I didn't know existed) some years ago. Perhaps that military experience is why he appeared to be a natural in uniform in The Dirty Dozen.
So what to make of Brown and his life? Well, I don't really have to make anything of it, but perhaps with such notable public figures we should. His accomplishments were very real and cannot be denied. He did act as a champion for civil rights, using his fame for that purpose. He did translate a successful football career into other successful endeavors. Like Bill Cosby, he's associated with the deprivations of the celebration of sexual exploitation brought about by the Sexual Revolution and advanced by Hugh Hefner. Perhaps that's proof of just how corrosive the tolerance of that institution and acceptance of its perversion has been.
Lenin's USSR, which was ostensibly for the rights of small nations, executed the principal leaders of the Georgian Committee for the Independence of Georgia.
Zev won the Kentucky Derby. H was owned by Harry F. Sinclair of the Sinclair Oil Company.
Italian women marched for suffrage in Rome.
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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.
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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.
Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, the first of his races on to the Triple Crown.
480,000 coal mining members of the United Mine Workers went on strike. President Roosevelt ordered them to return to work by 10:00 a.m. They didn't.
An executive order followed, authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to take possession of the mines, if necessary.
More on the strike here:
In case you wondered, 55,156 people are employed in the American coal mining industry today.
On the same day, Ford Motor Company fired 141 employees because of labor disputes. Most of those fired were African Americans.
800 British troops, mostly Colonial forces, went down with the British troopship Erinpura which was sunk north of Benghazi by German aircraft.
Count Fleet won the Kentucky Derby.
Note how well dress the crowd is.
The future King and Queen Consort of England, Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon were married.
Northeastern University in China was founded by warlord and provincial ruler Zhang Zuolin.
The first game at Yankee Stadium was played.
The Yankees beat the Red Sox 4 to 1, with Babe Ruth hitting the park's first home run, the latter of which made the front page in Casper.
Dignitaries were naturally present.
The Tunisian port of Sfax was captured by the British 8th Army. It would later be the staging point for the invasion of Sicily.
It was also used as a POW camp, holding German Prisoners of War through the rest of, and after, the war.
Foreshadowing that later event, perhaps, the Italian cruiser Trieste was sunk by B-24s in the port of La Maddealena, Sardinia.
Tom Harmon, well known collegic football star, a halfback, now a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force, disappeared when a bomber he was flying cracked up in a storm over Surinam. The only survivor of the plant, he'd emerge several days later with the assistance of natives, who escorted him out of the jungle.
Harmon had been drafted by the Chicago Bears but had declined to take up professional football, which was not as lucrative or as followed as it now is. Instead, he intended to pursue a career in acting and radio, although he ended up joining the American Football League in 1941 for a $1,500 per game salary, a large sum at the time.
Harmon had resisted being drafted, something we don't think of as occurring much during World War Two, but which was in fact much more common than might be supposed. He received a 1-B classification in May 1941 as he was a student and then given a 60-day extension on the basis that he was the sole support for his parents. He asked for a permanent extension thereafter, but was denied and classified as 1-A, which he appealed. Losing the appeal, he was ordered to report by November 1941, and he thereafter enlisted as an Air Corps cadet.
Following the bomber disaster, he became a P-38 pilot and flew in combat missions over China, being shot down in 1943. He was returned to the US following evading the Japanese, having been shot down behind enemy lines, and was released from the service in January 1945. In 1944, he married actress Elyse Knox. Actor Mark Harmon was one of their three children.
He played for the Los Angeles Rams for a while after the war, and then returned to sports broadcasting.
From Sarah Sundin's blog:
Today in World War II History—April 10, 1943: US Department of Agriculture establishes Women’s Land Army: during WWII, 1.5 million women from non-farming backgrounds will serve on farms.
Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees became the first Major League designated hitter in a game played in Fenway Park against the Red Sox.
Sister Maria Restituta, age 48, was beheaded under orders of Martin Bormann. An absolute vocal critic of Hitler and Nazism, she refused to be quiet about her opinions, no matter the cost.
One of the most iconic photographs of George S. Patton to be taken, was taken on this day in Tunisia.
This photo is justifiably famous, but it's sometimes a bit misinterpreted. It really doesn't show anything that unusual for a senior officer of the period.
Patton is wearing a B-3 flight jacket, the heavy sheepskin jacket that was issued to aviators who flew at altitude until synthetics and electrically heated flight suits started to replace it mid-war. It would not be fully replaced during the war. Both the heavy B-3 and the light A-2 saw widespread use beyond airmen, however.
A-2s were issued as a semi dress item to airborne officers (and perhaps enlisted men, although I'm not completely certain on that), signifying that 1) they were an airborne service and 2) there were a lot of them. A-2s made their way into the Navy in some roles as well. They were also widely worn by officers.
B-3s were issued not only to air crewmen, but to ground crews as well, as there were a lot of them. They were a private purchase item with officers, and senior officers sometimes favored them as they were warm.
Patton's B-3 here has had some alterations made to it, including at least one front pocket. You can see his reading glasses held in the visible pocket. You'll frequently see it claimed on websites that Patton had epaulets added to this coat, but that's completely incorrect, at least at the time this photograph was taken. His general's stars are visible, but they are neither pinned nor sewed on epaulets. Indeed, the seam that's visible is simply a coat seam. Other, sometimes later, photos do show Patton wearing a B-3 with epaulets, but that probably actually depicts a different coat, or that this one was subsequently altered as he was promoted.
The odd things about those photographs are that they show that Patton had that coat at the time that he was the commander of the 1st Armored Corps, which he had relinquished prior to March 1943 when he took over II Corps. Patton was a bit of a stickler about uniforms being correct, but at least in that case his having had the 1st Armored Corps patch put on an expensive coat probably proved to be a mistake, as it couldn't be removed, so he therefore kept wearing it.
The stars on this one, or this coat at this time, are probably painted on.
This coat does have a reinforced upper arm, which is also an alteration, but not one that's as uncommon as might be supposed. I've seen at least one photograph of a conventional aviator with the same alteration. Alterations, often done at the local level, were very common. The location of the unit patch on the reinforcement probably explains why the patch was never replaced. Subsequent promotion probably explains why epaulets were later added.
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Today In Wyoming's History: March 30: 1943 Led by legendary UW basketball player Kenny Sailors, UW beat Georgetown 46 to 34 in Madison Square Gardens. Sailors would enter the Marine Corps as an officer at the conclusion of that year. UW would suspend basketball due to the war after that year. Sailors eventually became a hunting guide in Alaska, but returned to Wyoming in his old age, where he still lives, following the death of his wife.
Note: that item was originally penned, Sailors was in fact alive. However, he subsequently passed on January 30, 2016, in Laramie, Wyoming. Sailors remains a Wyoming basketball legend.
The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment made a 2,000 trooper jump, the first such mass jump in US history.
The 505th had been formed in July 1942 and was originally under the command of James Gavin. It had been assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division only a month prior to its first mass jump.
The jump took place near Camden, South Carolina.
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Plures efficimur, quotiens metimur a vobis: semen est sanguis Christianorum.
Tertullian.
The Japanese destroyer Akikaze Maru took 39 mostly German Catholic missionaries, from the island of Kairiru. Eighteen of those were nuns, six were priests, and one was a Bishop. Included was a Chinese woman and her two children.
The ship then proceeded to Manus Island and picked up an additional 20 individuals, again mostly German, most of whom were Protestant in that case. Outside of the Germans picked up there, there was one Hungarian missionary and some Chinese civilians, six of whom were women.
The commander of the ship, Lt. Commander Tsurukichi Sabe took steps to care for the prisoners and assumed they'd be offloaded at New Britain, but at Kavieng, where he next put in, he received orders to murder all of them, which took place on March 18th.
On the 18th, the ship's crew killed them over a three-hour period, dumping their bodies in the sea. Most were shot, but some children were simply thrown in the sea.
The ship would be sunk by a submarine when it intercepted torpedoes fired at the Jun'yō, an aircraft carrier, on November 3, 1944, going down with all hands including, of course, all those still living who had participated in the murder.
Why did this happen? All we can really say is that it wasn't atypical for the Japanese. The Germans and other Europeans were just that, Europeans. The Chinese were Japanese enemies. Killing them all was a pretty Japanese approach to things.
In spite of cooperating with Germany in the export of Jewish residents of Yugoslavia, the Bulgarian parliament balked on plans to do the same in Bulgaria and refused to allow Bulgarian Jews to be taken out of the country to their deaths, thus saving them. It might be noted that the actions taken by the Bulgarian Army in Macedonia and Thrace were not parliamentary directives, so here too, in spit of being an Axis ally, the parliament was not like so many German allies and willing to follow the Germans into murder.
Irish Prime Minister Eamon de Valera delivered his The Ireland We Dreamed Of speech on the radio, in which he stated:
The ideal Ireland that we would have, the Ireland that we dreamed of, would be the home of a people who valued material wealth only as a basis for right living, of a people who, satisfied with frugal comfort, devoted their leisure to the things of the spirit – a land whose countryside would be bright with cosy homesteads, whose fields and villages would be joyous with the sounds of industry, with the romping of sturdy children, the contest of athletic youths and the laughter of happy maidens, whose firesides would be forums for the wisdom of serene old age.
The home, in short, of a people living the life that God desires that men should live.
With the tidings that make such an Ireland possible, St. Patrick came to our ancestors fifteen hundred years ago promising happiness here no less than happiness hereafter. It was the pursuit of such an Ireland that later made our country worthy to be called the island of saints and scholars. It was the idea of such an Ireland – happy, vigorous, spiritual – that fired the imagination of our poets; that made successive generations of patriotic men give their lives to win religious and political liberty; and that will urge men in our own and future generations to die, if need be, so that these liberties may be preserved.
One hundred years ago, the Young Irelanders, by holding up the vision of such an Ireland before the people, inspired and moved them spiritually as our people had hardly been moved since the Golden Age of Irish civilisation.
Fifty years later, the founders of the Gaelic League similarly inspired and moved the people of their day.
So, later, did the leaders of the Irish Volunteers.
We of this time, if we have the will and active enthusiasm, have the opportunity to inspire and move our generation in like manner. We can do so by keeping this thought of a noble future for our country constantly before our eyes, ever seeking in action to bring that future into being, and ever remembering that it is for our nation as a whole that future must be sought.
The Washington Bears won the World Professional Basketball tournament, prevailing over the Oshkosh All Stars. The Bears were an all black team.
The game was between the Toronto St. Patrick's, now the Maple Leafs, against the Ottawa Senators, which is now defunct. Toronto won 6 to 4.
CFCA would only broadcast for ten years before going out of business.
French authorities seized 85,000,000 Marks from the city hall treasury of Gelsenkirchen, and 17,000,000 from the railway station, in retaliation for the city's refusal to pay 100,000,000 Marks due to the wounding of two French officers in clashes with the police.
Wyoming Catholic Cowboys - raw and real: Hog Leg: Nothing says America like shooting guns and watching the Super Bowl. A nice sunny afternoon was the perfect time to try out my newly borrowe...
This is interesting.
The Super Bowl used to be a bigger deal in this house than it now is. Seems like a lot of things once were.
I’m not a football fan at all, and I didn't really start watching the Super Bowl until my wife and I were married. She is a football fan and will watch the season, and always watches the Super Bowl.
When we were first married, there were Super Bowl parties. We didn't have kids at first, and my wife's brothers were young at the time. Later, however, it carried on until the kids were teens. Then something changed, including the giving up of the farm (the farm, not the ranch), longer travel distances, and some residential changes at the ranch. Ultimately, the parties just sort of stopped, although I'm sure my two brothers-in-law, who live in houses at the ranch yard, still observe a party, and my father and mother-in-law, who live a few miles away, likely travel to that.
Much lower key than it used to be. No big gatherings like there once were.
Back in the day, we had a couple of them at our house.
Basically, the dining fare was always simple. Sandwiches bought at one of the local grocery stores, chips and beer. Typical football stuff.
At some parties at the farm, there were bowling pin shooting matches. For those not familiar with them, people shot bowling pins from some distance with pistols. It was fun. Frankly, I don't think a lot of people are all that interested in the Super Bowl to start with, and at least at the Super Bowl parties with bowling pin matches people went out to the match, and it ran into the game, which says something.
The other day also, I wrote on community.
I note this because, at one time, Schuetzen matches were big deals in German American communities. And while they involved rifles, and indeed very specialized rifles, they were also big community events.
And such things aren't unique to just those mentioned. In parts of the country, men participating in "turkey shoots" were pretty common.
Of course, shooting clubs and matches still exist nearly everywhere, and lots of men, and women, participate in matches.
Less common, however, are the rural informal matches.
All sorts of rural activities were once associated with holidays, and events. I guess that the Super Bowl is some sort of large-scale informal civil holiday, even though of course it always occurs on a Sunday. Indeed, the playing of the game on a Sunday is curious. I put a little (very little) time looking into that, and found this CBS Sports comment on it, which it must be first noted explained that football really started being popular in the 1920s.
Sunday was a free day during a decade where it was common to work on Saturdays, so the APFA played most of their games on that day. Fast forward 30 years to the advent of television networks, who were desperately looking for programming on Sundays in the 1950s.
That makes some sense to me, as I still work on Saturdays.
I'd note, however, that is this makes sense, it doesn't quite explain why baseball games occur all throughout the week, and I think there are Monday night professional football games as well, albeit televised ones.
I wonder, however, if it has deeper roots than that. American football is the successor to Rugby, and Rugby and Soccer were hugely popular in the United Kingdom. Prior to major league fun sucker Oliver Cromwell taking over the English government, in the United Kingdom, Sunday had been a day for church and then games.
This went back to Medieval times, before the Reformation. People worked, and worked hard, six days out of seven, but on the seventh, they rested. And resting meant going to Mass, and then having fun, and fun often meant games and beer, as well as other activities. In spite of their best efforts, major Protestant reformers weren't really able to make a dent in village observance of tradition until Cromwell came in and really started ruining things. To Calvinist of the day like Cromwell, Sunday was a day for church and nothing else, although contrary to what some may suspect they were not opposed to alcohol. Cromwell's Puritan government banned sports.
It's no wonder he was posthumously beheaded.
Cromwell and his ilk did a lot of damage to the Christian religion in the Untied Kingdom, and if you really want to track the decline in religious observance in the UK to something, you can lay it somewhat at the bottom of his severed head. Indeed, while hardly noted, what we're seeing going on today, in some ways, is the final stages of the Reformation playing out, and playing out badly.
Anyhow, after Cromwell was gone and the Crown restored, games came back, and they came back on Sunday. Not just proto-football, but all sorts of games. And games became hugely associated with certain religious holidays in the United Kingdom. The day after Christmas, Boxing Day, is one such example, as is New Years, the latter of which is a religious holiday in and of itself.
I suspect, however, that this had a lasting influence. I don't know for sure, but I think football is on Sunday as Sunday was the day of rest, and watching the village football game and having a tankard of ale was all part of that, after church. I also suspect that this is the reason that some American holidays are associated with football, such as Thanksgiving, which had its origin as a religious holiday, and New Years, which as noted also is.
Now, of course, with the corrupting influence of money, it's become nearly a religion to some people in and of itself. People who dare not miss a single football game never step foot in a church.
Also lost, however, is the remaining communal part of that. Watching a game played that's actually local, rather than corporate national, to a large extent. And one free of advertising. Indeed, the Super Bowl has become the number one premiere venue for innovative advertising, some of which isn't bad.
Anyhow, maybe the Super Bowl Party, in some form if properly done, is a step back in time to when the game was more a vehicle than an end in and of itself, and when it wasn't such a show that a big freakish half-time performance was expected.
We can hope so.
Marine Corps Sgt Herbert J. Thomas displayed heroism on Bougainville that would lead to him being posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
SERGEANT HERBERT J. THOMAS
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the Third Marines, Third Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the battle at the Koromokina River, Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands, on November 7, 1943. Although several of his men were struck by enemy bullets as he led his squad through dense jungle undergrowth in the face of severe hostile machine gun fire, Sergeant Thomas and his group fearlessly pressed forward into the center of the Japanese position and destroyed the crews of two machine guns by accurate rifle fire and grenades. Discovering a third gun more difficult to approach, he carefully placed his men closely around him in strategic positions from which they were to charge after he had thrown a grenade into the emplacement. When the grenade struck vines and fell back into the midst of the group, Sergeant Thomas deliberately flung himself upon it to smother the explosion, valiantly sacrificing his life for his comrades. Inspired by his selfless action, his men unhesitatingly charged the enemy machine gun and, with fierce determination, killed the crew and several other nearby defenders. The splendid initiative and extremely heroic conduct of Sergeant Thomas in carrying out his prompt decision with full knowledge of his fate reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
The 25-year-old Thomas had first served, in the war, in the United Stated Army Air Corps before transferring to the Marine Corps.
According to Sarah Sundin's blog, on this day in 1943 shoe rationing commenced in the US. She has an article about it here:
It's a really interesting article.
The rationing move was announced suddenly, and limited Americans to three pairs of new shoes per year. I'm sure I don't buy a new pair of shoes most years, which makes this limit interesting in context.
The Red Army captured Fastiv near Kyiv.
The Detroit Lions and the New York Giants played a scoreless tie game, the last such game in NFL history.
December 1, 2022
Statement from President Joe Biden on Congressional Action to Avert a Rail Shutdown
On Tuesday, I met with Congressional leaders from both parties and told them that Congress needed to move quickly to avert a rail shutdown and economic catastrophe for our nation. Now, I want to thank Congressional leadership who supported the bill and the overwhelming majority of Senators and Representatives in both parties who voted to avert a rail shutdown. Congress’ decisive action ensures that we will avoid the impending, devastating economic consequences for workers, families, and communities across the country. Communities will maintain access to clean drinking water. Farmers and ranchers will continue to be able to bring food to market and feed their livestock. And hundreds of thousands of Americans in a number of industries will keep their jobs. I will sign the bill into law as soon as Congress sends it to my desk.Working together, we have spared this country a Christmas catastrophe in our grocery stores, in our workplaces, and in our communities.I know that many in Congress shared my reluctance to override the union ratification procedures. But in this case, the consequences of a shutdown were just too great for working families all across the country. And, the agreement will raise workers’ wages by 24%, increase health care benefits, and preserve two person crews.I have long been a supporter of paid sick leave for workers in all industries – not just the rail industry – and my fight for that critical benefit continues.This week’s bipartisan action pulls our economy back from the brink of a devastating shutdown that would have hurt millions of families and union workers in countless industries. Our economy is growing and inflation is moderating, and this rail agreement will continue our progress to build an economy from the bottom up and middle out.
Governor Gordon Bans TikTok on State Devices due to Cybersecurity Concerns
December 15, 2022
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon has announced a ban on TikTok from all state electronic devices and networks to address cybersecurity concerns that have been raised by the app’s foreign ownership and the potential influence of foreign governments.
In a memo addressed to all state employees, the Governor directed that TikTok will be permanently removed, and access blocked, from all state government electronic devices and networks. This ban extends to all state-issued cell phones, laptops, tablets, desktop computers and other information technology equipment capable of internet connectivity.
“Maintaining robust cybersecurity is a shared responsibility, and Wyoming is committed to identifying threats that could impact public safety,” Governor Gordon said. “The potential for foreign governments to access information collected by TikTok is extremely troubling.”
The Governor’s announcement means Wyoming joins at least 12 other states that have banned TikTok from state devices.
The Governor’s memo also directs the State’s Enterprise Technology Services, Wyoming Office of Homeland Security and the Wyoming Information Analysis Team to conduct a coordinated review of any other technology-based threats posed to State government networks.
A copy of the Governor’s memo is attached and may be found here.
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New York is banning pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation on Thursday that prohibits the sale of pets raised by commercial breeders who, animal rights groups say, keep them in poor conditions.
Colby-Sawyer in New Hampshire has reduced its tuition to $17,500 a year, from about $46,000. But the cut is also a recognition that few pay the list price.
WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Two dozen U.S. Senate Republicans warned Democratic President Joe Biden on Friday that they would not support increasing the federal debt ceiling without at least an equal amount of spending cuts to government programs or structural reform.
This comes as a bit of a surprise as this has been, so far, concentrated in the House.
February 6, 2023
I'm going to close this edition out in anticipation of the State of the Union Address. People got a little bit of a preview of that, however, when President Biden spoke at the recent Democratic Convention.
As we just noted, in the blog mirror item by Robert Reich, Joe Biden's economy is in a new phase. Inflation remains high, but has been going down, and we are at the lowest unemployment rate since the end of the Vietnam War.
For the first time in history, a National Hockey League match concluded with no penalties having been imposed. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Hamilton Tigers, 5 to 4.
Hockey, unlike football, is not boring.
Italy required public school students to start using the extended arm fascist salute, claimed to have been derived from Rome, but with little historical support for the proposition.
The general gesture was in vogue at the time, having been popularized in the United States as the Bellamy Salute. It's co-opting by fascism, forever associated it with fascist movements.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt Jr., occupying the position that his father had leading up to the Spanish American War, and his cousin had during World War One, addressed the midyear graduating class of the Peter Force School, a school he had attended during his father's occupancy of the office. The class planted a Lombardy Poplar in memory of Quentin Roosevelt, aviator, who had died in action in World War One.
The school had been founded in 1879 and was named for a former Washington, D.C. mayor. Many children of important personages attended the school, including the late Quentin Roosevelt and Charles Taft, the son of President Taft.
The school would not have a much longer run. It was abandoned in 1939 and demolished in 1962 in order to make way for the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies.
