Saturday, July 11, 2015
Friday, July 10, 2015
Saturday, July 10, 1915. Writing the Mexican governments about Huerta.
The Secretary of State to the Confidential Agent of the Constitutionalist Government of Mexico.
Department of State,
Washington, July 10, 1915.
Sir: The Department has received your letter of July 1, in which, by direction of the so-called Constitutionalist Government of Mexico, you request the extradition of General Victoriano Huerta and the detention of Messrs. Felix Diaz, Manuel Mondragon and Aurelio Blanquet with a view to their extradition.
In reply you are informed that, owing to the absence of a recognized Federal Government in Mexico and the well-known conditions existing throughout the Republic, the Department must decline to comply with the request for the extradition of General Huerta.
I am [etc.]
For the Secretary of State:
Cone Johnson.
And;
The Secretary of State to the Attorney for the Conventionist Government of Mexico.
Department of State,
Washington, July 10, 1915.
Sir: The Department has received your telegram of July 2, in regard to the requisition for the extradition of General Victoriano Huerta addressed by General Fidel Avila, Governor of Chihuahua, to the Honorable James E. Ferguson, Governor of Texas.
I am [etc.]
For the Secretary of State:
Cone Johnson.
And:
The Secretary of State to the Confidential Agent of the Provisional Government of Mexico.
Department of State,
Washington, July 10, 1915.
Sir: The Department has received your letter of July 3, in relation to the desired extradition of General Victoriano Huerta.
I am [etc.]
Robert Lansing.
The Russians attacked the hills west of the town of Malazgirt, Turkey, assuming defenses to be weak which they were not, leading to a Russian defeat.
Last edition:
Friday, July 9, 1915. First casualty of the Border War.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Friday, July 9, 1915. First casualty of the Border War.
A Mexican raider was shot and killed in a raid on the King Ranch near Kingsville, Texax, becoming hte first fatality of the Border War. He was killed by a cowhand.
Austrian born German Gen. Victor Franke, commander of the German forces in German South West Africa, surrendered his small command, and effectively the colony, to the Allies.
Franke lived until 1936.
Last edition.
Thursday, July 8, 1915. The Women's Peace Army.
Labels: 1910s, 1915, Army, cavalry, Plan of San Diego, Sedicionistas, Texas, Women, World war one Australia
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Thursday, July 8, 1915. The Women's Peace Army.
The Australian Women's Peace Army was formed to protest to Australia's involvement in World War I.
The Plan of San Diego was resulting in some exchanges of fire in Texas.
Last edition:
Wednesday, July 7, 1915. Last meeting of the Mexican Convention.
Travelling through (on) time.
I recently had the occasion to ride in a Ford Trimotor airplane.
But some things haven't changed much, as in the shot above of the prairie just outside of Casper.
Ford Trimotor at the Natrona County International Airport.
Even better than that, my son, who is close to having his private pilot's license, got to fly the plane the next day.
I don't like flying much. I do a lot of it, and it's not like I'm fearful of doing it, but I get tired of being cramped in planes and I generally do not enjoy riding in them. I've flown too much to like riding in passenger planes which is in part as I've had too many rides that were pretty rough, so I don't have the comfort of the illusion that rough skies are an abnormality.
I like airplanes a lot, however, and I couldn't have passed up on the opportunity to ride such a classic aircraft. My son in particular finds it odd that I like aircraft, which I do a great deal, but I don't like flying at all, and personally have no desire to learn how to fly, or to even ride as a passenger, normally. I couldn't pass up on a Trimotor however. The Ford was one of the really classic early airliners, maybe the earliest really substantial ones along with the Fokker Trimotor. The Ford, however, being built by the automobile company, was really innovative and was the first such airplane to have all metal construction. The Fokker, which saw a fair amount of use in the United States, did not. It had a wood laminate frame, which is what failed in the crash that resulted in the death of Knute Rockne.
Ford Trimotors served Casper in the early days of air travel, flying out of Wardwell Field, which is now the town of Bar Nunn. The old runways are streets. So it occurred to me after riding in the plane, and taking photographs of Casper as we flew over it, that we were truly riding on history, and in a way riding through history. The plane offers an interesting comparison and contrast.
Former railroad bridge across the North Platte River which is now a foot bridge. This bridge entered the former Standard Oil Refinery, which is now a golf course. The refinery closed down in the 1980s, a closure that was economical devastating to an already suffering Casper.
Above is the area of Mills and Casper where a former railroad bridge now serves as a footbridge into the Three Crowns Golf Course. This is a scene that has definitely changed since the late 20s and early 30s. Three Crowns is where the former Standard Oil Refinery was, which was once so large it was on both sides of the North Platte River. It wouldn't have surprised me if a Ford Trimotor serving Casper would have flown over this in its day, but the passengers wouldn't have seen the same thing here at that time, when there were three refineries operating in Casper. Now there's just one.
Former railroad bridge across the North Platte linking the footpath on the Platte River Parkway between Casper and Mills. The Parkway runs for miles along the North Platte, and here it runs on part of the old rail line. On the other side of the Platte River Parkway, in Casper, a footpath resumes on what had been the same rail line.
The former Standard Oil Refiner was huge. I'm not certain how the rail service for the refinery worked, but I do think that in this view, we're basically looking at what had been a Great Northwestern line. That line was abandoned quite some time ago, and now most of it, in Casper, is a footpath, including this railroad bridge. So, if we'd been looking down in, say, 1930, we'd be seeing a rail line that we no longer can. The Burlington Northern must have served the refinery as well, but I'm not sure how. In its heyday, the refinery was on both sides of the river, so perhaps that's how.
Casper, east of Three Crowns, and what was east of the Standard Oil Refinery. Much of this would have looked the same in the 1920s and 30s.
Natrona County High School, where I, my wife, and my father, all went to high school. My kids go there now. The houses in the surrounding neighborhood are as old as, or older than, the school.
The flight also went over the area of residential Casper that is where many older houses, and Natrona County High School, are located. The school itself is particularly interesting in this context, as it was built in 1923 so it predates the Ford Trimotor by a few years. A person flying over Casper at any time after 1923 may very well have seen the school. However, the grounds haven't remained exactly the same over that time. A road that originally went directly in front of the school was wisely removed. The parking lots have expanded significantly over time, as more and more students started driving to school (I walked to school when I went t here in the late 1970s and early 1980s). And now a huge addition to the school is being built, which is visible in this photograph. An enormous field house has already been built. However, in one way this view of NC is more like that of 1923 than at any time up until last year, as the swimming pool, which was added a few years after it was built, has been sadly torn down for the new addition. Voters turned down a bond to include a new pool in the huge new field house that's been built, although it could easily have housed it. Ironically, the original indoor pool was completely funded by taxes passed by the voters of that era.
Washington Park
The flight also went over Washington Park, one of the largest parks in Casper and one of the town's oldest. The park includes, as can be seen, a swimming pool, a band shell, tennis courts, and a baseball field.
I know that he features of this park are old, in the context of Casper, but I"m not quite sure how old. The band shell was a WPA project as was a wall with battlements, so perhaps most of the features of this park date from the 1930s. I suspect so. If so, then this view is one that a passenger in a plane of this type might have seen as well. The residential neighborhood is also old, so this view hasn't changed much.
Here we start to see a really old section of Casper, including the Burlington Northern Railway Depot, which was built in 1916 during a construction boom in Casper caused by the First World War. This scene depicts a fair number of buildings that dated back to that time, but quite a few have also come down, to make room for parking lots, and some new ones have been built over time. One of the buildings in this photographs is hte Casper Creamery, which my family once owned.
Part of the Burlington rail yard, including a bridge over the North Platte.
The scene immediately above shows a fair amount of Casper's lower downtown, including the BN depot. It also shows a number of "high rise" buildings that date back to the teens, although some have been substantially reworked and one is a newer building, the Federal building, that was built in the 1970s. A fountain on the City of Casper's lot, at the city hall built in the 1970s, is visible. The green area in the middle of the photograph is Pioneer Park, which dates back quite some time and existed well before the teens. The courthouse looking building across from it is the old Natrona County Courthouse built by the WPA in the 1930s, and a five story brick building to its upper left is the current courthouse, which ironically was built in 1923, and so it predates this airplane. Another five or so story building across from it was originally a hotel of the same general vintage. At least one really old three story building appears that was built in the 1890s. Of course, many other older buildings have been torn down, and new ones have been built up.
Here too we see the old Natrona County Courthouse, but we also see immediately behind it the Hall of Justice, which was built in the 1970s for the county courts and the jail. The jail is no longer there, and county court has yielded to circuit court, which is not in this building but rather in the Townsend. To the right, the "Sandbar" district of Casper is visible, which is now business and housing, but in its heyday was a really seedy and infamous area of Casper. Even when I was a kid, it was dicey until it was generally torn down in the 1970s for housing projects.
Sandbar district, but all new construction except for the rail line.
But some things haven't changed much, as in the shot above of the prairie just outside of Casper.
Cattle grazing just outside of town.
Lex Anteinternet: Random Snippets: The stuff in the cellar
Lex Anteinternet: Random Snippets: The stuff in the cellar: The BBC reports that German police have removed a Panther tank from some fellow's cellar: Police in northern Germany have seized a Wo...For those who seek to take up this collecting challenge and not let the North Germans win. . :
Sherman Tank For Sale.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Wednesday, July 7, 1915. Last meeting of the Mexican Convention.
With the country already in a state of civil war, Mexico's governmental Convention convened its last meeting.
The RM Amalfi was sunk by the German submarine UB-15.
The Italians failed to break through Austro Hungarian lines in the Alps.
A bomb planted by Eric Muenter, who had already killed himself, exploded on the munitions ship SS Minnehaha. Damage was minor.
Swedish diplomat Cossva Anckarsvärd, stationed in Constantinople, reported to his government that "persecutions of the Armenians have reached hair-raising proportions". He predicted Armenian extermination.
Tornadic weather hit Kentucky hard. A major windstorm caused significant damage in Cincinnati.
Last edition:
Tuesday, July 6, 1915. Hiding ship.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Random Snippets: The stuff in the cellar
The BBC reports that German police have removed a Panther tank from some fellow's cellar:
Police in northern Germany have seized a World War Two tank which was being kept in a pensioner's cellar.
He also had a 88 on an anti aircraft gun mount.
Man, what a bunch of spoil sports. If you have a Panther in your basement, I think they ought to let you keep it. He'd apparently fired it up and driven it around town about 30 years ago in heavy snow fall.
Police in northern Germany have seized a World War Two tank which was being kept in a pensioner's cellar.
The Panther tank was removed from the 78-year-old's house in the town of Heikendorf, along with a variety of other military equipment, including a torpedo and an anti-aircraft gun, Der Tagesspiegel website reports. It wasn't an easy job to get it all out - the army had to be called in with modern-day tanks to haul the Panther from its cellar. It took about 20 soldiers almost nine hours to extract the tank - which was without its tracks - and push it onto a low-loader, the report says. As the surreal scene unfolded, local residents gathered at the end of the driveway to watch.
Prosecutors in the nearby city of Kiel are investigating whether the man's military collection violates Germany's War Weapons Control Act. But his lawyer says the weapons are no longer functional, therefore shouldn't be restricted.
Man, what a bunch of spoil sports. If you have a Panther in your basement, I think they ought to let you keep it. He'd apparently fired it up and driven it around town about 30 years ago in heavy snow fall.
Lex Anteinternet: Legislating from the bench again.
Lex Anteinternet: : SPQR Senātus Populus que Rōmānus Translated, the Senate and People of Rome. The motto of the Roman Empire, w hose legions marched un...
Following on Obegefell, the Supreme Court, again by a 5 to 4 vote, acted again clearly outside the Constitution in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.
This case surrounds an Arizona referendum in which Arizona's voters determined to create a non partisan commission for election districting. Frankly, I think that was a very good move, as election redistricting in many states has achieved absurd anti democratic results. But the Constitution is quite clear, this is undoubtedly something only Congress can do.
Not to worry, said the five. Where the Constitution says "legislature", it doesn't mean it, but any process by the states.
That's baloney.
As opposed to Obegefell, at least this baloney is sliced in favor of democracy, where the Court chooses to allow us to have it. But it's baloney nonetheless.
Tuesday, July 6, 1915. Hiding ship.
The SMS Königsberg emerged from hiding in the Rufiji River for eight months and exchanged fire with British monitor ships HMS Mersey and HMS Severn, forcing both British ships to withdraw.
Illinois adopted its flag.
Last edition:
Monday, July 5, 1915. Anarchist end, Ottoman failure, British withdrawal.
Labels: 1910s, 1915, Anarchy, Arabia, Arabs, Battle of Gully Ravine, British Army, Crime, Gallipoli, Ottoman Army, World War One, Yemen
Sparring Jurist: The Federal bench blogs it out.
For those who wonder if a lawyer should be writing a blog (blawg?) let me note that several Federal judges do and others write op-eds.
That's right, the appointed for life members of the quasi ruling class, post Obegefell, blog and write, which is a comforting thing in some ways, and certainly interesting. And they're duking it out with each other in print in some circumstances.
It's always assumed that Supreme Court decisions have a certain fini quality to them. That isn't always true. It's already proving not to be true in this instance, with Federal judges now making comments about one another in print, and even one Supreme Court justice mentioning this case a second time in a second oral dissent following this case. In the end, we're going to get less of a court, or more of one, and it will be the fault of this decision. This court should have re-read John Marshall.
That's right, the appointed for life members of the quasi ruling class, post Obegefell, blog and write, which is a comforting thing in some ways, and certainly interesting. And they're duking it out with each other in print in some circumstances.
First we have Judge Posner, one of the most quoted, stuck on the bench never going to the Supreme Court jurists of all time, who wrote an oped in Slate in which he accused Roberts, in his dissent, of being bigoted and heartless. In fairness, Posner is frequently cited as a great jurist for some reason (I'm not entirely sure why, but he is). Posner was for years considered a potential Supreme Court nominee, but he's never been nominated, and at this point, he's not going to be. He occupies a position as an appellate judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, at age 76 (yes, once again, a geriatric Federal judge). Posner got owly about Justice Scalia's dissent in Obegefall. Posner, falling into The White Man's Burden logic, got upset about Justice Robert's citation to ancient peoples as having the same concept of marriage as we did, up until last week. In so doing, Judge Posner stated:
We’re pretty sure we’re not any of the above. And most of us are not convinced that what’s good enough for the Bushmen, the Carthaginians, and the Aztecs should be good enough for us. Ah, the millennia! Ah, the wisdom of ages! How arrogant it would be to think we knew more than the Aztecs—we who don’t even know how to cut a person’s heart out of his chest while’s he still alive, a maneuver they were experts at.Posner was, in my mind, being petty and misleading in this comment, and apparently I'm not the only one who thought that regarding his article. U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of the 5th Circuit, who blogs, who admits unabashed admiration for Posner, commented on his blog:
No heartlessness. No bigotry. Instead, as Barrett stresses, “Roberts was notably gracious toward the gay couples who challenged state same-sex marriage bans.”Judge Kopf also had interesting words for the Justice Sutton, of the 6th Circuit, however, as he noted:
Posner’s assertion that Chief Robert’s dissent reflects a cold heart plus bigotry is a vicious lie–and Posner knows it. Why he lied in the Slate article is a mystery.
I continue to be enraged by Judge Sutton’s decision. He unnecessarily forced the Supreme Court to take this case. In doing so, Sutton harmed the Court as an institution. He should have cared more about the legitimacy of the Supreme Court than he cared about his idiosyncratic beliefs that were shared by no one else in the other Circuits.I disagree with Kopf in Sutton's views being idiosyncratic, and actually Sutton wasn't alone in his views in judicial opinions But Kopf here has noted what I did, that the Supreme Court was harmed by this decision. And that harm, in my view, extends not only to the Supreme Court, but the entire country.
It's always assumed that Supreme Court decisions have a certain fini quality to them. That isn't always true. It's already proving not to be true in this instance, with Federal judges now making comments about one another in print, and even one Supreme Court justice mentioning this case a second time in a second oral dissent following this case. In the end, we're going to get less of a court, or more of one, and it will be the fault of this decision. This court should have re-read John Marshall.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
The Greek Secret Weapon?
In the lead up on the Greek referendum on the Greek debt, I saw this fairly amazing headline:
Wow, I thought, what will the Greeks think of next. One of the oldest farming cultures in the Mediterranean and they can grow their own food.Greek villagers’ secret weapon: Grow your own food
Okay, that was snarky, and unfair too. The headline writers for stuff usually are the same people as the authors, and the article didn't really mean to suggest that gardening was a Greek secret.
Still, it's surprising that this would have been regarded as really sort of amazing, and perhaps it tells us something about the extent to which Greece, traditionally an agrarian society, still is. One Greek interviewed stated:
Most Americans couldn't do that. It's interesting that fair number of Greeks, apparently, can.“I have my lettuce, my onions, I have my hens, my birds, I will manage,” he said, even though he can no longer access his full pension payment because of government controls imposed six days ago. “We will manage for a period of time, I don’t know, two months, maybe three months, because I also want to give to our relatives. If they are suffering, I cannot leave them like this, isn’t that so?”
Monday, July 5, 1915. Anarchist end, Ottoman failure, British withdrawal.
Anarchist bomber Eric Muenter committed suicide while in New York police custody.
The Ottoman Army failed at a final attempt to recapture ground in the Battle of Gully Ravine.
British forces withdrew from Lahij, South Arabia.
Last edition:
Sunday, July 4, 1915. Sedicionistas hit Los Indios. Ottomans and Arabs tribesmen hit Lahij, South Arabia (جنوب الجزيرة العربية).
Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the West: Salvation Army Church, Salt Lake City Utah
Churches of the West: Salvation Army Church, Salt Lake City Utah:
This poor photograph was taken from a moving car. It depicts the Salvation Army Church in Salt Lake City Utah. I believe this to be the only classically styled church belonging to the Salvation Army that I have ever seen.
This poor photograph was taken from a moving car. It depicts the Salvation Army Church in Salt Lake City Utah. I believe this to be the only classically styled church belonging to the Salvation Army that I have ever seen.
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