The Punitive Expedition: The Casper Daily Press, March 14, 1916.

Movies In History: Bridge of Spies

 Lockheed U2.

This 2015 movie depicts the events that lead to the Cold War prisoner exchange of Americans Francis Gary Powers and Frederic Pryor for Soviet Spy Rodolph Abel.

Directed by Stephen Spielberg with writing by the Coen brothers, the film cast Tom Hanks in the leading role as American insurance defense lawyer James B. Donovan in a film that's remarkably faithful to the actual events.  Donovan, just as the film portrays, was selected by the Brooklyn Bar Association to defend Rudolph Abel, whose real name was William Fisher, a British born (1903) man born to a family of German Russian ex patriot radicals who had returned to Russia in 1921.  He served in various capacities for the Soviet state through World War Two and was infiltrated into the United States in 1946.  His clover was blown in 1957 after a spy colleague defected over fear of being repatriated to the USSR due to Abel's complaints about his conduct.  When he was arrested and charged the Federal Court, using a procedure that has since passed into disuse, assigned the case out to the bar for selection of defense counsel.  Donovan was chosen even though he was an insurance defense lawyer as he had experience with the US government and in particularly the OSS during World War Two.

As the movie accurately portrays, Abel served a few years of his sentence before the concept of exchanging him for Francis Gary Powers, the U2 pilot shot down over the Soviet Union, revived his importance.  At that point, as the film depicts, Donovan was brought back into the picture and the means and operations of Donovan in connection with securing the prisoner exchange are remarkably accurately portrayed.  Indeed, this story may simply be so dramatic in its own right that it needs very little in the way of Hollywood embellishment.  It's excellently done.

Like most films there are some departures from 100% accuracy, but frankly there are very, very few.  To the extent they are, the story of the exchange is somewhat condensed and the U2 aspect of the story is condensed.  The film suggests that Powers flight over the USSR was the first one that occurred, but this is incorrect.  U.S. overflights of the Soviet Union started in 1956, four years before Powers was shot down.  Indeed, at the time of Powers flight the US was beginning to conclude that the flights had reached their limit as Soviet anti aircraft capabilities were improving.  They were not believed to have reached the capability of shooting down the very high flying US yet, but they were believed to be near capable of doing it.  Powers flight was, however, the longest overflight ever attempted and it went deeper into the USSR than any prior flight.

The film also does not go into detail over Powers confinement in the USSR, which is longer than the film would suggest.  Abel was four years into his sentence when the exchange took place and Powers was two years into his.  Details depicted concerning the negotiation of the release are correct, but the length of time the initial stages of the exchange took place to begin to arrange are very much condensed.  The actual process took months.

In material details the film is very well done.   The clothing, including the East German military uniforms, are correct.  The appearance of the characters is quite close to those of the actual characters for the most part, probably only the character of Wolfgang Vogel provides an exception.  Interestingly oddities of the law are also portrayed correctly in this film which deals with lawyers but not in the hyperactive way that most movie portrayals do.  The opening scene in which Donovan negotiates with a plaintiff's lawyer regarding how many occurrences a single collision resulting in five motorcycle injuries is something that an insurance defense lawyer such as myself can't help but be impressed with.  Indeed, off hand I think it's the only film I've ever seen in which an insurance defense lawyer is sympathetically portrayed.

Well worth seeing.

Monday at the Bar: Down to three potential Supreme Court nominees

Rumor has it that President Obama is down to three potential Supreme Court nominees, those being Merrick Garland, Sri Srinivasan and Paul Watford.  All have been vetted successfully by the Republcan Senate before.

While the Senate leadership has indicated that it intends to stick to its guns and refuse to consider any pick prior to the next President taking office it has to be the case that the election, which has taken an unpredicated and odd course, may start to change some minds.  Most Republican Senators are undoubtedly of the view that a Trump nomination will go down to defeat against Hillary Clinton in the fall and everyone is aware that a Clinton nominee will be much more liberal than any of these three.  Backing down on their pledge not to consider a nominee would look bad, but the impact would not be as bad as suffering with a liberal appointee in the next Congress.

The Punitive Expedition: The Casper Daily Press, March 13, 1916

Lex Anteinternet: No, just go away

Uff:

Last fall, when I ran this:

No, just go away

 

World War One era poster, from when Daylight Savings Time was a brand new announce.

I have not been able to adjust to the return to normal time this year.

Not even close.

I'm waking up most morning's about 3:30 am.  That would have been early even when Daylight Saving's Time was on, as that would have been about 4:30, but that is about the time I had been waking up, in part because I've been spending a lot of time in East Texas, where that's about 5:30.  Indeed, my inability to adjust back to regular time is working out for me in the context of being up plenty early enough to do anything I need to do in East Texas, but it's the pits back here in my home state.

I really hate Daylight Saving's Time.  I understand the thesis that it was built on, but I think it's wholly obsolete and simply ought to be dumped.

I meant it.

But the annual darkening of the morning time unreality event is back. So now I get to feel exhausted by act of Congress.

I see I'm not alone in my views. There's a petition to Congress.  There was a bill in the California Assembly.  And in Kansas.  And a petition to put it to a referendum in Utah. Rhode Island is considering ending as well.

And good riddance, I say.

Sunday Morning Scene: Churches of the West: St. Matthews Episcopal Cathedral, Laramie Wyoming

Churches of the West: St. Matthews Episcopal Cathedral, Laramie Wyoming:

This is the impressive St. Matthews Episcopal Cathedral in Laramie, Wyoming. This photograph was one I took in 1986, but the Cathedral appears largely the same today.

One oddity about this Cathedral is that the Episcopal diocese's offices are actually in Casper, Wyoming. While I don't know for sure, I think that this likely reflects the age of this cathedral, which is fairly old. At the time it was built, only southern Wyoming was relatively populated, and Laramie was a bit of a center of culture, being the site of the university, and of certain English interests that had entered the ranching industry and headquartered there. "Ivinson Street", for example, is named after one such family. The Cathedral does have a large administrative building, built in a Gothic style, which were likely the Diocese's administrative offices.

In later years, Cheyenne or Casper would prove to be more logical administrative centers, and in recent years the Episcopal Church apparently chose Casper as their administrative headquarters.

An adjoining courtyard to the Cathedral features a nice World War One memorial.

Mixed Messages

The price of oil is back up.

Not back up to what it was before it began sliding, but it's definitely back up.  After having slid to $26/bbl a couple of weeks ago its trading for nearly $40/bbl.

And there's reason to believe that his price will actually stick.

The price at the pump is also back up.  I drove to Rock Springs yesterday and filled up in Rawlins.  A little over a week ago I did the same thing and bought diesel there for about $1.60 something.  Yesterday it was $1.80 something.  And looking at the filling stations, feul generally seems to be have risen over 20 cents in a week, quite a rise in a short time.

However, the price is still generally low, at least low compared to what it recently has been, and the layoffs here continue on. That's no surprise, of course, as absent a massive rise, things in the works for companies keep on for a time.  Anadarko announced its layoffs this past week.  Encana will be this week. And yesterday it was learned that Halliburton is closing its local office.  That last one is quite a blow.

So, while the price seems to be stabilizing, maybe, the question is what is it stabilizing at?  $40/bbl is too low to really help the local economy, and even $50/bbl would be a problem.  It doesn't appear we're going to see a big rise soon, but perhaps these levels sustain some local production.

The Punitive Expedition: The March 11, 1916 news

The Punitive Expedition ordered.

The following orders went out to the U.S. Army:

You will promptly organize an adequate military force of troops under the command of Brigadier General John J. Pershing and will direct him to proceed promptly across the border in pursuit of the Mexican band which attacked the town of Columbus and the troops there on the morning of the 9th instant. These troops will be withdrawn to American territory as soon as the de facto government in Mexico is able to relieve them of this work period. In any event, the work of these troops will be regarded as finished as soon as Villa’s band or bands are known to be broken up. In carrying out these instructions you are authorized to employ whatever guides and interpreters are necessary and you are given general authority to employ such transportation including motor transportation, with necessary civilian personnel as may be required. 

You are instructed to make all practical use of the aeroplanes at San Antonio for observation. Telegraph for whatever reinforcements or material you need. Notify this office as to force selected and expedite movement

The Staff of Life: Bread

 The preparation of loaves of bread.

Bread is the staff of life; in which is contained, inclusive, the quintessence of beef, mutton, veal, venison, partridge, plum-pudding and custard: and to render all complete, there is intermingled a due quantity of water, whose crudities are also corrected by yeast or barm, through which it means it becomes a wholesome fermented liquor, diffused through the mass of bread.

Jonathan Swift, to whom I'd related on my mother's side.

Recently I heard a homily delivered referencing the Lord's Prayer and bread.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

The Lord's Prayer in contemporary English.

The Priest, an African native, noted that for a time he'd served as a Priest in Rome, and during that time he was thrown into a bit of crisis due to the massive  variety of Italian breads (twenty kinds, he related) and that so much of it was thrown away in a location that was just across from him.  At home, in Zambia, bread was consumed still just once a month, when his father was paid.  How, he wondered, could he relate the scarcity of bread in his native land, with the over abundance of it in his new location, and the scarcity of it referenced in the Lord's Prayer (my summation, not quite the way he put it)?  He figured that very few Americans or westerners thought of it in terms of scarcity.

Pater Noster, qui es in caelis:

sanctificétur nomen tuum;

advéniat regnum tuum;

fiat volúntas tua, sicut in caelo, et in terra.

Panem nostrum cotidiánum da nobis hódie;

et dimítte nobis débita nostra,

sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris;

et ne nos indúcas in temptatiónem,

sed líbera nos a malo.

The Lord's Prayer in Latin.

Well, it might be just me, or perhaps more the family I come from, but that thought, the scarcity of bread and what it means in the context of the prayer, is something that I have thought of before.  Perhaps because I can recall my father mentioning, in reference itself to the prayer, that in the ancient world "bread was truly the staff of life."

Padre nostro che sei nei cieli,

sia santificato il tuo Nome,

venga il tuo Regno,

sia fatta la tua Volontà

come in cielo così in terra.

Dacci oggi il nostro pane quotidiano,

e rimetti a noi i nostri debiti

come noi li rimettiamo ai nostri debitori,

e non ci indurre in tentazione,

ma liberaci dal Male.

The Lord's Prayer in contemporary Italian.

And indeed it was.

Bread was the basic foodstuff that fed great masses of humanity all around the world for centuries.  The diet we have today, with lots of variety, didn't exist in many localities, particularly after civilization, i.e., the construction of towns and cities, started in ancient times.  Not that any ancient society really had the variety of foods we have today, but hunter gatherer societies can have a more varied one than we suppose, with a fairly balanced diet.  In many ancient societies, however, once towns were built and crop agriculture set in, and indeed many societies right up until relatively modern times, bread was one of the basic if not the basic stable food item.  A person might have meat often, but they could hope to get by on bread.

Notre Père qui es aux cieux,

que ton Nom soit sanctifié,

que ton règne vienne,

que ta volonté soit faite

sur la terre comme au ciel.

Donne-nous aujourd’hui notre pain de ce jour.

Pardonne-nous nos offenses,

comme nous pardonnons aussi à ceux qui nous ont offensés.

Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation,

mais délivre-nous du mal. 

The Lord's Prayer in French.

That's quite a change, indeed, from what we experience now.  I suppose there may be exceptions, but by and large I don't know of any society that depends upon bread the same way that all peoples once did.

Πατερ ημων ο εν τοις ουρανοις·
     Pater hēmon ho en tois uranois;
αγιασθητω το ονομα σου·
     hagiasthēto to onoma su;
ελθετω η βασιλεια σου·
     elteto hē basileia su;
γενηθητω το θελημα σου, ως εν ουρανω και επι γης·
     genēthēto to thelēma su, hos en urano kai epi gēs;
τον αρτον ημων τον επιουσιον δος ημιν σημερον·
     ton arton hēmon to etiusion dos hēmin sēmeron;
και αφες ημιν τα οφειληματα ημον,
     kai aphes hemin ta opheilēmata hēmon,
ως και ημεις αφηκαμεν τοις οφειλεταις ημων·
     hos kai hēmeis aphēkamen tois opheiletais hēmon;
και μη εισενεγκης ημας εις πειρασμον,
     kai mē eisenegkēs hēmas eis peirasmon,
αλλα ρυσαι ημας απο του πονηρου.
     alla rhusai hēmas apo tu ponēru.

The Lord's Prayer in Greek.

Which is, I suppose, why ever culture around the world seems to have its own variety of it, with some societies in the wheat growing regions of the globe having multiple vareities of it.  Indeed, Italy and France seem to have a profusion of bread types, and good ones too, which we've only recently caught up with after basically importing their types.

Unser Vater in dem Himmel!
Dein Name werde geheiliget.
Dein Reich komme.
Dein Wille geschehe auf Erden wie im Himmel.
Unser täglich Brot gib uns heute.
Und vergib uns unsere Schulden,
wie wir unsern Schuldigern vergeben.
Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung,
sondern erlöse uns von dem Übel.

The Lord's Prayer in German.

And thank goodness for that, I'd note.  American breads of my youth were lousy, in my opinion. So packed with sugar that they are basically a really bland cake, the left a lot to be desired.  Those industrial breads are still around I'd note, but I don't have to buy them and I don't.

Отче наш, Иже еси на небесех!

Да святится имя Твое,

да приидет Царствие Твое,

да будет воля Твоя,

яко на небеси и на земли.

Хлеб наш насущный даждь нам днесь;

и остави нам долги наша,

якоже и мы оставляем должником нашим;

и не введи нас во искушение,

но избави нас от лукаваго. 

The Lord's Prayer in Russian.

Ironically, some of the really fancy breads of today started off, oddly enough, as poverty foods.  Italian walnut based breads and pastas (basically a species of bread, really) were the food of the really poor, who gleaned walnets.  Irish soda bread, which I really like and which I used to make on occasion, is a "short" bread with no or little sugar and no yeast.  Easy to make with only flour, just as the Irish poor were likely to not have.

Ranch cook making what is probably soda, or sheepherder's, bread in a cast iron pan, the way it is made at camps, and the way I even make it 

 

Оч͠е нашь ижє ѥси на н͠бсєхъ . да с͠титьсѧ имѧ

твоѥ да придєть ц͠рствиѥ твоѥ · да бѫдєть воля

твоя · яка на н͠бси и на земли хлѣбъ нашь насѫщьиыи ·

даждь намъ дьньсь · и остави намъ · длъгы

нашѧ · яко и мы оставляємъ длъжникомъ нашимъ

и нє въвєди насъ въ напасть · иъ избави ны отъ

нєприязни

The Lord's Prayer in Old Church Slavonic.

But I can see how many would have never considered this.

أبانا الذي في السّماوات

ليتقدَّسِ اسمُك

ليأتِ ملكوتُك

لتكُنْ مشيئتُكَ

كما في السَّماءِ كذلكَ على الأرض

خبزَنَا الجوهريَّ أعطِنا اليوم

واترُكْ لنا ما علينا

كما نتركُ نحنُ لِمَنْ لنا عليه

ولا تُدخِلْنا في تجربة

لكن نجِّنا مِن الشرير

آمين

The Lord's Prayer in Arabic.

Although I suspect that quite a few still do, even in spite of a modern condition in which foods supplies are so vast in the Western World that bread is sometimes regarded by some as a dietary enemy.

我們在天上的父，

願人都尊祢的名為聖，

願祢的國降臨，

願祢的旨意行在地上，

如同行在天上。

我們日用的飲食，

今日賜給我們，

免我們的債，

如同我們免了人的債，

不叫我們遇見試探，

救我們脫離兇惡，

因為國度、權柄、榮耀，全是祢的，

直到永遠。阿們！

The Lord's Prayer in Chinese.

And, in the context of the Lord's Prayer, if a person does, the deeper meaning of the prayer on that line is quite evident.

E ko mākou Makua i loko o ka lani,

e ho‘āno ‘ia Kou inoa.

E hiki mai Kou aupuni.

E mālama ‘ia Kou makemake ma ka honua nei,

e like me ia i mālama ‘ia ma ka lani lā.

E hā‘awi mai iā mākou i kēia lā i ‘ai na mākou no nēia lā;

a e kala mai ho‘i iā mākou i kā mākou lawehala ‘ana,

me mākou e kala nei i ka po‘e i lawehala i kā mākou;

a mai ho‘oku‘u ‘Oe iā mākou i ka ho‘owalewale ‘ia mai,

akā e ho‘opakele nō na‘e iā mākou i ka ino. 

Hawaiian.

Vår Far i himmelen!
La navnet ditt helliges.
La riket ditt komme.
La viljen din skje på jorden
slik som i himmelen.
Gi oss i dag vårt daglige brød,
og tilgi oss vår skyld,
slik også vi tilgir våre skyldnere.
Og la oss ikke komme i fristelse, men frels oss fra det onde.
For riket er ditt,
og makten og æren i evighet.

Norwegian

Faþer vár es ert í himenríki, verði nafn þitt hæilagt.

Til kome ríke þitt, værði vili þin

sva a iarðu sem í himnum.

Gef oss í dag brauð vort dagligt,

Ok fyr gefþu oss synþer órar,

sem vér fyr gefom þeim er viþ oss hafa misgert

Leiðd oss eigi í freistni, heldr leys þv oss frá öllu illu.

Old Norse

Faðir vor, þú sem ert á himnum.

Helgist þitt nafn,

til komi þitt ríki,

verði þinn vilji, svo á jörðu sem á himni.

Gef oss í dag vort daglegt brauð.

Fyrirgef oss vorar skuldir,

svo sem vér og fyrirgefum vorum skuldunautum.

Eigi leið þú oss í freistni, heldur frelsa oss frá illu.

[Því að þitt er ríkið, mátturinn og dýrðin að eilífu, amen.]

Icelandic

Ár nAthair, atá ar neamh: go naofar d'ainm.

Go dtaga do ríocht.

Go ndéantar do thoil ar talamh

mar a dhéantar ar neamh.

Ár n-arán laethúil tabhair dúinn inniu,

agus maith dúinn ár bhfiacha,

mar a mhaithimid dár bhféichiúnaithe féin.

Agus ná lig sinn i gcathú,

ach saor sinn ó olc.

[Óir is leatsa an Ríocht agus an Chumhacht

agus an Ghlóir, trí shaol na saol.]

Áiméan.

Irish

Isä meidän, joka olet taivaissa,

Pyhitetty olkoon sinun nimesi.

Tulkoon sinun valtakuntasi.

Tapahtukoon sinun tahtosi,

myös maan päällä niin kuin taivaassa.

Anna meille tänä päivänä

meidän jokapäiväinen leipämme.

Ja anna meille meidän syntimme anteeksi,

niin kuin mekin anteeksi annamme niille,

jotka ovat meitä vastaan rikkoneet.

Äläkä saata meitä kiusaukseen,

vaan päästä meidät pahasta.

[Sillä sinun on valtakunta

ja voima ja kunnia iankaikkisesti.]

Aamen.\

Finnish

The Punitive Expedition. Carranza Telegrams

Mexican President Carranza telegrams Woodrow Wilson indicating his desire that the recent raid upon Columbus New Mexico not result in war between the United States and Mexico.  Telegrams would go back and forth between the two nations for the next two days.

The Raid On Columbus: The Wyoming Tribune, March 10, 1916

Cheyenne's newspaper.  Probably an evening edition.

The Raid on Columbus New Mexico: The local March 10 news

And the industry losses continue

Anadarko announced today that it is laying off 17% of is workforce.  Anadarko once owned the large, and old, Salt Creek field in Wyoming, which is near Midwest and Edgerton Wyoming, but it sold the field last year.  So the very local losses, for Anadarko, were probably already sustained here last year.

Encana, another large company, which in its case has roots in Canada, will apparently lay off 20% of its workforce starting next week.

Froma Harrop on Dress Codes

Froma Harrop is by far one of my favorite columnists. Supposedly a liberal columnist, I don't know that her columns can really be easily categorized in a liberal or conservative fashion.

And she writes on a wide variety of topics, including this topic that was just run in our local paper, dress codes: COLUMN: Dress codes and female dignity:

Harrop is write on.

As I've noted before, this is an area that has really changed over time, that being standards of dress in general.  As that's changed, it seem to be the case that there's come to be a belief that basic human biology has also changed. Well, not so much, and for that reason, what is dignified in dress remains, in some very basic ways, unchanged.

An article well worth reading.

Lex Anteinternet: My thesis « Ramblings of a teacher, Redskins fan, and scrapbooker.

My thesis « Ramblings of a teacher, Redskins fan, and scrapbooker (Punitive Expedition Entry)

Leann, the author of the Ramblings of a teacher, Redskins fan, and scrapbooker blog  has posted a series of entries on her Master's Thesis, which deals with a family member who was a soldier during the Punitive Expedition and World War One..  Given the focus of this blog, I"m glad to see her do that, and I've mentioned her prior blog entries before.  Anyhow, she's serialized the entries, the first of which is here:

My thesis « Ramblings of a teacher, Redskins fan, and scrapbooker

Interesting stuff.

Lex Anteinternet: My thesis, part II « Ramblings of a teacher, Redskins fan, and scrapbooker (Punitive Expedition, Part II)

My thesis, part II « Ramblings of a teacher, Redskins fan, and scrapbooker (Punitive Expedition, Part II)

Part II of Leann's discussion on "My thesis, part II « Ramblings of a teacher, Redskins fan, and scrapbooker"

Punitive Expedition Threads on US Warhorse ~ The US Cavalry 1898 – 1920

A series of Punitive Expedition Threads on US Warhorse.

Secretary of War Baker issues the following order to Southern Department Commander Frederick Funston:

Secretary of War Baker issues the following order to Southern Department Commander Frederick Funston:

President has directed that an armed force be sent into Mexico with the sole object of capturing Villa and preventing any further raids by his band and with scrupulous regard for the sovereignty of Mexico. Secretary of War directs you telegraph exactly what you need to carry out foregoing general instructions but you will not take any overt steps until receipt orders from War Department

Lex Anteinternet: Mid Week at Work: U.S. Infantry in Texas.

Lex Anteinternet: Mid Week at Work: U.S. Infantry in Texas.