The dust bowl
I read a book a long time ago called out of the dust by Karen Hesse. It is about a young girl and is a good read, as long as you forget that the book is historical fiction and someone could have gotten killed by it, could have lived that way.
This novel was written to describe the horrible conditions the dust bowl was under. It was a horrible, terrifying hell, which is why so many people left States such as Oklahoma, where this book is set.
The people left not only for economic hatdships, but also for pure terror of being caught in a large wind, blowing enough topsoil to suffocate a person.
There were many things that the United States did to change this, and those things worked, such as using:
Cover crops
Drip irrigation
And other means of keeping the topsoil where it is supposed to be- on top of the soil, not in the air. Many of the ideas with sustainable farming keep topsoil where it is supposed to be, which is a great resin to switch to sustainable farming.
Out of the dust, Karen Hesse
Friday, May 18, 2018
Bessie Coleman, a queen
Bessie Coleman was an amazing woman. I've written multiple blog posts about Amelia Earhart, another female pilot, but history often overlooks Bessie Coleman. As a woman who was both black and Native American, Bessie Coleman is not treated with the same respect that Amelia Earhart was, even though Bessie Coleman began flying much earlier than Amelia Earhart. She was the first civilian African American pilot in the world. She spent her youth working in a cotton field after she was born in 1892. When she decided to become a pilot, no schools in America would take her. She was a black woman, and wasn't treated with respect. She went to France to go to flight school. Bessie left for France in 1921, and learned to fly. She used her position for good once she gained fame. She refused to perform unless the audiences were desegregated, and donated the money she earned to start a flight school for black people.
https://www.nationalaviation.org/our-enshrinees/coleman-bessie/
https://www.nationalaviation.org/our-enshrinees/coleman-bessie/
Gerrymandering in America
You might have heard the term "gerrymandering" being thrown around on the news in recent years. The topic has had growing importance in politics as some people have noticed Republicans have had an unfairly easy time in controlling the House of Representatives. In fact, an incredible amount of districts are super gerrymandered, as shown below.
But how does gerrymandering happen? Well, since the task of drawing up a state's congressional districts usually falls to a state's legislature, when a certain party controls the state legislature, they are often prone to drawing the district lines in order to give their party the most districts. One drastic example of this is North Carolina, which has undergone extreme redistricting based on which party controls the state legislature and therefore makes the congressional map.
While both parties gerrymander, with Democrats actually making the trend popular in the lates 1990s by gerrymandering Southern districts to keep their control of the South as Republicanism swept through the South. However, in recent years, Republicans have been more known to gerrymander, with the Republican strongholds of North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Utah, Arkansas, and Ohio all only being so strong due to Republican state legislature manipulation. There are actually far more Democratic votes cast in these elections that are represented in the House.
To be fair, Democrats gerrymander as well, with the states of Maryland and California (yes, even California) being gerrymandered to give an advantage to Democratic candidates.
For those concerned about this pressing issue that turns our representation into some sort of manipulation puzzle game for state legislature majority parties, there is hope. In the past year, outraged Democrats in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania and Republicans in Maryland have filed cases citing gerrymandering as illegal manipulation of voter representation. Well, these cases have been very controversial, with some even reaching the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court temporarily blocked pleas to change the North Carolina map, but chose not to block a similar case out of Pennsylvania, allowing the districts to be redrawn.
Clearly, gerrymandering is a complex issue that will not be easily solved. However, with newly gained attention and court cases that have or may reach the Supreme Court, people remain hopeful that something will be done about this immoral process which has infiltrated our democracy.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/gerrymandering
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/03/01/this-is-the-best-explanation-of-gerrymandering-you-will-ever-see/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.10ffa40ae19a
https://rantt.com/the-top-10-most-gerrymandered-states-in-america/
https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/ongoing-partisan-gerrymandering-cases
The Third Wave
The Third Wave was an experiment in 1967 that was lead by Ron Jones, then a young teacher at Palo Alto High School. Yes, this experiment took place in California, right near here, more than 50 years ago. Jones was teaching his students about the Holocaust and the inaction of the German population. His students could not grapple with the idea that people could accept and perpetuate such a terrible ideology. In response, Jones believed that an experiment in fascism might teach them better than anything he could recall from history. So began a four-day experiment where a group of high school students became a microcosm for the fascist regime of the past.
On the first day, Jones began with extensive drilling of his students and proper seating. They were told to sit up straight and greet him uniformly when he entered the class. They were told to address him as Mr. Jones and be proper with asking and answering questions. In addition, one of the provisions for the experiment was that if the students went along, they would get an A, and if they tried to overthrow him, they’d get an F. If they did not want to participate, they would be sent to the library. In addition, they were told this movement was one that was going to overthrow democracy. Ethically, this was of course questionable. However, it had the effect that Jones had intended.
Jones initially planned the experiment to only last one day, but it didn’t. On the second day, the class had adopted a strong sense of discipline and community, and were taught a salute similar to Hitler salute of the old Nazi regime. They were told to salute each other outside of class as well. The students were told that the experiment extended to outside of school, and any student who did not comply with this would be punished.
By the third day, the experiment had gathered a following, expanding past just his class to students who had a free period and were interested in this event. More elements were adopted, such as member cards and tasks for the members. Jones was surprised when members began to approach him with information on other members who were not fulfilling their responsibilities. The class had tremendous motivation by this point, and each student’s academic scores had improved.
The fourth day was when Jones decided the experiment had gone out of his control, and needed to end. He falsely announced that this was a nationwide movement, and a presidential candidate would be revealed the next day.
On the final day Jones revealed the candidate, which was just a static screen, and then told his students about the implications of the experiment. He then played a video on the Nazis. Some students had their suspicions confirmed about the experiment, while others were horrified at their descent into fascism. They all realized the power of the such a movement, and while his means definitely were not justified, Jones had taught them a valuable lesson about the motivations of the German people. It goes to show that the reality of the past is different from the lens we see it through from the future, and there is more the issue than meets the eye.
How Hawaii Became a state
Queen Liliuokalani was the last queen of Hawaii. She became the queen in 1891, after her brother, who was the king, died. Her brother, King Kalakaua had been forced by white farmers to sign "The Bayonet Constitution." It limited the monarchy's power and gave more power to white Americans. Queen Liliuokalani drafted a new constitution which gave more power to the monarchy as well as restoring rights to native Hawaiians. White people did not approve. They formed a “committee of public Safety” (if you’re a monarch and your citizens form a Committee of Public Safety, you know that nothing good is to come.) They formed a mob and went to discourage the queen from signing her own constitution. The US navy decided to protect the mob during their coup. The queen was forced to abdicate, and the white farmers formed a provisional government. They accused Queen Liliuokalani of treason and put her under house arrest in her palace for defending her right to the throne. President Benjamin Harrison approved of the annexation of Hawaii into the United States after that. After that, Grover Cleveland was the president, and he said he wouldn't approve of the annexation. After deciding that the coup was unjust, he turned the matter to congress. Congress decided to recognize the provisional government white farmers set up, led by Sanford Dole. Dole as in Dole pineapples. Although Queen Liliuokalani was under house arrest, she wouldn't stop fighting for Hawaii and the rights of Native Hawaiians. She went to congress as soon as she was released to fight for rights, but at that point the Spanish American war started, and Hawaii was seen as a strategic stronghold. The government decided to annex Hawaii, and Queen Liliuokalani lost her title as queen. However, she never stopped fighting for good. She was proud of her identity as a Hawaiian, and refused to watch the annexation ceremony. She started a foundation to help orphans in Hawaii, and even wrote music that is still used today.
http://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0300590
http://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0300590
Coakley vs. Brown: A Stunning Upset in a Very "Blue" State
As 2009 wound down, a powerful movement was growing: the "Tea Party". This group of conservatives was strongly motivated by religion, the second amendment, and a feeling that the government was not representing them at all. Led by individuals such as Sarah Palin and Paul Ryan, the Tea Party became a grassroots movement, spreading across the country and inciting conservatives to flock to the polls.
One of the most shocking results of this movement was a special election in Massachusetts on January 19, 2010. The race gained notable attention for two reasons. First, the special election was being held to replace the seat held by Ted Kennedy since 1962. Massachusetts had seemed generally very happy with the performance of this liberal senator, so it was expected that someone just as liberal would replace him.
The second reason the race was closely watched was because of the current balance of power in the Senate. Following the Democratic sweep in 2008, Democrats controlled 60 seats in the Senate, while the Republicans controlled 40. With such a majority by the Democrats, it was impossible for Republicans to hold a filibuster, negotiating on and possibly blocking some bills. This allowed Democrats, who also held a majority in the House, to freely pass whatever bills they wanted to. For this reason, Republicans were very hopeful that there would be an upset in consistently Democratic Massachusetts that would change the seat count to D-59 and R-41. With one more seat to their name, the Republicans would legally be allowed to filibuster.
The Democratic candidate in the race was Martha Coakley, Massachusetts's popular attorney general who had easily won her primary a few months before the general election. She was highly expected to win the race without much difficulty.
The Republicans chose Scott Brown, a relatively unknown Massachusetts state senator. However, despite his lack of recognition, Brown had his own powerful weapons. First, he had the support of the Tea Party movement, which was developing great power in sending conservatives to the polls and creating revolutions. Second, he was able to play on the fears of moderates who seemed worried at the performance of the Obama administration. Shaky attempts to pass the tax bill and the health care bill using only the support of Democrats had been two lows in Obama's track record that concerned everyone from conservatives to moderates to even some liberals.
Despite a history of Democrats in the state, which would indicate a strong win by Coakley, Brown appeared to be doing amazingly well in the polls. What he would bring as a new outsider to Congress who would promise to oppose some of the actions unpopular to the general public had proved effective in winning over independents and even Democrats. Coakley grew increasingly concerned about her chances, and realizing this vote would determine whether Democrats could prevent filibusters or not, she decided she needed to call Obama up to Massachusetts the weekend before the election.
However, this last-minute attempt to send Democrats to the polls in droves did not succeed, to the dismay of Democrats trying to pass the healthcare bill. Brown won a stunning upset, 52% to 48%, and took hold of the 41st seat necessary for filibusters.
https://www.politico.com/story/2010/01/brown-pulls-off-historic-upset-031674
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/us/politics/20election.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_special_election_in_Massachusetts,_2010#General_election_campaign
David Boies
David Boies
David Boies is a remarkable man who has shaped American society with his actions. He is lawyer whose cases have greatly influenced the modern era, and he continues to have an impact. David Boies is known for his involvement in the Westmoreland vs. CBS case, the IBM cases, the case of the 2000 election, and, most famously, the antitrust case against Microsoft. Recently he has been the subject of some controversy due to his representation of the media mogul turned social pariah Harvey Weinstein. Boies is exceptionally intelligent, with a near photographic memory and the ability to flawlessly hold several conversations at once. He is undoubtedly one of if not the most prominent trial lawyer of this generation.
Boies was born in Marengo, Illinois to two teachers. He was raised in a farming community before moving to California, where he graduated from Fullerton Union High School. He married his high school sweetheart and considered settling down, but decided instead to enroll in college. He attended a small Baptist school before transferring to Northwestern University. At Northwestern, Boies shined. He was the top student by far, and this was where he got interested in law. By this time he was separated from his first wife, and he met his second wife while at the school. Unfortunately, this woman was married to a professor, and the ensuing scandal lead to his banishment from the school. He was fine, however, because he was able to transfer into Yale, his dream school, for a program in law and economics. He was hired right out of college by Cravath, a fairly prominent law firm at the time. It was at Cravath that Boise began his conquest of the litigation world. It was after his tenure at this firm, however, that he was asked by the U.S. Department of Justice to try their case against Microsoft and Bill Gates for violating the antitrust laws. Boies agreed, and so began his involvement in one of the most important cases for the new era of technology. This exchange was immortalized when the two clashed, and Gates’ deposition was a clear demonstration of his underestimation of Boies. In the end, Boies won, and Gates and Microsoft were humbled by the power of this lawyer. Boies later stated that he would not have minded representing Gates and Microsoft, as he takes cases based on interest, and to him Gates was certainly an interesting guy. Boies then went on to represent Al Gore in his case of the 2000 election, where unfortunately he lost when the Supreme Court ordered the recount to stop.
This man, David Boies, is a remarkable individual whose actions have molded the laws of recent history, not by changing them, but by upholding them in the pursuit of justice. He will go down in history as one of the greatest American trial lawyers of all time. While he will not join the U.S. Justice Department, his involvement with some of the most pivotal cases of recent history have enshrined him in this history of America’s government.
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