Anniversary Post: Humanum genus

Posted on 20 Apr 2015 by Frank Moraes

On this day in 1884, Pope Leo XIII released the papal encyclical, Humanum genus. Oh, that Catholic Church! It is always angry about something. And at that time, it was angry about, well, democracy. Or more precisely, it was not keen on popular sovereignty — the idea that government has the right to rule because of a mandate by the people and not because God decided it. Or as Dennis puts it Monty Python and the Holy Grail, “Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony!” Pope Leo begged to differ.

It also isn’t keen on separation of church and state. So basically, the whole damned thing was very un-American. The funny thing is that now a good 35% of the country — almost exclusively protestants — would totally agree with Leo the Pope. Among conservatives, democracy itself is out of favor. And most of these ninnies think the Constitution itself — you know, that document that rather pointedly doesn’t mention God — is divinely inspired. I really do wonder what kind of American history these people learned. Or is it just anything to justify getting what they want?

Anyway, back to the Humanum Genus, most of it was presented as an attack on the Freemasons. That makes sense, because they were a secular force. And they were of what is fast becoming my favorite American religious group: those who just don’t care enough to have much of an opinion about God. They are much more sensible than atheists like me who spend a lot of time on it. I mean, I would save a lot of time if I just became a Catholic and went to Mass each Sunday.

The Pope was also concerned about public education. Basically, the Pope was concerned that the people would be self-reliant and not dependent upon the hierarchy that God himself set up. In other words, Pope Leo was the same as the power elite at any time: he was just complaining about trends that were threatening his power. I think people should give Pope Francis a little slack in that regard. But it’s a different time. At least in America, it isn’t the pope who is oppressing us. It is the corporate state. And just like the many Catholics in 1884 who loved the oppression of Humanum genus, so there are many today who love their modern subsistence wage economy.

Happy anniversary Humanum genus!

Anniversary Post: David Ricardo

Posted on 18 Apr 2015 by Frank Moraes

On this day in 1772, the economist David Ricardo was born. In Mark Blyth’s book, Austerity: the History of a Dangerous Idea, he does not come off at all well. But why would he? He was writing 200 years ago. The problem with Ricardo and Smith and Locke is not that they have relatively little to tell us about the modern economy; the problem is that there are so many people who want to follow them for ideological reasons.

Let us consider the idea of Ricardian equivalence. It’s an interesting idea. According to it, the government spending money on stimulus won’t work. This is because, according to the theory, the extra money that the government spends will have to be paid off at a later time in extra taxes. The people know this and so reduce their spending by however much the government increases its spending. It’s a very clever idea. It’s also wrong.

Did World War II happen, or not? The military buildup in anticipation of war got the United States out of the depression. So it is a cool idea that if people were perfectly rational computers, extra government spending mightn’t do any good. But we have World War II and countless other examples of how government deficit spending does indeed stimulate the economy.

But let’s just assume for a moment that Ricardian equivalence actually did work. It most certainly wouldn’t work the way that I’ve heard many conservatives claim that it does. Let’s suppose that the government spends $100 to stimulate the economy. According to the theory, the people would reduce their spending by a total of $100. But the $100 that the government spends will be spend right now (or close enough). The extra taxes to pay for that spending will be spread out over many years or even decades. So if we assume that the tax liability will be spread out over a decade, the government would spend $100 that first year and it would be partially offset by reduced private sector spending of $10 — not $100. Thus, there would indeed be a $90 stimulus that year.

So let’s all just admit that David Ricardo was a smart guy. And the people today who think that he was right are total idiots who are ideologically driven to find any justification for their preferred policies — which are to screw the worker and help the rich.

Happy birthday David Ricardo!

Anniversary Post: Daffy Duck

Posted on 17 Apr 2015 by Frank Moraes

On this day in 1937, the first appearance of Daffy Duck was made in the Looney Tunes short, “Porky’s Duck Hunt.” In those early shorts, Daffy is a much more likable character. He’s kind of like Bugs Bunny, but absolutely insane. He’s also a lot more like a real duck. I find him quite charming. And this sets up a long collaboration with Porky Pig. Although in subsequent shorts they are more friends or, as was more true later on, Daffy was often trying to con the trusting Porky. My favorite is “Fool Coverage” where Daffy sells Porky accident insurance that will pay a million dollars, “Provided the accident occurs as the result of a stampede of wild elephants in your own living room, on the Fourth of July — of any year — between the hours of 3:55 and 4:00 pm, during a hailstorm.” Which of course is exactly what happens.

Anyway, here is the short that started it all:

There is a middle period where Daffy is still kind of duck like, and still mostly insane. “Yankee Doodle Daffy” is a good example of it:

Later, the portrayal of Daffy Duck turned very meta — with Daffy constantly jealous of Bugs Bunny. These are still quite good, but I don’t really like the two characters being pitted against each other. It doesn’t show either of them in the best light. My favorite later Daffy Duck cartoon is “Duck Amuck” where he is all alone. Or is he?

Happy birthday Daffy Duck!

Anniversary Post: Charlie Chaplin

Posted on 16 Apr 2015 by Frank Moraes

On this day in 1889, Charlie Chaplin was born. I remember reading a quote from Woody Allen talking about how he preferred Chaplin’s films to Buster Keaton’s. And he admitted that Keaton made the better films. This is true. Chaplin’s films really do suck in terms of cinematic art. Basically, he just set up a camera and shot the whole scene in a medium shot. In other words: he was filming plays.

But I’m with Allen. I admire Keaton. But I almost never watch his films anymore. But I own both The Gold Rush and Modern Times. And just recently, I watched The Kid. And City Lights is an outstanding film. It’s not even that they are funny — even though they still make me laugh from time to time. They are just so sweet at the same time that they are subversive. The Little Tramp is not exactly a believer in the American Dream. He’s just trying to get by. America would do better if it stopped believing in the “American Dream,” because it’s pretty tattered at this point — more the American Myth.

Anyway, I don’t have much to say about Chaplin the man; the films are enough. And here is the whole 1971 re-released cut of The Kid, which is 15 minutes shorter than the original cut. I don’t know the film well enough to say what’s different. But I got twenty minutes into watching the video before I managed to pry myself away to finish this article.

Happy birthday Charlie Chaplin!

Anniversary Post: Teapot Dome Scandal

Posted on 15 Apr 2015 by Frank Moraes

Albert Fall On this day in 1922, the Senate investigation of the Teapot Dome scandal started. I probably wouldn’t even bring it up, except for the fact that two years ago, 74% of Republicans polled said that the Benghazi “scandal” was worse than the Teapot Dome scandal. I’m pretty sure that almost none of those Republicans even knew what the Teapot Dome scandal was. And really, how could it ever be worse? There was no television at that time and thus no talking points to get wrong. Remember: the Benghazi “scandal” had nothing to do with the attack itself; it was all about what Susan Rice said on the Sunday morning political talk shows. That is the extent of Republican thinking on such matters. (It was only later that things were added as it became obvious that the Republicans were just scandal mongering and didn’t actually care about the attack.)

The scandal itself is nothing that special. Teapot Dome in Wyoming was one of several oil reserves held by the US Navy. When Warren Harding became president, he issued an executive order transferring control to the Department of the Interior. Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, leased the oil rights to a couple of different oil companies for great prices. There was no bidding — it was typical corruption. What is interesting is that this was not illegal.

What was illegal was that the oil companies gave Fall a few million dollars (in today’s currency). He was eventually jailed for a year. Interestingly, however, the man he was convicted of getting a bribe from, Edward Doheny, was found not guilty of bribing a public official. Sort of typical American justice, if you ask me.

What I think is very interesting in this case is that this 1922 act of public corruption is still the only thing that Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts thinks constitutes bribery. And of course, this isn’t how it works at all today. In general, these oil tycoons wouldn’t have to write checks to politicians; they would just write checks to super PACs who support the politicians. So John Roberts and the other crooks on the Supreme Court have simply defined corruption out of existence.

So there will be no more Teapot Dome scandals. We’ve sold honest government away so we can have anti-choice justices on the Supreme Court. Until they’re born, American humans will be the best protected in the world. After they are born, who cares? Certainly not the Supreme Court. Certainly not our politicians. Certainly not most of the American people. But at least the Teapot Dome scandal makes a good polling question. Is the Iran deal worse than the Teapot Dome scandal? I don’t know for sure, but I’ll bet 74% of Republicans would say yes.

Happy anniversary Teapot Dome scandal!

Anniversary Post: Pennsylvania Abolition Society

Posted on 14 Apr 2015 by Frank Moraes

Am I Not a Man and a Brother On this day in 1775, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society was formed. It’s interesting. The United States, from its very beginning was such a schizophrenic nation. The south really had no problem with being subservient to the British crown. The reason they were for independence was because they saw that very soon, Britain was going to make slavery illegal. So despite what you saw in 1776, slavery was not a side issue in the founding of the country; it is absolutely integral to it.

Mostly those in the north didn’t care. But some did. The Pennsylvania Abolition Society was founded primarily by Quakers. But one of the founding members was the one founder of this country who stands far above all the others: Thomas Paine. But on that issue as on most issues today, Paine was ahead of the curve. I never really accept the claims from conservatives that of course slavery is wrong. These same conservatives claim that the Bible is the literal word of God. And the Bible is downright giddy on the subject of slavery. And remember: it’s okay to beat your slaves, but not so badly that they die within three days. Have some humanity!

But the best recent example of how conservatives are in favor of slavery is Cliven “I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro” Bundy. Remember what that one more thing was? It was that African Americans were better off under slavery because at least they learned a trade: cotton picking! That was much better than the fever dream of Bundy where African Americans are all enslaved by welfare checks. I assume he has about as much experience with African Americans as I do Basque separatists. But never mind.

Happy anniversary Pennsylvania Abolition Society!

Anniversary Post: Eugene V Debs’s Prison Stay

Posted on 13 Apr 2015 by Frank Moraes

Eugene Debs On this day in 1919, Eugene V Debs started his ten year prison sentence for the crime of encouraging people to resist the draft for that great moral cause World War I. He would eventually spend just short of five years. He was prosecuted under the Espionage Act of 1917. You might be aware of that law because it was basically never used until that great civil libertarian Barack Obama became president. Obama really is a great example of why the Democratic Party is nothing more than “not quite as bad as the Republican Party.”

Debs was 63 years old when he was sent off to jail. If he had served out his entire term, he would have died in jail. His case is an excellent reminder that there really isn’t that much difference between the United States and other countries. I remember as a kid hearing all the horror stories about life in the Soviet Union. But for most people, it really wasn’t any different — except that the United States was a richer country.

I remember during the Reagan administration, a young girl being praised for turning in her parents to the authorities. It seems that her parents were cocaine dealers. That was the kind of thing I had been told about the Soviet Union: kids turned in their parents for political crimes. What I didn’t realize until I heard the story of the little girl was that countries never call their own crimes “political.” They call them crimes against society — like the terrible crime of selling cocaine to willing buyers.

They say that the truth is the first casualty of war. But Debs wasn’t first imprisoned during war. He was imprisoned for labor organizing. He was imprisoned for standing up to the powerful. And the powerful act the same way wherever you go. America isn’t exceptional in that way. In the control that the rich have over our government, we are pathetically typical.

We mark this one of millions of injustices that the United States government has committed against its people.

Anniversary Post: Edward de Vere

Posted on 12 Apr 2015 by Frank Moraes

On this day in 1550, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford was born. He was an awful person. He wouldn’t accept that the first child of his marriage was his. He was pretty much the definition of a libertine. But he was a poet and playwright of some repute. You know, at that time, the rich didn’t have much to do with their time. Of course Edward spent through all of his fortune by the end of his life. And that is with the Queen giving me a thousand pounds per year in addition (an enormous amount of money). I could not possibly care less about this idiot, except for one thing.

A lot of people think he wrote the plays of William Shakespeare. In one way, who cares? I mean, we know almost nothing about Shakespeare anyway. So what does it matter? But it really bugs me that one of the main reasons that people think Edward wrote the plays is because Shakespeare’s plays supposedly show so much knowledge of the way that the aristocracy lived. But this is so ridiculous. I’m poor, but I have a damned good idea of how the rich live. And it isn’t just because of television. In Shakespeare’s time, the poor knew how the rich lived because they saw it — and their servants saw it up close and personal.

What’s more, this desire to find someone — Anyone! — but Shakespeare to have written the plays is based on the idea that the plays are so amazingly great that they couldn’t have just been written an ex-school teacher from the country. Well, I have news for you all. Although Shakespeare’s plays were well regarded during his life, they weren’t seen as any better than the plays of Marlowe or Jonson. And they were seen as inferior to the plays of people who came after. I’m a fan of Shakespeare, but he just wasn’t that great.

So people: get over it. If you want to think that someone else wrote Shakespeare’s plays, at least go with Marlowe. At least in that case you have royal spying and murder and faked deaths. It’s a lot more fun. The Edward de Vere narrative is just boring. But really, I think people get into the whole “who wrote Shakespeare” question because it relieves them of having to read the plays, which are by and large not all that great. So sure, I’d rather read “Shakespeare” Identified in Edward De Vere, Seventeenth Earl of Oxford than The Two Noble Kinsmen. But that doesn’t prove anything.

So happy birthday you great pretender, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford!

Anniversary Post: Apple I

Posted on 11 Apr 2015 by Frank Moraes

Apple I Today, the Apple I is 39 years old. The company itself was started just ten days earlier. It’s interesting that in the public consciousness, Apple is Steve Jobs. Yet the first Apple computer was not built by Steve Jobs. In fact, I don’t think that Steve Jobs ever built a computer. He was the sales guy — the PR man. The Apple I was built by Steve Wozniak. So was the Apple II. Wozniak was the tech guy of the company for as long as the company couldn’t afford to hire tech people from outside.

Apparently, a year earlier, Wozniak had attended a computer club meeting. He was so inspired that he decided to build his own computer. And a year later, he had. Forgive me for not thinking much about the non-technical aspects of business, but I just don’t think that Jobs’ “idea” of selling the computer was all that brilliant. But he’s the man who everyone remembers. And he’s the man who every know-nothing uses (along with Bill Gates) as examples of entrepreneurship and why we need to keep Mitt Romney’s taxes low.

The Apple I was a pretty basic unit. It came with 4 KB of memory — which could be expanded to 8 KB on board or 48 KB with expansion cards. I know, this sounds like nothing. But the truth is that with 48 KB, there are some pretty decent user applications that can be created. In particular, I’ve run totally acceptable word processors and spreadsheets on computers of that quality. But the biggest thing that limited all computers of that age was the video. The Apple I had a 40×24 character display. It looked something like this:

On March 5, 1975 Steve Wozniak attended

the first meeting of the Homebrew

Computer Club in Gordon French’s garage.

He was so inspired that he immediately

set to work on what would become the

Apple I computer. Wozniak calculated

that laying out his design would cost

$1,000 and parts would cost another $20

per computer; he hoped to recoup his

costs if 50 people bought his design

for $40 each. His friend Steve Jobs

obtained an order from a local computer

store the Byte Shop the affordable

computer store in Mt View California

for 50 computers at $500 each. To

fulfill the $25,000 order, they obtained

$20,000 in parts at 30 days net and

delivered the finished product in 10

days. Apple went on to be one of the

biggest computer companies in the world

by stealing innovations of other

companies and suing any competitors. Now

people buy Apple products because of its

brand, even though better products at

cheaper prices are widely available.

Happy anniversary Apple I!

Anniversary Post: The Great Gatsby

Posted on 10 Apr 2015 by Frank Moraes

On this day 90 years ago, F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby was published. It is certainly one of the best 20th century American novels — very possibly the best. But I’m not sure I can justify that claim in an objective sense. Fitzgerald had an extremely compelling style. But it may just be that his sense of ambiguity very much matches my own. And that is perhaps best illustrated in The Great Gatsby.

It is hard for me to read the book without bringing a lot of my own opinions about class and the United States along. No one ever questions that it isn’t fundamentally an honest reflection of the country. Yet most people want to ignore its great insights. Basically, you have the Buchanans, who I would say at the useless wealthy. They are what we are always told America doesn’t have: aristocrats.

On the other side, we have Gasby, tragic in his successful efforts to work his way into that social class. His obsession with Daisy is not as a woman but as a symbol of attainment in that society. Nick is also attracted to the world of the useless wealthy, but his failure provides him with armor against it. And ultimately, his personal nobility saves him.

I didn’t realize it before, but the novel was badly reviewed at the time and did not sell well. This is often the case with what we now consider great books (or whatever). But it does seem like the kind of book that wouldn’t be very easy to understand in 1925. It was really a novel that needed the Great Depression to be fully appreciated. Also: critics are generally idiots.

Happy anniversary The Great Gatsby!

The Great Gatsby is apparently finally in the public domain in Australia. You’ve got to wonder why it isn’t in the United States. This isn’t freedom. This isn’t protecting creative works. This is protecting corporate profits. And this is part of what The Great Gatsby is about.

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