Old Sailors' Almanac

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Week 21, 2021

Previous Week   May 24, 2021 - May 30, 2021  Next Week

John T. Scopes - defendant in the famous “Monkey Trial” is indicted for teaching the theory of evolution in his high school science class on May 25, 1925

John T. Scopes - defendant in the famous “Monkey Trial” is indicted for teaching the theory of evolution in his high school science class on May 25, 1925

John T. Scopes - defendant in the famous “Monkey Trial” is indicted for teaching the theory of evolution in his high school science class: John T. Scopes was a 24-year-old physics, chemistry and math teacher at the public high school in Dayton, Tennessee, when local community leaders persuaded him to answer the ACLU’s call for a defendant in a test case challenging the Butler Act. That law, passed in March 1925, made it illegal to teach any theory contradicting the Biblical version of creation, as presented in the Book of Genesis. While filling in as a substitute teacher in a biology class, Scopes used a textbook that promoted the theory of human evolution introduced by the English naturalist Charles Darwin in his 1871 book “The Descent of Man”.

Arrested on May 9, 1925, Scopes asked some of his students to testify against him in front of a grand jury in Nashville (about 150 miles northwest of Dayton) to ensure that his case would go to trial. On May 25, the grand jury indicted Scopes on the charge that he “did unlawfully and willfully teach…certain theory and theories that deny the story of Divine creation of man as taught in the Bible and did teach thereof that man descended from a lower order of animals”.

Scopes’ indictment opened the way for what would become known as the “trial of the century”, or the “Scopes Monkey Trial”. Heading up the prosecution team was William Jennings Bryan, a three-time Democratic presidential candidate and a devout Christian who often spoke passionately and publicly about the Bible’s teachings. Scopes’ defense was led by the renowned Chicago attorney Clarence Darrow, a member of the ACLU known for his defense of labor unions and opposition to the death penalty.

The trial took place in the blisteringly hot month of July 1925, at the Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton. Thousands of visitors, including journalists and prominent academics, poured into the small town to see the clash of evolutionism versus creationism, rural fundamentalism versus worldly urban sophistication. Darrow and his colleagues on the defense team made no attempt to maintain their client’s innocence of the charges against him, but argued that the Butler Act itself was unconstitutional. As a result, Scopes’ particular situation gave way to a larger debate over the validity of Darwin’s theory versus the authority of the Bible.

John T. Scopes - defendant in the famous “Monkey Trial” is indicted for teaching the theory of evolution in his high school science class on May 25, 1925

The drama reached its peak on the seventh day of the trial. The courtroom had grown so packed, and the heat so intense, that Judge John T. Raulston ordered that the trial proceedings be moved outside. As the judge had prohibited the defense from calling any scientific witnesses, Darrow took the highly unusual step of calling Bryan himself onto the stand as an expert on the Bible. Under cross-examination, Darrow got his opponent to admit that creation was not completed in a week, but “might have continued for millions of years” - in effect, that not all of the Bible’s teachings should be taken literally - considered a major triumph for the defense.

The lawyers’ heated exchange might have continued, as Bryan wanted to put Darrow on the stand the following day, but Judge Raulston put a halt to that and declared Darrow’s cross-examination irrelevant to the case. Darrow responded by asking the jury to find his client guilty, so they could move on and appeal the verdict to a higher court. The jury did so, finding Scopes guilty of violating the Butler Act and fining him $100. The verdict allowed Bryan to claim a nominal victory, but it was a short-lived celebration: he died of apoplexy five days after the trial ended. On the other hand, the case had allowed Darrow and the ACLU to present arguments on behalf of evolution to a larger audience than ever before.

On appeal, the state supreme court upheld the Butler Act’s constitutionality but acquitted Scopes, on the grounds that he had been excessively punished. The Scopes Monkey Trial would become the basis for the acclaimed 1955 play “Inherit the Wind”, as well as a 1960 film of the same name starring Spencer Tracy. Scopes himself left teaching and became a chemical engineer in the oil industry.

The “trial of the century” faded from the public’s memory, but the Tennessee law would remain on the books for four more decades, and evolution would not become part of accepted school curricula until the 1960s. As late as 2011, according to a report in the New York Times, a national survey of 900 public high school biology teachers found that only 28 percent followed the recommendations of the National Research Council to present the evidence for evolution in a straightforward manner. Thirteen percent said they explicitly advocated creationism, while about 60 percent said they played it safe, declining to endorse either evolution or its alternatives.

HISTORY STORIES: The Scopes “Monkey Trial” Pitted Science Against Religion: Watch Rare Footage

History Channel / Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / University of Missouri-Kansas City - School of Law.edu / ACLU.org / United States History.org / Constitution Center.org / Famous Trials / Live Science / John T. Scopes - defendant in the famous “Monkey Trial” is indicted for teaching the theory of evolution in his high school science class on May 25, 1925 (YouTube) video


“This Day in History”

This Day in History May 25

• 567 BC Servius Tullius the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans

• 240 BC First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.

• 1085 Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain, back from the Moors.

• 1420 Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ.

• 1521 Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw

• 1644 Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan pass, letting the Manchus through towards the capital Beijing.

• 1659 Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth of England.

• 1787 After a delay of 11 days, the United States Constitutional Convention formally convenes in Philadelphia after a quorum of seven states is secured.

• 1935 Jesse Owens, of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

• 1937 Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante kills 313 people.

• 1940 World War II: Battle of Boulogne: The German 2nd Panzer Division captures the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer; the surrender of the last French and British troops marks the end of the Battle of Boulogne.

• 1953 Nuclear Weapons Testing: Upshot-Knothole Grable: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.

• 2008 NASA's Phoenix lander touches down in the Green Valley region of Mars to search for environments suitable for water and microbial life.

• 2012 SpaceX Dragon becomes the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station

Wikipedia.org


Understanding Military Terminology: At the Marine Corps Museum: Norman Rockwell's “The War Hero”

Understanding Military Terminology

Protected emblems

The red cross, red crescent, and other symbols that designate that persons, places, or equipment so marked have a protected status under the law of war.

Joint Publications (JP 3-60) Joint Targeting - Just Security

Protected Frequencies

Friendly, generally time-oriented, frequencies used for a particular operation, identified and protected to prevent them from being inadvertently jammed by friendly forces while active electronic warfare operations are directed against hostile forces.

See also Electronic Warfare.

Joint Publications (JP 3-13.1) Electronic Warfare

Protected Persons/Places

Persons (such as enemy prisoners of war) and places (such as hospitals) that enjoy special protections under the law of war. They may or may not be marked with protected emblems.

Joint Publication - Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms


U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier USS Washington (U.S.Navy.mil)

The Old Salt’s Corner

CWC Call Signs

Typical Carrier Air Wing (CVW)

WARFARE Commander or Coordinator   ABBREVIATION   BATTLEGROUP CALL SIGN

Composite Warfare Commander   CWC   AB

Surface Warfare Commander   SUWC   AS

Undersea Warfare Commander   USWC   AX

Air Warfare Commander   AWC   AW

Command & Control Warfare Commander   C2W   AQ

Strike Warfare Commander   STRIKE   AP

Air Resource Element Coordinator   AREC   AR

Helicopter Element Coordinator   HEC   AL

Submarine Element Coordinator   SEC   SEC

Force Over-the-Horizon Track Coordinator   FOTC   FOTC

Screen Coordinator   SC   AN

1. Surface Warfare Commander (AS)

The surface warfare commander can best perform his duties from onboard the carrier due to superior Command-Control-Communications-Computers and Intelligence (C4I) and proximity to surface surveillance coordination (SSC) and war-at-sea (WAS) tactical air assets. He is usually the commanding officer of the CV(N). Alternate AS is often a Tomahawk-capable ship commanding officer. AS is responsible for planning and executing both offensive and defensive war-at-sea strikes as well as for SSC. This maximizes the benefits of the close relationship necessary between the AS and the Force Over-the-Horizon Track Coordinator (FOTC, see below).

2. Undersea Warfare Commander (AX)

The tactical DESRON commander is normally the undersea warfare commander (AX). AX is often double hatted as Helicopter Element Coordinator (HEC, see below) and Screen Coordinator (SC, see below). Alternate AX is often the senior DD-963 (Spruance-class) commanding officer or, if none is available, a senior commanding officer of the primary mission USW DD(G)/FF(G) in the battlegroup.

3. Air Warfare Commander (AW)

The commanding officer of the cruiser in the battlegroup is often assigned as AW. Preferably, it is a Ticonderoga class CG operating the AEGIS weapon system. The Combat Information Center (CIC) of these ships is specially designed for inner air battle functions. A second cruiser within the battlegroup may act as an alternate AW to allow a 12 hours on - 12 hours off rotation.

4. Command & Control Warfare Commander (AQ)

The space and electronic warfare commander acts as principal advisor to CWC for use and counter-use of the electromagnetic spectrum by friendly and enemy forces. AQ will promulgate Force Emissions Control (EMCON) restrictions, monitors organic and non-organic intelligence and surveillance sensors and develops operational deception and counter-targeting plans as appropriate. AQ is located onboard the carrier. An alternate call sign for C2W is AZ.

5. Strike Warfare Commander (AP)

In single CVBG operations the carrier air wing commander (CAG) is normally assigned as the air warfare commander. The CWC may retain AP and use the CAG to augment CWC staff if desired. AP sets general strike philosophy, policy and employs manned aircraft and tactical missiles. AP sets strikes which can include both carrier strike assets and TLAM in accordance with the Air Tasking Order (ATO) when applicable.

6. Air Resources Element Coordinator (AR)

The air resource element coordinator provides organic carrier air resources as tasked by warfare commanders and the CWC. AR promulgates current information on the availability of aircraft to the CWC and other warfare commanders as well as disseminates information or results (e.g., BDA) achieved by organic carrier air resources. The CV(N)’s Strike Operations Officer normally handles this function.

7. Helicopter Element Coordinator (HEC)

The Helicopter Element Coordinator promulgates air and air plans for non-logistics (e.g., USW, OTH-T) helicopters such as the LAMPS-II/III to support battlegroup operations.

8. Submarine Element Coordinator (SEC)

The Submarine Element Coordinator acts as principle advisor to AX for submarine matters when an SSN is assigned in integrated in direct support (SSN DS) of the battlegroup. The SEC acts as executive agent to advise in planning and direction of SSN DS employment. Reports directly to OTC/CWC on matters of submarine safety. The SEC assists in preparation of submarine sections of operational tasking for USW elements.

9. Force Over the Horizon Track Coordinator (FOTC )

The FOTC manages and collates all-source (organic and non-organic) contact information. As such, he designates contacts of critical concern to the battlegroup.

10. Screen Coordinator (SC)

The Screen Coordinator provides tactical direction to the ships of the battlegroup which constitute the inner USW screen.


“I’m Just Sayin’”

“I’m Just Sayin”

“I am beginning to have more powerful enemies and more envious ones, too.”

“Fantasy, abandoned by reason,

produces impossible monsters;

united with it,

she is the mother of the arts and the origin of marvels.”

“In art, there is no need for color;

I see only light and shade.

Give me a crayon,

and I will paint your portrait.”

~ Francisco Goya


“Thought for the Day”

“Thought for the Day”

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.”

“My wish is to stay always like this,

living quietly in a corner of nature.”

“Try to forget what objects you have before you -

a tree, a house, a field, or whatever.

Merely think,

‘Here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow’,

and paint it just as it looks to you,

the exact color and shape,

until it gives you your own impression of the scene before you.”

~ Claude Monet


“What I Have Learned”

“What I Learned”

“Genius is eternal patience.”

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short;

but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”

“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery,

it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all.”

“Success is not final,

failure is not fatal:

it is the courage to continue that counts.”

“There are no secrets to success.

It is the result of preparation,

hard work,

and learning from failure.”

~ Michelangelo


Second Hand News

Second Hand News: Articles from Week 21 - May 24, 2021 - May 30, 2021

Top News Stories - Photos (Washington Examiner) Why Fauci is suddenly willing to entertain the COVID-19 lab leak theoryResearchers hospitalized at Wuhan lab in 2019: ReportBiden administration's $87 million contract to house migrants in hotels to be investigated

Supreme Court rejects three climate change cases after giving win to oil companiesFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis signs bill stopping social media from banning politicians White House is trying to pressure Republicans to back or “infrastructure deal”White House calls for international investigation into Belarus's arrest of dissident journalist

BUSINESS: Microsoft says it was hit by Chinese hackers, but Biden administration won't point fingerSmaller communities reap rewards of urban police exodus spurred by budget cuts and lack of respectFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis signs “tax holidays” into law to encourage spending in FloridaTexas Governor Greg Abbott says opening economy was “right move”, citing declining COVID cases

MOST READ: Trump endorsement boosts Republican primary rival to pro-impeachment incumbent Anthony GonzalezMicrosoft says it was hit by Chinese hackers, but Biden administration won't point fingerPolitiFact retracts Wuhan lab theory “fact-check”FEATURED:” Many people reluctant to shed their masks despite science Washington Examiner

Top News Stories - Photos (The Federalist) Exactly How Corporate Media Launders Opinion To Attack Inconvenient People And FactsChinese Concentration Camp Survivor Reveals Torture, Rape, And Plans For Invading EuropeMark Zuckerberg Should Never Be Allowed To Touch U.S. Elections Again

BBC Journalist Covering Gaza Wrote “Hitler Was Right” In Old TweetsFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Law To Curb Big Tech Censorship And Punish Partisan DeplatformingParents Are Furious Over Elite New York Prep School’s “Outrageous” Pornography TrainingRepublican Lawmaker Who Followed CDC Guidance Appeals $500 Fine From Pelosi For Going Maskless

MOST READ: Fake Florida Whistleblower Rebekah Jones Admits Entire Operation Was A HoaxGeorgia Judge Unseals More Than 145,000 Absentee Ballots For 2020 Election Fraud InvestigationTop Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Official Steps Down Weeks After Emails Surface Showing Collusion With Teachers UnionAshli Babbitt’s Family Suing Capitol Police For Fatal January 6 Shooting

All Biden Needed To Not Screw Up The Presidency Was Stay In His Basement, And He FailedBiden Is Keeping Migrant Kids In Horrible Conditions. Where Is The Outcry?Joe Biden Plans To Revive School Rules Punishing Kids According To Skin ColorMSNBC Contributor Calls Republicans ‘White Nationalists’ Who Support Terrorism The Federalist

Top News Stories - Photos (The Epoch Times)

Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Bill to Stop Big Tech Censorship of FloridiansTexas Governor Abbot Says He’ll Take Action Against Cities That Try to Defund PoliceBiden Sends Secretary of State to Middle East to Speak to Israel, Palestinian LeadersElection Audit Resumes in Arizona’s Largest County

US-China Chip Hegemony War: South Korea Under Pressure to Pick a SideSupreme Court Rejects Death Row Inmate’s Petition to Be Executed by Firing SquadSenator Susan Collins “Optimistic” Senate Will Approve Janudary 6 Commission“Black Lives Matter” Supporter at Capitol Breach Said He “Brought My Megaphone to Instigate” Trump Supporters: Justie Department

UK Government Says “World Health Organization (WHO) Needs to “Explore All Possible Theories” on Origins of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) VirusU.S., Europe Weigh Sanctions After Belarus Diverts Plane and Arrests JournalisMost Voters Want Smaller Government and Lower Taxes: Rasmussen PollSenator Ted Cruz Accuses “Squad” Members of Acting as ‘Press Secretaries for Hamas Terrorists’Michigan Governor Whitmer Apologizes After Photograph Showed Her Breaking Her Own Rules The Epoch Times

Top News Stories - Photos (CORRUPTION CHRONICLES - Mainstream Media Scream: (Watch Dog On-Line Publications) CORRUPTION CHRONICLES: How the Biden Border Crisis Hurts ChildrenFlorida County Gives Illegal Immigrants Special IDs to Get Vaccines, Public ServicesSpike in Illegal Immigration Overwhelms Sheriffs; Families Exposed to Gang, Drug Violence

“Investigating the Investigators:” Judicial Watch: Montgomery County Public Schools Spent $454,000 on “Anti-racist System Audit”Fauci Caught Up in "Gain of Function" Research Scandal n

Rising Crime, Radical Agenda Test Left Judicial Watch

The Left MELT DOWN Over CBS Committing Random Act of Journalism on Trans PeopleMarching With Hamas, NBC’s Engel Touts Terrorist “Wave of Popularity”ABC's “The View” Goes Bonkers: Meghan McCain Battles “View” Co-Hosts Justifying Anti-Semitism From LeftUnfunny “Late Night” TV Scold Rants Into Void About “Depressing”, “Infuriating” Texas Pro-Life Law

On CNN, New York Times' Maggie Haberman Blames Trump for Media Discrediting Wuhan Lab Leak Theory“BURN IT DOWN”, 127 TV Episodes Pushed Black Lives Matter in the Year Since George Floyd’s DeathOH PLEASE: Return of “Late Night” Hack Colbert to Bring “Normalcy and Healing”, Like After 9/11MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Pushes Anti-Israel Propaganda on Gaza Civilian Casualties News Busters

Is It Illegal to Falsely Shout 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater? Mr. Answer Man Please Tell Us: Is It Illegal to Falsely Shout 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater?

If you asked a few random people to name a situation that wouldn’t be protected under the First Amendment’s “freedom of speech” clause, there’s a pretty good chance at least one of them would mention the example of someone shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater (when there’s no fire). Over the last century, the scene has been used far and wide to illustrate that if your “free speech” harms people, you can still end up in the defendant’s chair. But, as is so often the case when it comes to interpreting the law, it’s really not that simple.

Panic Room

When people first started discussing human fire alarms at packed gatherings, it was less about constitutional debate and more about societal menace. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there were dozens of tragedies - mainly in the U.S., but also abroad—where false shouts of “Fire!” provoked panic that resulted in multiple innocent, and avoidable, deaths. In 1913, for example, residents of Calumet, Michigan, held a Christmas party for the children of copper miners on strike. Hundreds of people gathered on the second floor of Italian Hall, and when an unidentified perpetrator (possibly motivated by anti-union sentiments) yelled “Fire!” they all rushed to the stairs. The stampede claimed 73 victims, most of whom were children.

The fear of fire wasn’t unfounded. Since not all buildings had sprinkler systems, neon exit signs, and capacity limits, plenty of fatal blazes occurred. More than 600 people died in Chicago’s Iroquois Theater fire in 1903, even though (ironically) that building was actually thought to be fireproof.

In short, shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater was an idea firmly entrenched in the public consciousness by the time judges co-opted the phrase for legal arguments on First Amendment rights.

Is It Illegal to Falsely Shout 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater?

Discussing Fire in a Crowded Courtroom

The axiom became popular in legal spheres after Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. mentioned it during Schenck v. United States in 1919, but he wasn’t the first person to use it in court. As Carlton F.W. Lawson pointed out in a 2015 article in the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, U.S. attorney Edwin Wertz had uttered a lengthier version of it the previous year while prosecuting activist Eugene Debs. In fact, since Holmes ruled on Debs’s appeal the very week after the Schenck case, he may have even gotten the idea from Wertz.

Each case involved a violation of the Espionage Act of 1917, which essentially made it punishable to do anything that interfered with U.S. military operations—including speaking out against the draft. Debs, a pacifist who opposed World War I, was under fire for a speech he had given in Ohio; and Charles T. Schenck, the U.S. Socialist Party’s general secretary, landed in front of the Supreme Court for passing out pamphlets that encouraged men to refuse the draft.

Both defendants were convicted, and Holmes justified his ruling on the Schenck case with the explanation that “the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting ‘fire’ in a theater and causing a panic.” But while his analogy struck an emotional chord, it really had nothing to do with constitutional law.

“The ‘crowded theater’ statement in Schenck never amounted to any kind of binding standard or doctrine”, Nashwa Gewaily, a media and First Amendment lawyer, tells: “It was basically a bit of emotionally charged extra flair from Justice Holmes, outside the official legal determination of that case; a powerful image that endured outside its context ... It was not a high point in American jurisprudence.”

Is It Illegal to Falsely Shout 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater?

“Revengeance” Is Fine

What Holmes said after it, however, did become a standard for future free speech arguments.

“The question in every case”, he said, “is whether the words are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.”

For the next 50 years, clear and present danger was the accepted - and slightly vague - metric for discerning if spoken or printed material was protected speech. Then, in 1969, the Supreme Court replaced it with something clearer. The case, Brandenburg v. Ohio, concerned a Ku Klux Klan leader named Clarence Brandenburg who had broken Ohio’s law against advocating “crime, sabotage, or unlawful methods of terrorism” for political purposes. (In his offending speech, he had mentioned the possibility of “revengeance” [sic] if the federal government didn’t stop “[suppressing] the white, Caucasian race”.)

Brandenburg appealed his guilty verdict all the way up to the Supreme Court, which overturned the ruling on the grounds that his threats were too ambiguous to “[incite] or [produce] imminent lawless action”. In order for something to qualify as imminent lawless action, it must: expressly advocate violence, advocate immediate violence, and relate to violence likely to occur.

As Gewaily explains, judges interpret this standard “far more narrowly than many would presume”. While individual institutions may condemn hate speech, for example, it’s technically protected under the law unless there’s “immediate violence” involved.

Is It Illegal to Falsely Shout 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater?

When Free Speech Is the Least of Your Worries

So, does falsely shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater fall outside the conditions of imminent lawless action, and therefore fall under First Amendment protection? The short answer is that it depends on the circumstances. But here’s the long answer: If you get arrested for doing that, the charges brought against you might make the question of free speech totally irrelevant.

“The falsely shouted warning, while technically speech, could potentially violate a state's criminal laws against disturbing the peace or disorderly conduct, whether or not it provokes a stampede, for instance”, Gewaily says. And if there is a stampede in which somebody dies, you could be charged with involuntary manslaughter. In other words, there’s no law that explicitly prohibits you from crying “Fire” in a theater. It’s the other laws you’d have to worry about.

Shouting “Bomb!” or “Gun!” in public would put you in a similar situation. In May 2018, for example, officials had to evacuate part of Daytona Beach International Airport after a man ran naked through the building screaming about a bomb in the women’s bathroom. There was no bomb, but he was charged with “false report of a bomb”, “criminal mischief”, and “exposure of sexual organs”, among other things. In that case, no self-respecting lawyer would advise him to claim his actions were protected by the First Amendment.

That said, there’s good news for anyone whose panicked cry is an honest mistake.

“Someone who shouts a warning in genuine error, with an intent to galvanize movement to safety, would not be properly punished for that speech”, Gewaily says.

And if Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. has taught us anything, it’s that not every word a Supreme Court Justice says automatically counts as constitutional doctrine.

Mental Floss / Wikipedia / Encyclopedia Britannica / William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal.edu / Bill of Rights Institute.org / Fire.org / Quora / Is It Illegal to Falsely Shout 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater? (YouTube) video


NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang - U.S. Navy

NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang

Smokin' and Coke'in': Derogatory nickname used to describe an unauthorized break, where a sailor takes a smoke break, and grabs a soda out of a vending machine. Also termed as Smokin' and Jokin'.

Smoke Check: What results from wiring something incorrectly.

Smoke Pit: Designated smoking area. This is almost always used when ashore.

Smoke Test: Turn on recently repaired electronic gear; worst case scenario it smokes, indicating a catastrophic failure.

Smoking Lamp: Is out or lit in specified spaces or throughout the ship; 1MC announcement specifying where smoking is permitted or prohibited during certain hours or operations.

Smoking Sponson: Designated smoking area aboard aircraft carriers, usually right below the flight deck on the exterior of the ship's hull. A great place to catch up on scuttlebutt and unwind after a long day.

Smooth Crotch: A surface sailor, also a term for Reactor Control division for their tendencies to find ways to never conduct manual labor.

Wiktionary.org


Just for MARINES - The Few. The Proud.

Just for you MARINE

Smokey Bear or Smokey Brown: The campaign cover worn by a drill instructors, so named because of their similarity to the hat worn by Smokey Bear. See also campaign cover, field hat, & hat.

Smokin' and Jokin' / Smoke and Joke: When a mass of Marines is acting unproductively.

Wikipedia.org


Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

HSM-51 Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM) Squadron FIVE ONE - nicknamed the “Warlords”

United States Navy - Marine Corps Commander, Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Pacific - Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, Expeditionary Squadron / HSL-51 October 01, 1991 - March 2013 / HSM-51 March 2013 - present


Where Did That Saying Come From

Where Did That Saying Come From?

Where Did That Saying Come From? “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush:

Meaning: The proverb 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' means that it's better to hold onto something you have rather than take the risk of getting something better which may come to nothing.

History: 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' is one of the oldest and best-known proverbs in English. It came into the language in the 15th century, probably imported from other cultures.

The proverb warns against taking unnecessary risks. It is better to keep what you have (a bird) than to risk getting more and ending with nothing (two birds which are out of your reach).

This proverb, like many others, warns against taking risks. It suggests that you should keep what you have and not risk losing it by going after more.

The allusion may be to falconry where a bird in the hand (the falcon) was a valuable asset and certainly worth more than two in the bush (the prey).

This proverbial saying is first found in English in John Capgrave's The Life of St Katharine of Alexandria, 1450:

“It is more sekyr [certain] a byrd in your fest, Than to haue three in the sky a‐boue.”

John Heywood's 1546 glossary A Dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe tongue also includes a variant of the proverb:

“Better one byrde in hande than ten in the wood.”

Interestingly, the next line in Heywood's book (which is form in rhyming couplets) is another of the best known proverbs

“Rome was not bylt on a daie (quoth he) & yet stood.”

It's probable that Capgrave didn't coin the expression himself - many other languages have variants of it. By how long the phrase pre-dates his publication isn't clear.

The 7th century Aramaic Story of Ahikar has text that modern translations render as

“Better is a sparrow held tight in the hand than a thousand birds flying about in the air.”

Plutarch's Moralia has text that modern translations give as

“He is a fool who leaves things close at hand to follow what is out of reach.”

While very similar proverbs existed in various cultures from antiquity there is no record of it existing in English in the form we now use before the 15th century. Heywood's book is later than Capgrave's but it was by far the better known, due to Heywood's prominent position in the Tudor court. It is Heywood who can be credited as the person who introduced the proverb to the English-speaking world.

Variations of the proverb which don't mention birds existed in English prior to 1530, for example, this piece from Wycliffe's Bible, 1382:

Ecclesiastes IX - “A living dog is better than a dead lion.”

The expression fits well into the catalogue of English proverbs, which are often warnings, especially warnings about hubris or risk-taking. Some of the better known examples that warn against getting carried away by some exciting new prospect are these:

“All that glitters is not gold.”

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

“Look before you leap.”

“Marry in haste, repent at leisure.”

“The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley.”

The Bird in Hand was adopted as a pub name in England in the Middle Ages and many with this name still survive.

English migrants to America took the expression with them and 'bird in hand' must have been known there by 1734 as this was the year in which a small town in Pennsylvania was founded with that name.

Other modern day European languages and cultures have their own version of this proverb:

In Czech “Lepsi vrabec v hrsti nez holub na strese.”

“(A sparrow in the fist is better than a pigeon on the roof.)”

In Germen “Der Spatz in der Hand ist besser als die Taube auf dem Dach.”

“(The sparrow in the hand is better than the dove on the roof.)”

The close similarity of these suggests that one is a translation of the other. Which came first and whether either pre-dated the English version we can't now be sure.

Phrases.org.uk


Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Science & Technology

FEATURED: Old-growth forest carbon sinks overestimatedResearchers reveal how lipids and water molecules regulate 5-HT receptors

Size of grass blades offers better understanding of their vulnerability to climate changeRevealing complex behavior of a turbulent plume at the calving front of a Greenlandic glacier

'Smart clothes' that can measure your movementsNew light on baryonic matter and gravity on cosmic scales Phys.org / MedicalXpress / TechXplore

Detailed image of a black hole’s magnetic field may explain how matter fuels powerful jetsFEATURED: Watch a simple pen turn flat drawings into 3D objects

Deadly viral outbreak ravages European horsesRemains of impact that created the Moon may lie deep within Earth

Data concerns and safety worries fuel crisis of confidence in AstraZeneca vaccineIn a first, NASA’s helicopter will fly over Mars next month Science AAAS


Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good – real news story)

Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good - real news story)

In a Fox News interview, Trump's former intelligence director said the sightings are difficult to explain.

Meet the swirlon, a new kind of matter that bends the laws of physics

More inexplicable sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) will be released for public scrutiny in June - including a UFO that broke the sound barrier without producing a sonic boom.

Speaking on Fox News, the former director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, said Saturday (March 20) that the sightings are “difficult to explain”. John Ratcliffe, who served in the Trump administration, said he'd hoped to declassify the reports during his tenure but that they will be released by the Pentagon by June 1.

It's not the first time the military has released strange reports, and even videos, of UFOs, known in military parlance as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). In April 2020, the U.S. Navy released three videos appearing to show aircraft flying faster than the speed of sound. And Senate intelligence reports reveal that the Pentagon is still on the hunt for UFOs or UAPs. But check your excitement, Fox Mulder - the military is generally more concerned about whether UAPs might be secret aircraft or weapons developed by other nations than it is about finding evidence of ET in our midst.

According to Newsweek, Ratcliffe said the upcoming Pentagon report will include more sightings and reports of objects moving in seemingly impossible ways or breaking the speed of sound without an accompanying sonic boom. The unexplained sightings occurred all over the world, he said, and include events picked up on automated sensors and not just by human eyes.

“There are instances where we don't have good explanations for some of the things that we've seen”, Ratcliffe told Fox News Meet the swirlon, a new kind of matter that bends the laws of physics?

The report and declassification is required under the Intelligence Authorization Act for 2021.

However, the sightings may not even represent advanced Earth technology. Debunkers have suggested that the apparent extreme speed of the aircraft in the videos released in April 2020 could be an optical illusion called parallax. This effect occurs when an object close to a camera lens appears to be moving, sometimes quite quickly, as the camera moves, just because it's closer to the lens than objects in the background. (A video example is available at SyfyWire.) Thus, the objects in the video could be as mundane as passenger planes or weather balloons. Some of the sudden movements in the videos may be artifacts of the camera zooming or sharpening the image, Vice reported.

There are also declassified experimental aircraft that can do things like break the speed of sound without the enormous "crack" of a sonic boom. NASA's X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology aircraft, which is under construction and not yet in flight, is designed to fly faster than sound without making more than a gentle thump to listeners on the ground. It's unknown if governments have similar, secret technology in testing or use.

Whatever the to-be-released videos show, it's a time of unprecedented document release around UFOs. In January, the CIA unveiled three decades' worth of documents about mysterious incidents reported to or investigated by the agency.

Science Daily (03/23/2021) video


Second Hand News

Second Hand News: Articles from Week 21 - May 24, 2021 - May 30, 2021

Top News Stories - Photos (Daily Mail) California Nightmare: How high taxes, rampant crime, suffocating wokery, streets littered with homeless addicts, and years of liberal policies are blamed for ruining the Golden State... as thousands of families flee to Republican Texas and Florida“It's a badge of honor:” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot goads cops by claiming she's delighted with vote of no confidence by police union as city's crime spiralsFederal prosecutor is struck in the eye by a stray bullet outside Brooklyn restaurant and bystander is shot in the foot during dispute between two rival gangs

TURMOIL IN THE MIDDLE EAST: “Abolish Israel:” Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters hit the streets of New York to demand U.S. stops funding Israel as fragile ceasefire with Gaza holds“I would do it again:” Palestinian protester accused of pummeling NYC Kippa-wearing Jewish man shows no remorse as police issue photos of his four accomplicesGang rape, torture and the dreaded red X: Survivor of China's modern-day concentration camps reveals the horrors behind the walls - and the REAL purpose of the terrifying prisons

Richard Branson hails Virgin Galactic's first spaceflight in two years as rocket ship VSS Unity becomes first to reach orbit from New Mexico base Volcano erupts in the Congo spewing red fumes into the night sky and sending residents fleeing for their lives into neighbouring Rwanda$515 MILLION Mega Millions jackpot is won by SINGLE ticketholder in Pennsylvania

Naked pool party girls, affairs and the toxic collapse of Bill Gates's marriage... could it be connected to his puzzling relationship with the infamous Jeffrey EpsteinBill Gates is seen in public for the first time since announcing his divorce from Melinda as he flies into NYCLucille Ball's scandalous past: I Love Lucy star posed naked, sold her body, got her big break after submitting to the casting couch and put up with her husband Desi Arnaz sleeping with two prostitutes at a time, book claims Daily Mail

Top News Stories - Photos (CORRUPTION CHRONICLES - Mainstream Media Scream: (Watch Dog On-Line Publications) Education Insanity: Top 10 Stories Of The Week (Vol. 16)Texas Legislature Set To Ban Mandatory “Critical Race Theory” In Schools

WATCH: Biden Laughs At Question Over Recent Explosive Reports About UFOs, Does Not Answer QuestionWATCH: CNN Ends Bizarre Interview After Hamas Founder’s Son Repeatedly Pleads For Help Reaching His MotherWATCH: Simone Biles Goes Viral After Landing Move No Woman Has Ever Attempted

Hamas Founder’s Son Urges Israel To Assassinate Hamas Leaders After Ceasefire: “Teach Them A Lesson”Police Arrest Man Accused Of Attacking Jewish Men Outside Los Angeles Sushi Restaurant“Tiktok intifada:” Videos Of Violent Mobs Attacking Jews Sweep The Internet

Great Is Artemis Of The Ephesians!“Eco-anxiety:” Is The Media’s Coverage Of Climate Change Giving Viewers Psychological Issues?White House Advisor Says Getting COVID-19 Vaccine “Makes Us All More Attractive” As Biden Administration Teams With Dating Apps

Los Angeles Mayor Says New Program Giving $50 Savings Accounts To First-Graders “Is About Racial Justice”“Slap In The Face:” Chicago Cops Vote “No-Confidence” In Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Police Chief David BrownUniversity Of Colorado President Pushed Out For Supposed Lack Of Commitment To Diversity After Establishing Millions For Race-Based Initiatives Daily Wire

© CEASAR CHOPPY by cartoonist Marty Gavin - archives Ceasar Choppy's Navy! “© CEASAR CHOPPY” by Marty Gavin

SONG FACTS

“Walk This Way” - Aerosmith 1975

“Walk This Way” video - Aerosmith
Album: “Toys In The Attack”
Released 1975 video

Walk This Wayvideo is about a promiscuous cheerleader who leads a schoolboy through his first sexual experience.

It's an extremely sexual song that played perfectly to Aerosmith's young male fanbase while being ambiguous enough to get airplay. Lead singer Steven Tyler, who wrote the lyrics, said:

“‘Walk This Way’ came out all at once. If you listen to the words, they're all really filthy. If you listen closely you'll hear that I disguised it quite cleverly.” (Songfacts' full interview with Steven Tyler.)

Walk This Wayvideo is the title of Aerosmith's 1999 autobiography. In the book, Steven Tyler deconstructs the lyrics to this song. Here's the breakdown:

“Backstroke Lover” is our hero masturbating. His father catches him, and explains that he will someday experience the real thing. One day, he encounters the cheerleader along with “her sister and her cousin”, and has a glorious sexual experience (Tyler cops to fantasies about two women at once, which is where this came from).

The “walk this way” line is the experienced girl showing the young man where to put his finger - showing him how to walk. Inspiration came from make-out parties where this kind of thing could happen.

Tyler points out that while the lyrics are sexually charged, it is the girl who is in control.

When Steven Tyler finally came up with lyrics for this song, he entered the studio to record it and realized he left the lyrics in the cab. His incredulous bandmates thought he was just stalling, and they got in another of their many fights. Tyler walked to the stairwell, let out a primal scream, and wrote new lyrics on the wall, since he forgot to bring paper with him. The original lyrics he left in the cab were never recovered.

In Songfacts interview with Joe Perry, he explained that he came up with the famous guitar riff at a soundcheck in Hawaii. It was inspired by the New Orleans funk band The Meters, and it all came together when drummer Joey Kramer, joined in. Said Perry:

“I just kind of let go and this riff started coming out of the left hand and the right hand, and then it needed a bridge, and I just kind of danced around on the fretboard a little bit, and before I knew it, I had the guts of the song. It had that kind of funk thing to it”

Joe Perry used a talkbox during the chorus. This was the first time the device was used on a hit song. The talkbox allows a guitarist to make strange vocal sounds by “talking” into a vinyl tube attached to the unit, which is hooked up to the output of the guitar amp. Perry also used a talkbox on “Sweet Emotionvideo.

This became one of the first mainstream rap hits when it was covered by Run-D.M.C. in 1986. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry performed this with the rap trio, and it became Run-D.M.C.'s first hit, going to U.S. #4. This collaboration led to many more among prominent rappers and rock musicians, including “Bring The Noisevideo by Public Enemy and Anthrax, and “Encorevideo by Jay-Z and Linkin Park.

DJs often ripped the labels off their records so no one would know what beats they were using when they performed. Jam Master Jay got one of these records from another DJ, which turned out to be an Aerosmith album. He was working on sampling the opening break when producer Rick Rubin heard it and explained it was a famous rock song. This gave Rubin the idea to have Run-D.M.C. cover the song. The band didn't like the idea of rapping Aerosmith's lyrics, with DMC explaining in Rolling Stone (October 15, 2009), “We said, this is hillbilly gibberish, this is bulls--t.” With some help from Run's brother Russell Simmons, Rubin convinced them to do it. He grew up in the suburbs listening to groups like Aerosmith, and knew it would be a great way for the group to crossover to a white audience.

The Run-D.M.C. video is the first that Tyler and Perry appeared in. It was the first time many young Aerosmith fans saw what they looked like. Aerosmith would use MTV to expand their audience for the rest of their career, making videos for most of their singles, starting with “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)video in 1988, which won two MTV Video Music Awards.

The first video Aerosmith made was for their 1982 song “Lightning Strikesvideo but MTV passed on that one. Joe Perry had left the band at that point.

The Run-D.M.C. cover launched Aerosmith's comeback. They were in drug rehab when it came out, but sobered up and released Permanent Vacation in 1987, which gave them a string of hits, their first since “Come Togethervideo in 1978. The collaboration also boosted the band's profile in Europe, where Run-D.M.C. was huge.

Steven Tyler told Rolling Stone magazine, April 15, 2004:

The Yardbirds' music is a gold mine waiting to be stumbled upon. Aerosmith did, because we grew up in that era. The riff in 'Walk This Way' is just us trying to explore the blues in the Yardbirds model.”

Aerosmith official site / Rock & Roll Hall of Fame / Billboard / All Music / Song Facts / Aerosmith

Image: Toys In The Attack (album)” by Aerosmith


Jeopardy

A Test for People Who Know Everything

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “THE BIG UNIT OF MEASURE” ($200)

“The distance a photon travels in a vacuum in 365 days, this unit is often hyphenated.”

Answer to Jeopardy READ MORE: NASA.gov

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “THE BIG UNIT OF MEASURE” ($400)

“This unit of explosive power is equivalent to detonating 2 billion pounds of TNT.”

Answer to Jeopardy READ MORE: Atomic Archive

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “THE BIG UNIT OF MEASURE” ($600)

“In terms of radiation intensity, one crab equals the output of the Crab one of these celestial masses.”

Answer to Jeopardy READ MORE: NASA.gov

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “THE BIG UNIT OF MEASURE” ($800)

“This number is 10 to the power of a googol.”

Answer to Jeopardy READ MORE: Googolplex

From the Jeopardy Archives Category - “THE BIG UNIT OF MEASURE” ($1,000)

“In geologic time, it's smaller than an eon or era, but the Eocene one still lasted about 20 million years.”

Answer to Jeopardy READ MORE: Machine Learning Mastery


Joke of the Day

Joke of the Day

“Job Interview”

Reaching the end of a job interview, the Human Resources Person asked a young Engineer fresh out of MIT,

“And what starting salary were you looking for?”

The Engineer said, “In the neighborhood of $125,000 a year, depending on the benefits package.”

The interviewer said, “Well, what would you say to a package of 5-weeks vacation, 14 paid holidays, full medical and dental, company matching retirement fund to 50% of salary, and a company car leased every 2 years say, a red Corvette?”

The Engineer sat up straight and said,

“But have you thought it through properly?”

“Wow! Are you kidding?”

And the interviewer replied, “Yeah, but you started it.”