For What It's Worth

Liberalism: The Life of an Idea by Edmund Fawcett

Star Trek debuted in the United States on NBC on September 8, 1966.

“As early as 1964, Gene Roddenberry drafted a proposal for the science-fiction series that would become Star Trek. Although he publicly marketed it as a Western in outer space—a so-called “Wagon Train to the Stars” (like the popular Western TV series) — he privately told friends that he was modeling it on Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, intending each episode to act on two levels: as a suspenseful adventure story and as a morality tale.”

“Roddenberry intended the show to have a progressive political agenda reflective of the emerging counter-culture of the youth movement, though he was not fully forthcoming to the networks about this. He wanted Star Trek to show humanity what it might develop into, if it would learn from the lessons of the past.”

“However, Star Trek has also been accused of evincing racism and imperialism by frequently depicting Starfleet and the Federation trying to impose their values and customs on other planets.”

“In early 1964, Roddenberry presented a brief treatment for a proposed Star Trek TV series to Desilu Productions comparing it to Wagon Train, “a Wagon Train to the stars.” Desilu worked with Roddenberry to develop the treatment into a script, which was then pitched to NBC.”

“NBC paid to make a pilot, “The Cage”, starring Jeffrey Hunter as Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike. NBC rejected The Cage, but the executives were still impressed with the concept, and made the unusual decision to commission a second pilot: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”.”

“The first regular episode (“The Man Trap”) of Star Trek: The Original Series aired on Thursday, September 8, 1966. While the show initially enjoyed high ratings, the average rating of the show at the end of its first season dropped to 52nd (out of 94 programs).”

“Unhappy with the show’s ratings, NBC threatened to cancel the show during its second season. The show’s fan base, led by Bjo Trimble, conducted an unprecedented letter-writing campaign, petitioning the network to keep the show on the air.”

“NBC renewed the show, but moved it from primetime to the “Friday night death slot”, and substantially reduced its budget. In protest Roddenberry resigned as producer and reduced his direct involvement in Star Trek, which led to Fred Freiberger becoming producer for the show’s third and final season.”

Star Trek (Wikipedia)

“The thylacine was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger (because of its striped lower back) or the Tasmanian wolf.”

“The thylacine had become extremely rare or extinct on the Australian mainland before British settlement of the continent, but it survived on the island of Tasmania along with several other endemic species, including the Tasmanian devil. Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributing factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat. Despite its official classification as extinct, sightings are still reported, though none has been conclusively proven.”

“Surviving evidence suggests that it was a relatively shy, nocturnal creature with the general appearance of a medium-to-large-size dog, except for its stiff tail and abdominal pouch (which was reminiscent of a kangaroo) and a series of dark transverse stripes that radiated from the top of its back (making it look a bit like a tiger).”

“Like the tigers and wolves of the Northern Hemisphere, from which it obtained two of its common names, the thylacine was an apex predator. As a marsupial, it was not closely related to these placental mammals, but because of convergent evolution it displayed the same general form and adaptations.”

“ Its closest living relative is thought to be either the Tasmanian devil or the numbat. The thylacine was one of only two marsupials to have a pouch in both sexes (the other being the water opossum). The male thylacine had a pouch that acted as a protective sheath, covering his external reproductive organs while he ran through thick brush. The thylacine has been described as a formidable predator because of its ability to survive and hunt prey in extremely sparsely populated areas.”

“The last captive thylacine, later referred to as “Benjamin”, was trapped in the Florentine Valley by Elias Churchill in 1933, and sent to the Hobart Zoo where it lived for three years.”

“The gender of the last captive thylacine has been a point of debate since its death at the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, Tasmania. Recent detailed examination of a single frame from the historic motion film footage taken by David Fleay in 1933, has confirmed that the thylacine was male. In Fleay’s historic film footage of the last captive thylacine, the thylacine is seen seated, walking around the perimeter of its enclosure, yawning (exposing its impressive gape), sniffing the air, scratching itself (in the same manner as would a dog), and lying down. When frame III is enlarged the scrotum can clearly be seen, confirming the thylacine to be male.“

“The thylacine died on 7 September 1936. It is believed to have died as the result of neglect—locked out of its sheltered sleeping quarters, it was exposed to a rare occurrence of extreme Tasmanian weather: extreme heat during the day and freezing temperatures at night.”

“Addison Morton Walker (born September 3, 1923), popularly known as Mort Walker, is an American comic artist best known for creating the newspaper comic strips Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi and Lois in 1954.”

“Born in El Dorado, Kansas, he grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He had his first comic published at age 11 and sold his first cartoon at 12. At age 14, he regularly sold gag cartoons to Child Life, Flying Aces and Inside Detective magazines. When he was 15, he drew a comic strip, The Lime Juicers, for the weekly Kansas City Journal, and at age 18, he was the chief editorial designer for Hallmark Cards. Graduating from Northeast High School, he attended the University of Missouri, where today a life-sized bronze statue of Beetle Bailey stands in front of the alumni center.”

“In 1943, Walker was drafted into the United States Army serving in Italy, where he was an intelligence and investigating officer and was also in charge of a German POW camp. After the war he was posted to Italy where he was in charge of an Italian guard company. He was discharged as a first lieutenant in 1947. He graduated in 1948 from the University of Missouri.”

“He then went to New York to pursue a career in cartooning. He began doing Spider, a one-panel series for The Saturday Evening Post, about a lazy, laid-back college student. When he decided he could make more money doing a comic strip, Spider morphed into Beetle Bailey, eventually distributed by King Features Syndicate to 1,800 newspapers in more than 50 countries for a combined readership of 200 million daily.”

“In 1954, Walker and Dik Browne teamed to launch Hi and Lois, a spin-off of Beetle Bailey. Under the pseudonym “Addison”, Walker began Boner’s Ark in 1968. Other comic strips created by Walker include Gamin & Patches, Mrs. Fitz’s Flats, The Evermores, Sam’s Strip and Sam and Silo (the last two with Jerry Dumas).”

“In 1974, Walker opened the Museum of Cartoon Art, the first museum devoted to the art of comics, initially located in Greenwich, Connecticut and Rye Brook, New York before moving to Boca Raton, Florida in 1992.”

Mort Walker (Wikipedia)

“John Kinport “Sal” Brallier (December 12, 1876 – September 17, 1960) was one of the first professional American football players. He was nationally acknowledged as the first openly paid professional football player when he was given $10 to play for the Latrobe Athletic Association for a game against the Jeanette Athletic Association in 1895.”

“Brallier was born in Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania, near Indiana. He was the son of Dr. Emanuel Brallier, a physician, and his wife, Lucy M. Kinport Brallier.“

“As a boy, Brallier remembered having worked in a glass factory. His first recollection of football was in 1890, at the age of 13, playing in high school for the West Indiana Public School team. By his sophomore year in 1892, he was the captain and right halfback.”

“In 1893, while still attending high school, also played quarterback for the Indiana Normal football club in 1893 and 1894. The team won three of four games played that year.”

“During the fourth game of the 1894 season, Normal lost, 28–0, to Washington & Jefferson College. However, Brallier’s outstanding play led the Presidents coach E. Gard Edwards to write from Pittsburgh asking Brallier to play football for his team. Further correspondence followed through the winter between Brallier and Washington & Jefferson Presidents manager H. Wilson Boyd. The result was that Brallier agreed to go to Washington & Jefferson “if all expenses are paid for the entire year.”

The young football star graduated from Indiana Public School that spring and was awaiting the start of college.”

Meanwhile:

“In 1895 the town of Latrobe established a formal football team. However, just before the start of the season, Latrobe quarterback Eddie Blair found himself in a scheduling conflict. Blair, who also played baseball in nearby Greensburg discovered that the team’s first football game against the Jeannette Athletic Club conflicted with a prior baseball commitment.”

And so:

“Manager David Berry, who was now seeking a replacement for Blair, had heard of Brallier’s performance as Indiana Normal’s quarterback. He contacted the 17-year-old at his home in Indiana and offered him expenses to play for Latrobe. However, Brallier was not particularly anxious to play, anticipating his entrance into Washington & Jefferson College in a few weeks. The young quarterback was afraid that an injury would jeopardize his scholarship, so the Latrobe offered to pay him to “make it worthwhile”. Finally, Berry offered $10 a game plus expenses, while promising several other games and he threw in “some cakes”. This offer made Brallier the first openly paid football player.”

“The quarterback arrived in Latrobe the night before the game and practiced with the team under a street light. Latrobe would go on to win the game. Brallier kicked two field goals for a final score of 12–0.”

“Brallier remained with Latrobe for a second game against an Altoona squad before leaving for college.”

“It was not until after his death in 1960 that evidence proved John Brallier was not in fact the first professional football player, but merely the first one to openly admit he was paid. William “Pudge” Heffelfinger of the Allegheny Athletic Association is now considered the first professional player.”

“Honor Blackman (born 22 August 1925) is an English actress, widely known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers (1962–64), Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger (1964), Julia Daggett in Shalako (1968) and Hera in Jason and the Argonauts (1963).”

“Blackman was born in Plaistow, London E13. Her father Frederick was a statistician. She attended North Ealing Primary School and Ealing County Grammar School for Girls. For her 15th birthday, her parents gave her acting lessons and she started training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1940. While attending the Guildhall School, Blackman worked as a clerical assistant for the Home Office.”

“Blackman’s film debut was a nonspeaking part in Fame Is the Spur (1947).”

“Blackman played Hera in Jason and the Argonauts (1963), which is well known for the stop-motion animation and effects of Ray Harryhausen.”

“During the 1960s, Blackman practised judo at the famous Budokwai dojo. This helped her prepare for her roles as Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. At 38, she was one of the oldest actresses to play a Bond girl.”

“Blackman’s recording with The Avengers co-star Patrick Macnee of “Kinky Boots” (1964), referring to the boots she wore in the show, was a surprise hit. In 1990 it resurfaced on the chart, peaking at No.5 after being played incessantly by BBC Radio 1 breakfast show presenter Simon Mayo.”

“After her appearance in Goldfinger, she recorded a full album of songs, entitled Everything I’ve Got.”

“Albert R. Broccoli said that Blackman was cast opposite Sean Connery in the James Bond films based on her success in the British TV series The Avengers. He knew that most American audiences would not have seen the programme.”

“The Brits would love her because they knew her as Mrs. Gale, the Yanks would like her because she was so good, it was a perfect combination”.

“In 1981, Blackman appeared in the London revival of The Sound of Music opposite Petula Clark. The production opened to rave reviews and the largest advance sale in British theatre history to that time. She spent most of 1987 at the Fortune Theatre starring as the Mother Superior in the West End production of Nunsense.”

“Blackman returned to the theatre in 2005, touring through 2006 with a production of My Fair Lady, in which she played Mrs. Higgins. She developed a one-woman show, Word of Honor, which premiered in October 2006. In April 2007, Blackman took over the role of Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret at the Lyric Theatre in London’s West End. She left the show at the end of September 2007.”

“Honor Blackman is a member of the Liberal Democrats and previously the Liberal Party, campaigning for the party in the 1964 general election. She is a signed supporter of Republic, The Campaign for an Elected Head of State, the UK campaign to replace the monarchy with a republic. She declined a CBE in 2002, as she felt it would be hypocritical to accept the award as a republican.”

“She has publicly supported changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing members to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011.”

“Following the death of Margaret Thatcher in April 2013, when asked about her thoughts on Thatcher, Blackman responded with the following:

“She’s not my idea of Heaven I have to say. Although she did some good things in her time, she was merciless about the unions. I’m not too happy about the Falklands either. We lost men, we took injuries and we blew up a ship. I suppose we need it for a base, but my common sense tells me that it does belong more to Argentina than it does to us. Lots of people may throw things at me for saying that about Thatcher, but hopefully not during the performance.”

“She was a powerful figure, but she did damn all for empowering women. She didn’t surround herself with any women whatsoever or encourage women to come into politics or do anything in particular. She could have been a quite wonderful role model.”

“In 2014, Blackman explained her reasons for declining a CBE, and her criticisms of Sean Connery:

“They ring you beforehand to ask if you’d like to accept, and I think they were quite shocked when I declined,” she says. “But since I’m a republican I thought it would be somewhat hypocritical to pop up to the Palace.”

“Not like Sean (Connery), who accepts a knighthood but never comes here, doesn’t pay tax here and supported a yes vote in the referendum.” A sigh. “But I don’t think he thinks deeply about politics.”

Honor Blackman (Wikipedia)

Honor Blackman (IMDB)

Honor Blackman (Official Website)

“The Provisional IRA had been attacking British Army patrols and convoys with roadside bombs regularly since the early 1970s. Most of these attacks took place in rural parts of Northern Ireland.”

“On the night of 19/20 August 1988, an unmarked 52-seater bus was transporting 36 soldiers of The Light Infantry from RAF Aldergrove to a military base near Omagh. The soldiers, who came from England, had just finished 18 months of a two-year tour of duty in Northern Ireland and were returning to the base after a short holiday.”

“As it was driving along the main road from Ballygawley to Omagh, at about 12:30AM. IRA members remotely detonated a roadside bomb containing 200 pounds (91 kg) of semtex. According to police, the bomb had been planted in a vehicle by the roadside and had been detonated by command wire from 330 yards (300 m) away.”

“The blast hurled the bus 30 metres down the road and threw the soldiers into neighbouring hedges and fields. It left a crater 6 feet (1.8 m) deep and scattered body parts and twisted metal over a wide area. Witnesses described finding dead, dying and wounded soldiers strewn on the road and caught in the wreckage of the bus. Others were walking around, “stunned”. Some of the first to arrive on the scene and offer help were loyalist bandsmen of the Omagh Protestant Boy’s Band returning from a parade in Portadown, who had also been travelling in buses.”

“Eight of the soldiers were killed and the remaining 28 were wounded.”

“An inquest into the attack was told that the road was usually off-limits to military vehicles, due to the threat from the IRA. The driver of the bus, who was also a soldier, claimed he had been directed on to the road by diversion signs. The inquest heard that signs had not been placed by the police or the roads service. The IRA denied placing any signs and said that military buses often used the road.“

“Shortly thereafter, the Provisional IRA issued a statement claiming responsibility. It said that the attack had been carried out by its Tyrone Brigade and added:

“We will not lay down our arms until the peace of a British disengagement from Ireland”.

“After the attack the British military decided to start ferrying their troops to and from East Tyrone by helicopter to avoid any future attacks like this.”

“There were a great number of problems that contributed to the destruction caused by the Great Fire of 1910. The fire season started early that year, because the spring and summer of 1910 were extremely dry and the summer sufficiently hot to have been described as “like no others”. The drought resulted in forests that were teeming with dry fuel, which had previously grown up on abundant autumn and winter moisture. Fires were set by hot cinders flung from locomotives, sparks, lightning, and backfiring crews, and by mid-August, there were 1,000 to 3,000 fires burning in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and British Columbia.”

Ranger Joe Halm’s crew at Timber Creek, headwaters of St. Joe River, before great fire of August 20-21, 1910

“On August 20, a cold front blew in and brought hurricane-force winds, whipping the hundreds of small fires into one or two blazing infernos. The fire was impossible to fight; there were too few men and too little supplies. The United States Forest Service (then called the National Forest Service) was only five years old at the time and unprepared for the possibilities of this dry summer. Later, at the behest of President William Howard Taft, the U.S. Army, 25th Infantry Regiment (known as the Buffalo Soldiers), was brought in to help fight the blaze.”

“Smoke from the fire was said to have been seen as far east as Watertown, New York and as far south as Denver, Colorado. It was reported that at night, 500 miles (800 km) out into the Pacific Ocean, ships could not navigate by the stars because the sky was cloudy with smoke.”

Rainey Creek in Lolo National Forest, Montana

“The firestorm burned over two days (August 20–21, 1910), and killed 87 people, mostly firefighters It is believed to be the largest, although not the deadliest, forest fire in U.S. history.”

“The entire 28-man “Lost Crew” was overcome by flames and perished on Setzer Creek outside of Avery, Idaho.”

“The most famous story of survival was that of Ed Pulaski, a U.S. Forest Service ranger who led a large group of his men to safety in an abandoned prospect mine outside of Wallace, Idaho, just as they were about to be overtaken by the fire. It is said that Pulaski fought off the flames at the mouth of the shaft until he passed out like the others. Around midnight, a man announced that he, at least, was getting out of there. Knowing that they would have no chance of survival if they ran, Pulaski drew his pistol, threatening to shoot the first person who tried to leave. In the end, all but five of the forty or so men survived.”

“The fire was finally extinguished when another cold front swept in, bringing steady rain. Several towns were completely destroyed by the fire.”

“One third of Wallace, Idaho, was burned to the ground.”

Wallace, Idaho

“Passenger trains took thousands of Wallace residents to Spokane, Washington, and Missoula, Montana.”

“Another train with 1,000 people from Avery took refuge in a tunnel after racing across a burning trestle.”

Residents of Wallace search the rubble of the east end of town

“The Fire of 1910 cemented and shaped the U.S. Forest Service, which at the time was a newly established department on the verge of cancellation. Before the epic event, there were many debates on how to handle forest fires; whether to let them burn because they were a part of nature and were expensive to fight, or to fight them in order to protect the forests. After the devastation of the Big Blowup, it was decided that the U.S. Forest Service was to prevent and battle against every wildfire.”

“More recently, this absolutist attitude to wildfires has been criticized for altering the natural disturbance mechanisms that drive forest ecosystem structure.”

Voters’ general election preferences

Currently, 41% of registered voters say they would vote for Hillary Clinton if the general election were held today, while 37% say they would vote for Donald Trump, 10% say they would vote for Gary Johnson and 4% say they would vote for Jill Stein.

Differences in support across demographic groups are largely consistent with preferences at earlier points in this cycle.

There continues to be a sizable gender gap in vote preferences: Women favor Clinton over Trump by 19 percentage points (49% to 30%), while men back Trump by a 12-point margin (45% to 33%). (For more on the gender gap, see “A Closer Look at the Gender Gap in Presidential Voting”).

Educational differences also are substantial, especially among white voters. Overall, voters with postgraduate degrees favor Clinton by a wide margin (59% vs. 21%), with 10% and 5% expressing support for Johnson and Stein, respectively. College graduates also favor Clinton (47% vs. 34%). Preferences are divided among those with some college experience or less: 41% back Trump, 36% favor Clinton (9% say Johnson and 5% Stein).

White voters without a college degree support Trump by roughly two-to-one (51% vs. 26%). By a smaller margin, college-educated white voters support Clinton (47%) over Trump (33%).

“The Nineteenth Amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1878 by Senator Aaron A. Sargent. Forty-one years later, in 1919, Congress approved the amendment and submitted it to the states for ratification. It was ratified by the requisite number of states a year later.”

Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

“Congress proposed the Nineteenth Amendment on June 4, 1919, and the following states ratified the amendment.”

Wisconsin (June 10, 1919)

Illinois (June 10, 1919, reaffirmed on June 17, 1919)

Michigan (June 10, 1919)

Kansas (June 16, 1919)

New York (June 16, 1919)

Ohio (June 16, 1919)

Pennsylvania (June 24, 1919)

Massachusetts (June 25, 1919)

Texas (June 28, 1919)

Iowa (July 2, 1919)

Missouri (July 3, 1919)

Arkansas (July 28, 1919)

Montana (August 2, 1919)

Nebraska (August 2, 1919)

Minnesota (September 8, 1919)

New Hampshire (September 10, 1919)

Utah (October 2, 1919)

California (November 1, 1919)

Maine (November 5, 1919)

North Dakota (December 1, 1919)

South Dakota (December 4, 1919)

Colorado (December 15, 1919)

Kentucky (January 6, 1920)

Rhode Island (January 6, 1920)

Oregon (January 13, 1920)

Indiana (January 16, 1920)

Wyoming (January 27, 1920)

Nevada (February 7, 1920)

New Jersey (February 9, 1920)

Idaho (February 11, 1920)

Arizona (February 12, 1920)

New Mexico (February 21, 1920)

Oklahoma (February 28, 1920)

West Virginia (March 10, 1920, confirmed on September 21, 1920)

Washington (March 22, 1920)

Tennessee (August 18, 1920)

“On Tuesday (9 August 2016) at 5:28 p.m. Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officers responded code-3 (lights and sirens) to a report of a male subject, who had been shot in the leg at a BLM campground in Petrolia.”

“A 31-year-old male citizen had dialed 9-1-1 to report he shot a man, later identified as 50-year-old Patrick Michael Harris in the knee after an altercation at the BLM campground in Petrolia.”

“Deputies interviewed several witnesses and the female victim, the following is a summary of their investigation: 

“Harris was acting bizarre and approached the female victim. Harris asked her if she was ready to die. At some point Harris got behind the female and started to choke her with the rebar. The female feared for her life and thought she was going to die.”

“The male citizen who witnessed Harris attack the female stated he intervened to protect her and was forced to shoot Harris. The citizen’s action likely saved her life or at least prevented further harm. Citizen’s then detained Harris until deputies arrived. The female victim declined medical attention, but did sustain significant facial injuries. Humboldt County Sheriff Office Detectives were called out to take over the investigation.”

“Harris received a non-life threatening bullet wound to his leg and was transported via ambulance to a local hospital. Harris is currently in custody and will be transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility when he is medically cleared by the hospital. Harris is in custody for attempted homicide.”

“Fantasmagorie is a 1908 French animated film by Émile Cohl. It is one of the earliest examples of traditional (hand-drawn) animation, and considered by film historians to be the first animated cartoon.”

“The film was created by drawing each frame on paper and then shooting each frame onto negative film, which gave the picture a blackboard look. It was made up of 700 drawings, each of which was exposed twice (animated “on twos”), leading to a running time of almost two minutes. It borrowed from J. Stuart Blackton, the “chalk-line effect”; filming black lines on white paper, then reversing the negative to make it look like white chalk on a black chalkboard.”