History

Five Years On

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There was a car in the handicapped space in front of my bank a few weeks ago. It was a real beater, a huge gas-guzzling muscle car from the 1960’s which had seen better days. The color was primer grey, the tires were bald, and a sleeping bag was open in the back seat. It was a typical vision of a makeshift home for a homeless person. The one thing that made it stand out was the license plate, which proudly proclaimed “WWII VETERAN”.

The only person inside the bank who was over 50 was a wizened black man who needed a cane to move. I asked him if that was his car I had passed on my way in. When he said that it was I introduced myself and, as is my custom, thanked him for his service.

This surprised him. He said that people didn’t make mention of those old days much anymore, and he wanted to know why I had taken the trouble to seek him out. I blurted out the first thing that popped into my mind.

“You were part of the team which saved the world!” I said.

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Nixon: “Screw ‘Em”

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Mark Safranski has had two good posts about Nixon, here and here, and promised one or two more. Nixon is one of my pet obsessions.

These posts reminded me of an anecdote about Nixon from R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.�s book The Conservative Crack-Up, which came out in 1992. Tyrrell was pretty astute in its prognostication, though he failed to foresee the 1994 takeover of the House � �Newt Gingrich� does not appear in his index. The book is mostly a backward look at the rise of the Conservative movement, focusing on an idiosyncratic mix of interesting figures whom Tyrrell had known — Reagan, Irving Kristol, Clare Booth Luce, Malcolm Muggeridge, Luigi Barzini. I think Tyrrell lost his way during the Clinton years, after foolishly moving from beautiful Bloomington, Indiana to the snakepit on the Potomac, and devoting the entire period to unproductive scandal-mongering. But “Crack-Up” is a good book, and there are copies literally selling for a quarter.

Here is Tyrell on Nixon:

The only glimmer I ever caught of the RN that prowled through Liberal nightmares came while we were riding along the East River Drive in the back of his ancient armored limousine. He was silently peering out on a bleak expanse of the river. We were on the last lap of the 1980 election. Republicans were in a sweat over reports of an impending hostage swap between Jimmy Carter and the Ayatollah. � [O]n the eve of the 1980 election Carter was obviously pursuing a deal. It was in the headlines, and I naturally asked RN what he would do if he were president. �Cut a deal,� he replied impassively. I objected, and sought further explanation. An impatient RN turned to me and repeated: �You cut a deal,� and looking back toward the river he added ��and then you screw �em.� When I asked how, the former president�s impatience enlarged into exasperation: �There are a million ways to screw �em,� he said. �Tell them the deal is tied up on Capitol Hill. Tell them the material is lost in the pipeline.�

I miss Nixon.

Maybe This Time They’ll Do It Right

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Jim Miller contextualizes & links to a new column by Kate Riley, “Who Owns the Past?” This is a topic discussed here and here before – the Kennewick Man. She says:

Kuw�ot yas.�in and Kennewick Man have something to say about how people came to America. But the testimony told through their bones reveals only a small part of the larger mystery. The truth should not be buried

Kolthoff

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As the first scientist in the series of geeks you should know, I give you Izaak Maurits Kolthoff. My first introduction to him was at a conference where a student from Minnesota was wearing a t-shirt that read �I.M. Kolthoff � and you�re not.� He was revered, feared, and marveled at during his own tenure, publishing 809 articles until his retirement, after which he published 136 more as an emeritus. Let me repeat that: 945 articles, and 136 peer-reviewed articles as an emeritus! He taught 67 graduate students, and his scientific progeny number in the thousands, now. If for no other reason that that level of publication and educational output, he should be widely known. Instead, he�s Chemistry�s equivalent of Appert.

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It Isn’t Water This Time Around

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An interesting theory was introduced in 1957 about hydraulic empires.

The basic idea is that, in some regions, vast empires were only possible if the state had control over access to water. Control of the populace was ensured because everyone would soon die if the crops were denied the life giving resource.

A drought was, oddly enough, a way for the reigning despot to strengthen his grip. Scarce water would be diverted to cities and regions that shown the most enthusiasm in their support of the ruler, while more troublesome populations would have to face a terrible death from starvation. The favored were even wilder in their support, while anyone who was less than loyal wasn’t around any longer to cause trouble.

Strategypage.com reports that North Korea has been doing the same thing, except that this time it is food that is scarce instead of water. The armed forces spend a fair amount of their time farming and raising food, which means that the guys with all the guns are less likely to rebel. Civilian farms in areas known for showing signs of unrest are denied desperately needed supplies, which results in mass starvation.

Policy towards North Korea seems to be based on the hope that it will eventually implode on its own. The strategy is that forces inside the country will destroy the odious Communist government if we wait long enough. It is hoped that the people will rise up just as soon as enough of them realize that they have been lied to by their leaders, or the remaining leaders will start a civil war after Kim Jong Il dies.

I first came across the theory of hydraulic empires when I was reading the Larry Niven novel A World Out of Time way back in 1976. The protagonist explains the concept, and then mentions that this type of empire exerted such control over the population that they could never be toppled from within. The society might become so rotten that a single barbarian raid could start a chain reaction which led to the destruction of the entire empire, but it always took that push from outside to get the snowball rolling downhill.

Things are a bit more complicated when it comes to North Korea, mainly because both China and South Korea have an interest in seeing the country lurch along without coming apart. But, even if Pyonyang didn’t have their support, I would be willing to bet that the government still wouldn’t fall on its own.