Season 3 Episode 8 23 Oct 22

Welcome to season 3, episode 8! Thank you for putting your ear to the Listening Tube! I’m your host, Bob Woodley. On this episode, we’ll hear about the origins of the women’s rights movement, the end of the Pony Express, how the media supported political parties a hundred years ago, and the side effects of eliminating regret. But first, (not the headllines)

There was a time when the people in charge of our security had the most sophisticated equipment for monitoring places or people, and the people who went to the places, and the places where the people were. If law enforcement wanted a record of somebody’s whereabouts, they had to put someone on his tail, so to speak. Follow him around for a few days, get to know his habits. Talk to people, find out what he likes, anticipate where he might go next. The job got easier with the development of tracking devices, but in order to use them, a warrant was needed. The police couldn’t just go around putting tracking devices on everybody’s car. That’s a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. The Constitution is there to protect us from unreasonable search and seizure. The government isn’t allowed to track us without reasonable suspicion and due process. So we’re good, right? After all, the only time we’ve given permission to be tracked is when we agree to buy and use a mobile device. Wait. What? Yep. It’s no surprise, really. We already know that no matter what settings we have in effect as far as location identification, the device still knows where it is. And therefore where you are. Again, maybe this isn’t news to you. You’ve already resigned yourself to the fact that where ever you take your cell phone, there will be a record of it in some fashion. Maybe you don’t care because you feel you’ve nothing to hide. That’s fine. I feel the same way. Most of us understand that our cell phones are being used to gather information and use it to decide which of us should see which advertisements and what political propaganda. And all of it comes under the category of marketing. The important distinction is that it’s not being done by the government, which is forbidden by the Constitution. Luckily, the government has found a way to get around the pesky Constitutional Amendment thanks to a company called Fog Reveal. Law Professor Anne McKenna wrote a story about Fog Reveal that yahoo news said was a seven minute read, but it took me a good 15 minutes to digest. Allow me to regurgitate a little of it. The government no longer has the most sophisticated surveillance web of spies and informants. We’ve given permission to private companies to do what our constitution prohibits the government from doing. Now, the government doesn’t have to do the work, they can just buy it from the private companies. Fog Reveal is one of those companies. Sure, Google and Microsoft know where your are, too, but they’re more resistant to share without good reason. Not Fog Reveal. Fog Reveal sells the information they have about us and our location data to those who can afford it, and that includes government agencies. To be more specific, police departments. The article says the company that makes Fog Reveal, Fog Data Science, has access to more than 250-million of our phones and other mobile devices, and can use the app to track what she calls patterns of life. Patterns of life are information about when we’re at work and when we’re at home, with whom we’re spending our time, and where we’re spending that time. And they can do it all without a warrant, which is why the law professor wrote the story in the first place. The ability of the government to simply buy data that the law prohibits them from collecting themselves is a legal dilemma. As technology advances, the rules become even cloudier. It’s hard for the slow wheels of justice to keep up with ever-emerging tools that can be used to spy on us. Fog Reveal uses the technology developed for advertising to figure out who we are and where we are. Every mobile phone has an advertising identification number. They’re supposed to be anonymous, and in a legal sense, they are. But just as a lot of puzzle pieces reveal the bigger picture, enough bits of information, when combined with other sources of information, can reveal the identity of the person carrying the phone. All the information needed can be purchased from commercial data collectors, thanks to our willingness to agree to the terms of service for everything you’ve ever downloaded to your phone. Using the advertising ID and GPS enabling, police can simply follow the phone to a person’s home or work and figure out exactly who they are. Then, all they have to do to follow your every move is follow your phones every move. They can also use the same techniques to determine who your friends and coworkers are, and who you hang around with. They can know where you go, how long you stay there, and where you went after that, and after that. They can use that data to expose patterns in your behavior and even anticipate where you’ll go next. All without a warrant or any oversight. The reason is the difference between electronic surveillance laws and data privacy laws. Fog Reveal takes advantage of the loophole created when you agree to have your data collected. There is legislation working its way through the House of Representatives called the American Data Privacy Protection Act. It’s been approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee, but the Speaker won’t bring it to a vote of the full house until it’s reconciled with state laws already enacted in her home state of California. Until then, law enforcement can simply circumvent the courts and your Constitutional rights by simply buying the information they’re not legally allowed to compile themselves.

Let’s go back liner

This week in 1775 King George III goes before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, he authorizes a military response to quell the rebellion. Later that week, a British proclamation forbids residents from leaving Boston. Yes, they were told to stay there until the Red Sox won the World Series. Luckily for them, a year later, this week in 1776, Benjamin Franklin departs from America for France on a mission to solicit support for the American Revolution. 

1838

Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs, a Democrat, in case you’re’ interested, issues the Extermination Order, which orders all Mormons to leave the state or be exterminated. This came after an actual war between Mormons and the State of Missouri. They were considered enemies of the State, and were told to either leave or die. Many moved to Illinois. At the time, there was no legal examination of the order. It was never challenged in court. A majority of the population was all for it. I was signed by a number of public dignitaries, politicians, judges. People accepted it, and did whatever needed to be done to comply. It wasn’t until 1976, when Governor Kit Bond, a Republican, rescinded the order, did the war between Missouri and the Mormons officially end. Today, we know that such a proclamation would be struck down by just about any court in the nation. Otherwise, in the wake of the September 2001 terror attacks, every Muslim would have been expelled from New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. But because this is America, Mormons, Muslims and any other religious belief, or the lack thereof, is protected. In order to be subject to criminal prosecution, you must be guilty of something more than your beliefs. Illegal actions based on those beliefs are not exempt. 

This week in 1850, The first National Women’s Rights Convention begins in Worcester, Massachusetts. I hope I said that right. If you’re wondering what women in 1850 could have possibly wanted, well, it was the same thing they want today. What I found interesting about the movement is that it began as a women’s group formed to oppose slavery. Women, who along with slaves, had fewer rights than men, although to a lesser degree, but not protected by their skin color, recognized that slaves should have rights, too. So, by the time of the first Women’s Rights Convention, the platform was clear. In the opening address, Paulina Wright Davis called for "the emancipation of a class, the redemption of half the world, and a conforming re-organization of all social, political, and industrial interests and institutions.” But that’s just a general statement. The resolutions put forth by the business committee were more descriptive. Some of them include political, legal, and social equality with man until her proper sphere is determined by what alone should determine it, her powers and capacities, strengthened and refined by an education in accordance with her nature. Another demand was that the word “male” be removed from state constitutions, more property rights and employment opportunities. They didn’t forget women slaves, either, demanding that all women, including slave women, have natural and civil rights. Nearly 175 years later, women are still striving for many of the same rights and responsibilities that men have. A lot has been accomplished, for sure. Women are now leaders of men (and women) in industry, education and government. There are still chauvinists out there. But men have a slower learning curve than women, and mature more slowly, too. The only thing we really have going for us is our comparatively larger size. So, women, when you do take over the world, I hope you’ll consider the history of the Listening Tube podcast as a testament (no pun intended) to my support and admiration. 

This week in 1861, The First Transcontinental Telegraph line across the United States is completed, spelling the end for the 18-month-old Pony Express, which just a few days later, ceased operations. Much to the delight of the ponies. But for 18 months, those ponies took turns moving the mail at a brisk pace. It moved the mail from Missouri to California, and cut the delivery time from the east coast to ten days! Unheard of. Until 18 months later, when the message traveled at the speed at which the person at the other end of the line would transfer the message to the next person until it got to where it was going. Even though the line was transcontinental, the actual wires over which the message was carried weren’t. Regardless, the reduction in delivery time was enough to put the pony express out of business. Today, we wonder why we haven’t received a return text from our friend on the other side of the world within a minute or two. Maybe it’s because they’re sleeping. 

This week in 1886, in New York Harbor, President Grover Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty, prompting the first ticker-tape parade. When France presented the gigantic statue as a gift, we had to figure out what to do with it. Well, we did. Ellis Island was the perfect place for it. It’s a magnificant statue, made of copper. I’ve been up into the crown of her. I’ve seen here from the shore and from an airliner approaching John F. Kennedy airport. For millions of Americans, it was the first thing they saw when they arrived by boat, looking for a new life in America. At one time, most of our immigration ran through Ellis Island. In her right hand, she holds a torch to light the way to liberty, in the other, a promise in the form of a tablet with the date of the Declaration of American Independence.

Today, most of our immigration comes through our southern border, and many cite the plaque at the Statue of Liberty that says, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore,” as justification for anyone to enter the country by any means necessary. Just as we talked about earlier, your beliefs do not override the law. We have laws governing our borders. They may not be perfect, but that’s not an excuse for breaking them. 

This week in 1906, Alberto Santos-Dumont flies an airplane in the first heavier-than-air flight in Paris, France. Just five years later, in 1911, an Italian pilot takes off from Libya to observe Turkish army lines during the Turco-Italian War, marking the first use of aircraft in war. Then, just a couple days later, Orville Wright remains in the air 9 minutes and 45 seconds in a Wright Glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. My wife and I visited the site a couple years ago. It’s very interesting to see how far the first flights were, and from where they began and ended. I got some dirty looks while I was there. I wore a t-shirt that Al Bundy wore in the television show “Married with Children.” On the front, it said “No, Ma’m” and had the symbol for female covered by one of those signs with the red circle and the slash through it that signifies it’s not allowed. While just a benign t-shirt, I did wear it on purpose to express a judicial viewpoint. At the time of my visit there, Supreme Court Justice Brett Cavanaugh was still a nomination for the position, and a college professor was testifying against him, accusing him of sexual assault when they were in college. Despite begin on vacation at the beautiful northern end of the outer banks of North Carolina, I watched the testimony of the witness. It was obvious that the professor had been coached in what to say and how to act. I thought it was sad that a professor would act like a bashful introvert, with her hair hanging in her face. I couldn’t imagine her being in control of a classroom. Therefor, I did not believe her testimony. In fact, I believe her testimony was a major setback to the women’s movement, especially in relation to sexual assault accusations. I’ll never understand why the left felt compelled to sacrifice the credibility of women everywhere in order to slander a Supreme Court Justice nominee. But on the other hand, I got to wear my no ma’am t-shirt to the Wright Brothers Monument. Good times.

1915

Woman’s suffrage: In New York City, 25,000-33,000 women march on Fifth Avenue to advocate their right to vote. That was 67 years from when after the first convention for women’s right in Seneca Falls in 1848. Still a beautiful area, by the way. My wife and I were just there doing some leaf peeping and visiting wineries. Personally, I’m more of a beer guy. Anyway, white women got the right to vote in 1920, by declaration of the 19th Amendment to the constitution. It didn’t apply to non-white women or men. Gradually different races and ethnicities were granted the right to vote, but it wasn’t until 1965 that the Voting Rights Act, signed by President Lyndon Johnson, prohibited denying people the privilege of voting based on race, color or national origin. It’s hard for me to comprehend that I was alive during such a period. There’s been a lot of progress on voting rights since the 1960’s. The pendulum is starting to swing a bit too far in that direction. Localities are granting non-citizens the right to vote in local elections, and progressives lobby against rules that make it harder to cheat at the ballot box. 

1919

The U.S. Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, paving the way for Prohibition to begin the following January. The 18th Amendment, ratified by the required number of states in January, gave Congress the authority to make laws prohibiting the sale, manufacture or importation of intoxicating beverages. The Volstead Act was result of it. Prohibition led to what is now remembered as the “Roaring 20’s” and the bootleggers, speakeasies and organized crime that came with them. The 18th Amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment in December of 1933, thus making booze legal again. Today, the only remnant of the Prohibition era is one of the most popular sports in the country, NASCAR races. The bootleggers had to build cars that would outrun the law. They eventually started racing each other. Now millions of people attend racetracks every year across the country to watch, and television networks bid for the rights to broadcast the races. 

1924

The forged Zinoviev Letter is published in the Daily Mail, wrecking the British Labour Party’s hopes of re-election. The Labour Party in England was the equivalent of the Liberal party. The Daily Mail was a conservative publication, whether the public knew it or not. The letter was published four days before the election, and even though the man attributed to writing the letter denied writing it two days later, none of the newspapers published his denial. The conservatives won the election. Some say they would have won anyway, as the Labour Party was experiencing some turmoil, but it just goes to show you how the media has been played by political organizations to influence our votes for at least a century. The common denominator among media manipulation then and now is the Communist ideology. The Zinoviev Letter aligned the Labour Party with the Communists, just as the Steele dossier linked Donald Trump to Russia. Both turned out to be fake. With the mid-term elections in the United States just around the corner, keep an eye out for more claims of collusion with Russia and China. I’m not going to say they’re fake, but the timing of any “discoveries” should be taken into consideration. 

This week in 1929, the first North American transcontinental air service began. You could fly from New York City to Los Angeles and back. Although it was a wonderful accomplishment, the timing of it could have been better, as it was also this week in 1929 the New York Stock Exchange crashes in what would be referred to as the Crash of '29 or “Black Tuesday”, marking the beginning of the Great Depression. Millions of investors lost everything, as for the next ten years, America would experience the greatest economic catastrophe in the history of the industrialized world. The roaring 20’s produced more than bootleg booze. The nations total wealth doubled, and everybody was an investor, from wealthy fatcats to street sweepers. Many companies were valued at more than they were actually worth. People stopped investing, and that led to lower spending and lower production and lower employment. The bubble burst, and as people sold their shares, the value of them dropped. Millions were left with nothing, or deeply in debt. Many committed suicide. Things only got worse from there. Soon, people were homeless, lining up for bread and soup. Crops rotted in the fields because farmers couldn’t afford the harvest, while people starved. Then came a severe drought in 1930, exposing the southern plains to the death of crops, livestock and people. Those who survived wanted their money in cash, and the banks didn’t have enough to go around. Thousands of banks failed. President Franklin Roosevelt succeeded Herbert Hoover early in 1933. Unlike Hoover, Roosevelt believed the government was responsible for economy and could help to create jobs. He reassured the country by declaring, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” 

1938

The Archbishop of Dubuque, Francis J. L. Beckman, denounces swing music as “a degenerated musical system.. turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people”, warning that it leads down a “primrose path to hell”. Swing music, rock & roll, and rap music have all taking their lumps while building a following. One could argue that all of them have in some way gnawed away at the moral fabric of young people. However, music is just one of the many things that may or may not gnaw away at the moral fabric of young people. The antidote to such gnawing is the parents of said young people, and the moral fabric instilled by them. A solid upbringing that includes respect for other people will trump any influence a song might have. 

1964

Ronald Reagan delivers a speech on behalf of Republican candidate for president, Barry Goldwater. The speech launched his political career and came to be known as “A Time for Choosing”. It was a surprise for many, as Reagan was a life-long Democrat. A union man from Hollywood. But in this speech, he signaled his intention to become a conservative. He cited the tax burden on the American people, which at the time averaged about 37 percent, while the government spent way more than it took in. He cited our national debt, which was more than the debt of all other nations in the world combined. The 1964 dollar was worth 45 cents compared to the 1939 dollar, near the end of the great depression. He questioned America’s involvement in the Vietnam war. He said there can be no peace while one American is dying some place in the world for the rest of us. He told a story about some friends who were talking to a Cuban business man who had escaped from the island. “We don’t know how lucky we are,” one of the friends said. The Cuban said, “ "How lucky you are? I had someplace to escape to." And in that sentence he told us the entire story. If we lose freedom here, there's no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth. Reagan went on to quote liberal statements that were printed in newspapers. Here are some examples: "The profit motive has become outmoded. It must be replaced by the incentives of the welfare state." and he quoted a Senator who said that the Constitution is outmoded and he is "hobbled in his task by the restrictions of power imposed on him by this antiquated document." He must "be freed," so that he "can do for us" what he knows "is best." These quotes are similar to what progressives preach still today. It’s an old document written by old white men, they say. Dismantle Capitalism is another chant of the progressive left. Meanwhile, they use the protections of the Constitution to spew anti-American propaganda, and use the tools of capitalism to amplify their message. Barry Goldwater didn’t win the election, but Ronald Reagan went on to become one of America’s great leaders. It was the policies of Ronald Reagan that led to the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war. America’s relationship with Russia varies wildly depending upon our government’s leadership. Republicans have been more successful in not only cooperating with Russia, but also in keeping communist influence in check. Russia, and the former Soviet Union have historically seen Democrat administrations a weak and easily exploited. For example, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine in 2014, during the Obama administration, and invaded the entire country of Ukraine under the Biden administration. They didn’t dare try such maneuvers during the Trump administration. 

1977

The last natural case of smallpox is discovered in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccinations. The Covid-19 pandemic brought a whole new light to the subject of vaccinations. Personally, I grew up in the age of vaccinations. We got them in grade school. Nobody questioned them. In fact, they were regarded as miracles of medicine. We were grateful that medical science was able to create such a wonderful tool to fight disease. When I joined the Air Force, we got more vaccines in basic training, and if you were going to be stationed overseas, as I was, you got other preventative shots before you went. Yes, the Covid-19 vaccine was made much more quickly than others. We were in a hurry, but the Covid-19 vaccine wasn’t made from scratch. It was based on decades of research, carefully but quickly formulated to address a virus that was killing millions of people around the world. If you didn’t get the vaccine, that’s fine with me. If you did, that’s fine with me, too. I’ve never had a flu shot, nor do I remember ever having the flu. I did get the Covid-19 vaccine. I’ve never had Covid-19, either. And just like the flu shot may not prevent you from getting the flu, as it changes every year, the Covid-19 shot may not prevent you from getting Covid-19. But it will make it more likely that you’ll at least survive, if not suffer from much milder symptoms should you get it. Again, either way is fine with me, but remember that vaccines have saved countless lives since the 1950’s, and continue to do so today. 

1988

Ronald Reagan decides to tear down the new U.S. Embassy in Moscow because of Soviet listening devices in the building. New is a relative term. Construction of the building was stopped three years earlier because of the suspected listening devices incorporated into the construction. Ultimately, it was deemed to be cheaper and more secure to tear down the entire building and start from scratch. It would also take less time. Meanwhile, Moscow wasn’t allowed to occupy their new embassy in Washington until the new American Embassy in Moscow was completed. Either way, spying between the U.S. and Russia continued, and continues to this day. We’ve never been able to trust Russia, and we still can’t. Try as we might to placate the Kremlin, they have a different idea of detente than we have. 

1994

Gliese 229B is the first Substellar Mass Object to be unquestionably identified. Based on the root words sub and stellar, or below the stars, you might think Earth is substellar. Is it? 

Gonna look that up liner.

Earth is substellar. So are some stars, which may sound contradictory. Basically, substellar objects usually mean stars that don’t have the mass needed to sustain nuclear fusion. That’s the process that makes stars emit light and heat. Brown dwarf stars are substellar. They may be orbiting other stars, and may have planets orbiting them. Substellar is just a way to define anything in space that can’t sustain nuclear fusion. Only stellar bodies can do that.

Phone and email liner

The philosopher Aristotle suggested that happiness can only be achieved at the end of your life. Happiness was a destination, not a temporary state-of-mind. For the record, I disagreed with that point of view since the first time I heard it in 10th grade. Happiness can still be at the end, like at the end of the day, without being the end of your life. When you lie down to go to sleep every night, you can decide if you’re happy or not. There’s just no guarantee you’ll still be happy when you wake up. Aristotle may have been on to something, though. Recent research in Germany shows there’s a difference between how young people and old people handle regret, and that may lead to more happiness as we age. If age is a state of mind, you might want to feel a little older when it comes to the mistakes we make in life. We all make them. Little mistakes and big ones. Some mistakes can be overcome quickly, while other mistakes may linger with us for years, or even decades. I won’t bore you with the analytics of the experiments, but there were a number of different ones, using different people from different age groups. Knowing that what you could have gained and what you actually lost are two entirely different things, the experiments showed that young people tend to treat them the same. In other words, a missed opportunity causes as much regret as actually losing something you already had. Older people only experienced regret when they made a decision that had actual negative impact, unlike younger people, who also had regret when a decision also had a negative impact on what might have been. Regret, as an emotional state of mind, is regarded by people who study this stuff, as a way for us to learn from our mistakes. Regret makes us think about what we did wrong, and how we can avoid making that mistake again. You might have done something to regret, and nobody knows it was you who did it. Sometimes the only way to rid yourself of regret is to confess what you’ve done and ask for forgiveness (or serve a sentence!). Sometimes you’d rather live with the regret. Some people have no regrets about anything. But they weren’t part of the study. As to why young people seem to take regret more seriously than older people, the prevailing thought is that young people need regret as a tool to learn. Older people, having already learned many of the lessons brought by regret, have learned to accept the decisions they’ve made, and just as important, recognize the variables over which they had no control. Sometimes, you look back on something you regret, and realize that even in hindsight, you would have made the same choice. Regrets or not, the choices we make are what got us to where we are. Sometimes things go well, and we’re happy, however temporary that might be, and sometimes we do something that we regret, and that regret can last longer than any temporary happiness we may experience. Regret stays with young people longer because they have more life in front of them. The good news for young people is that you have plenty of time to amend your mistakes. Time to make new choices that will require a long commitment, like education. On the contrary, older people have less time to adjust to poor choices. Older people don’t have time to let a regret linger. They have to shake it off and move on more quickly. At some point, a person may have the opportunity to come to grips with the decisions they’ve made, and maybe it’s at that point they’ll experience the happiness Aristotle described . 

In the meantime, the scientists who did the experiments that discovered all of this are developing a way for middle-aged people, those generally regarded as between 40 and 65, to learn to better deal with regret. I guess they won’t teach it to 20-somethings for fear that if they don’t regret anything, we’re all in trouble! But older people who can’t let go of regrets are often depressed. Teaching them how to use what was learned might help them be happier. I completely disagree with the approach they’re working on as much as I disagree with Aristotle about happiness. The Scientific American story describes the therapeutic program as “external attribution” or putting the blame on outside forces that you can’t control, rather than on yourself. This just turns regret into another form of victimization. I did the terrible thing I did back in whatever year it was because of forces outside of my control. I had to do the thing I regret. It’s not my fault! The leader of the study says, “I’m sure we have a lot to learn from healthy older adults about managing regret.” And despite all the research telling them what old people already know, they still missed the entire point. The key to managing regret is NOT blaming other forces for your decisions! External attribution is just another term for blaming anything but yourself. Just because old people recognize the variables that led to the regrettable decision, and which ones over which they had no control, does not mean they blame those variables for the decision. The largest part of dealing with regret is recognizing your mistakes and learning to live with them, not finding a way to deflect responsibility. These researchers might want to spend more time studying how teaching people to better deal with regret, in essence, speeding up the emotional process of regret, will effect society as much as it effects the individual. Maybe regret is part of what keeps us human. Maybe regret is more than a learning tool for young people. Maybe regret is what keeps us thinking about the consequences of our actions. If we eliminate regret, what would that mean for how we treat each other? The worst thing that could happen is if this group of researchers comes up with a vaccine for regret. 

The Listening Tube is written and produced by yours truly, Copyright 2022. Thank you for putting your ear to the Listening Tube. I’m your host, Bob Woodley for thou ad infinitum.