Season 5, Episode Five May 7, 2023

Hello, and thank you for putting your ear to the Listening Tube! I’m your host, Bob Woodley. On this episode, we’ll hear about banned books, rock and roll, and fear. But first, (Not the Headlines)!

Have you ever looked at someone and thought, “Yea, I could take that guy.” Of course, your initial assessment is based solely on his physical stature. It doesn’t take into account variables like fighting skills or training. It doesn’t take into account the neighborhood in which he grew up or his personal line between fight or flight. It’s just an initial assessment, and you probably don’t even know you’re making it. It’s subconscious. A mechanism in the brain that is inherent in all of us. But researchers at New York University who have been studying these things have connected two regions of the brain with how we interpret and respond to people depending upon if we feel physically superior or inferior to them. 

So far, all of the tests have been done on mice, but as you may know, the human and mice genomes are similar enough that studying mice can get us a long way before human experiments are needed. Plus, these experiments are based only on the results of tests on male mice. But the result of this experiment may surprise you. We all have our ideas about aggression when it comes to groups of men in social situations. Hollywood and television play a big role in those preconceptions. We’re led to believe that men are prone to animalistic puffery, always trying to outdo each other in feats of strength and skill, eager to impress potential mates. But the research shows a more measured response. The research shows that it is not the goal of every man to dominate. In fact, the research shows that when presented to a person who is perceived to be superior, we become less aggressive. While the opposite holds true for the person presented to someone who is perceived to be physically inferior. 

What the mice have taught us about ourselves is that the big and powerful man who everyone says has a heart of gold, has a brain that becomes more aggressive around physically inferior people, and the legend of the proverbial little guy standing up to the big guy is an aberration. Our brains are likely wired to submit to the physically dominant alpha male and turn our aggression toward those who we perceive as physically inferior. All subconsciously. Which means the big man with the kind heart has to consciously decide to not be aggressive, and the scrawny guy with something to prove has to consciously make up his mind to put his health and safety on the line when he decides to pick on someone bigger than him.

What are the implications of this research? Knowing how these two regions of the brain work with each other can help us understand aggression, and even violence. It’s not wise for the weak to attack the strong. Misguided aggression could lead to physical injury or worse. Our brains know this. That’s why we don’t normally pick on somebody who can kick our ass. The studies may lead to therapies that can help people who have a hard time controlling aggressive tendencies, or those who are prone to violence. A chill pill, if you will.

But like I said, the studies have so far only been done on mice. So here’s my advice: If you are ever confronted by an aggressive mouse, put your hands up in the air and back away slowly. This mouse has obviously already sized you up, and has determined itself to be superior to you. 

Luckily, mice are barely aggressive compared to insects. A mosquito will literally suck out your blood if you let it. And if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, mosquito season is approaching. For Listening Tube fans in Columbia, it’s probably always mosquito season. So what can you do to minimize the effects of mosquitoes? After all, they are known to carry disease, and their bites can lead to itchy blisters on the skin, and they’re just annoying. As you know, I’m not one to give out unsolicited advice...wait, yes I am. Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll share some advice about mosquitoes from an article by Amy McCarthy from Eater at Home. She interviewed an entomologist from the University of Nebraska. And, these tips can apply to insects other than mosquitoes, too! While Amy’s story was focused on how to keep an outdoor meal or picnic bug-free, it includes insight that can be applied any time. You may have some of your own remedies for deterring insects from your outdoor spaces, like citronella candles or torches. They have some effect, but don’t work well. Bug Zappers, the insect attractive lights that electrocute its victims can also result in unintended victims like pollinating bees and pretty butterflies. Ultrasonic devices don’t work. Of course, the internet is brimming with insect repellent recipes involving essential oils and vinegars. Old Wives Tales or marketing gimmicks, says Amy. Old wives tales sounds a little bit sexist, doesn’t it? As if old husbands have nothing to offer.

There are many remedies for ridding your surroundings with bugs. When it come to crawling insects, like ants, we use chemicals to kill them. Wasps also get the same treatment. But most flying insects we try to deter rather than eliminate. As long as they don’t bug us, we won’t but them, right? Well, instead of relying on old wives tales or the internet or a shaman, Amy asked an insect expert. Kait Chapman revealed the two most effective ways to keep pesky mosquitoes and other insects from invading your personal space. Even if you’re invading theirs.

Entimologist Chapman says the best insect repellent is diethyl toluamide, or DEET. As long as it’s a product with thirty percent DEET or less, you can spray it on your skin to repel insects. You don’t want to spray it on your food, but you can spray it on your body. Now, older folks might remember an insecticide called DDT. Use of DDT was banned in the United States in 1972. DDT and DEET are not the same thing. DDT nearly killed off the American Bald Eagle and the peregrine falcon. DEET is perhaps the most-studied insect repellent in use today, and the most effective.

But if you still crave a natural, chemical-free way to keep annoying insects from flying around you, there is an effective tool that wasn’t designed to keep bugs away, but found a secondary use in that department. Turn on a fan. If you live in an air-conditioned environment, you might not have one. Even if you have one, you might not have considered moving it outside. But by creating a windy environment, you’ll discourage flying insects from entering the “fan zone.”

So there you have it: DEET and a fan are the two most effective ways to keep insects from ruining your barbecue, picnic, or peaceful time spent outdoors in whatever little oasis you’ve created for yourself. 

Since you were graceful enough to accept my unsolicited advice, here’s two more tidbits I’d like to pass along. I recently saw a television ad for a product that featured “Gradual Release Technology.” Don’t be fooled. Gradual release technology simply means it won’t stay stuck together forever. That applies to a lot of things. Just like “Gravity Assist.” Everything on the planet is essentially gravity assist. From an apple that hangs from the tree to a parachute. We just don’t write gravity assist on the product. 

Let’s go back liner

1726

Three men arrested during a raid on Mother Clap’s molly house in London are executed at Tyburn. They were arrested in February, according to City of London dot gov. Why? Because they were homosexuals. A molly house was a term used in 1700’s London to describe a place where gay men could meet safely. Mother Clap’s molly house had been under surveillance for years. The men there protected each other, even providing false testimony to get other acquitted of sodomy charges.

While three men were hanged together after being found guilty of sodomy, Mother Clap herself was sentenced to stand in the pillory, pay a fine, and spend two years in jail.

1840

The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history. “Climate Change!” said nobody. 

1893

The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato is a vegetable, and not a fruit, under the Tariff Act of 1883. So, there you have it. If anyone tries to tell you a tomato is a fruit, you have the full backing of the United States Supreme Court to vehemently disagree. 

1911

The works of Gabriele D'Annunzio are placed by the Vatican in the Index of Forbidden Books. Yes, the Pope had a list of books that were not to be read by Catholics. D’Annunzio was but one of many authors on the list, which lasted for 400 years, until the 1950’s, when Pope Paul VI did away with the list. It never was, nor would it ever be a complete list, anyway. I hear a lot of noise about books being banned in America. There is no such thing as a banned book in America. There may be age restrictions, as there always has been. But if you live in America, and age 18 or older, you have access to any book you want. Any book that has ever been written. If you can find it, you’re free to read it. You’re even free to buy it and give it to your, children regardless of their age. Don’t be fooled by the rhetoric. There are no banned books in the United States of America.

1933

In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book-burnings. We don’t see that in America. There are only two occasions of massive public destruction of recorded literature that I can think of. That would be when people burned all of their Beatles stuff to protest a comment by John Lennon, and the time Steve Dahl blew up disco records at a White Sox game in Chicago. 

1935

Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith meet for the first time in Akron, Ohio, at the home of Henrietta Siberling. Who care? Well, alcoholics care. Bill and Bob went on to create Alcoholics Anonymous. I was arrested for a DUI in California in 1993. Part of my sentence was to attend a certain number of Alcoholic Anonymous meetings within a certain time frame. So I did. Those people have the best stories. 

1939

The first commercial FM radio station in the United States is launched in Bloomfield, Connecticut. The station later becomes WDRC-FM. Now, auto manufacturers are building new cars and trucks without AM radio for the first time. Many people rely on AM radio for a variety of reasons, including Emergency Alerts. The American Federal Communications Commission is trying to get them to change their minds. It seems that electric cars create interference with the AM signal, so instead of finding a solution, they just eliminated the AM band on the car radio.

1954

Bill Haley & His Comets release “Rock Around the Clock”, the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts. It was and still is very difficult for a rock & roll record to reach the top of the charts. It’s because Rock & Roll is always lumped in with Pop. Rap has its own category, country has a category, urban has a category. But Rock music for some reason has to be diminished by including it in the much larger genre of Pop/Rock, where it stands little chance of being noticed by fans of pop music. It’s time to end this injustice by giving rock music, not just heavy metal, it’s own category! Don’t even get me started on the farce that is the poorly-named Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1960

Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960 – Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers. Powers was later swapped for a Russian agent on the Galinika bridge between east and west Berlin. Today, an American reporter is in Russian custody; the latest kidnapping by the tyrant Putin. Beware if you’re an American traveling to Russia, as the tyrant Putin seems to be starting a collection with which he can bargain later.

1960

Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Thirty-one students are arrested. This event is said to have started the free-speech movement. While the students did protest, the committee was able to do what it came to do. At Berkeley today, if your views don’t match that of the loudest students, you get shouted out of town. That’s the opposite of free speech. 

1963

The U.S. Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland is decided. Brady v. Maryland is an important case because it cemented the responsibility of the prosecution to disclose any evidence it may have that would effect the outcome of a trial or the sentence of someone found guilty. In this case, Brady and an accomplice were found guilty of murdering a man. Both were tried separately and found guilty. But Brady maintained he didn’t actually commit act of murder, and the prosecution knew this because his accomplice told them so. The Supreme Court ruled that withholding exculpatory evidence violates due process where the evidence is material to either guilt or punishment.

1973

Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times dismissed. So what exactly were the Penatgon Papers?

Look that up liner

A story on History dot com tells us the Pentagon Papers were a report officially named, “Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force.” The report was generated at the request of the Defense Secretary in 1967, and was completed in 1969. The top-secret document included 47 volumes with three-thousand pages of narrative and four-thousand pages of supporting documents. Allow me to read it to you here….just kidding. In a nutshell, it described political and military concerns in Vietnam from the end of world war II until the time it was compiled. 

What it revealed to the American public was that the administrations of Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson had all lied to us about American involvement in Vietnam. By the time the Pentagon Papers were given to the New York Times, public support for America’s involvement in Vietnam was waning. The New York Times began publishing excerpt from the report, revealing the very worst of what was contained therein. Today, the New York Times might have hidden the story or tried to discredit it, like they did the Hunter Biden laptop story. But after the third story, the The U.S. department of Justice got a temporary restraining order to stop the Times from publishing any more of it, citing national security concerns. The Washington Post joined the New York Times in fighting the order, and in 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment to the Constitution would prevail, as the government didn’t prove the publication of the stories would harm national security.

Nearly two years after that decision, charges of conspiracy, espionage and stealing government property were filed against Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo. Ellsberg was the guy who gave the papers to the New York Times. All the charges were dismissed, however, because of government misconduct. It turns out that a couple of President Nixon’s men broke into the office of a psychiatrist’s office in 1971 looking for dirt on Ellsberg. Those same two men, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, would also break in to the Democrat headquarters at the Watergate Hotel, leading to the resignation of President Nixon in 1974.

Ellsberg got away with stealing top-secret documents and giving them away, but this week in 2002,

F.B.I. agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds. What a fool. Everybody knows diamonds are a poor investment.

2008

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducts the largest-ever raid of workplace and arrests nearly 400 immigrants for identity theft and document fraud. Under the current administration, those same immigrants would probably be given a cell phone and a ticket to the American city of their choice. Never to be heard from again.

Phone and email liner

There’s a fear in the United States today that I haven’t witnessed in my lifetime. I’m not even halfway to my target age of 150, but I’ve been around for awhile. It’s not a fear of Russia, or China, but an internal fear. It doesn’t always look like fear, as it manifests itself in a variety of ways, but it’s a fear nonetheless. It’s a fear of uncertainty. It’s a fear of not knowing who to trust anymore. It’s a fear of doing or saying, or even thinking the wrong thing. The problem is, it’s not our own conscience that gets to decide what’s right or wrong anymore. It’s not written in the laws or referenced in a religious text. The lines between right and wrong are being redefined as you’re hearing me speak about it. We can’t trust what the government tells us. We know illegal immigration hasn’t dropped by over 90 percent, as the President’s press secretary said. But they say it hoping you’ll believe it, or not know the truth at all. When pressed on the data, she got defensive. All they do is re-define the words they use to describe the action until they get the results they want. The government literally made illegal immigration go down by over 90 percent by redefining what it means to be an illegal immigrant. Just a few years ago, if you crossed the border into the United States at a place that is not a designated point of entry, you were considered to have entered illegally. Now, if you enter the United States in a place other than a designated point of entry and claim asylum, you’re no longer considered an illegal immigrant. That will be determined later, but a judge who probably won’t meet you for three or four years, if at all. An that’s how the government reduces illegal immigration by 90 percent. Whether you agree with our current situation on the southern border or not, when the president’s spokes person has the gall to say such a ridiculous thing, to make such a bold claim and say it as if she actually believes it causes fear in Americans for one of two reasons. Either she actually believes that statement, therefor demonstrating a level of ignorance that should not be tolerated from our federal government, or she knows it’s not true, but feels alright telling us a bold-faced lie that is easily disproved with the government’s own statistics. Which is scarier? Only one White House reporter questioned her statement, and when he did, she lost her cool and tried to make it look like the reporter was being dramatic. That, too, was an evasive maneuver to deflect away from the truth. Even a die-hard Democrat has to admit there’s something wrong there. But none will. It’s now a sin to question the party in power, and the press is unwilling or unable to act as the fourth estate. Our government is out of control, and the press is complicit in the chaos. Many believe the press is behind the government all the way, and some of it might be, but the possibility exists that they, too are in fear. Fear of saying the wrong thing. Fear of asking the wrong question. Fear of putting someone in authority in a tough spot with a question they didn’t expect. Fear of making enemies in high places. I understand there’s always been and always will be a give and take between the government and the press, but the government seems to have found a way to browbeat the press into falling in line, despite the ever-changing media landscape. The government has become it’s own media company, with consultants and camera operators, ready to create a fictitious image of the world they want you to see. Meanwhile, our major cities are becoming homeless encampments, overrun by crime and theft. Police forces lacking the proper staffing because of reform-minded prosecutors who pity the criminal and blame the victim, society or some other force. There’s a fear that the fabric of our nation is ripping at the seams, and the one entity that could stop it, our government, is not only unwilling to do so, but seems to be one of the driving forces of the anarchy and uncertainty. What responsible government can’t even control its own borders? What responsible government tolerates its young people being poisoned by a partnership of two other governments? I’ll tell you what kind of government does these things. A government that achieved its power through lies and skullduggery. The more we learn about the people running our federal government, the more obvious the lies become. Not just the lies the President tells about his life growing up. Nobody really knows how many mothers he’s had, or which Puerto Rican neighborhood had grew up in. No. The lies about immigration. The lies about Hunter Biden, and his laptop, and the letter signed by 51 former intelligence officers who said the laptop was probably a Russian hoax two weeks before the election and just in time for Joe Biden to say it out loud on a debate stage. Since then, the FBI has had the infamous laptop for years with no action on what the American people already know is an international influence-peddling scheme orchestrated by the now President of the United States. Hunter himself has been under investigation for five years, with no results, despite the information on the laptop. How can that be? It’s become so obvious to the people that just about anyone connected to Joe Biden can get away with whatever they want. How many people have they paid off? How many favors to the owe? And to whom? Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if President Biden is beholden to China. He’s treated China too well, considering the circumstances. They steal from us, they blatantly spy on us, they operate police stations withing our country, and the only thing we get from the Biden administration is that their competition is welcome, and we don’t want to hold China back, we just want to run faster than them. That’s a quote from our Secretary of State, who is now fingered as the guy who initiated the letter signed by the 51 who should have their security clearances revoked. Anthony Blinken claims he wasn’t, but he has to say that. He was a key member of Joe Biden’s election campaign, when the letter surfaced. Records now show that Blinken lied to Congress in his confirmation hearings. How? The story is he said he never communicated with Hunter Biden during the campaign. The laptop revealed emails between Blinken and Hunter. 

The Department of Justice, now under control of the Biden administration, has kept the lid on the Hunter Biden laptop, the mysterious letter now alleged to be created by the Secretary of State, and all by the guy in charge of it, Attorney General Merrick Garland. Remember him? He was supposed to be on the Supreme Court, but his nomination was stalled long enough to see Donald Trump become President. You think that guy might have an ax to grind? And now he’s in charge of deciding who broke the law, or which laws will even be enforced. Lady Justice may be blind, but Merrick Garland wears glasses. He might have been appointed to lead the Department of Justice based on his education and pedigree, but he was also put there to exact revenge and stifle any inquiries that may injure the party and its tentacles.

Is it any wonder there’s fear among the people? When crime is rampant and the only people being punished are the ones who speak their minds, there’s something wrong with society. The people who preach tolerance are the same people who shout down anyone who doesn’t agree with them. The people who preach inclusion have a tendency to repel the majority. The people who preach equity clamor for advantages no one else has. There is now a federal mandate that charges home buyers with good credit more for a mortgage to supplement home buyers with bad credit. The same 30-year loan will cost a person with a good credit score about 14,000 dollars more than a person with bad credit. The Biden administration has punished people who earned their good credit, and rewarded those who haven’t. The effort, they say, is to give more people the opportunity to buy a home. So by adding more home buyers to an already tight real estate market, along with rising interest rates, the Biden administration will be making it harder for everyone to afford a home. I guess that’s what you call equity. Why should only people with poor credit be forced to sleep in a tent on the sidewalk? It’s just another attempt, like student loan forgiveness, to redistribute wealth from the middle class and distribute it to the elite and the downtrodden. Such strange bedfellows; those who live in the ivory tower getting their luggage carried for them, and those who live in it’s shadow pushing everything they own in a shopping cart. All while the ivory tower folks insist they’re the ones who are doing the most to improve their lives. Meanwhile, they, too, live in fear. Not the same fear of those with roofs over their heads, but valid fears none the less. They may not hear the President’s press secretary lie and distort truths, but they see the deterioration all around them. It’s one thing to be homeless. I was once homeless, sleeping in the streets of Los Angeles. But I wasn’t afraid. Sure, there was crime; always has been. But there was still honor among us, even the homeless. Many preferred to be homeless. Many were veterans, as I, but got a monthly check for some type of disability, which I did not. But now, even the homeless have more to fear from the crime committed by the revolving door of criminals who have no incentive to stop. Even America’s homeless could build a community that relied heavily on trust at one time. Not anymore. Liberal policies have incentivised lawlessness, dishonesty, and chaos. But why? 

Fear. That’s why. Fear as a tool, and fear as a result. Fear is being used as a tool to silence. I almost said to silence descent, but that would be too narrow a focus. Here’s an example, and thanks to my High School Band buddy Adam for sharing this with me. A school district in south eastern Pennsylvania has declined a gift of pocket-sized copies of the United States Constitution free to all eighth-grade students. By pocket-sized, I figure it’s a little smaller than the one that sits on the desk in the room where I write the script for this program. I’m looking at it right now. It’s blue with gold lettering. I bought it at a museum near the point where the three rivers in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania come together. I love owning a copy of our Constitution and the amendments therein. It empowers me. The Constitution of the United States is a weapon against tyranny. But some people in the Northampton Area School District don’t want people to be empowered. They don’t want their student’s armed against tyranny. The school board rejected a gift of pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution for eighth-graders in the district because, as one board member said, “it’s available on-line.” Well, yes it is. And so is everything else you’re teaching. If kids had to go to school to learn what isn’t on the internet, that would make sense. But the internet is like the library in ancient Alexandria. Where practically all the world’s knowledge was cataloged and stored. If you had access to the library, you had access to knowledge. Today, that library is at our fingertips. So, when the school board member says we don’t need that because it’s available on the internet, they might want to choose their words a little more carefully, because everything your teachers are teaching, and a whole lot more, is also available on the internet. Do you want to learn math? You can on the internet! Do you want to learn about theoretical physics? You can probably give yourself a High School level education on the subject just by watching video’s on the internet. When a school board member says we don’t need that because it’s available on the internet, he or she is also saying we don’t need teachers anymore, because everything they teach is on the internet. Sure, the Constitution of the United States of America is on the internet. Just like everything else. Now that the majority of the world’s knowledge is on the internet, why do we need teachers? I’ll tell you why. Even though it was me who asked the question. We need teachers because kids don’t know what’s important. Kids don’t know what they’ll need to know. There’s a reason math and science and reading and writing are important. Left to their own devices, kids would take too long to figure out what tools they need to be successful. Very few kids are going to learn math on their own. Learning how to communicate is important, so we teach English. English is a difficult language to learn, and although reading will improve your skills, learning English on your own isn’t something in which our young people seem to be interested. We need teachers to guide our young people to learn what’s important. By denying the gift of pocket Constitutions, the school district told all of those eighth-graders that the Constitution isn’t important. A school board told an entire class, those who will graduate in about five years, that if they’re interested in the Constitution, they can look it up on their own time, as it’s not something the school feels it should have to explain, and giving them out would require them to at least say why. The school board couldn’t stomach having to explain to anyone why their child came home with a copy of the Constitution of the United States of America. What constituency can strike such fear into a school board? Maybe that’s the question eighth-graders in the Northampton School District should be looking up on their own time. They might want to know how seven of their school board members reasoned that handing our free copies of the Constitution violated a political-neutrality policy of the board. They literally reduced the Consitution of the United States of America to the level of an opinion, rather than the very foundation of the only country in the world in which they they have the freedom to be that stupid and still hold the positions they hold. Fortunately, the Northampton School district is an anomoly. The organization who hands out the free pocket Constitutions, 917 Society, has passed out over a million of them so far. Their website reminds us that on September 17th of every school year, any school that receives federal funding must teach a lesson about the U.S. Constitution. The provision, not law, was passed by congress in 2004. There are no guidelines or minimums. There’s nobody coming to the school to sit in on the class to see if the rule is being followed, but it’s the only thing the federal government mandates be taught in school. Senator Robert Byrd, a Democrat from West Virginia, according to an NBC News article from 2006, inserted the mandate into a massive 2004 spending bill. He was known to keep a copy of the document in his pocket, and was weary of other’s ignorance of its contents. So, even though schools are required to teach the constitution, thanks to a Democrat, and the administration of the Northampton Area School District recommending they accept the donation “with appreciation” seven of nine school directors voted against it. Not because they don’t believe in the Constitution. Not because they’re trying to hide what it says. It is, after all, available on the internet. They’re against it because of fear. The fear of standing up for anything. They claim it’s to “not be political.” Hey, school directors, there’s a word for that: apolitical. Regardless, the policy of the school board to be apolitical doesn’t apply to the Constitution. The Constitution is not a political document. It is a framework for a system of government by the people, of the people and for the people. When you deny your students tangible evidence of the very foundation upon which our nation is built, you deny them the opportunity to hold in their hands the very document that has the power to set them free, to let them determine their own path, to pursue happiness. Sure, they can find it on line. But why risk they find it on their own? Put it in front of them, tell them what each part means. Tell them that it’s not just about rights, but also about responsibilities. Shame on the directors in the Northampton School District who voted to not accept the gift of written proof of freedom for their students. While they try to hide the rights from the students, they expose the fear people today have to taking a side on anything they perceive as controversial, even if it’s the Constitution of the United States of America.

The Listening Tube is written and produced by yours truly. Copyright 2023. Thank you for putting your ear to The Listening Tube. Subscribe today. I’m your host, Bob Woodley for thou ad infinitum.