Dan's Almanac
June 19, 2024: Being an Almanac of Movies for the Day, A Lawyer's Almanac, The Nixon List, A Carter Glossary, A Shakespearean Chronology, a Guide to the Presidents, and Editorials and Miscellany
A Lawyer’s Almanac
Poe v Ullman (June 19, 1961)
The United States Supreme Court held in Poe v Ullman (367 US 497) (June 19, 1961) that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge a Connecticut law that banned the use of contraceptives and banned doctors from advising their use. The law was deemed unripe for review because it had never been enforced even though the law had been on the books since 1879. Ony one prosecution, in 1940, had ever been initiated. The mere existence of the law did not give the Supreme Court cause to exercise its judicial review. The law was successfully challenged five years later in Griswold v Connecticut (381 US 479) (1965). See below a satirical postcard from the Victorian era.
The Nixon List
J. Parnell Thomas (1895-1970)
J. Parnell Thomas was a Congressman from New Jersey. He was born January 16, 1895, in Jersey City. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and then served in the United States Army from 1917 to 1919 during World War I. He was then a stockbroker for many years. He served in the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey from 1937 to 1950. He opposed the New Deal. Beginning in 1947, he chaired the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), then called the Thomas Committee. He especially focused on allegations of Communist infiltration in Hollywood. This led to the conviction and imprisonment of the so-called Hollywood Ten on contempt of Congress charges after they refused to answer questions put to them by the Committee. In 1950, Thomas resigned from Congress after being convicted of corruption charges involving the Congressional payroll. He served nine months out of a nineteen month prison sentence. President Harry Truman pardoned him on Christmas Eve in 1952. Thomas died November 19, 1970, age 75. He is pictured below.
A Carter Glossary
Cyrus Vance (1917-2002)
Cyrus Vance served at the upper echelons of power and prestige from the 1950s on. He was born March 27, 1917, in West Virginia, but grew up in the New York City area. He was from a privileged family. He graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1939 and his law degree in 1942. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he began his career with a big New York City law firm. From 1962 to 1964, he was Secretary of the Army, from 1964 to 1967, he was Deputy Secretary of Defense, and from 1977 to 1980, he was Secretary of State in the Carter Administration. During the last period, he was instrumental in the Panama Canal Treaty and the Camp David Accords. He resigned as Secretary of State in April 1980 in protest of Operation Eagle Claw, the unsuccessful secret military mission to rescue the hostages in Iran. Vance was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969. He died January 12, 2002, age 84. His son, Cyrus Vance Jr., served as Manhattan District Attorney for many years. See McLellan, David S., Cyrus Vance, 1985. Vance is pictured below.
A Shakespearean Chronology
William Betty (1791-1874)
William Betty was a British actor called the Young Roscius. He was from a wealthy and prominent family. He made his London debut in 1804. When he took the part of Selim in Barbarossa, soldiers were called out to deal with the crowds that clamored for admittance to the Covent Garden Theater. On one occasion, the House of Commons adjourned to see him play Hamlet. His extraordinary career as a boy actor ended in 1808. After three years at Christ’s College, Cambridge, he returned to the stage in 1811 with only moderate success. Nevertheless, he retired a very rich man in 1824. He was born September 13, 1791, in England, and died August 24, 1874, age 82. Aka Master Betty. He is shown below as Hamlet in a painting by James Northcote, 1805.
A Guide to the Presidents
Al Gore (1948-)
Vice President Al Gore was born March 31, 1948, in Washington, D.C. He is the son of Senator Al Gore Sr. He graduated from Harvard University in 1969. He served in the Vietnam War in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971 as a private. He married his wife, Tipper, in 1970 at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Gore attended Vanderbilt Divinity School (1971-1972) and attended but did not finish Vanderbilt University Law School (1974-1976). He served in the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee from 1977 to 1985 and as United States Senator from Tennessee from 1985 to 1993. He served as Vice President from January 20, 1993, to January 20, 2001, during the Bill Clinton Presidency. He ran for President as the nominee of the Democratic Party in 2000. He won the popular vote but lost the election to President George W. Bush. In Bush v Gore, the United States Supreme Court essentially awarded Florida’s electoral votes (and the election) to Bush. Gore is a writer and philanthropist and in 2007 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his climate change activism. He is pictured below.