TRANSCRIBING THE LINDBERGH KIDNAPPING CASE

In my continuing effort to transcribe all the testimony of all the witnesses in the Lindbergh Kidnapping Case, I am up to Witness # 14. Here's the transcript of the testimony of JOHN J. SWEENY. 

Here is an index to the testimony of all the currently transcribed witnesses: INDEX.

ROBOCALLS FROM "ACCOUNT SERVICES"

I got a call this morning from what looked like a private number. I missed it and tried to call back. I couldn't get through, but I got a call back from the private number. There was a young man on the phone wanting to know why I called him. I told him I was returning his call. The young man said he had never called me and didn't know how his number showed up on my caller ID. I had a suspicion which I shared with him.

Later in the day, I got another call which said it was from the same gentleman. I answered the call and got a pre-recorded message from somebody or other at "Account Services." The call assured me that I wasn't in trouble, but it was urgent that I stay on the line to learn how I could consolidate my credit card debt. I hung up. I don't have any credit card debt because I pay any charges off in full every month. I could be wrong, but I believe the name "Credit Card Services" is just as bogus as the camouflage phone number they used.

This little scenario has repeated itself several times recently when I received calls from "Account Services" but caller ID displayed a private number. Once or twice when I concluded that "Account Services" was using a fake number to trick me into answering the phone, I called the legitimate owner of the phone number to let them know that I believed a scammer had hijacked their number to use as a disguise. (I don't answer calls from 800 numbers. 90%+ of them are robocalls, and the legitimate callers leave messages which I promptly return).

A couple of times I have waited through "Account Services'" pre-recorded spiel and spoken to a live person. When I cut their sales pitch off and tell them that I want to be put on their DO NOT CALL list, the live person immediately hangs up. I don't think that they put my number on the DO NOT CALL list, because "Account Services" keeps on calling. There's no use reporting this to the authorities because they want to know who was calling and the number they called from. They can't go very far with a fake number and a fake identity. It's frustrating, especially when the calls are burning up my cellphone minutes.

President Trump recently made a scatological reference to countries from which he didn't want immigrants. Although I wouldn't dream of applying such a description to people trying to better their lives by moving to America, I think Trump's term perfectly fits the tactics of "Account Services." I certainly wish that the 5H17holes at "Account Services" would quit calling me.

CORRECTION: When I wrote this I was so angry about the recent call that I misremembered the name of the alleged scammer. It's "Account Services," not "Credit Card Services." I no sooner got through posting this blog than I got another call from "Account Services."

CELEBRITY PRESIDENTS

The modern trend in writing the history of the United States is to look to the past for reasons to revile the present. It began after WWII and has grown to the point that the postmodern equivalent of patriotism is to be unpatriotic, finding fault with anything and everything about America’s heritage. The prototypical example of this phenomenon can be found on a YouTube clip entitled “The Most Honest Three Minutes on TV Ever,” in which an actor delivers a non sequitur-laden rant against anything and everything American. Why this piece could more properly be labeled “The Most Dishonest Short-Course in American History Ever”  has been demonstrated by any number of commentators. (See, for example: Walter Campbell’s Why the Most Honest 3 Minutes on TV Ever is a Lie and Steven Crowder’s Newsroom Rebuttal: America is not the Greatest Country in the World?)

I am a great believer in reading history critically, but for the purpose of learning from the past, not vilifying the present. I recall one episode from French history where men whose philosophy coincided with “The Most [dis]Honest Three Minutes” took over. They then began to dismantle every institution from the hated “Ancien Regime” and replace them with more “democratic” institutions. The results were Robespierre and the Reign of Terror and Napoleon Bonaparte’s devastation of France and most of Western Europe.

I think I see a lesson from the past which can help us avoid replicating France’s Reign of Terror. We begin by remembering that the Founding Fathers set up America as a republic modeled after the Roman Republic. An essential aspect of the Roman Republic which was not written into our Constitution was the Cursus Honorum, or “course of honor” which a Roman politician had to go through before reaching the highest levels of government. 

Here is a very abbreviated description of the Cursus Honorum: Anyone aspiring to public office in Rome had to travel the Cursus Honorum, which began with the office of Quaestor, and aspiring politicians were not qualified to serve as Quaestors until they had served ten years in the military. After serving as a Quaestor, the politician was then entitled to stand for election as a Tribune or Aedile. Once that step was completed, the next office was that of Praetor, an office which had extensive judicial and military powers. Praetors entered the Senate on the expiration of their terms in office, and became eligible to run for the highest executive office, Consul (roughly equivalent to President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces). There were age requirements for each office, and a man could not lawfully become a Consul until he was in his 40’s. By the time a man became Consul, he was well-schooled in how the government worked and eminently qualified to serve. It was a good system, and I have belonged to a number of civic and professional organizations which had their own version of the Cursus Honorum etched into their DNA.

Toward the end of the Republic, the Cursus Honorum began to break down, and that breakdown contributed to the fall of the Republic. Men who had not traveled the course assumed high office neither having gained the requisite experience nor displayed the requisite virtue. Things went from bad to worse through a series of crises and civil wars until finally Octavian emerged as the last man standing and became Caesar Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.

The Founding Fathers possibly did not include a Cursus Honorum in the Constitution because it was unthinkable that anyone could become president without having extensive service in lesser governmental offices. For most of American’s existence, our Presidents have traveled an unofficial Cursus Honorum. Before becoming president, George Washington served as an officer in the French and Indian War, as a delegate to the  First and Second Continental Congresses, as General of the Continental Army during the Revolution, and as president of the Constitutional Convention.  You could trace a similar pathway for most of our early presidents.

In the latter half of the Twentieth Century the American Republic’s unofficial Cursus Honorum began to break down under the pervasive influence of two things the Founding Fathers could never have anticipated—modern media and the cult of celebrity. We began to elect people to high office whose only qualifications seemed to be popularity as singers (e.g. Sonny Bono), actors (e.g. Jesse Ventura), or comedians (e.g. Al Franken). The exception which “proves” the rule is Ronald Reagan. (I didn't vote for him because I thought he was "just an actor"). Actually, however, Reagan had traveled a form of the Cursus Honorum—before becoming President, Reagan had served in the military, as President of the Screen Actor’s Guild, and as Governor of California.

Today we have a President whose qualifications for office seem to be a massive ego, reality TV stardom, and a tendency to shoot off his mouth before his brain is loaded; and we have the prospect of a future president who is on record as saying she is not qualified but is now considering a run. (Because if Trump can do it, why can't she?) If she did run, her qualifications would appear to be a massive ego, television celebrity, and the ability to deliver a stirring speech. But isn't that what actors are trained to do? Deliver stirring speeches without necessarily meaning or even understanding a word they say?

America needs a Constitutional amendment setting up a Cursus Honorum for the office of president. I suggest a three-step course for the American President. [1] Military service, [2] service in high office on the state level (e.g., Governor, Cabinet Member, or Legislator), and finally [3] service in high office on the National level (e.g., Cabinet Member, Representative, or Senator). If celebrities want to run for President, let them first walk the Cursus Honorum.

TRANSCRIBING THE LINDBERGH KIDNAPPING TRIAL

I am slowly but slowly transcribing the testimony of the witnesses in the Lindbergh Kidnapping trial. As of the writing of this post, I have transcribed the first thirteen witnesses. Anyone interesting in following my progress can check this index page, which has hyperlinks to the transcribed witnesses. LKC: TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES I will update it as new witnesses are transcribed.

BUILD A BENCH IN 12 EASY STEPS

Long ago we bought a picnic table and two benches from a local hardware store. I put them together, and they sat decaying in our yard for years, as I kept repairing and reinforcing them to last a little longer. Then one bench decayed beyond hope of salvation and had to be trashed. Next came the picnic table. Finally we had only one bench, and I went and bought another picnic table with built in benches. It began to decay and I have rebuilt and reinforced it a number of times until little remains of the bench we bought and it now consists of the replacement parts I put on it.

A few days ago, as my wife set up an outdoor birthday party, my wife asked me to check our sole remaining single bench to see if it could stand up to the seats of several people’s britches. I pronounced it unsafe for human habitation and incapable of being salvaged, and we sorely missed it at the birthday party.  It was too close to the party to make a new bench, but just as soon as the party was over I began work on replacing the bench. Here is how I did it.

To build an outdoor bench, you start with four 2x4x8 boards. You can go two ways with this. You can get pressure-treated 2x4’s or you can get construction grade 2x4’s like those used for studding in the walls of houses. The construction grade 2x4’s have the advantage of being lighter, less warped, more easily sawn, and altogether easier to work with. I chose pressure treated 2x4’s. Not because I like the challenge of hefting, cutting, and drilling pressure treated lumber, but because pressure treated lumber will last longer. You could seal and paint the construction grade 2x4’s, and they’ll last longer, but you can also seal and paint pressure treated lumber, and it will last even longer.

The hardware that you will need to turn four 2x4’s into a bench are: a pencil, a saw, a drill, a speed square, some clamps, and an assortment of deck screws from 3 to 4 inches in length.

The saw: You can cut with a hand saw or a skill saw, but you really need a chop saw. Unless you are a master carpenter you’re not going to be able to make the precise cuts with a hand saw or skill saw.

The drill: You need a two-speed drill capable of both drilling holes and driving screws. I used two drills so I wouldn’t have to stop and swap bits when I went from drilling holes to driving screws.

The clamps: C-clamps will do, but I like the Irwin quick-grip style of clamps and have an assortment of sizes hidden in various places in my workshop.

Why deck screws rather than nails? Nails back out over time. The teeth on a screw help keep it in place.

Use star-drive screws: Even when you drill pilot holes in fresh pressure treated lumber, it’s going to be a chore driving a 3 to 4 inch deck screw into the wood. Phillips head screws are famous for stripping out and leaving you with a screw partway in the wood and no way to back it out or drive it home except with a hammer. You can buy bits at the hardware store that are specially made for backing out Phillips head screws which have been stripped out. Or you can use star-drive screws. They come with the proper size bit in the box, and it takes more torque than any of my drills can generate to strip them out. In case you're wondering what a star drive screw is, the head looks like this:

We’re now ready to begin building the bench.

STEP 1: Cut three of the 2x4’s down to the length of 66”. Don’t throw away the short pieces, you’re going to use them later.

STEP 2: Take two of the cut boards and mark of a line 1 ½ inches from either end of the board. Then take your speed square and mark off a 45 degree cut on one corner of each end of the boards. Make sure the diagonal cut mark is on the same side of the board.

When you get it cut, it should look like this:

STEP 3: Now take the short ends and cut three 10 ¾” pieces. These are going to be the crossties that tie the runners of your seat (the three long boards) together. Turn the crossties on their sides and take a 30 degree cut off each end. You can use the speed square to mark of a 30 degree line, but most chop saws will have a 30 degree preset. When you get the crossties cut, their narrow sides should look like an isosceles trapezoid:

If one of your pieces ends up looking like a parallelogram:

set it aside and cut another crosstie:

STEP 4: Lay the runners side by side and put the crossties on them at a 90 degree angle. The lines you drew for your 45 degree cut on the ends of the runners shows you where to put two outside crossties. Measure carefully and put the third crosstie in the middle.

STEP 5: Clamp the pieces together so they fit tightly and then fasten the crossties to the runners with 3” screws, two per runner.

STEP 6: Take the fourth (uncut) 2x4 and make a 45 degree cut on its end. Measure 17 ½” down from the sharp end and make a mark. Make another 45 degree cut at the mark. You will now have a board which looks like a 17 ½” parallelogram. Mark this board with a big X on both sides. It is going to be your pattern for cutting the legs. Take your pattern and lay it down on the angled end of the long board so that both pieces are angled in the same direction. Draw a line along the far end of the pattern and cut. Repeat three times. You now have four legs the same length, which is going to be somewhat different than your pattern is. That’s why you don’t use the pattern as a leg. You’ll have three legs the same length and the fourth a different length. That’s also why you use the same pattern for cutting each board. If you cut one board and use it for a pattern to cut the second; then take the second and use it as a pattern for the third; then use the third as a pattern for the fourth; you’re going to wind up with no two legs the same length.

STEP 7: Take one leg and place it against an end crosstie, putting the end of the leg even with the side of the outside runner. Clamp it down. Take a second leg and place it against the clamped leg with its end touching the side of the other outside runner. Clamp it to the first leg. If you have followed instructions, your legs look like this:

STEP 8: Toenail the leg resting against the crosstie to the runner with a 3” screw. Fasten the second leg to the first with a 3” screw. I fouled up by toenailing the second leg to the runner at this time. It is premature to do this. As I got to the next step I had to take the screw out so that I could get everything clamped together firmly. You’ll notice that there is a gap between the second leg and the crosstie. We’re going to fill that gap in the next step.

STEP 9: Take one of your leftover short pieces which has a 30 degree cut in one end, like this:

Stick the slanted end into the gap so that it fits flush with the inside leg. Mark a line on it down the edge of the outside leg.

Now cut it along the marked line, and you’ve got a trapezoidal piece that looks like this:

Take the small piece, fit it back into the gap, toenail it to the runner, and then drive a 4” screw through the outside leg, through the spacer piece, and into the crosstie. If you haven’t been drilling pilot holes before, now is a good time to start. Cut a similar piece to fit to the outside of the inner leg and fasten it to the outside runner and crosstie in a similar manner. Now is the time to toenail the outside leg to the runner. When you’re finished, it should look like this:

STEP 10: Go to the other end of the bench and repeat steps 8 and 9.

STEP 11: Brace the legs by toenailing in a diagonal board. You can cut it with two 45 degree angles or you can vary the angle of each cut, just so that the total of both angles adds up to 90 degrees. I braced this bench with braces which had cuts of 30 degrees and 60 degrees. When I got through, it looked like this:

I used a 30/60 brace because I had a lot of leftover pieces that already had 30 degree cuts in them. A chop saw doesn’t have a 60 degree preset, but you can draw a guideline for your cut by using your speed square. Put one side along the 30 degree cut with the other side intersecting the board like this:

You’re almost through building it now.

STEP 12: Set the bench on its feet and screw the outside runners to the legs using 4” deck screws.

The finished product should look like this:

I’d recommend painting the bench, and the color I recommend is barn red. White is pretty, but it gets dirty in a hurry and fades over time. Barn red masks a multitude of sins. If you used construction grade 2x4’s instead of pressure treated lumber, you must paint and seal the bench, or it will be rotted in no time sitting out in the yard.

My investment in the bench came to just under $25 using pressure treated 2x4’s from Lowe's at $4.29 each and star-drive screws left over from previous projects.

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