MCT: Tuesday, October 1, 2019

• Offshore Earthquake
• Frosty Morning
• Seasonal Snap
• Nancy Tulley
• Drive-By Shooting
• Avenue Giants
• Eat Local
• Gualala Water
• History Sale
• Oxfordshire
• Ed Notes
• Please Hold
• Sports Notes
• Police Reports
• Sham Philosophy
• Old Man
• Bodden Thoughts
• Yesterday's Catch
• The Weight
• Hospital Meetings
• Usual Business
• Novel Disappointments
• Mexico Pays
• Phony Whistleblowing
• Liberal Propaganda
• Dangerously Deluded
• Free Speech
• Japanese Maple
• Commute
• Comments
• Indigenous History
• Stitching California
• Champagne Weed
• County Parks
• Kamala's Past
• Real Whistleblower

3.5 OFFSHORE EARTHQUAKE near Fort Bragg 5:09pm Wednesday.

A person posted to the MCNlistserv: “Wow! The whole house shook. Luckily, it didn’t last long. No damage.”

Another posted, “A shake with a thump.” (MSP reporting)

LATE NIGHT TEMPERATURES will rapidly fall into the 30’s…dropping to the upper 20’s in the coldest inland valleys. Areas of frost are likely overnight. Cover or move sensitive plants inside to protect them from frost damage. Also, do not forget about your pets, make sure to provide adequate shelter for them. For details on your location visit www.weather.gov/eka.

(National Weather Service forecast yesterday afternoon)

AS KATY TAHJA NOTES: “This has been the fastest transition from summer to autumn I ever experienced…one day it's warm and balmy…two days later a chilling wind.”

NANCY LEE (CALKINS) TULLEY, known for years as "the nurse in the red jacket" at Fort Bragg Hospital, left this world on April 10, 2019. She was born on March 1, 1935. A celebration of Nancy's life will be held on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019, 3 to 5 p.m. at the Caspar Community Center. All who knew her are welcome to attend. Please brng a potluck dish and your favorite Nancy stories to share. A full obituary will be published next week.

MAN WOUNDED IN DRIVE-BY SHOOTING IN UKIAH

A man was injured in a drive-by shooting while walking on South State Street across from the Ukiah airport Monday afternoon, the Ukiah Police Department reported.

ukiahdailyjournal.com/2019/09/30/man-wounded-in-drive-by-shooting-in-ukiah/

NIGHT LIGHT OF THE NORTH COAST: Avenue of the Imagination

by David Wilson

Imagine, if you will, a journey down an Avenue through corridors of towering redwoods. Between them the stars hang motionless in the sky, while streaking past beneath you fly the yellow dashes of the road. This is a road you think you know. But this night your journey will end in another destination, and what you find there is for you alone…

I almost wish I could lose myself in that intro. I was enjoying the strange trip inside as I wrote, a dream that I didn’t want to fade. But really the tale is for the viewer to create within. We each have our own personal experiences that shape the stories that course through our thoughts as we look deeply into these or any images. What I shared in the introduction was a glimpse at the narrative in my own head around these images, with or without the crystal ball.

A reader asked last week, “What makes an image or photograph unique?” And the short answer was that there is no short answer, but perhaps a little discussion would be a place to start. A full discussion requires a lifetime, and much of it will be an internal dialog. Rather than trying to offer a cookbook for it, maybe I can give some tools for you to build on.

At the core of it is considering things from outside the box. Yes, there is always a box around the box, so just try to get out of the box you’re currently thinking within. Practice thinking and seeing in new ways. It would benefit anyone to understand the elements of design and the principles of design, and I recommend looking those up and thinking about them until you’re fairly familiar them. But don’t get stuck on them as absolutes because none of them is set in stone. Do what you will with them in your consciousness; what matters most is to let them steep in your subconscious. In a recipe do you have to use exactly a quarter teaspoon, or can you make it a dash or two? I say make it a dash. I get nervous if things have to be too precise. As with a chef who with enough experience stops worrying about precise measurements, the artist can also play by feel with the elements of design once they’ve been percolating in the subconscious long enough. Look them up and start them steeping.

What makes this image of the road interesting to you? As you look into this or any image that you like, it might be interesting to also consider the elements of design and notice how the elements are used. The more you think in terms of what is making the images you enjoy interesting, the more you will be able to use the same thought processes when you photograph.

The night I photographed this image I had been out stargazing near the Avenue of the Giants with a couple friends when the view from the overpass attracted us. I thought there must be a photo here someplace (I found two eventually), and thought, how do I make an image of an overpass interesting? I looked for the unusual. Nighttime is already full of unique light; what I needed was a unique perspective. I found it in an extremely low point of view made by setting my camera down on the road itself between the yellow lines.

Setting the camera on the road gave a fairly unique low angle. It was also quicker than using a tripod, and I didn’t want to spend more than a couple moments out there in the road. Always be safe: I had two friends to help look out, and it was after midnight on a weekday. There were no cars at all, except on the freeway below, so I felt it safe to set the camera down for a quick shot. The three of us would see a car approach long before it was close.

For additional unusual light, I used a flashlight to illuminate the near area of the overpass while the shutter was open. The headlights of cars traveling on US 101 beneath us cast their light up into the branches of the great Redwood trees. In the foreground all I really had were the two reflectors and the surface of the road itself. They were interesting, but were they enough? Maybe so, but I wanted to play with it. I created the crystal ball and added the hole in the road while thinking about something interesting and unusual I could do in the foreground.

So don’t worry: The Avenue is all clear. There was never a real hole in the road, nor did I use an actual crystal ball, though I have one that I photograph occasionally. I made this hole in the road and created the crystal ball in Photoshop.

Some people will prefer the image without the digital additions, and some will enjoy the hole and the crystal ball. It’s all ok. One has to be able to like what one likes. I enjoy the purity of the original, which is a single exposure in the camera, but I also enjoy the creative play in the other. If I were trying to represent the Avenue, I would choose the more normal one (if I may use the word). Part of art is the process, which is personal to the artist, and making the hole in the road and the crystal ball floating in it was thoroughly enjoyable for me.

Want to learn Photoshop? I will be teaching my Introduction to Photoshop class at College of the Redwoods’ main campus this coming Spring 2020. Called DM-70, it will be a Monday and Wednesday class from 8:30 AM to 11:40 AM. It’s a 3-unit, full semester course. Register for it now at College of the Redwoods, redwoods.edu .

Note: [Thank you, Rod Serling, for inspiring the format of the intro. I love it.]

To what strange trip might this road lead? Safe travels, I hope. Humboldt County, California.

Things are not always as they appear… nor do they need to be when it is a piece of art. Adding the crystal ball and hole in the road was a doodle, me playing around with the photo and then sort of liking it. I just felt the foreground needed something. You know?

(To keep abreast of David Wilson’s most current photography or peer into its past, visit or contact him at his website mindscapefx.com or follow him on Instagram at @david_wilson_mfx.)

C’MON, ONCE AGAIN

(Foodshed News)

October means chilled sun gold tomato soup, late season raspberries, pumpkin cake, and a whole collection of summer bounty stored on your shelves and freezers. Anderson Valley Foodshed’s 14th annual C’mon Home To Eat in October 2018 has begun! Will you take the challenge to eat locally produced food for the month of October? … and beyond?

Eating local, fresh food has its distinct advantages to your overall health, the community, and our local economy. You can know the farmer who grows your food. Thinking about climate change, eating locally can be your contribution to reducing fossil fuel use and working towards zero waste.

The celebration to begin this month-long challenge and pleasure of eating locally will be October 4 at the year’s final Boonville Farmers’ Market at the Disco Ranch in Boonville from 4-7 p.m. When you make a purchase from any of the vendors you will receive a raffle ticket to enter a drawing at the end of the market. Raffle prizes are a dinner for two at the Boonville Hotel, a magnum of champagne from Disco Ranch, a Boonville Farmers’ Market apron, and a BFM T-shirt. Lama will have the double-decade BFM scrapbook at the manager’s table so you can see some classic shots of the local markets in the past—you might be featured in one!

At this end-of-the-season BFM you can not only purchase a wide selection of veggies, fruits, olive oil, mushrooms, meat, eggs, melons, maybe avocadoes, and sunflower/radish sprouts, but there will also be children’s activities, music, and an end-of-the-season potluck at 6:00. Bring your favorite food dish, your BYO plate/utensils/cup and relax with other community members and enjoy. The Foodshed’s apple press will be there for you to bring your apples to make your own fresh apple cider. If you have not pressed cider before, there will be an assistant to show you how. Just bring apples and containers for your juice.

Local food in Anderson Valley is all around you. Farm stands are strategically placed:

• Apple Farm--Philo

• Blue Meadow Farm—Philo

• Brock Farm—Boonville

• Gowan’s Farm Stand, Philo

• Petit Teton—Yorkville

• Seebass—Boonville

• Velma’s Farm Stand—Boonville

The restaurants/cafes that use local ingredients are numerous—The Bewildered Pig, Boont Berry Farm, The Boonville Hotel (Table 128), Lauren’s, Mosswood, Paysanne, Pennyroyal Farm, Poleeko Roadhouse, Stone and Embers, and the Yorkville Market. Check the menus for local ingredients.

Stores that carry local products are Anderson Valley Market, Boont Berry, Lemon’s Market, and the Yorkville Market. Don’t forget to stock up on the Mendocino County Grain Project’s fine flours for your baking needs.

To find out about other C’mon Home To Eat events, go to the Anderson Valley Foodshed’s website at avfoodshed.com. Local nights at restaurants and other events will be listed as they arise. You don’t need to wait for an event—eat locally at home, invite others over to celebrate your favorite recipes, or share your own garden produce. Want a weekly update centered on local food and events? Sign up for the AV Foodshed’s Weekly Update by emailing avfoodshed@gmail.com.

(Barbara Goodell)

BOIL WATER NOTICE LIFTED IN GUALALA

North Gualala Water Company has been authorized by the State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water to end the precautionary boil water notice as of today, Monday, September 30, 2019. This boil water notice was put in place as a precaution as part of the protocol to protect the health and safety of water customers due to a water main line break and subsequent emergency repairs that occurred last week. The boil water notice has ended. Information on the boil water notice can be found here.

Affected customers were notified that the precautionary boil water notice has been lifted by automated phone calls. Only the affected customers were under the boil water notice. Customers in other zones will not be receiving phone calls because they were not under the boil water notice.

THE MENDOCINO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, in Ukiah, has been moving their collections from the Held-Poage Home into their new archival building. During this process, they have been narrowing their holdings to better reflect their mission to specifically preserve Mendocino County history and the history of the neighboring counties. They are letting go of hundreds of history books, first editions, antique books, antiques, and items from their collection that have been cleared as having no historical significance.

Hundreds Of Items Added. They are adding hundreds of books to this sale and just received a large donation of antiques ready for a new homes. So it’s definitely worth a look if you came to their first sale.

Members Only Preview Mixer: MCHS members are invited to get first pick of the sale the night before the sale opens the public. Members can stop by on October 11th (Friday) from 5-7pm. Don’t worry if you are not a member, you can join at the door!

MCHS Book & Antique Sale: Sale opens to the public October 12th (Saturday) from 10-2pm.

If you are not a member, they welcome you to join!

Annual Dues:

• Couple Life Membership: $500
• Individual Life Membership: $300
• Patron: $100
• Couple (one address): $40
• Individual: $30

Membership includes an invite to our quarterly luncheon, a subscription to our quarterly historical journal, discounts on our publications and exclusive perks for MCHS events.

To become a member please contact us at mchs@pacific.net or (707) 462-6969 or sign up online at mendohistoricalsociety.com

NEWS OUT OF HOOK NORTON, Oxfordshire

"Bloody Hell, I told Clive not to hang the picture of the Queen on that wall"

PS.

(Randy Burke, in Oxfordshire, England)

ED NOTES

BIG CROWD SUNDAY at the Boonville Fairgrounds for a Mexican rodeo, Michoacan vs. Guanajuato. Who won? Everyone!

MIKE MANNIX, Anderson Valley's popular man at the Anderson Valley Transfer Station, takes exception to our recent reference to "ever increasing dump fees." Mannix told us Monday that in fact the cost to dump a 30-gallon can at the Boonville dump has gone down 50 cents to $7.00 per can, compared to last year. He said that Jerry Ward and crew of Solid Waste of Willits, had recently come up with a more efficient routing system that saved on truck mileage so he reduced the cost of can dumping accordingly. Mannix acknowledged that the County would do well to consider some kind of subsidy to Mendo's many poor residents to keep big items from being left on the side of the road. Mannix added that of all the jobs he's held in Mendo over the last few years, working for Jerry Ward's Solid Waste of Willits operation is the best of the bunch.

IT WAS HEARTENING to read the enthusiastic reviews for the freshly revived Caspar Inn, once Coast night life's beating heart under the great publican, Peter Lit. The new owners are off to a great start, and here's hoping they prosper in a tough business.

THE DEMOCRATS still can't believe they lost to Trump, although their candidate was the only Democrat candidate who could have lost to him. And here comes Nancy Pelosi, the embodiment of reverse political inspiration, boldly announcing that she has begun an inquiry into impeaching Trump. An inquiry. Which will find, after a lot of pro forma, Democrat huffing and puffing, that Orange Man can't be impeached because the Senate would have to vote him impeached, too, and the Republicans have the numbers in the Senate to prevent his removal. If Trump, live on national tv, suddenly lunged at Pelosi and began clawing at her clothing in a frontal sexual assault, Republicans would call it "Fake News" while the Democrats began an inquiry.

THE DEMOCRATS, and their media stenographers, have been howling for Trump's gravity-defying comb-across ever since he became a candidate. So here they come, the whole tedious gang — Pelosi, Neener Neener Schiff, the 20 or so candidates for president, and all the way down to career Northcoast officeholders like Mike Thompson, all of them, on-cue, with the same tired line: "Today we have the proverbial last straw."

ADAM SCHIFF? Christ spare us all. This great defender of the republic has introduced resolutions defending Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, was all in for the invasion of Iraq which destabilized the entire world, supports the Saudi onslaught on Yemen, and, perhaps most damning of all, he’s a vegetarian.

CORRECT ME if I’m wrong in seeing it all this way: Trump obviously held up military aid to pressure the reform Ukraine government to get damaging info on Biden, also a crook. The money was withheld as the under-armed Ukranians were trying to hold off the Rooskies, not that Trump cared because he wanted the goods on Biden, which are plentiful right here at home. Should Trump be impeached for using his high office and the threat of withheld aid to slime the slimey? Frankly, my dears, I don’t give a damn whether he is or not. He wouldn’t have been elected in the first place but for Democrat corruption. And now we have the CIA and the NSA magically become Democratic good guys as the Democrats cherry pick whistleblowers while simultaneously supporting the prosecutions of Manning, Assange, Snowden… Best case scenario? The whole gang — Trump, Schiff, Guliani, Pelosi, MSNBC, CNN, NYT — are permanently removed from public life.

GROUPS of anti-vaxxers are comparing their dangerous ignorance to the civil rights movement! This preposterous stance is simply more evidence that we live in combined a-historical and hysterical times. For pure disproportion this particular comparison wins the blue ribbon. Civil rights soldiers risked their lives. Anti-vaxxers risk the lives of others, particularly children, their own included. I remember when Judi Bari wanted to call Redwood Summer, “Mississippi Summer in the Redwoods.” Fortunately, the late Bari, although often wildly disproportionate on a personal level, immediately understood that Redwood Summer and Mississippi Summer bore no relation in terms of personal danger quotient, not to say that the comparison was breathtakingly insulting to the civil rights soldiers of Mississippi Summer.

YES! The current rise in measles cases more than warrants SB 276, the newly-signed law designed to rein in unscrupulous doctors who have been granting medical exemptions to vaccinations for dubious reasons. According to the CDC, measles cases have skyrocketed this year with (as of June 30) over 2,900 confirmed cases and 36,000 suspected cases in the US. The number of cases jumped 300% in the first three months of the year compared with 2018.

CATCHING UP WITH JANE, Jane Futcher: “I’ve taken a breather from journalism since I stopped hosting the Cannabis Hour and stopped growing pot. With so many changes in the industry, if you’re not up on the latest disaster you’re in the dark. Worked all summer to finish Draft One of my WWI novel, then went to Denmark, Norway, Scotland and London, and just got back. Now contemplating Draft Two of novel.”

SPORTS NOTES

ABOUT TIME college athletes got paid: Governor Newsom put it this way: "Other college students with a talent, whether it be literature, music, or technological innovation, can monetize their skill and hard work; student athletes, however, are prohibited from being compensated while their respective colleges and universities make millions, often at great risk to athletes' health, academics and professional careers."

THE NCAA's version of so-called amateurism has been a farce all the way back to the great Jim Thorpe who was stripped of his Olympic medals because he'd taken a few bucks in 1913 to play minor league baseball. He got the medals back long after he was dead. College athletes have been getting paid under the table forever. Why even I, as a mediocre baseball player at Cal Poly SLO in '61 and '62 got a meal ticket, a free room, a loungey job answering phones in a dormitory, and an even loungy-er job in the library where I could hide in the stacks and read my whole shift. And baseball wasn't even a money-making sport. I knew basketball and football players who took tidy cash sums from alumni to play ball. (A good friend of mine was Fred Wittingham, who went on to the Rams as a linebacker. A very exciting guy to visit bars with, 'ol Fred, so exciting wherever we went he got into fights, one of which, in Pismo Beach, sent me to jail for the first time and cost me, in fines, all my college loan money for the semester. A teammate of mine, a criminally-oriented individual who picked up extra money shoplifting the campus bookstore and sold us textbooks for a third their price, gave me the necessary tomes on credit. (If you're really bored, read on.) Anyhoo, my best game ever as a pitcher/outfielder — I was also deployed on occasion as a pinch hitter — was against UCLA whose All-American football player, Ezell Singleton, I fanned a couple of times en route to, I think, a 6-2 win on their field in LA. I now look back from the very heights of age and wonder, if I'd worked on my game, I might have done better in the grand old game. These days, the coaching at all levels is so much better, and strength training, virtually unknown in my time, might have improved the old bod to where average athletes like me could have been much enhanced. I'm sure I could have put more speed on my fastball, which was hard enough to blow the ball by high school hitters but at the college/pro level everyone could hit fastballs.

BRUCE BOCHY. Count me as one Giant's fan who won't miss him as a manager, and since I don't know him I guess that means I won't miss him period. He was probably the most predictable guy in baseball. Never bunted, was devoted to lefty-righty and pitch counts. Who can forget October, 2016, a night that will live in infamy! Giants are up 5-2 in the 8th with Matt Moore sailing along, mowing down the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs. Bochy, consulting Moore's pitch count, takes him out and summons the bullpen. And right there I'll bet thousands of us are screaming at our tv sets. "Why, Bochy, why? Let Moore finish. He looks great, strong." The Cubs teed off on the relievers, and the game was lost, and the Giants did not get into the World Series. Also, and I know it's impossible to discipline millionaires, but how many times does Brandon Belt, an alleged major leaguer, have to take called third strikes before he gets his $16 million annual salary docked?

AND ONE RAN OFF IN THE DARK

On September 26, 2019 at about 1:05 AM the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received a call about someone shooting a firearm in the area of El Roble Road in Ukiah, California.

Upon the Deputies arrival, they noticed a 2017 Toyota Tacoma pickup which was parked without any lights on. The vehicle turned on it’s lights and quickly entered onto Highway 101.

The pickup traveled northbound on Highway 101 and exited the freeway at the Cox Schrader Drive exit, turned eastbound then southbound on Rivino Ranch Road.

The pickup truck stopped at a locked gate and numerous subjects exited the vehicle.

A Deputy who followed the vehicle parked directly behind it once it stopped. The Deputy saw an unknown Hispanic male, running with what appeared to be an assault rifle, jump over a gate and flee into the vineyard property. The Hispanic male continued running eastbound into the darkness.

Another Deputy arrived and four subjects who stayed with the pickup truck were detained.

While detaining the subjects, one subject threw a loaded large capacity rifle magazine behind a tree, in an attempt to hide it.

Inside the pickup truck, Deputies located a semi-automatic rifle and a loaded stolen revolver.

The pickup truck smelled of marijuana and there were marijuana remnants found on the inside of the truck. In a backpack located inside the pickup truck, Deputies located large bags, clippers, and various types of different caliber ammunition.

Sergio Mendez-Zurita was found to have a felony arrest warrant issued in Mendocino County. The warrant was for a prior case involving a burglary and possession of an assault weapon with a bail of $75,000). Mendez-Zurita was placed under arrest.

Mendez-Zurita was found to have a key for a Chevrolet vehicle in his pocket. When Deputies checked the area of El Roble Road looking for any evidence, they located a 2019 Chevrolet Tahoe rental vehicle. The subjects in this case stated the vehicle was rented by them and the key found on Mendez-Zurita belonged to the Chevrolet Tahoe.

In one of the subject’s pockets, Deputies located paperwork with names of strains of marijuana and prices which is typically related to marijuana sales.

In the Chevrolet, Deputies located bud marijuana, gloves, and paperwork connecting the subjects and the vehicles. Deputies also smelled a strong odor of marijuana in the Chevrolet Tahoe and noticed marijuana leaves and shake on the floor.

All four subjects were arrested for Conspiracy, Carry Loaded Firearm and possession of stolen property without incident.

Frank Oviedo was also charged with Felon possessing firearms, and he was found to be on formal probation in Sonoma County.

All four subjects were booked into the Mendocino County Jail where they were to be held in lieu of $15,000 bail each.

The investigation surrounding this incident is ongoing and anyone with information regarding these subjects are urged to contact the Sheriff’s Office Tip-Line at 707-234-2100 or the WeTip anonymous crime reporting hotline at 800-782-7463.

---

DOMESTICALLY VIOLENT REDNESS & SCRATCHES

On Friday, September 27, at about 2:27 pm, Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a reported domestic violence incident in the 77000 block of Logan Lane in Covelo.

When the deputies arrived, they contacted a 39-year-old adult male and Tonikali Sema, age 28 of Covelo.

Deputies learned the adult male and Sema had been cohabitating while involved in a dating relationship for the past two years. The couple got into a verbal argument which resulted in a physical altercation.

The adult male attempted to calm Sema but she became physically violent. At some point during the incident, Sema exited the residence at which time the adult male locked the door and called law enforcement.

The deputies observed minor injuries to the adult male’s left arm and elbow area. The Deputies also noted the adult male had redness and scratches on his right bicep. The adult male declined medical treatment at the scene.

Sema was subsequently placed under arrest without incident for domestic violence battery and was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where she was to be held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

IF CHILDREN were brought into the world by an act of pure reason alone, would the human race continue to exist? Would not a man rather have so much sympathy with the coming generation as to spare it the burden of existence? or at any rate not take it upon himself to impose that burden upon it in cold blood. I shall be told, I suppose, that my philosophy is comfortless—because I speak the truth; and people prefer to be assured that everything the Lord has made is good. Go to the priests, then, and leave philosophers in peace! At any rate, do not ask us to accommodate our doctrines to the lessons you have been taught. That is what those rascals of sham philosophers will do for you. Ask them for any doctrine you please, and you will get it. Your University professors are bound to preach optimism; and it is an easy and agreeable task to upset their theories.

—Arthur Schopenhauer; Studies in Pessimism.

JOE BODDEN, formerly of Covelo and that town's leading philosopher when he lived there, is now Slab City's resident philosopher from whence Joe sends along these thoughts:

"Living out in desert near border. Little place called Slab City. No, not a euphemism for the morgue … which was a first thought, followed closely by "Why not invite the Greatful Dead to do a concert here" - which I did, no reply, but can you just SEE the POSTER!!! More later, torn cartilage in shoulder acting up, typing is not as much fun as usual…

My son, Never play checkers with a chess master. Never let anyone own the rain that falls on you. Rain is an 'Act of God', don't let them presume to be God.

Joan of Arc prayed that she could quit smoking… and to be fair she did, eventually….

It is by coffee alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of coffee that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by coffee alone I set my mind in motion.

cutthroat capitalists are not using their own throats…

how do you know if your toothpaste has expired? Either the government raids your bathroom or the f**king tube is empty…

Money is 'free speech' like a credit card is praying in God's ear…"

CATCH OF THE DAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

KEVIN BETTS, Willits. Controlled substance.

MELISSA DELGADILLO, Covelo. Vehicle theft, forge-alter vehicle registration.

MARCOS FERMIN-GARCIA, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

VINCENT GALVAN, Fort Bragg. Resisting.

JESSICA MIRELES, Potter Valley. DUI, child endangerment.

IVAN SANCHEZ, Fort Bragg. Parole violation, resisting.

ARIANA WHITE, Ukiah. Domestic battery, resisting.

‘THE WEIGHT’— 50th ANNIVERSARY

by Chuck Dunbar

I pulled into Nazareth

was feeling 'bout half past dead

I just need someplace

where I can lay my head…

So go the familiar opening words of The Band's haunting, beautiful song, “The Weight.” Levon Helm and Rick Danko, both now gone from our world, sang the song -- Helm in intense, passionate fashion, Danko in his fragile, quavering voice. The song seemed to transport one back into time in a long-gone America. “The Weight” lives on, one of those musical pieces of power and beauty that come down from the ether now and then to entrance us. Mavis and Pops Staples sang a heavenly version of it, with The Band playing behind them, in The Last Waltz, the Martin Scorsese film that captured this band's final performance. Rolling Stone ranked “The Weight” #41 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

It's the 50th anniversary of the song, honored recently when Playing for Change released a video of musicians around the world singing and playing together to create a rowdy, joyous version of it. I find it somehow really moving to see all these folks from many cultures join together to create this unique take on an old American song from way back in the 60's. It brings tears to my eyes every time I watch and listen to it. Check it out, you won't be disappointed. And, be sure to Turn It Way Up!

(Author’s note: “The Weight”—Playing for Change with Robbie Robertson and Ring Starr et al. It may be best to use this website version— others that I tried had annoying sound problems.)

HOSPITAL AFFILIATION MEETINGS

The Mendocino Coast District Hospital is holding several town hall meetings
to discuss possible affiliation. Here are the dates and times:

1. 10/7, 6 pm Greenwood Community Center, Elk
2. 10/8, 6 pm Union Pacific College Field Station, Albion
3. 10/14, 1 pm Senior Center, Fort Bragg
4. 10/14, 6 pm Chapel of the Redwoods, Comptche
5. 10/16, 6 pm Hill House Inn, Mendocino
6. 10/17, 6 pm Westport Community Center
7. 10/21, 6 pm Fort Bragg Town Hall
8. 10/22, 6 pm Caspar Community Center
9. 10/24, 6 pm Cotton Auditorium, Fort Bragg

Please contact Gayl Moon at 961.4610 for further information.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Bill Clinton was under one investigation or another by the Repub congress for most of his presidency. He even got impeached and finished out his term. This is just more SSDD. (Same shit, different day)

For all the handwaving and punditry blowing off about Trump, nothing of substance will change. Those with power and wealth will still have it and will still own our government. Socialism for the wealthy and powerful will continue while everyone else will scramble with dog eat dog capitalism. The insatiable war machine will still be fed by our tax dollars. Monetary policies will still keep money rising upward. Etc… Impeaching Trump will not change any of that, nor will it hasten our decline. Hell, leaving Trump alone to tweet and talk openly is more conducive to increasing our collapse than any of this business as usual in DC.

LET HIM [son Rooney Lee] never touch a novel. They print beauty more charming than nature, and describe happiness that never exists. They will teach him to sigh after that which has no reality, to despise the little good that is granted us in this world and to expect more than is given.

— Robert E. Lee

MOVEON'S PHONY NEW CAMPAIGN FOR 'PROTECTING WHISTLEBLOWERS'

by Norman Solomon

All of a sudden, MoveOn wants to help "national security" whistleblowers.

Well, some of them, anyway.

After many years of carefully refusing to launch a single campaign in support of brave whistleblowers who faced vicious prosecution during the Obama administration—including Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning, NSA whistleblowers Thomas Drakeand Edward Snowden, and CIA whistleblowers John Kiriakou and Jeffrey Sterling—MoveOn.org has just cherrypicked a whistleblowing hero it can support.

"The stakes could not be higher for the whistleblower, who took a great personal risk to defend our democracy," MoveOn declared in a mass email Sunday afternoon, referring to the intelligence official who went through channels to blow the whistle on Donald Trump's phone call with Ukraine's president. "We need to have the whistleblower's back."

I agree wholeheartedly.

But what about Manning, Drake, Snowden, Kiriakou, and Sterling, who also took great personal risks on behalf of democracy? With its digital finger to the wind, MoveOn refused to engage in a campaign to help any of them. Manning, Kiriakou, and Sterling were railroaded into prison and remained there for years; Snowden has been forced to stay in exile; and Drake endured years of persecution under threat of decades behind bars.

I experienced MoveOn's refusal firsthand when, in December 2015, I wrote to the group's campaign director with a request. After a sham trial, Sterling had gone to prison six months earlier for allegedly providing information to New York Times reporter James Risen that he included in a book. "Is there a way that MoveOn could use a bit of its list to promote this petition in support of Jeffrey Sterling?" I asked.

The answer that I received was disappointing—merely a suggestion that the petition be put on MoveOn's do-it-yourself platform, where it would not be supported with distribution to any of MoveOn's email list. After pressing further, I got an explanation from MoveOn that had a marketing sound: "It looks like we have definitely done a lot of testing on Snowden and Manning in the past, but unfortunately nothing quite reached the level of member support where we were able to send it out."

That approach has endured. In the last decade, MoveOn—which says it has an email list of 8 million "members"—has refused to do any campaigns to help Manning, Drake, Snowden, Kiriakou, or Sterling.

(Full disclosure: The organization where I'm national coordinator, RootsAction.org, has campaigned in support of all five of the above-named whistleblowers, with petitions, news conferences, protests, and fundraising.)

Now, the whistleblower initiative that MoveOn has started might seem like a welcome change of direction. But it's actually worse than problematic.

The organization that MoveOn just teamed up with—Whistleblower Aid—explicitly does not support people like Snowden, Drake, Kiriakou, Sterling, and Manning, or the more recent whistleblower Reality Winner. The founding legal partner at Whistleblower Aid, Mark Zaid, has maintained a vehement position against unauthorized release of classified information for many years.

"As a matter of law, no one who leaks classified information to the media (instead of to an appropriate governmental authority) is a whistleblower entitled to legal protection," Zaid wrote in a Washington Post op-ed piece in 2017. "That applies to Winner, Snowden, and Chelsea Manning, no matter what one thinks of their actions. The law appropriately protects only those who follow it. Anyone who acts contrary does so at their own peril."

According to Zaid and his organization—which MoveOn is now avidly promoting and helping to subsidize—if the White House whistleblower’s memo had been bottled up via official channels and then had been leaked to a news organization, the whistleblower leaking the memo would not be, and should not be, “entitled to legal protection.”

But, as Snowden has often emphasized, the official scenario of going through channels is a dangerous myth for "national security" whistleblowers. The reason Snowden didn't go through channels is that he saw what happened to whistleblowers who did—like Drake, who was targeted, harassed, and then prosecuted on numerous felony counts. Snowden clearly understood that going through channels would achieve nothing except punishment, which is why he wisely decided to go directly to journalists.

MoveOn has not only refused to support courageous whistleblowers like Snowden, Drake, Manning, Kiriakou, and Sterling—who've informed the world about systematic war crimes, wholesale shredding of the Fourth Amendment with mass surveillance, officially sanctioned torture, and dangerously flawed intelligence operations.

Now, MoveOn is partnering with a legal outfit that actually contends such brave souls don't deserve any protections as whistleblowers. Despite its assertion that "protecting whistleblowers is critical for a healthy democracy," MoveOn is now splitting donations with an organization that supports the absence of legal protections for many of them.

CIVIL WAR ON

by James Kunstler

Someone in Impeachmentville is not paying attention. Of course, diverting the rubes is exactly the point of the latest CIA operation to negate the 2016 election. Has nobody noticed that there is treaty between Ukraine and the USA, signed at Kiev in 1998 and ratified by the US Senate in 2000. It’s an agreement on “Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.” Here, read the cover letter for yourself:

What part of the following do Nancy Pelosi and the news media not understand?

“The Treaty is self-executing. It provides for a broad range of cooperation in criminal matters. Mutual assistance available under the Treaty includes: taking of testimony or statements of persons; providing documents, records, and articles of evidence; serving documents; locating or identifying persons; transferring persons in custody for testimony or other purposes; executing requests for searches and seizures; assisting in proceedings related to restraint, confiscation, forfeiture of assets, restitution, and collection of fines; and any other form of assistance not prohibited by the laws of the requested state… [etc].”

How does this not permit Mr. Trump asking the president of Ukraine for “assistance” in criminal matters arising out of “collusion with Russia,” as specified within the scope of Robert Mueller’s special prosecutor activities? For instance, the matter of CrowdStrike. The cybersecurity firm was co-founded by Russian ex-pat Dmitri Alperovitch, who also happens to be a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, an anti-Russian think tank funded by Ukrainian billionaire, Viktor Pinchuk, who donated at least $25 million to the Clinton Foundation before the 2016 election. Crowdstrike was the company that “examined” the supposedly hacked DNC servers, while somebody in the Obama administration prevented the FBI from ever seeing them. Does this sound a little like part of the origin story of RussiaGate? Is that not exactly the potential criminal matter that the current attorney general, Mr. Barr, is officially investigating?

Perhaps, under the year 2000 treaty, Mr. Trump was within his rights to ask the new President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, for assistance on that. And also, the question of former vice-president Joe Biden’s levering US aid to Ukraine in his demand to fire the prosecutor investigating the company, Burisma Holdings, that just happened to hire his son, Hunter, to a $64,000-a-month seat on the board of directors, not long after the younger Mr. Biden was kicked out of the US Navy reserve for cocaine use — what a sterling fellow!

The foregoing ought to be self-evident. Speaking of failures to pay attention, Director of National Security (DNI) Joseph McGuire testified in Rep. Adam Schiff’s House Intel Committee last Thursday that the “Whistleblower” and his or her allies in the Intelligence Community who fomented the latest crisis “acted in good faith.” Admiral McGuire omitted to mention that the IC’s Whistleblower complaint rules were surreptitiously changed sometime around August 2019 to allow second-hand hearsay in Urgent Matter” complaints, where formerly it had been prohibited. The change was only posted on an IC website on Sept 24. Did Admiral McGuire not get the memo on that? Was he out of the loop? After all, he is merely in charge of the entirety of US Intelligence operations. Who kept him in the dark?

Now there is yet another new “bombshell” out of the CBS 60-Minutes show (reported by Scott Pelley) alleging that the “Whistleblower” had been placed under federal protection due to “threats” made against him or her. We’re to infer that the “Whistleblower” is in a safe space— perhaps hiding out in the CIA’s Diversity and Inclusion offices, with some teddy bears, crayons, and chips ahoy to keep the heebie-jeebies away. Only, one of the “Whistleblower’s” own lawyers, Mark S. Zaid released a letter today saying that the 60-Minutes report was “not accurate and misinterpreted the contents of our [earlier] letter.” Mr. Zaid added in a tweet that CBS was “literally making stuff up.”

Well, let CBS and the “Whistleblower’s” pro bono lawyers slug that one out in some safe space. More to the point, how long do you suppose the charade of protecting the “Whistleblower’s” identity will go on? If impeachment moves to a trial in the senate, Mr. Trump will enjoy the right of being faced by his accuser. But I don’t think we will have to wait that long. Rep. Schiff (D-CA) has already declared that this person will be called into a closed session of his committee. The chance is about zero that his or her identity will remain unknown. By and by, the “whistleblower’s” confederates in the CIA will also become known and the perfidy of this latest CIA operation in the ongoing coup will be understood.

UkraineGate is the equivalent of Fort Sumter in Civil War 2.0. Charges have been flying and tempers flaring for three years now, much as they did between 1858 and 1861. Once again, what seems to be at stake is the integrity of the Union. As in the previous enactment, one side is dangerously deluded, and that is liable to lead to its destruction.

(Support Kunstler’s writing by visiting his Patreon Page.)

JAPANESE MAPLE

by Clive James

Your death, near now, is of an easy sort.

So slow a fading out brings no real pain.

Breath growing short

Is just uncomfortable. You feel the drain

Of energy, but thought and sight remain:

Enhanced, in fact. When did you ever see

So much sweet beauty as when fine rain falls

On that small tree

And saturates your brick back garden walls,

So many Amber Rooms and mirror halls?

Ever more lavish as the dusk descends

This glistening illuminates the air.

It never ends.

Whenever the rain comes it will be there,

Beyond my time, but now I take my share.

My daughter’s choice, the maple tree is new.

Come autumn and its leaves will turn to flame.

What I must do

Is live to see that. That will end the game

For me, though life continues all the same:

Filling the double doors to bathe my eyes,

A final flood of colours will live on

As my mind dies,

Burned by my vision of a world that shone

So brightly at the last, and then was gone.

(From Clive James' Sentenced To Life)

ON LINE COMMENTS OF THE WEEK

[1] Well, after the Biden family’s deals with Ukrainian energy companies are thoroughly scrutinized, investigations must be launched into their profitable links with Chinese Security Services. That’s where the Big Money was.

And I’m not being critical of Joe Biden’s sons; they appear to have been pretty good guys. I’ve known people like them in my life, the sense of entitlement that comes from having a wealthy and successful father. Sure they did a lot of blow, so what? That takes cash. What, you think Joe Biden is the only Pol in DC who leveraged his position to help out his kids? It at least goes back to President Grant, who saw that his son Fred was taken care of, and how! It’s only natural.

[2] FLOW KANA, an online comment; "Flow Kana is the enemy. Make no mistake about that. It is our first test in the new corporate world we welcomed when we fell for the fake “legalization”. Will we strongly oppose and drive out the corporate take-over that they are? Or will we foolishly embrace them as we fall for their little public relations stunts like some river clean-up and a free food truck? Remember — every single dollar that you think they are donating here is actually coming out of here — out of the pockets of your neighbors. They are the present face of corporate take-over and are backed by Altria i.e., Philip Morris. They have hired some locals to put a “local” appearance on the corporation but…those people working for them are confused or are sell-outs and are not to be believed…or trusted.

NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY IGNORED, CA Gov Gavin Newsom warns

Gov. Gavin Newsom at an annual celebration of Native American culture said he wanted greater “truth telling” of California’s indigenous history and a stronger acknowledgment of the state’s genocide of native people.

sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article235551172.html

FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK AT GRACE HUDSON

Grace Hudson Museum will be open this Friday, Oct. 4, for First Friday Art Walk from 5 to 8 p.m. The Museum's current exhibit is “Stitching California: Fiber Artists Interpret the State’s People, Life and Land,” on display through January 5, 2020. This juried exhibition features finely crafted and innovative quilt art, exploring the Golden State from many different angles: environmental, political, social, and personal. Visitors can access a “Stitching California” audio tour on their phones, featuring all 42 of the exhibition's artists talking about their work. In addition to “Stitching California,” all the Museum’s exhibit galleries will be open, as well as the Wild Gardens.

The Grace Hudson Museum is at 431 S. Main St. in Ukiah. Admission to this and all First Fridays is free. For more information please go to gracehudsonmuseum.org or call 467-2836.

THE QUEST TO MAKE CALIFORNIA'S WEED THE CHAMPAGNE OF CANNABIS

Growers in California want to do for their legendary marijuana what the champagne appellation has done for French bubbly.

wired.com/story/the-quest-to-make-californias-weed-the-champagne-of-cannabis

MENDOCINO COUNTY PARKS NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Seeks Community Input

Tell us about your County Park needs! The County of Mendocino is in the process of completing a Parks Needs Assessment. County residents and active users of our six County Parks are invited to get involved and share your ideas and help shape the future of our Parks by taking our Parks Needs Assessment Survey at: mymendocinoparks.org.

Share your feedback about one or all of your Mendocino County Parks:

• Bower Park, Gualala
• Faulkner Park, Boonville
• Indian Creek Park and Campground, Philo
• Low Gap Park, Ukiah
• Mill Creek Park, Talmage
• Lions Club Park, Redwood Valley

Want to learn more about the Parks Needs Assessment Project? Visit our website www.mymendocinoparks.org for details about the project and how to get involved. For more information, please contact the Mendocino County Cultural Services Agency Parks Division at 707-234-2875.

THE SAN FRANCISCO GHOSTS IN KAMALA HARRIS' PAST

Few outside of California know or care who Willie Brown is. But that may be about to change.

washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-san-francisco-ghosts-in-kamala-harris-past