MCT: Thursday, October 10, 2019

• Day Two
• LakeCo Fubar
• Ed Notes
• Quiz Night
• Boys Soccer
• Transicide
• Boonville Raid
• Poleeko Roadhouse
• Philo Produce
• Elder Abuse
• Book Signing
• Candidate Soinila
• Disappointing Fundraiser
• Yesterday's Catch
• Eagle/Mole
• Caucasian Deportation
• Mo Memo
• Planning Agenda
• Haggenmacher
• Ocean Cleaning
• Deep Stuff
• Sandbagging Bernie
• For You
• Detention Centers
• Rigged Elections
• Found Object

POWER REMAINS OUT in much of Redwood Valley, Potter Valley, Hopland, and along Ridgewood Grade south of Willits. High winds did not materialize overnight in Mendocino County.

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WINDS PICK UP AS PG&E SHUTOFF ENTERS SECOND DAY

About 2 million Northern Californians — including 2 in 5 Sonoma County residents — braced for a second day without power, after they were plunged into darkness early Wednesday because of heightened wildfire risk, part of an unprecedented shutdown across nearly three dozen counties. The sweeping outage cut electricity to about 66,000 PG&E customers in large swaths of Sonoma County as part of a preemptive move in anticipation of strong winds not seen since the 2017 North Bay firestorm that destroyed thousands of homes and killed 24 people in Sonoma County exactly two years earlier.

pressdemocrat.com/news/10153265-181/pge-outages-underway-sonoma-county

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HUH? THIS IS WHAT PG&E SET UP WEDNESDAY? AND IT CLOSED AT 6:00 PM?

This is what PG&E felt would suffice for a possible “multi-day power outage” for the 320th largest city (Ukiah) in California (16,177 souls based on official 2017 estimates from the US Census).

(courtesy MendocinoSportsPlus)

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FROM MENDOCINO COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE

Ukiah, California: October 10, 2019

PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff Restoration Update

The County of Mendocino has been continually monitoring the scope of the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event occurring in Mendocino County.

On 10-09-2019 PG&E completed its De-energization of some areas of Mendocino County and will anticipates providing the “all clear” notification to begin restoration of power to those areas on 10-10-2019 between 10:00 AM and 12:00 noon.

The exact restoration time for the specific areas/communities of Mendocino County is unknown at this time and PG&E restoration efforts will occur only during daytime hours.

For further information refer to the follow PG&E press release: (https://www.pgecurrents.com/2019/10/09/pge-provides-updates-on-public-safety-power- shutoff/).

Important Information From PG&E About Restoration 

 Restoring power

o Before restoring power, PG&E must inspect its equipment for damage and make any necessary repairs. That process cannot begin until the severe weather event has subsided.

o Given the prolonged period during which the wind event will unfold, and the large number of power line miles that will need to be inspected before restoration, customers are being asked to prepare for an extended outage.

o PG&E will work with state and local agencies to provide updated restoration timelines following the conclusion of the severe weather event.

 Inspection and Restoration

o It’s important for all customers to have an emergency plan to be prepared for any extended outages due to extreme weather or natural disasters.

o Each situation will be somewhat different, just like each day’s weather.

o After the extreme weather has passed and it is safe to do so, our crews will work to visually inspect each mile of our power lines to ensure they are free from damage and safe to energize.

o Inspections will take place during daylight hours and, in most cases, we would expect to be able to restore power within 24 to 48 hours after extreme weather has passed.

o However, depending on weather conditions or if any repairs are needed, outages (weather event plus restoration time) could last longer than 48 hours.

o For planning purposes, we suggest customers prepare for multiple-day outages. 

o Steps to restoration include:

•   Weather All Clear - After the extreme weather has passed and it’s safe to do so, our crews can go into the field to begin patrols and inspections.
•   Patrol and Inspect
  •   Our crews will work to visually inspect our power lines to look forpotential weather-related damage to the lines, poles and towers.This is done by vehicle, foot and air.
  •   Visual inspections are necessary since circuit breakers, reclosingdevices and fuses that are typically used to help detect any potential damage from a weather event like a winter storm are also de- energized during a Public Safety Power Shutoff for safety reasons.
•   There are many challenges we face during inspections:
   Some locations require workers to travel on narrow access roads.In locations with no vehicle access, crews might need to hike inremote and mountainous areas to inspect equipment.  At night, we can’t fly helicopters for visual inspections.
•   Isolate and Repair Damaged Equipment
   Where equipment damage is found, crews will work to isolate thedamaged area from the rest of the system so other parts of thesystem can be restored.
   Where equipment damage is found, crews work safely and asquickly as possible to make repairs.
•   Restoration
  •   Once the poles, towers and lines are deemed safe to energize, a call is made to the PG&E Control Center to complete the energization process.
  •   Power is then restored to customers.
•   Customer Notification Customers are notified that power has been restored.For more information, please contact the Executive Office at 707-463-4441. The County of Mendocino anticipates being open to serve our constituents for the duration of this event. Please keep in mind that some County facilities may be without power, which may re-direct services to other locations. The County will notify or communicate any potential service changes, should they occur.

WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT IN LAKE COUNTY:

"Well, it’s the usual FUBAR, no plan to serve the homebound elderly/disabled/mobility-impaired disabled, everyone’s “on our own.” [That is, senior center managers got together with Sheriff and one Fire Chief on August 14, and were told just that — no medical care shelters, no “cooling” centers, whatever. Clearlake Highlands Senior Center in the City of has permanent installation of massive power backup system; PG&E has announced it will provide a (very short-term) “customer service assistance center” for people to charge their phones. No idea whether cell towers will be operational.] Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, where I am the de facto “manager” (volunteer coordinator of administrative services) has instituted a “disaster risk assessment survey” for our Area Agency on Aging “meals on wheels” participants, we will be using our cell phones — if there is service — to check in with the highest priority homebound and take to them whatever edible foodstuffs we have on hand, water, and supportive assistance in person as needed.

Local (Lucerne) pharmacy has purchased a generator so as to be able to provide urgent medical supplies for “a few hours a day,” and everyone was assured by the Public Health Department’s emergency management staff that purveyors of “durable medical equipment — electricity-driven, life-sustaining equipment” would be promptly serviced by those purveyors. Uh huh.

We’ve done everything we can to help any homebound elderly dependent on such equipment to take independent initiative to contact those purveyors to ensure timely delivery of oxygen, back up power supplies for dialysis machines, suction machines, etc., or their physicians if the vendors are not responsive.

Grocery stores are jammed with buyers of amazing amounts of food, water, etc. Lots of people in lines saying “I had no idea,” or “I don’t think they’ll really turn off the power, it’s just another PG&E ‘power’ play to keep us afraid,” stuff like that — after months of publicity and robo-calls to customer land lines.

No idea whether KPFZ will be able to broadcast — a brand new, propane-fired generator sitting in our “green room” but building owner not willing to let us take it outside and turn it on (liability, etc.), no real plan by station management (all it would take is a battery and an inverter, 1KW to operate station, Mt. Konocti broadcast beacon on county-maintained backup generator system).

Personally, I have one vehicle equipped with a solar panel-driven battery charging system that allows for three “devices” to be charged at any time, with two vehicles fully gassed up — so if phone/wi-fi available will be in contact as the day unfolds. Must attend to senior center operations in the morning, then will be “roaming” the community to determine what the situation is. Will most likely start with Robinson Rancheria emergency management center — good news is that the five most active tribes here have formed a Tribal Emergency Management Council, and Robinson Rancheria’s new Emergency Management Director is high-level FEMA-connected coordinator.

Have been involved with official and semi-official, FEMA-originated but locally clusterfucked “Long-Term Recovery Committee” group since October 2015, which is now moving aggressively to close ranks with the local government sphincter keepers at our County OES to form the closed-ranks “VOAD” organization, and am in slow-motion dialogue with state OES responsible parties to “discover” how this occurred without the actual “community” partners that have resources under these circumstances.

Much to be learned, and as this new circus plays out, will be thinking about how to describe the responses of highly paid bureaucrats handing out nothing but advice on how much water to have on hand. Harrumph.

(Betsy Cawn)

ED NOTES

ACCORDING to PG&E, it costs about $1.16 million per mile to install underground distribution lines. In cities, it's upwards of $4 million a mile. Overhead lines cost about $448,800 per mile in comparison. "The cost of undergrounding a distribution line can vary depending on several variables, such as road width (work access), nearby sidewalks (to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act), density of nearby residences and businesses, surrounding vegetation, the number of power lines involved, other existing structures underground and other environmental issues," PG&E writes on its website. Despite the astronomical price tag, critics say money shouldn't matter when safety and lives are on the line. There's also a lot of bad blood built up between the utility company and Californians: In the aftermath of the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion that killed eight, news broke that PG&E diverted over $100 million in safety money for other purposes, including bonuses for executives. In August, a judge denied PG&E's request to distribute $16 million in bonuses to 12 top executives. PG&E argued the bonuses would help incentivize executives to meet safety goals in the wake of multiple wildfires. "There is simply no justification for diverting additional … funds to incentivize them to do what they should already be doing," Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali wrote at the time.

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RANDOM QUOTES on the present shut down, this one from Ms. Clarke at the Ukiah Senior Center: "People have been on pins and needles all day because of the uncertainty. They don't know if they should go out and buy supplies, and especially with seniors, they don't have a lot of extra money. PG&E should have been doing the proper maintenance for the last decade," Clarke said. "This wouldn't have been necessary [if they had], and I think that's what has got everyone so angry and frustrated with PG&E right now. This is a crisis of PG&E's making." (Ukiah Daily Journal)

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WE USUALLY FIND OUT about outages online or by someone calling us, if we find out at all, lol! I’ve been thinking about how this is an interesting ‘test run’ for folks to really come to grips with our energy dependence. It appears to have a different effect when the power’s down and there’s not a palpable emergency like a flood or raging storm where you are. I’m hoping it spurs both individuals and communities to give some real thought into energy independence on an individual and municipal scale. So far it apparently brings out mostly the mundane ‘it’s all PG&E’s fault’ with a bit of the marvelous ‘it went dark in Arcata, you should see the stars!’ We’ll see how folks handle it over time."

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COMMENT: "Total fear mongering, BS, and Lawyers calling the shots. two years, ALE coverage running out for folks, County sending out lot clearing bills, and now bogus power outages. Nice timing d*#kheads. This is not Red Flag weather - the definition hasn't changed just because we had fires. Humidity not low enough, temp not high enough, wind not high enough. This is the result of bogus tort law, lawyers, and stupid people. But I'm ready - bring it."

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JOKE MAKING THE ROUNDS: “We may or may not turn off your power tomorrow, and if we do turn off your power, it may or may not be off for several days. Here is our website where you can get more information. It doesn’t work. Good luck. — PG&E”

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FROM SAN FRANCISCO NERVE CENTER, PG&E DIRECTS HISTORIC NORTHERN CALIFORNIA POWER SHUTDOWN

pressdemocrat.com/news/10155293-181/from-san-francisco-nerve-center

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LONG LINES formed at the Costco gas station in Ukiah Tuesday evening as local residents filled gas tanks in anticipation of the coming power outage. Photo by Martin Bradley.

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EYES ONLY, ANDERSON VALLEY: A local writes: "I went out to visit a friend. On the way home, a brown bear loped across the road in front of me just on the outskirts approaching Hendy Woods. Very cool. Big old padded feet. Could see the bottoms when he ran as he kicked up his heels. Went up the cliff. Probably coming home from the bear bar. Or the brewery! It definitely wasn't a beer. No antlers."

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WENT UP in the hills off the Ukiah Road Tuesday to pick some apples. On the way down chatted with the flag lady whose name I didn't get because just as she told me a truck roared past. She said she was from Willits. "Wednesday's our last day here, I think, and I'm going to kinda miss it." I asked her if she ever got bored. "Nope," and pointing south to the Johnson Ranch, "I've seen two calves born just over there, one yesterday, one this morning." The flag lady said she worked all over the state on different construction sites. "I never know until a day or two before where I'm going next." I wondered if all the boulders arrayed on the sliding hillside would hold it this winter. She laughed, "Maybe, but these hills have been moving for a long time and there's no stopping them when they want to move." As she mimed a struggle to hold the pole upright, she said holding the stop sign "isn't easy when the wind comes up," The flag lady said she was especially proud of her son who'd just graduated from flight school. "He's going to be a pilot. I'm so glad he got away from all the stuff in Willits that can pull a kid down."

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A MAJOR CONTRIBUTING FACTOR to the housing shortage in Mendo is the large number of rentals otherwise available to locals that have been converted to temporary rentals of the Air B&B type. My ramshackle former home on Anderson Valley Way, formerly home to as many ten or so people and a thriving newspaper business (irony alert), is now owned by a youngish San Francisco couple who Air B&B it at $450 per night (!). It's one thing to live in the Anderson Valley and rent the cabin out back to auslanders, but it's a mercenary, community-destroying practice when distant investors buy up local properties to rent them out to transients. Maybe the Supes will crack down on the practice, har de har.

BOONVILLE QUIZ TONIGHT. (Thursday, October 10), 7pm first pitch at Lauren’s Restaurant in Boonville. Hope to see you there. You know it makes sense. Cheers,

Steve Sparks, The Quiz Master

ANDERSON VALLEY BOYS SOCCER narrowly defeated Credo, a Waldorf-method charter school out of Rohnert Park.  The Boonville boys won 1-0 in the hard fought match Tuesday afternoon at Tom Smith Field, Boonville, by a score of 1-0 on a brilliant assist from junior Irlen Perez to freshman Juan Luis Orozco. 

UKIAH TRANSIENT ARRESTED FOR SEPTEMBER MURDER

"On Saturday, September 28, at approximately 11:03 pm, Ukiah Police Dept. officers were dispatched to the 100 block of East Gobbi St. for a welfare check of an unresponsive male subject laying on the ground.

Arriving officers saw that the subject, identified as local transient Jimmy Isenhart, was unresponsive, appeared to have head trauma and was bleeding from the mouth and facial area. Isenhart was treated by paramedics at the scene and transported to UVMC for further treatment.

Ukiah Police detectives and officers began checking the area for witnesses and video surveillance. Detectives spoke with several witnesses and received information that two male subjects were seen in the area of the victim at the time of the incident. It was also learned that the victim was possibly assaulted by one or both of the male subjects.

The victim was subsequently flown out of the county for medical treatment and died two days later as a result of injuries sustained from the assault.

Ukiah Police detectives continued with the investigation during the days following the incident. More witnesses were contacted and information was received identifying Isaiah Bennett, a transient age 23, as the suspect who had assaulted the victim.

Bennett was located by Ukiah Police Officers on Monday, September 30 and was interviewed by a Ukiah Police detective. Bennett admitted to being in the area and made statements consistent with what Ukiah Police detectives had learned of the incident.

Bennett was subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail for Murder. Anyone with any additional information is urged to contact Ukiah PD at 707-463-6262.

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BRUCE McEWEN NOTES: Neither the vic or the perp are "transients" as the police presser claims; and, as I pointed out in last week's column, this is getting to be a nuisance, this pretense on the part of Mendoland Officialdom, that all the troublemakers are from elsewhere. Isaiah Bennet has a record, he did time for sex with a minor — may have been rape, if memory serves, and is now a father of his vic's child. When he left court a year or so ago, he was convincingly sincere about getting his life together and being the best dad ever, and now he's out killing (local) street people.

Background:

1. Take This, McEwen!
2. Probationers On Parade

EARLY TUESDAY MORNING, just before dawn, an eight-van convoy of uniformed, armed men presumably, carried out a raid on an address off Mountain View Road, Boonville, less than two miles west of the high school. No press release, no info as of Wednesday evening.

POLEEKO ROADHOUSE IN PHILO has closed, hopefully to soon reboot. The meals we downed there were very good and reasonably priced.

THIS WEEK AT BLUE MEADOW FARM

• Heirloom & Early Girl Tomatoes
• Padrons, Jalapenos, Anaheim & Sweet Peppers
• Garlic, Eggplant, Red Kiri Squash
• Kale, Collards, Apples, a few Pumpkins & Zinnias

Our Annual Gleaning Party will be Saturday October 19 (rain date Sunday)

Blue Meadow Farm, 3301 Holmes Ranch Rd, Philo 707-895-2071

THE GOLDEN YEARS, FORT BRAGG

Officers of the Fort Bragg Police Department received a cross report of suspected elder abuse from Adult Protective Services. On October 8, 2019 Officers responded to the Mendocino Coast District Hospital where the victim, an 83 year old female, was being treated for a portion of her calf muscle missing. The wound was consistent with being inflicted by a canine. Officers had responded to the victim’s residence for two past reports of canines at this residence biting children in the neighborhood. In both incidents the canines were placed on a quarantine.

During the investigation, Officers learned that when Paramedics responded to the victim’s residence, which she shares with the suspect, a large canine was actively biting and licking the wound. It was determined that Martine Dalmas was the victim’s daughter and caretaker.

It was also determined that Dalmas and other family members were home and in the same room as the victim at the time of this incident.

Officers responded to Dalmas’ residence and contacted her. Dalmas was placed under arrest and taken into custody without incident. The canine that was suspected of inflicting the injuries on the victim was also seized and taken to the animal shelter in Ukiah. Dalmas was transported to Mendocino County Jail.

(Fort Bragg Police Presser)

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ED NOTE: According to LinkedIn Martine Dalmas is: “Property Manager at Grosvenor Properties Ltd.” And has been there since August of 2017.

KATY TAHJA’S NEW MENDO HISTORY BOOK

Gallery Bookshop (45098 Main Street Mendocino) welcomes Katy Tahja back to share her new book, An Eclectic History of Mendocino County. Come say hi to Katy and get your copy signed Saturday, November 9th at 6:30 pm.

JOEL!

My website is www.joelforsupervisor.com and my facebook can be found Joel Veikko Soinila for Mendocino County 2nd District…

DINNER AT HOGWARTS

To the Editor:

Speaking as a community member who purchased three tickets to the “Dinner at Hogwarts” fundraiser at the Barra Winery on Sept. 28, I would like to express my disappointment to the event organizers.

I recognize the primary purpose of a charity function is to raise funds. However, to promise a “Dinner at Hogwarts” experience but deliver essentially an outdoor picnic demonstrates a lack of creativity and of goodwill towards your attendees.

Rather than seating the people who paid $60 inside Barra’s beautiful tasting room (as was the case last year), which was indeed decorated in the theme of Harry Potter, dinner guests were instead packed like sardines into a tent with rickety folding chairs, then corralled into a line to be fed a sliver of steak on a paper plate.

The meal itself was acceptable barbecue fare, but the dinner atmosphere in no way embodied the spirit of dining at Hogwarts. Out of respect for your generous community members, perhaps you should put more effort into delivering on the expectations you set when hosting events in the future.

Chris Armenta

Ukiah

CATCH OF THE DAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019

JOE GARCIA, Santa Rosa/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

DIRLEY GWIN, Talmage. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

NOAH HARRISON, Laytonville. Disobeying court order.

BRENT HORGER, Ukiah. Witness intimidation.

MIRANDA MULLINS, Willits. Probation revocation.

PAUL PINO JR., Ukiah. Metal knuckles, saps or similar weapons, pot for sale, controlled substance, parole violation, conspiracy.

DAVID SMELTZER, Shingle Springs/Ukiah. DUI.

KC STILLWELL, Covelo. Offenses while on bail, failure to appear.

NATHANIEL STRAIT, Willits. Fugitive from justice.

COURTNEY VESSEY, Lakeport/Ukiah. Failure to appear.

THE EAGLE AND THE MOLE

by Elinor Wylie

Avoid the reeking herd,

Shun the polluted flock,

Live like that stoic bird,

The eagle of the rock.

The huddled warmth of crowds

Begets and fosters hate;

He keeps above the clouds

His cliff inviolate.

When flocks are folded warm,

And herds to shelter run,

He sails above the storm,

He stares into the sun.

If in the eagle’s track

Your sinews cannot leap,

Avoid the lathered pack,

Turn from the steaming sheep.

If you would keep your soul

From spotted sight or sound,

Live like the velvet mole:

Go burrow underground.

And there hold intercourse

With roots of trees and stones,

With rivers at their source,

And disembodied bones.

“Ah, my friends from the prison, they ask unto me

“How good, how good does it feel to be free?”

And I answer them most mysteriously

‘Are birds free from the chains of the skyway?'”

MO MEMO

This post is one Council members perspective of what is occurring in the City of Ukiah.

At last week's City Council Meeting we honored Project Sanctuary and Domestic Violence Month by lighting City Hall purple. We also celebrated Clean Air Day with a proclamation to the Climate Action Mendocino group and are planting 30 trees throughout town (In my own home I planted four trees). In a three to two vote the City Council did allow for a waiver of a cannabis micro business on Smith Street, the business abuts a commercially zoned property that is currently occupied by a Mobile Home Park. The Council voted that the tenant would have appropriate mitigations to the park from their lot to move forward through the use permit process. Additionally we received a report of Cannabis Dispensary Ordinance no complaints or issues have been filed against the one operating dispensary in the City limits of Ukiah. In very exciting news the Notice of Completion of Recycled Water Project was released. Have you taken a look at the drone video yet?

(cityofukiah.app.box.com/s/ty98i67cdjw3oz8332vtzdk6gnzidfvh).

There is an additional Traffic Analysis to be completed near high school and Low Gap Road Bush Intersection to determine the appropriate way to mitigate traffic in that area.

The Building Departments two building officials hosted a Contractors Round Table. This was an opportunity for local contractors to discuss with the City their thoughts on the building department and how it can improve. There were some tough conversations about what the process is and how it hasn't worked. There were also opportunities to let the Building Department know where there have been successes. Matt, Steven and Sage Sangiacomo the City Manager took notes and will look at incorporating the changes in future policy direction.

I was invited to attend the Yokayo School Career Day. While City Council Members certainly don't receive a living wage it is a rewarding position and I enjoy talking to the kids about how they can make a difference in their community.

The City of Ukiah website is a great community resource if you are looking for information about City projects and their budgets. Please visit the Projects tab to learn more about the Ukiah Rail Trail.

Maureen Mulheren, mmulheren@cityofukiah.com

MENDO’S October 17, 2019 Planning Commission agenda

mendocinocounty.org/government/planning-building-services/meeting-agendas/planning-commission

OCEAN CLEANING DEVICE SUCCEEDS IN REMOVING PLASTIC FOR THE FIRST TIME

An enormous floating device designed by Dutch scientists for the non-profit Ocean Cleanup successfully captured and removed plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the company announced Wednesday, as CNN reported.

ecowatch.com/ocean-cleaning-device-plastic-2640832397.html

THE PUNDIT CLASS Continues To Misunderstand Bernie Sanders – And It Shows

The media not only treat Sanders as a humorless fringe demagogue, but they also understate his popularity. Katie Halper has documented the various ways in which media organizations have subtly fudged the numbers to make Bernie seem less successful than he is, and there is still a narrative that his campaign is failing even as it hauls in giant quantities of small donations from all over the country.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/08/the-pundit-class-continues-to-misunderstand-bernie-sanders-and-it-shows?

ONE SUMMER IN AMERICA

by Eliot Weinberger

In the concentration camps for migrant children, they sleep on a concrete floor with a single blanket, often made of mylar. It is so crowded that the older children try to sleep standing so that the younger ones can stretch out. The lights stay on 24 hours a day. They wear the clothes they arrived in, days or weeks or months before. They rarely have soap, toothbrushes or showers. There are rarely diapers for the babies and toddlers who have been taken from their parents. Some are as young as five months. In one camp, five hundred children are confined in a windowless warehouse. In others, they are encaged behind chain-link fences. In some camps, there are no hot meals. There are outbreaks of chickenpox, flu, measles, scabies and mumps, and infestations of lice. There have been seven known deaths this year.

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In the concentration camps for adults, they wear the clothes they arrived in and have no showers. The smell is so bad that those who work there often wear masks and carry the stench with them when they go into town. In some, the only food is bologna sandwiches or things that are rotten and the inmates become ill. In one camp, nine hundred people are imprisoned at a facility designed for 125; cells designed for 35 people are holding 155. They cannot lie down. They are pressured to sign documents in English they cannot read. The one source of running water in the cell is the single open toilet, where one defecates in the crowd.

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The head of an anti-immigrant group, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, says the administration “doesn’t want the detention experience to be Club Med.”

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On any given day there are at least 50,000 adults being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centres; at least 20,000 held by Customs and Border Protection, and between 11,000 and 14,000 children under 18 in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. (On their 18th birthdays, they are transferred to ICE.)

ICE detention centers are in every state. There are around 1500 of them, as well as many hundreds of jails, prisons and hotels with which the agency has contracts. The detainees include those who have recently entered the US illegally, those who have overstayed their visas, those who have lived undocumented in the country for many years, and those who are exercising their legal right to asylum. (Under a recent administration mandate, tens of thousands of asylum seekers have been sent to Mexico to wait out the months or years for their cases to be processed.) About 70% of the people held by ICE are in camps operated by for-profit companies. Two of them, GEO Group and CoreCivic, together receive almost a billion dollars a year in contracts. The largest camp for children – Homestead, in South Florida – is a for-profit run by a military contractor, Caliburn International. The anti-immigrant zealot John Kelly – once considered the only ‘adult’ in the White House when he was chief of staff – joined Caliburn’s board immediately after leaving government.

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In a televised interview with Vice President Pence, the host reads from an article about the camps in which the children are described as “filthy, sleeping on cold floors, taking care of each other because of the lack of attention from guards.” The host says: “I know you. You’re a father, you’re a man of faith. You can’t approve of that.” Pence replies: “Well, no American, no American, should approve of this mass influx of people coming across our border.” Pence claims that when he visited one camp “we spoke to cheerful children who were watching television, having snacks.”

TULSI GABBARD CONSIDERS BOYCOTTING DNC DEBATE

I want to thank you all very much for your support. I need to share something with you. It is very important: I am giving serious consideration to boycotting the next debate and I want to tell you why:

There are so many of you who I've met in Iowa and New Hampshire who have expressed to me how frustrated you are that the DNC and corporate media are essentially trying to usurp your role as voters in choosing who our Democratic nominee will be.  

I share your concerns, and I’m sure that all our supporters throughout the country do as well. 

The 2016 Democratic Primary election was rigged by the DNC and their partners in the corporate media against Bernie Sanders.  

In this 2020 election, the DNC and corporate media are rigging the election again, but this time against the American people in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. 

They are attempting to replace the roles of voters in the early states, using polling and other arbitrary methods which are not transparent or democratic, and holding so-called debates which are not debates at all but rather commercialized reality television meant to entertain, not inform or enlighten 

In short, the DNC and corporate media are trying to hijack the entire election process. 

In order to bring attention to this serious threat to our democracy, and ensure your voice is heard, I am giving serious consideration to boycotting the next debate on October 15th. I will announce my decision within the next few days. 

With my deepest, and warmest aloha, thank you all again for your support.

– Tulsi

FOUND OBJECT