Press "Enter" to skip to content

MCT: Tuesday, November 5, 2019

* * *

JOHN LEWALLEN

John Lewallen of Philo peacefully left his body Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in the early morning. In John's words from his book “Land of Frozen Laughter,” “I hope my consciousness keeps evolving toward full appreciation of each human being as part of the great “Human Being,” the whole human race realizing itself as a single living creature in harmony with all life. My heartfelt thanks to family and friends who have sustained me in a full and fulfilled life. Love John.”

His family and friends will have a celebration of his life and will be announcing the date and place in the near future.

Create PeaceLove,

Barbara Lewallen, Philo

* * *

NIGHT LIGHT OF THE NORTH COAST: A Trail to the Moonset

by David Wilson

Scenic Drive in northern Humboldt County, California offers beautiful western vistas over the Pacific Ocean. Extending from Moonstone Beach at the south end to Trinidad in the north, the drive itself is rough and in areas may require a car with good clearance, and sometimes four wheel drive. The road may not even go completely through at times during harsher, wetter winters. It becomes a winter casualty, as the relentless forces of water from the rains above and the waves below can be delayed but temporarily as nature ignores the best efforts of humanity in its ravenous desire to melt the cliffs into the sea.

Tepona Point stands out from the coast on Scenic Drive a little north of Moonstone Beach. A natural pier of sorts, it boldly extends the coastline’s reach far into the lashing waves, which at the tip are perhaps thirty to fifty feet below. One’s experience at the point, and particularly on the trail out to it, may well depend upon your feelings about heights and the ocean, and on your confidence in the support of sandy soil. The trail out to the tip is narrow and made of sand perched upon rock, and to left and right are deadly cliffs dropping into the rocks and pounding surf.

My lay person’s geologic description is that Tepona Point’s foundation is the typical sturdy rock we have along this part of the coast. The photograph shows some rocks like it still standing out in the ocean in brave defiance of the elements. They were once connected to the land, too. Yet none of them will survive; all will tumble to the sea. On top of this foundation is an accumulation of sand and sandy soil, held onto the rocks by vegetation. It feels little more substantial than a compacted sand dune sitting atop a rock.

At its narrowest section the trail falls away alarmingly to either side. I admit that as I age, braving things like the edges of cliffs has become much less entertaining, particularly when the edge is mostly sand and the drop off extreme. Only a couple weeks earlier, on my previous visit to Tepona Point, I found myself wondering for how much longer this narrow trail would stay safe and how many more times I’d want to walk out onto it. Not many, I thought. Battered by the winds, rains and waves season after season, Tepona Point will not forever remain passable, perhaps not for much longer, and indeed eventually will dissolve entirely into the Pacific. Nature will not be denied.

Yet once again I found myself in out the dark traversing the narrows of that sandy path, scurrying along with my light trying to illuminate the trail for the camera with darkness and doom close on either hand. Just what will people brave for a shot? I wondered. I told myself that people still regularly visit, so it had to be safe. Darkness makes the experience much different from that in the daylight, but is it better or worse? I couldn’t decide. Feeling infinite blackness to each side of the slim trail was unnerving, but they always say not to look down, don’t they? And it did hide the view rock and wave grinding in the distance below.

No beach access here, a steep staircase descends to a narrow sandy trail out to the point. Precipitous cliffs on either side offer a deadly drop to the waves battering the rocks far below. High above the ocean the point pushes into the waves, which crash relentlessly against its base. I scurried along the narrow path in the dark to illuminate it for the camera. My brother Seth shut the camera off after I’d reached the end. Tepona Point, Humboldt County, California.

A daytime look at Tepona Point. A steep flight of wooden stairs and a narrow trail take you out to the tip of Tepona Point, where it widens to a sandy viewing area with a bench and a railing around the edge.

(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.)

* * *

ELECTION INFORMATION CLARIFICATION

The Elections Department received several phone calls last week from concerned Mendocino County residents reporting they had not received any voting information yet for the November 5, 2019 election. According to Katrina Bartolomie, Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters there is not going to be a November 5, 2019 election. Mendocino County’s next election is scheduled for March 3, 2020.

The November 5, 2019 election would have been a Special District Election – for Community Service Districts, Fire Districts, Water Districts, and School Districts etc. The County’s Special Districts have switched their election years from odd years to even years; the next Special District election will be consolidated with the November 2020 election.

Information on the March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election: November 6, 2019 is the final day candidates who are running for Statewide or Local offices can submit their Petitions In-Lieu of Filing Fees; Candidate Filing Dates are November 11 - December 6, 2019, with an extension to December 11, 2019 if the incumbent of an office fails to file; the last day to register to vote in the March Primary is February 17, 2020. Please call the office if you have any questions or comments.

For additional information please contact the Election / County Clerk’s Office by calling 707 234-6819.

* * *

HEADS UP FROM KATHY WYLIE:

“If you have had your insurance cancelled, it is imperative to file a complaint with the Department of Insurance. I was told by staff for Assembly Member Jim Wood to spread the word and have as many people file complaints as possible. Reason being that insurance companies are not required to report cancellations, so no statistics are available, and statistics are going to be key to getting the California FAIR program revamped in the legislature to make it more affordable. You can file a complaint by calling 1.800.927.4357. Every complaint matters!”

* * *

ED NOTES

“DEAR MR. ANDERSON,” writes Dave McCain, “It is a raw act of faith that I will live to renew again.” And it’s a raw act of faith I’ll be around long enough to renew you again.

SORRY to see Jeff Blankfort retire from his KZYX show called “Takes on the World.” It was the only take on the world offered by the station I always learned something from, and probably the only program anywhere that consistently stood up for the Palestinians against the apartheid, crypto-fascist state of Israel.

ROBERT 'BOB' VAUGHAN has lived in the Anderson Valley for many years where he's worn many hats, from restaurant cook to KZYX music programmer. Bob has colon cancer, and he is being evicted from his long-time Philo home.

Mary Aigner adds, “ Bob recently had abdominal surgery and is now undergoing chemo. As we all know, Bob has always gone above and beyond to help others and good causes in our community - showing up early, staying late and doing the things no one else wanted to tackle. So now Bob needs our help to pay his medical and living expenses until he can get back on his feet. To further complicate matters, he needs to find a place to live by December, so some of the funds will go to helping with moving costs & rent once he finds a place to move to. Please give what you can and share this with others who know & love Bob & want to help.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/bob-vaughan-medical-expenses?


THE AV ELDERHOME Annual Benefit Dinner at the Boonville Hotel is Sunday, November 10, 2019 from 3-7pm. $150 per person. Reservations required: aveh@pacific.net. Or 895-7730 or 510-388-9103. Chef Perry Hoffman plans a gourmet menu with oysters, surprises, persimmon salad, duck confit with polenta and apple gallete with cider whipped cream for dessert. The new Elderhome cottage can be viewed before the event from 2-3pm.


A YOUNG COAST PARENT told me told me the other day that he and his wife are absolutely delighted with the Mendocino schools but worry that kids as young as fifth graders are known to smoke the bazooka, and the incidence and prevalence of marijuana use among Mendo youngsters grows right on through junior high and high school. Over the long years here in Boonville, I can rattle off the sad fates of kids I knew who got into dope at an early age, a few of them succumbing to institutional-quality schizophrenia in their early twenties and basically vegetabalized the rest of their lives.


A READER WRITES: I need to let go of all of the drama. Yeah, I know this does not apply to everybody, but back in 2001 and around 2006, the power went out in Gualala. Generators? What are those? So having frozen water bottles in the freezer, I sent those to the fridge, we lived by candlelight, and flashlight (Costco batteries are cheap), and we played scrabble with a fire in the stove. We cooked stew on the stove, and we survived very well, remembering an old cowboy’s statement: “You know why they won’t be able to survive in the bay area is that they don’t know how to salt pork.” Well pork ain’t the prime, but we lived 7 days back in those days quite well, and we cut our driving and Costco shopping down too. Its time whether you are a PG&E customer or not, whether you a Costco shopper or not, you need to cut down on consumerism. You do not need to shop all the time, but as an addict will tell you, You won’t change until you hit BOTTOM. That bottom reflects upon us all as we are all in this together, one and all. Go peacefully, my brothers and sisters. We are virtually screwed.


SHERIFF ALLMAN released the video of the officer-Involved shooting on Uva Drive in Redwood Valley on Oct. 10, 2019. The 15-minute film is posted on the Sheriff’s Facebook page. It includes an intro by the Sheriff followed by the initial 911 call recording. A trio of deputies are soon on-scene asking a fat guy ensconced in a van to step out with both hands in view. Gun fire suddenly explodes when the suspect, who had casually mentioned that he’s from East LA, brandished a hand gun and was soon ventilated by the three deputies. Mr. Corral of East L.A. was obviously drunk and undoubtedly stupid when sober, but he survived the incident. Corral has been booked into the Mendocino County on attempted murder charges.


ATTENTION COLD CASE investigator, Mr. LaFever: You might want to look into the mysterious/suspicious death of Mike Kelley, former mayor of Ukiah found dead in his backyard in 1987. Kelley was married to the gifted textile artist, Holly Brackman who still lives in Ukiah.


HALLOWEEN IN UKIAH. The most original and at the same time most horrifying costume I saw was a little maid made up as Jon Benét Ramsey; the most inspiring was two tall, white-stemmed “death cap” mushrooms walking the streets of Ukiah. (Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Wikipedia.) Other notables were a tamer version of such political luminaries running for president, some angels, lots of devils, rabbits, kittens, a pit-bull in a Sheriff's uniform with a Stetson, a badge, and a gun, a pair of twin girls, one as a G.I. Joe; the other as a Barbie; lots of witches, oodles and scads of 'em, really; a sober working stiff or two, and one Tyrannosaurus Rex. Notable costumes at the courthouse included Mary Poppins in her starched white blouse, scarlet bow tie, billowing black skirt, and celestial eyes; then there was Salome in aqua pantaloons, bangles, sandals and a truly arresting décolletage. (Bruce McEwen)

* * *

* * *

OSCAR'S!

Oscar's Steakhouse and Seafood Restaurant NEW hours Tue-Sat 12-5pm featuring $10 lunch plates!

Starting Tuesday 11/5/19 Oscar's has a New Cafe Menu and is open for LUNCH noon till 5pm every Tuesday through Saturday. 542 N. Main St., (corner of Hwy 1 and the railroad tracks, the old Bottling Works building)

Look for her $10 lunch plates!

As you may know, the PSPS happened shortly after her grand opening, let's show our support to keep her doors open! Thank you for sharing! Go Oscar's!

Peace Love and Light

Keri Ann Bourne

keriannbourne@gmail.com

* * *

THE POWER WAS OFF HOW LONG?

Editor,

My freezer was full of food. Did it thaw? All the way? Part way? Or not at all? And now the power is back on, and it is all frozen again. How can I tell?

Here is a good trick. Take a small jar and fill it part way with water. Put it into the freezer and freeze it solid. Then put a penny on top of the ice, put a lid on the jar and put it back into the freezer.

After the next outage, if the penny is still on top of the ice, there was no thaw. If it is sitting at an angle, there was a partial thaw. If the penny is at the bottom of the ice, it thawed and refroze.

Reliable information, low-tech and basically free.

Marian McDonald

Sebastopol

* * *

FROM THE FORT BRAGG POLICE BLOTTER:

Saturday, November 2, 2019, 1:56 PM — Suspicious Circumstances, 141 Boatyard Drive, RP coming to Station 5 to make a report. RP states subject yelled at him because he was wearing a Trump hat. RP came to station 5 at 1015. (In custody) @ 2:52 pm,. Wright, Jeffrey for MCSO warrant. Subject cited & released. See case #19-1179 for civil issue.


10:12 PM — Prowler, 140 North Harrison St, Prowler in the backyard of location. Not as reported, subj given ride to Coast ER (Emergency room).

* * *

MICHAEL TURNER WRITES:

KZYX has received here some praise for its recent disaster coverage, but I thought it was terrible.

After losing power Friday I did what I did in the Bay Area during the Loma Prieta earthquake, went to my car and tuned to public radio for updates. I got a program discussing income inequality in Chile. And so it went through the evening until I figured out that brief updates were presented at the top of each hour. These updates consisted of press releases from various agencies, read with little comment. The problem was that these press releases weren’t updated often, so there was a lot of repeat information often hours old. Also these updates were generated mostly from Sonoma County so that one heard much more about, say, evacuations in Bodega Bay than anything happening locally. Basically, most of the information I received was remote in both time and distance. What I did not hear was immediate news feeding back from the community, i.e., open phone lines. We were told that there were technical difficulties preventing this, so we were left in the hands of the lonely press release readers.

Contrast this with KZYX’s all-hands-on-deck approach to fundraising, where we are enthusiastically reminded of the station’s vital importance to the community, its irreplaceable nature etc. etc. This approach successfully raises a lot of money from the community, so where was the return? These fire related emergencies are now a regular occurrence; why was the station unprepared? Some of the updates I heard made no mention of the Burris fire. Why no active local reportage. And what of these “technical difficulties”?

By Saturday morning I stopped listening to the station, so maybe coverage improved. But in the critical first 24 hours I thought the station was useless. Maybe this was all due to factors beyond its control. But I suspect, as do other ex-contributors, that all this reflected disorganization and misdirection of resources. The station has acquired a reputation for internecine warfare and irrelevance not helped by its recent performance. I doubt the station will make its excuses or account for itself in the absence of local pressure. But I’m sure we’ll be reminded over and over what a great job it did in the next fund-raising marathon.

* * *

HAZY FORT BRAGG

photo by Susie de Castro

* * *

CATCH OF THE DAY, November 4, 2019

Balandran, Cooper, Cuthbert, Hill

JOEL BALANDRAN, Boonville. Domestic battery.

ERIC COOPER, Fort Bragg. DUI.

THOMAS CUTHBERT, Ukiah. Protective order violation.

JOHN HILL, Laytonville. Trespassing, probation revocation.

Laflin, Mendez, Nelson

ADAM LAFLIN, Willits. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, probation revocation.

SAMANTHA MENDEZ, Ukiah. Disobeying court order, failure to appear.

CESILIA NELSON, Ukiah. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, probation revocation.

Paniagua, Sawley, Tellez-Santos

TONY PANIAGUA, Ukiah. Criminal threats, evasion.

ROY SAWLEY, Covelo. Misdemeanor hit&run with property damage.

RAUL TELLEZ-SANTOS, Ukiah. Attempted burglary, disorderly conduct-alcohol.

Tice, Valdez-Ceja, Vasquez, Zook

THOMAS TICE, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

PALOMO VALDEZ-CEJA, Ukiah. Suspended license (for DUI/refusing drug test), no registration,

VICTOR VASQUEZ, Willits. DUI.

SAMUEL ZOOK, Willits. DUI.

* * *

LET ME BE EXPLICIT. Research shows people are stockpiling guns, white men in particular. They are less educated, worried about their ability to protect their families, insecure about work, and have racial anxiety. Stockpiling sometimes fills a void in their lives and can accompany hero fantasies. One study found that “for each 1 point increase in symbolic racism there was a 50% increase in the odds of having a gun at home.” The upshot here: Trump’s menacing threats in the form of tweets and re-tweets are very serious. Expect more talk of a Civil War as the impeachment inquiry digs deeper and pressure on Trump’s removal increases—and it will continue. — Wim Laven

* * *

* * *

HOW FAR WILL THEY GO?

by James Kunstler

CBS-News carried another bucket of muddy water for the coup team Sunday night with a lead ‘60 Minutes’ agit-prop story on Maria Butina, an ambitious Russian cutie who worked the American NRA circuit in the most public manner imaginable to make herself into a sex-bomb celebrity at the exact moment in history when the US Deep State wished to reinforce the fantasy, as Lesley Stahl put it, that “Russia was interfering in our electoral process.”

Of course, Ms. Stahl and her shifty producers left out half the story: how Maria Butina was manipulated by her FBI-handler and sometime-boyfriend, Patrick Byrne, the former Overstock.com CEO who had been employed by the Bureau over the years on other undercover assignments. They didn’t mention him or seek to understand his role in the operation. But they gave plenty of air-time to the DOJ lawyer, John C Demers, who prosecuted Ms. Butina, and never bothered to ask Demers why Butina was not charged with espionage — perhaps because nothing remotely like that occurred.

How media giants like Ms. Stahl can keep mouthing this malarkey designed to stoke a new cold war is one of the great mysteries of our national psychology these days. You’d think they’d learned something from the train wreck of the Mueller Investigation, the Brett Kavanaugh fiasco, and the current debacle of Adam Schiff’s imploding Ukraine whistleblower caper — namely, that spouting lies will eventually get you found-out and disgraced.

But the coup team is now dangerously stuck tripling and quadrupling down on its fairy tale narrative as the reckoning of its dark deeds approaches and its star players await their turns on the witness stand. Half the country has been waiting patiently for authorities-of-standing to put an end to this Hitchcockian campaign of seditious fog that has driven us close to the brink of a second civil war. That half of the country has actually been reading the evidence of this treason and sedition — underwritten by Hillary Clinton and her allies — on the back-channels of the Internet. None of that evidence has been posted through the main media outlets wholly owned by the coup team, gospel to the other half of America, and soon millions of credulous bystanders who got high on three years of CIA-issued RussiaGate Kool-Aid will get the surprise of their lives when they discover how deeply they were played.

The CIA and the FBI are in a fight for their lives now. The evidence shows pretty clearly that these rogue agencies conducted all the election “meddling” of 2016 and that the RussiaGate hysteria was an engineered smokescreen to hide their tracks and cover their asses when the certainty of a Hillary election triumph nauseatingly resolved unfavorably in the cold, gray dawn of 11/8/16. Despite the chatter about an “insurance policy,” they were quite unprepared for the exposure that loomed.

They also badly underestimated the resources of what is now a very sturdy alt.media which has managed to weave the real story of what happened over the past three years into a shocking tapestry of massive subversion and treachery. A big part of the true story is how amazingly incompetent the RussiaGate coupsters were. Did they really believe they could conceal the ties between their agencies and Glenn Simpson’s Fusion GPS operation, and its feckless front man, British ex-spy Christopher Steele, and the whole outfit’s connection to Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee? Did they suppose they could pass off Stephan Halper and Joseph Mifsud as Russian agents when the two have consorted with US and allied intelligence for decades? The US Department of Defense even holds Mr. Halper’s million-dollar pay stubs and Mr. Mifsud appears in photographs of every Western cloak-and-dagger cocktail get-together of spook officialdom for the last twenty years.

The latest, and most desperate gambit is the UkraineGate whistleblower, a CIA employee blatantly playing errand-boy for his mentor John Brennan and deeply tied to 2016 election shenanigans emanating from Ukraine, featuring his former employer, ex-Vice-President Joe Biden. This shadowy figure, pegged as Eric Ciaramella, 33, may shortly find himself in a grand jury chamber answering for his role in this charade. Ciaramella has just been hung out to dry by his sponsor, Rep. Adam Schiff in a desperate attempt to dissociate himself from the huggermugger within his House Intel Committee that preceded the falsely blown whistle.

It’s not an overstatement to say that many of the figures behind this gigantic web of lies and deceit ought to answer charges up to and including treason. The question is whether Messers Barr & Durham have the cojones to cater the banquet of consequences that this huge cast of characters should be made to feast from. Another question is whether these desperate characters and the agencies they represent will go all the way now and attempt to enlist the military brass in an outright overthrow of the executive. There are already intimations of this. It would be answered by the kind of civil violence that has broken out in other parts of world where other Deep States have worn out their welcome — and their legitimacy.

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

* * *

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

I just read an article in Atlantic and the writing fairly oozes contempt for those people the author considers below her, conservatives that is, people she sees as rigid and fearful, people who prize tradition and fixity, greatly unlike their political opposites, who are liberal, who are comfortable with change, who abhor displays of toughness, who raise children to be adventurous and independent and curious and tolerant and empathetic, who I would guess are just like the writer.

This then is how so-called “liberal” America see themselves and their opponents ie Trump supporters, those people who by nature and nurture are unfit for these exciting modern times.

So somebody tell me, how it is that it was so-called “conservatives” that already had the realization of having been played? They got there first. You can see the results, they destroyed one long-standing political party, they discarded conventional Republican pieties requiring them to submit to destitution, that being the greatest demonstration of Americanism that Americans can display. They took a pass on Jeb and his Republican clones and opted for the most unlikely candidate, that same guy that liberals deemed a human truck bomb. Not very rigid for those rigid, fearful people that hew to tradition, don’t you think? How is it that the people considered DUMB smelled the coffee and their intellectual betters didn’t?

Maybe it’s like that guy said, you won’t see something if your paycheck depends on your not seeing it. And for liberals, the world order that is currently being upset by multitudes all across the globe, has been of great benefit to those same liberals, those of the towering self-regard, and they do not want any part of a restructuring that would help those toothless cretins in Flyover America, nor those ingrates in Chile, nor Lebanon, nor Hong Kong, nor those racist idiot Brexiteers.

But change is a comin’ regardless of whether people snap out of it and have their realizations, not least because the status quo is unworkable. Stay credulous or wake the fuck up, in the greater scheme it matters not a whit, events will roll on regardless.

* * *

HOW ABOUT MENDO?

Sacramento Suddenly Supports Homeless Tent Cities, Car Camps

sacbee.com/news/local/homeless/article234483397.html

* * *

PG&E SPENT BILLIONS ON LOBBYISTS & PR INSTEAD OF UPGRADES

theintercept.com/2019/10/11/pge-power-shutdown-california/

* * *

* * *

UTILITY EXPERT CLAIMS PG&E BLACKOUTS ARE “ALL ABOUT THREATENING THE JUDGE” IN BANKRUPTCY COURT

gregpalast.com/utility-expert-claims-pge-blackouts-are-all-about-threatening-the-judge-in-bankruptcy-case/

* * *

KERN COUNTY "HEMP"

"The Kern County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday it has seized and eradicated more than 459 acres of marijuana in the Arvin area that had been cultivated under the guise of being legal hemp."

bakersfield.com/news/kcso-hemp-fields-in-arvin-determined-to-be-billion-worth/article_1a2cb128-fc43-11e9-b235-f71d5415b7e0.html

* * *

PG&E’S OUTLANDISH LOBBYING IN SACTO

by Dan Bacher

The Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), again in the spotlight of the national and international news media because of its shutoffs of electricity to millions of Californians as fires now rage throughout the state, spent $876,445 on lobbying from January 1 to June 30 of his year.

This latest spending comes after the utility spent nearly $10 million on lobbying in 2018, surpassing even the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) in lobbying expenses.

The $876,445 figure is impressive, although smaller than the $4,126,703.38 that the Western States Petroleum Association spent during the same period.

The $876,445 was effectively spent, since in July the California Legislature passed AB 1054, described by Food & Water Watch as a “far reaching bailout for investor owned utilities.” Governor Gavin Newsom, in spite of many environmental and public interest groups urging him not to do so, signed the bill.

The utility spent the money on both “general lobbying” and PUC lobbying in both quarters.

This year to date, PG&E spent $495,641.71 on general lobbying from April 1 to June 30 after spending $214,736.74 on general lobbying in the first quarter. That’s a total of $710,378.45 on general lobbying in the first two quarters.

PG&E also spent $77,761,99 on PUC lobbying in the second quarter and $88,304.62 in the first quarter, a total of $166,066.66.

The money that PG&E spent on lobbying for AB 1054, along with massive campaign contributions to legislators and $208,000 to Governor Newsom’s campaign, helped to ensure that the controversial legislation passed and that Newsom signed it.

“PG&E donated millions to California politicians after it was convicted in 2016 of 6 federal felonies connected to the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion that killed 8 people,” reported ABC10 as part of the ABC10 Originals project FIRE – POWER – MONEY, a documentary series that breaks down California’s wildfire crisis into its core elements.

“Newsom, a Democrat, received more than $200,000 from the federal offender. The Republican and Democratic parties of California each took more than $500,000,” ABC10 said.

It is not against the law for a convicted felon to donate campaign money, nor is it for the politician to accept it.

Ninety-eight legislators, the majority of sitting State Senators and Assemblymembers, received more than $548,005 from PG&E in the last election cycle, according to ABC10.

Former PUC President Loretta Lynch compared AB 1054 to Enron’s successful efforts to undo ratepayer protections in 2000. In response to efforts to use wildfire protections to enact sweeping electricity reforms that leave customers vulnerable, Food & Water Watch California State Director Alexandra Nagy had this statement:

“While a California victims’ compensation fund is needed as our climate-change-fueled wildfire season becomes longer, deadlier and more destructive, this rush to ram through AB1054 benefits utilities like PG&E, not ratepayers. Capping utility shareholder liability while expecting ratepayers to write a blank check for future wildfires is not a wildfire policy California needs.”

In a press conference on Monday evening, Governor Newsom said, “PG&E simply cannot take ‘10 years’ to ‘get their act together.’

“Their years and years of greed and mismanagement are OVER. These mass power shutoffs are UNACCEPTABLE,” said Newsom.

PG&E spent nearly $10 million on lobbying in 2018

Last year Pacific Gas & Electric dumped $9,580,357 into general lobbying, including total payments to in-house staff lobbyists and lobbying firms, along with paying for meals and other items for legislators.

PG&E also spent $349,522 on lobbying the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the regulatory agency that regulates privately owned public utilities in the state, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies.

The company spent the most money in the seventh quarter of the 2017-2018 session, dumping $6,111,332 into general lobbying and $168,668 into lobbying the CPUC. This is one of the largest amounts of money spent on lobbying by any organization in one quarter.

The utility filed its lobbying expenses for 2018 with the California Secretary of state on January 31, 2019, the final day for filing its disclosures.

Here is the total spent lobbying in 2018 by PG&E:

Session Quarter General Lobbying P.U.C. Lobbying

2017-2018 8th $1,229,703.61 $70,918.42

2017-2018 7th $6,111,332.71 $168,668.41

2017-2018 6th $1,655,270.60 $65,114.34

2017-2018 5th $584,052.29

$44,822.33

Of this total money, the company spent $6,369,631 in 2018 on “payments for grassroots and other advocacy” related to state legislative proposals improving wildlife preparedness and response, according to the filing.

During a court hearing on January 31, a PG&E lawyer said the company is facing 750 lawsuits, many of them over the Camp and other fires that devastated the state over the past couple of years.

The nation’s largest utility, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company filed for reorganization in federal bankruptcy court under Chapter 11 on January 29, 2019— one day after the CPUC voted to extend a $6 billion credit line to the corporation that consumer advocates say made it easier for PG&E to file bankruptcy.

Two days before the filing by PG&E, Consumer Watchdog called for the ouster of the California Public Utilities Commission over its decision to extend the credit line to Pacific Gas & Electric in what the group called “an unneeded emergency process that allowed no time for scrutiny.”

“The unprecedented vote makes it easier for PG&E to go into bankruptcy and avoid accountability to wildfire victims, ratepayers and taxpayers,” according to the group.

Western States Petroleum Association spends $4,126,703.38 in first two quarters

The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) appears to be regaining its status as the California lobbying champ, a position it has held most years, greatly outspending PG&E in lobbying in the first two quarters of the 2019-2020 Legislative Session.

Apparently, WSPA really wanted to stop the bill to mandate health and safety setbacks around new oil and gas wells from passing in the Legislature this year, as well as lobbying for the implementation of the WSPA-written carbon trading legislation and other issues related to promoting the agenda of the oil and gas industry in California.

In the second quarter of 2019-20, WSPA, California’s largest and most powerful corporate lobbying group, spent $2,153,712.76 on general lobbying. In the first quarter, WSPA spent $1,292.990.62 on general lobbying.

That’s a total of $4,126,703.38 by WSPA to date. That’s just the first two-quarters of the legislative session!

The millions spent on lobbying by WSPA in the first two quarters of this year yielded the results WSPA intended.

For example, the infusion of Big Oil lobbying money prevented the passage this year of AB 345, legislation that would ensure that new oil and gas wells not on federal land are located 2,500 feet away from homes, schools, hospitals, playgrounds and health clinics. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), became a two-year-bill.

As WSPA spent its millions on lobbying legislators and state regulators, the State’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) from January 1 to June 3, 2019 approved 2,365 new oil and gas well permits and 191 fracking permits, according to Department of Conservation data released by Consumer Watchdog and the FracTracker Alliance.

The data showed that this year regulators have “considerably increased” the number of permits granted for drilling new wells (by 35.3%), well reworks (by 28.3%), and hydraulic fracturing (by 103.2%) as compared to the permitting rate during the final year of the Brown administration in 2018, according to the groups.

Even more alarming, of the 2,365 well permits issued, 1064 or 45% of them benefitted oil companies invested in by DOGGR officials, the groups reported.

WSPA spent $7,874,807 on lobbying in 2018

The second-highest spender for 2018 was the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) — the organization that has topped lobbying spending in California most years.

WSPA spent $7,874,807 to influence California government officials in 2018. The powerful association spent all of its money in the 2017-2018 session on general lobbying, with nothing spent on the CPUC. Of the four quarters, WSPA spent its most money lobbying, $2,649,018, in the eighth quarter, from October 1 to December 31, 2018.

The Western States Petroleum Association is led by President Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the former chair of the controversial Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create so-called “marine protected areas” in Southern California.

The total lobbying figures for WSPA in 2018 are below:

Session Quarter General Lobbying P.U.C. Lobbying

2017-2018 8th $2,649,018.34 $0.00

2017-2018 7th $1,514,828.95 $0.00

2017-2018 6th $1,686,014.82 $0.00

2017-2018 5th $2,024,947.91 $0.00

For the entire 2017-2018 Session, WSPA spent a total of $15,768,069.

WSPA represents a who’s who of oil companies, including oil giants BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon, Shell, Valero and many others. The companies that WSPA represents account for the bulk of petroleum exploration, production, refining, transportation and marketing in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, according to the WSPA website, http://www.wspa.org.

Chevron and its subsidiaries took third place in the “lobbying competition” in 2018, spending around $4 million on lobbying.

Big Oil money and power has allowed it to expand drilling in California

Because of this money and the power that Big Oil wields in California, the Jerry Brown administration issued over 21,000 new oil and gas drilling permits in California. That include more than 200 permits for offshore wells in state waters — wells within 3 miles of the California coast.

In addition, the state of California under Brown — and now under Gavin Newson – controls four times as many offshore oil wells in state waters as Trump’s federal government controls in California. You can view the map showing the location of wells here: http://brownvtrumpoilmap.org.

This money and power also allowed the oil industry to write the cap-and-trade bill, AB 398, that Governor Brown signed in September 2017, as well as to twice defeat a bill to protect a South Coast marine protected area from offshore drilling.

Ironically, the same WSPA president that led the charge to defeat a bill to protect the Vandenberg State Marine Reserve from offshore oil drilling CHAIRED the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create “marine protected areas” on the South Coast.

Over the past decade, WSPA and Big Oil have topped the list of spenders on lobbying the Legislature in California. During the 2015-2016 Legislative Session, the oil industry spent a historic $36.1 million to lobby lawmakers and officials in California.

WSPA was the top overall oil industry spender during the 2015-16 session, spending $18.7 million. Chevron, the second overall oil industry spender, spent $7 million in the 2015-16 session.

In 2017, Big Oil also dominated three out of the four top spots of expenditures by all lobbying organizations. Chevron placed first with $8.2 million and the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) placed second with $6.2 million. The Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company finished fourth with $3.2 million.

That’s a total of $17.6 million dumped into lobbying by the three top oil industry lobbying organizations alone. That figure exceeds the $14,577,314 expended by all 16 oil lobby organizations in 2016.

In the first six months of 2017, the oil industry spent more on lobbying in California, $16,360,618, than was spent by the industry in all of 2016, $16.0 million.

WSPA and Big Oil wield their power in 6 major ways: through (1) lobbying; (2) campaign spending; (3) serving on and putting shills on regulatory panels; (4) creating Astroturf groups: (5) working in collaboration with media; and (6) contributing to non profit organizations.

(Dan Bacher is an environmental journalist in Sacramento. He can be reached at: Dan Bacher danielbacher@fishsniffer.com.)

* * *

THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD

50 years ago today, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, second-in-command Vasilli Arkhipov of the Soviet submarine B-59 refused to agree with his Captain's order to launch nuclear torpedos against US warships and setting off what might well have been a terminal superpower nuclear war. 

The US had been dropping depth charges near the submarine in an attempt to force it to surface, unaware it was carrying nuclear arms. The Soviet officers, who had lost radio contact with Moscow, concluded that World War 3 had begun, and 2 of the officers agreed to 'blast the warships out of the water'. Arkhipov refused to agree - unanimous consent of 3 officers was required - and thanks to him, we are here to talk about it.

His story is finally being told - the BBC is airing a documentary on it.

Raise a glass to Vasilli Arkhipov - the Man Who Saved the World.

* * *

WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

November 10th: Mushroom ID hikes and Mushroom based culinary delights Nov. 10th at Jug Handle Creek Farm and Nature Center Jug Handle Creek Farm and Nature Center will host, "Walk on the Wild Side" as part of the 2019 Feast Mendocino Festival on Sunday, November 10th from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The location of the event is at Jug Handle's new Bunk Cabin/Classroom on the east side of Highway One--15501 North Highway One in Caspar. "Walk on the Wild Side" features guided mushroom identification walks in the lovely surrounding woods of Jug Handle Creek Farm and Jug Handle State Reserve.

Mushroom hor d'oerves: appetizers, mushroom based drinks, and mushroom desserts will be served, prepared by Alison Gardner and Merry Winslow, the authors of "The Wild Mushroom Cookbook, Recipes from Mendocino." The authors and cooks will be there to discuss the recipes, and their cookbook will be available for sale. Ruby Maddock will also prepare mushroom based refreshments.

Forays into the surrounding fields and woods searching for mushrooms will be led by Steve Jahelka of State Parks, Jim Gibson, Leanna Lytle and Fern Tahja.

Mushroom teas will be available to sample and purchase, and several mushroom types will be on display. There will be a large mushroom display prepared by Eric Schramm of Mendocino Mushroom Company, who will do a presentation and mushroom talk after the hike, when desserts will be served. Cost to attend is $ 30 per person. Please RSVP by calling ( 707) 937-3498.

Jug Handle is a non-profit Nature Education Center and overnight lodge, and this event is a fund raiser for our education programs with local and regional schools. The link to the Nature Center's website is: jughandlecreekfarm.org/nature-education/

* * *

HUFF’N’PUFF

Please join Congressman Jared Huffman for a town hall on Saturday, November 9th. Rep. Huffman will give an update from Washington D.C. and respond to your questions.

When: Saturday, November 9th, 2019

Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Where: Dana Gray Elementary School, Multipurpose room, 1197 E Chestnut St, Fort Bragg, CA 95437

This event is free and open to the public, however seating is limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis up to capacity. Please click link to RSVP.

If you have questions please contact the Ft. Bragg office at 707-962-0933.

Hope to see you there,

Office of Congressman Jared Huffman

* * *

* * *

ON LINE COMMENTS OF THE WEEK

[1] I am from Humboldt, I grow in Humboldt, I reek of Humboldt weed. When I travel and say I am from Humboldt I always hear as a response “got any weed” and always will til I die. The next moments are filled with smoking weed, making new friends and tax free transactions. Yeah, I see the corporations losing money. Lots and lots of money and they are begging for more. They just filled their coffers with another 850 million. They are lying to investors about our market and not informing them they entered into a war. I consider it an honor and I will do my best to make sure they lose every penny of that 850 million they just received. This is our plant not theirs, it’s always been our plant and will always be our plant. We Humboldt, Trinity and Mendo growers are often duplicated but never replicated. They try, have tried and been trying and they have failed.


[2] I’m not sure what can be done to motivate PG&E doing things better, but here’s what I did.

Once the power was turned back on I wasted little time contacting the Governor’s Office and Rep. Ro Khanna (17th District of Santa Clara/Alameda; he’s been advocating for the State to take over the utility). I asked that California take over PG&E because the situation here in Humboldt-- and elsewhere-- bordered on the ridiculous. I encourage you to do so, too.

They liked that I called but seemed surprised so few people did. Of course, there are some real objections in the State taking over the company. I understand that. On the other hand, PG&E shares have sunk to $3.80 per share with experts saying get out while you can and with something to show for it. It's good time to buy the whole enchilada and make it better for California.

This is the real point, though: If enough fed-up folks called for the takeover of the utility added with the State's pressure to do so, PG&E would actually be more motivated to do something, like firing up our Humboldt Bay King Salmon plant to the local grid and making infrastructure improvements rather than paying their executives and shareholders gobs of money as if it were a well-run and effective company. Just a thought.

* * *

TUESDAY, November 18th 7 pm. The Greenwood Community Center in Elk. Presentation of the award-winning movie called The Monsanto Papers based on the book White-Wash by Cary Gillam. (2018 Winner of the European Press Prize for Investigative Journalism). After the movie, Charles Acker, General Manager of the Elk and Irish beach Water Districts, will provide an update and lead a discussion regarding issues with Glyphosate in our communities. All are welcome. For more information please contact Kira Brennan at 877-3479. Or kibrenn@yahoo.com.

* * *

* * *

GETTING THE POINT: JUROR WEIGHS IN ON QUILT EXHIBITS

On Saturday, November 9, from 2 to 3 p.m., the Grace Hudson Museum will present "How to Jury a Quilt Exhibit," a presentation by professional quilt juror Diane Perin. The event is free with Museum admission.

This talk relates to the Museum's current exhibition, "Stitching California: Fiber Artists Interpret the State's People, Life, and Land," a juried exhibition featuring finely crafted and innovative quilt art on many aspects of life in the Golden State. Perin will talk about the considerations involved in jurying and judging quilt exhibits, and explain the differences between jurying and judging. Using a number of quilts, Perin will demonstrate the processes involved and discuss the complications that can arise.

Diane Perin made her first quilt when she was in junior high school, and has continued to play with fabric throughout her life. She founded the Twelve by Twelve International Art Quilt Challenge group and is a co-author of "Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge,” published in 2011. Her art quilts have been exhibited at shows and galleries around the world, including the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas; the Visions Art Gallery in San Diego, CA; the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne, Australia; and the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England. A lawyer by day, Perin resides in Healdsburg, California with her daughter, two happy golden retrievers, and a feisty calico cat.

The Grace Hudson Museum is at 431 S. Main St. in Ukiah. The Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4:30 p.m. General admission is $4; $10 per family; $3 for students and seniors; free to all on the first Friday of the month; and always free to members. For more information please go to www.gracehudsonmuseum.org or call (707) 467-2836.

* * *

BILL MAHER GOES FULL CRANK

Dear Dr. Gorski,

After Maher’s appalling interview last week with J. Gordon, I looked to SBM to counteract the nonsense, but cannot find anything current; did find an excellent 10 year old column you wrote. Can we have an update?

Dr. Gorski replies: Dr. Jay Gordon (who usually likes to be called “Dr. Jay”) and I go back a long time, ever since I first noticed him spreading antivaccine propaganda that vaccines cause autism in 2005 on the then-embryonic Huffington Post, to his involvement later in the year in the treatment of a child of a famous HIV/AIDS denialist in which he missed the diagnosis of pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, an opportunistic infection in AIDS patients (the mother died from complications due to AIDS a few years later), to a number of other mentions over the years about his promotion of antivaccine misinformation, from the “toxins gambit” to his invoking a 50-year-old episode of The Brady Bunch in which the kids all got measles as an indication that before the vaccine people didn’t think measles was a serious illness given that the sitcom played six kids getting measles and having to stay home from school for laughs. The quote from Dr. Jay that to me best summed up his attitude was something he said in response to a review I wrote of Paul Offit’s book Autism’s False Prophets (scroll down the comments, as there is, alas, no longer any direct link):

“I gave a half dozen vaccines today. I gave some reluctantly but respected parents’ wishes to vaccinate.”

If you’re not antivaccine, then why on earth would you say that you gave vaccines “reluctantly” because the parents wanted them? (Also, a half a dozen vaccines seems to be a rather small number to give in a day if Dr. Jay’s practice is as busy as he claims.) Unsurprisingly, Dr. Jay’s signature move any time I write about him is to complain with an oh-so-wounded tone that he’s “not antivaccine” and to try his best to convince me that he’s reasonable and actually pro-vaccine. Never mind that he’s long believed (and, if the Maher segment is any indication, still believes) that vaccines can cause autism despite the evidence otherwise because he just “knows” based on his decades of “clinical experience.” I was even sort of starting to believe him, too, given that, on Twitter at least, he seemed to be coming around, admitting that vaccines “probably” don’t cause autism. On the other hand, given his high profile involvement in the fight to block SB 277, the law passed in 2015 that eliminated nonmedical exemptions to school vaccine mandates in California, and later SB 276, the law passed a couple of months ago that cracked down on fake “medical exemptions” written by antivaccine doctors, he did seem to be refashioning himself as a warrior for “vaccine freedom” and “parental rights” while continuing to claim he’s not antivaccine.

If, as he claims, Dr. Jay is “not antivaccine”, though, why did he appear on Real Time With Bill Maher Friday night and spew antivaccine tropes in front of a national audience? Unfortunately, the Real Time team hasn’t (yet) posted the segment to YouTube; so if you’re not an HBO subscriber you’re out of luck if you want to see it. I did find this partial video of the segment, which ends about two-thirds of the way through:

The segment is a big chunk of the show, nearly 13 minutes. That’s long for an interview on a show like this. And he was also on the Overtime segment, which was posted on Bill Maher’s official YouTube channel.

* * *

MASK OF SORROW (Ernst Neizvestny; 1925-2016), Magadan, Russia.

* * *

MY LIBERTY AND MY HORSES

by Katherine Delaquadra

The other day one of your reporters was at court speaking with Roni Mcfadden and her "core-group" of thieves and trouble-makers. He was asking these scandalous women how long they have known me. I overheard your reporters ridiculous assumption that they know me at all while "they" are all strangers to me as I was walking by while none of those wretched liars and horse-thieves know me at all. I replied answering your reporters question. "THEY ARE ALL STRANGERS TO ME, EXCEPT I USED TO GO TO DR WITTS OFFICE TO MAKE APPOINTMENTS FOR MY HORSES AND BUY MEDICINE." then your reporter bacame rude.

Roni Mcfadden, her "group" and the MOB they incited are all strangers to me. I hired d.m.v. dr Mike Witt of Redwood Valley in 1993'. While I was paying Dr Mike Witt for Veterinary Services for my horses for over 20 years his psychopathic, sadistic and cruel secretary Roni Mcfadden was Slandering me on her facebook site and elsewhere blackballing me and my Horses while I was paying them for their services to my horses. Roni Mcfadden has done this out of Malice, cruelty and jealousy. She is a sick sadistic psychopath. And has done this to other horse owners or animal owners who were all former clients of dr Mike Witt. Causing the death of my horse-hauler Dawn Center and Lidia Dietmeier who were both targeted by Roni Mcfadden and George Hodgson of Animal Control. Both of these women owned property and I assume since Roni Mcfadden, her "group" and Mendocino County Animal Control George Hodgson are involved with injustices that lead to the deaths of these 2 women where Dawn Center who was just a very good livestock person was shot to death 16 times by MCSO. I assume the County of Mendocino took not only their animals and their lives, but their properties as well.

Roni Mcfadden formed and operates a "Criminal Conspiracy" against me and my horses to try to ruin me and my horses without cause. For the malicious purpose of harming and killing my horses and taking my horses from me anyway they can for no reason but to cause harm. The County Sheriff who's the Head of The Masonic Lodge of Mendocino County and therefore is unfit for Public Office, "joined-In" with Roni Mcfadden and her group in this "Criminal-Civil Conspiracy" to harm and steal my Horses. And they have killed 9 Horses of mine, 7 horses of mine died at Cole Creek Equestrian in Kelseyville that is known for their abuse, neglect, incompetence and cruelty and needs to have their permit revoked. And they need to be arrested, charged and prosecuted there for killing Seven horses of mine unlawfully seized from me their Owner/Breeder and unlawfully detained in County Custody while they were supposed to be at the accreditted Arabian Horse Farm in Santa Barbara where all of my horses would still be alive, as there are Specialists there, around the clock personal and security and access to Professional Veterinary Services 24/7. 9 horses of mine have died and or been killed while illegaly detained in County Custody. Seven foals, 1-yearling who was murdered in his stable at Cole Creek Equestrian in Kelseyville, Ca, recently and my Arab Stallion "Raffi" who is the head of my Bachelor-Herd and first born of my Egyptian Foundation Mare. This county stole him 3xs. And almost starved him and his Dad to death at Cole Creek Equestrian Kelseyville in April 2016. The county harming my horses has been going on for 3 years and 7 months. 5 wrongful seizures planned out between Roni Mcfadden and Animal Control Officer George Hodgson with Roni's "group" of tortfeasors thieves- co-conspiators, making "false-reports" to George Hodgson. All 5-seizures were illegal Acts of Eviction without any "Due Process" there was never any "Notice of Correction" never any warning, never any "30-day Notice of Correction" These are very serious crimes against my Horses!!! They stole Raffi 3xs and either starved him to death at Cole Creek Equestrian on 11/12/17 or illegaly transferred him to members of Roni Mcfadden's despicable "group" of entitled thieves where he continues to be in danger while out of my hands and in this lawless Region. Me and my Horses are in danger until we leave this area. After the Mendocino County Horse Thieves killed by starvation or disappeared "Raffi" 1st born of One of my 2 Broodmares, County Officials repeatedly lied to the Judges and me about my 5-Brother Horses, "We just saw all of them they are all fine" while they had killed or disappeared "Raffi", those County Officials who repeatedly lied to Judges and me the beseiged Owner/Breeder, they are: Director of Animal Care Services Richard Molinari, Deputy County Counsel Brina Blanton, Animal Control Officer George Hodgson.And then Deputy County Counsel Brina Blanton fabricated "false Evidence" to deliberately cover-up the Identity of my horse who had been killed or illegaly transferred after Judge David Riemenschneider on january 26th, 2018 ordered Brina Blanton to hand over to me all evidence and information about my horse they now admitted had died while unlawfully detained in county custody. After they killed or disappeared Raffi they refused to return my 5-Brothers to me in an attempt to cover-up their crimes of either starving my horse to death or illegaly transferring him to members of Roni Mcfaddens despicable "group" where he and all of my horses remain in serious danger while out of my hands and while in northern california at the mercy of those who have been harming us victimizing me and my Horses for many years.

Around this time while I did not know that The County of Mendocino had killed or disappeared Raffi, I was just trying to get them all back and have my shipper come get us out of here, my Mare Herd, My Bachelor Herd, my 2 dogs and me. County Counsel Katherine Elliott asked me to come out in the Hallway of the County Administration Building supposedly to speak with me. Instead she tried to provoke me by walking around me in a circles several times chanting this sing-songy rhyme: "Posession is 9/10ths of the law, Posession is 9/10thsof the Law." mocking me, taunting me, in an attempt to provoke me to arrest me. I was shocked and disgusted by her behaviour. Are these the kind of people you want your children and families subjected to? Don't you think that County Counsel should lose her license to practise law and be prosecuted for her crimes against my horses and me? Not to mention the children illegaly seized for "Revenue' to feed an Entity. Where 98% of the time where children are taken by cps causes only harm. And while the kids who really need to be rescued are ignored and left to die. Arent these War Crimes? And Acts of Genocide? Where the "Convention for the Prevention and the Punishment of Genocide clearly states; "The forced taking of Children and Transferring to another "group" is an Act of Genocide." Its kidnapping and racketeering where the "forced taking of Children" in the United States by cps, produces "More Revenue than the illegal Wars and the Black Market Drug-Trade combined. Then I was really afraid for parents, kids and teir families here.This has got to be the worst form of Child Theft ever. This is Racketeering, where the Common Man is exploited and harmed. This is the War on Humanity happening in the United States against its own People, while its a tax-based Tyranny. Where its your tax-dollars funding Acts of Genocide against The American Family, in the unecessary and harmful "forced taking of Children." There are few things more evil & cruel than the forced-separation of family.

All of my horses and me are supposed to be at an accredited World Famous International Arabian Horse Farm in Santa Barbara. If we, me and my horses had not been interferred with if my horses had not been stolen by this out of control county and had made it to the Arabian Horse Farm in Santa Barbara ALL MY HORSES WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!!!! And Happy!!! Instead of pineing for me, worrying about me and themselves.Why didnt all you people just leave me and my horses alone? Because of the slander and lies of a deranged & jealous sociopathic woman? My ex-horse secretary??

No real Horse People would ever be involved in these crimes against my Horses and me.

Roni Mcfadden and her "group" and their associates operating as rescuers of horses are just "Horse-Thieves." Wrongfully harassing horse owners and illegaly taking horses to supply fresh horses to exploit. This is Horse-Thievery.

My Shipper stands by to this day to come rescue us away from here this disaster zone where Roni Mcfadden and her mislead "group" have been victimizing my Horses and me for many many years. And many other people in Mendocino County. Like Ive said, no real Horse Person would ever be involved with plots to steal horses or with any of those women who are "Horse-Thieves". I knew there was something wrong with the increasing harassment and crime and could not understand why I could not ever get any help to protect my Horses. But I never thought it was deliberate and intentional, deliberately hampering the care of my horses causing suffering and increased hardship as a function of ROBBERY and by of all people Dr Witts secretary? And while Im paying them they were suddenly & deliberately witholding care in Emergencies, witholding life-saving medicine, all to cause death and harm to steal my 21 Arabian Horses I bred for a State Stud while we are leaving the Northern California.

I bred all of my horses from my one Stallion and his 2 Mares for the purpose of creating a "Traditional Stud & Riding School" for the establishment of the first and only State Stud in the United States. I tried to do good here. But with the increased harassment and crime Realizing that it is not even safe for me and my horses to be in Northern California I decided to leave and return to my father's Homeland where there already exists an Ancient Horse Culture and many State Studs in neighboring Countries. We are supposed to be home, establishing a "State-Stud" & trading breedings with my friends well over a year ago. Agents still calling me to breed to my stallions. We do not belong in America where cops kill baby horses and people here have committed senseless Biased Motivated Violence Hate Crimes against me and my Horses.

Me and my horses had been stalked, harassed, libled, and targeted for crime by my horse drs Secretary, where other Veterinarians here in Mendocino County "joined-In" on her crimes and where they incited a Mob with a Lynch Mob Mentality, and is lead by the crooked sheriff in a Black Robe, with County Officials joining-In to bully to commit crimes against my Horses causing Oppression and death in the denial of Rights to live in Peace and Privacy. And in the Deprivation of My Rights and my Horses Rights under the Color of Law at the behest of an immoraly depraved jealous woman, my ex-horse drs secretary.

Because of my Civil Actions to get my Horses back the County brought baseless charges against me & to try to cover-up their Crimes against my Horses and me.

In a 21 month period from April 14th 2016 to January 2018 there were 5 seizures, 9 incidences where me and my horses were being attacked every 2.3 months by the County Mendocino at the "behest" of a group of psychopaths lead by roni mcfadden. Causing inestmable harm and death.

"They" committed Biased Motivated Violence=Hate Crimes resulting in many deaths of my horses causing inestimable. Suffering and loss. The lawless seizures of my Horses were motivated by Bias inspired by Slander. Over a period of several years beginning in April 14th, 2016 and preceded by many many years possibly 20 years of slander, harassment & stalking. Targeting me and my horses for crime hampering their care Incited by the slander of my ex-horse dr's secretary. Then the Sheriff's Animal Control and County Officials "Joined-In" with this group of. Roni Mcfadden's and the "Mob" They incited to try to ruin me and my Horses without cause out of Malice & Jealousy causing Oppression and the denial of Rights Deprvation of Rights.

All these People comprising Mcfadden's "group" and the MOB they've incited and all those County Officials with their army of Cops ARE ALL STRANGERS TO ME THAT I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH!!!!

Roni Mcfadden grew up in Downey, calif. Thats, down the Hill from Palos Verdes Estates where I grew up. And in her biased and deranged way she may have held it against me that I grew up in a Beautiful place, While I would have much rather have grown up with my real Family elsewhere.

She, Roni Mcfadden moved north and married into the Mcfadden "Crime Family" of Willits, ca in Mendocino County. The Mcfadden's do have the reputation as a known Crime-Family.

In 1995 there was an article written in The New York Times about a member of the Mcfadden Family in Willits. A Reginald Mcfadden who was a known Serial-Killer who terrorized the Willits area and Mendocino County with his crimes of: Robbery, Rape and Murder. Im certain that theres nothing too far fetched that these people aren't capable of. Even catering to Ronis harassment and theft of Horses, exposing the Mcfaddens to scrutiny.

In the 1970s and 1980s while Mass Murderer Jim Jones was in Mendocino Government The National Socialists affiliated with Jim Jones, Organized and Seized Political Power in Mendocino County. The National Socialists are, Nazis, Neo-Nazis and the KKK. Who consider Northern California as part of their "Domain" of their imagined "NORTHWEST TERRITORY IMPERATIVE" of White-Supremacists all affiliated or members of the American Nazi & KKK Organization, "The American National-Socialists". Hate-based Organizations.

The church that Jim Jones founded is still operating in Redwood Valley and needs to be shut-down. And the Attorney who helped jim jones organize and operate his organization or "Murder-Cult" works as a Deputy District Atty to this day and should not be there, in District Attorneys office of Mendocino County and he should not be there in any Public Office.

The Political Power in Mendocino County are sadistic, cruel. They are a "group" of PsychoPaths who have no business here, in Government or Public Office or in anyway behind the "scenes" And should not be empowered in any way where "they" harm People, Children, to Rob and exploit normal people. They are a group of Murderers. And they're set to try to destroy anyone who is not "One of them" and they are involved in these crimes against my horses and me because I am not nor ever will be, "One of Them".

In 1984 there was a Robbery of a Brinks Armored Truck on hwy 20 where 7 gunmen attacked the Brinks Truck. This Robbery was by the KKK. And afterwards the Head of the KKK of Mendocino County said: "When we get our People into Public Office, The Courthouse and the Sheriff's Office there will be nothing they can do about it."

I do not want me and my horses in Northern California. This is a disaster-Zone here. A drug epidemic area infested with and run by The National Socialists Nazis Cults, Covens and Hate-Groups. All White People committing all these crimes and Human Rights Violations as well as Animal Rights Violations.

I must rescue all of my horses and get them out of here. If theres anyone with any informaton and or anyone who can help, horse transporters, lawyers, etc please contact me. So I can get all of my Horses safely away from here. Please help me get my horses back to prevent anymore harm and so we can leave and go home.

Ambassador for Peace

Ann-Katherine de la Quadra

707-621-2197

annkatherinecuadra@gmail.com

* * *

HIT & RUN WORKSHOP SHOW--Wednesday, November 6 and Improv Weekend, November 15 & 16

Hail Folks of the Mendocino Coast!

This coming Wednesday evening, November 6 Hit & Run Theater presents a performance by its improv workshop players at the Community Center of Mendocino. The show will run from 7-8pm and will include players who have been attending the workshop for the last 3 weeks as well as members of Hit & Run Theater. Workshop players who are likely to play include Janet Atherton, Mindy Ballentine, Jasmine Norris, Lorry Lepaule, Jan Saul, Windflower, Robin Warman, Ojai Vidaver, Liz Hudson, and Kathleen Murray. Hit & Runners who will lend support include Ken Krauss, Jill Lemos, Kathy O’Grady, Dan Sullivan, Steve Weingarten and Doug Nunn. Admission to our workshop show will be $5. And on the weekend of Friday and Saturday, November 15 & 16, Hit & Run Theater will present two nights of improvisational comedy and music at the Matheson Performing Arts Center at 45096 Cahto St., near Mendocino High School in Mendocino. Both shows are at 7:30pm, with the doors open at 7:00pm. The cast includes Ken Krauss, Jill Lemos, Doug Nunn, Kathy O’Grady, Dan Sullivan and Steve Weingarten, with special guests Janet Atherton and Mindy Ballentine. San Francisco keyboardist, Joshua Raoul Brody will supply improvised music and sound effects. General Admission is $20, with tickets for seniors at $15, and kids at $12. All ages are welcome! For reservations or further information, call Doug Nunn at 707-937-0360 or 415-613-4416, write him an email at dnunn@mcn.org, or write Doug Nunn or Hit and Run Theater on Facebook. We look forward to having you with us!

* * *

FOUND OBJECT

44 Comments

  1. James Marmon November 5, 2019

    RE: HOW ABOUT MENDO?

    Leave the homeless be, do you have any idea how much money they bring into the county for the Schraeders to distribute among themselves and other bottom feeders (non-profits)? Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.

  2. George Hollister November 5, 2019

    The weather we are currently experiencing in Comptche is similar, or the same as what we experienced during the 1977 draught year. That would have been the Fall of 1976. The nights were clear and freezing. The days were warm and dry. That year the grass did not turn green. Most people in 1977, with range land, had livestock so there wasn’t much of a fire hazard, and there weren’t any notable fires, either. Water was short, so there was a push to provide government money for people to develop water, including farm ponds. Imagine that. Our total rainfall for that year was 16 inches with a significant amount of rain coming in August of 1976. Much of the native vegetation suffered, including the redwoods. Marin County ran out of water and a pipe was placed on the Richmond Bridge coming from the East Bay to provide water to Marin.

    • Michael Koepf November 5, 2019

      I recall it well. Had to dig a new spring. Got 300 gallons a day. (barely)

    • Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

      The image that comes to mind for me when I experience two old fools, like Hollister and Koepf, bellowing on, pretending to be knowledgeable, is of two big, fat carp flopping around on the shore, discarded to die by unsuccessful anglers. All that flopping, to no avail…unless you consider having a dog roll in your remains a noble purpose.

      • Michael Koepf November 5, 2019

        Would Harv post his hatred of America in the state in which he lives? Probably not. Cowboys are not that tolerant of fools who beat their chests from afar while remaining silent cowards where they live.

        • Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

          More ignorance on your part, Koepf.

          There are very few “cowboys” (actually low-paid, no-benefit wage slaves) here, excepting pretend cowboys. Wyoming produces only about one percent of the national beef supply.

          Cowboys have been replaced by roustabouts in the hydrocarbon drilling fields as the low-paid wage slaves of the present. They work lots of hours for low pay and think they’re making big money. Then along comes a bust and a lot of monster trucks get sold…

          You are just a poor, ignorant old man whose glory days are finished. “Babes” in your back yard? What a laugh.

  3. Laura Schroeder November 5, 2019

    Owning firearms does not make you racist. By assuming we are all uneducated, fearful, white male Trump supporters you are generalizing and categorizing people to defend your politics. You are the one discriminating against those who choose to own a gun, as is their right. You need to check yourself.

    • Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

      However, being racist generally means that you own firearms, whether or not you admit to owning them.

  4. Betsy Cawn November 5, 2019

    Spurred by Dr. Turner’s comments in this morning’s edition, this (Lake County) KPFZ reporter-pundit sent the following to our station manager, program director, and president of the Board of Directors, who incessantly referred listeners to KZYX as “our sister station” in Mendocino for “top of the hour” updates on current hazardous threats in our area:

    During the most recent “PSPS” our volunteers once again provided the invaluable service of maintaining (if only for a limited number of hours a day) the continuous opportunity for listeners of all sorts to provide “open source” information, especially comforting in the absence of locally-sourced official information, and — as always — doing the best we can to provide accurate, timely, and useful facts about situations that were exascerbated by the lack of adequate preparation and planning by the County’s responsible agencies (such as the Office of Emergency Services, Departments of Public Health, Social Services, Animal Control, Public Services, Public Works, and Special District).

    The lack of adequate advance planning was amply described in the October 31, 2019, multi-jurisdictional hearing conducted by the County Board of Supervisors and City Councils of both Lakeport and Clearlake. A very valuable body of appalling testimony is available online:

    http://lakecounty.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=350.

    While KPFZ programmers and other volunteers did accomplish another well-received service, I would like to encourage the station’s principle “staff” to organize further for anticipated near-future events and long-term sustainability. As always, there are many opportunities for volunteers to participate, but many have been given no training in how to properly deliver “news” and to create a base of information that is maintained in the studio as we have provided in the past years’ disaster events.

    Kudos to our Facebook page administrators, website updating team, and everyone who “held down the fort” under extremely stressful circumstances. And thanks to everyone who brought fresh energy (and backup power) to the operations we are proud to support. Lake County always turns to KPFZ when the shit hits the fan, and this important service is, IMPO, the wonderfully unique character of our broadcast format.

    Not everyone wants the formulaic format of “our sister station” and capitulation to mainstream aspirations endowed by government-sourced “public radio” funding. We are REAL RADIO, and the people who listen and support us are grateful.

    [And, as always, infinite appreciation to the AVA for prevailing under the limitations of this latest California debacle!]

  5. Michael Koepf November 5, 2019

    Sorry, not sorry to read that Jeff Blankfort is leaving KZYX. Blankfort was an unabashed fan of Hamas. Sadly, Hamas rules the Palestinians and they do it with their guns.

    Here’s a reference contained in their foundation charter of 1988: “With their money, they (the Jews) took control of the world media, news agencies, the press, publishing houses, broadcasting stations, and others. With their money they stirred revolutions in various parts of the world with the purpose of achieving their interests and reaping the fruit therein. They were behind the French Revolution, the Communist revolution and most of the revolutions we heard and hear about, here and there. With their money, they formed secret societies, such as Freemason, Rotary Clubs, the Lions and others in different parts of the world for the purpose of sabotaging societies and achieving Zionist interests. With their money they were able to control imperialistic countries and instigate them to colonize many countries in order to enable them to exploit their resources and spread corruption there.” (Wikipedia)

    Has anyone heard this before? How about 20th century from a guy with brush mustache.

  6. George Dorner November 5, 2019

    Ten million in lobbying fees? I wonder how many line crews PG&E could have been hired to start doing overdue maintenance for that amount.

  7. Louis Bedrock November 5, 2019

    (This is a reposting of information I shared a few weeks ago)

    “Four overriding myths have shaped the consciousness of most people in our society about Zionism.

    The first is that of “A land without a people for a people without a land.” This myth was sedulously cultivated by early Zionists to promote the fiction that Palestine was a remote, desolate place ready for the taking. This claim was quickly followed by denial of Palestinian identity, nationhood or legitimate entitlement to the land in which the Palestinian people have lived throughout their recorded history.*

    The second is the myth of Israeli democracy. Innumerable newspaper stories or television references to the Israeli state are followed by the assertion that it is the only “real” democracy in the Middle East. In fact, Israel is as democratic as the apartheid state of South Africa. Civil liberty, due process and the most basic human rights are by law denied those who do not meet racial, religious criteria.

    The third myth is that of “security” as the motor force of Israeli foreign policy. Zionists maintain that their state must be the fourth largest military power in the world because Israel has been forced to defend itself against imminent menace from primitive, hate-consumed Arab masses only recently dropped from the trees.

    The fourth myth is that of Zionism as the moral legatee of the victims of the Holocaust. This is at once the most pervasive and insidious of the myths about Zionism. Ideologues for the Zionist movement have wrapped themselves in the collective shroud of the six million Jews who fell victim to Nazi mass murder. The bitter and cruel irony of this false claim is that the Zionist movement itself actively colluded with Nazism from its inception.

    To most people it appears anomalous that the Zionist movement, which forever invokes the horror of the Holocaust, should have collaborated actively with the most vicious enemy ever faced by the Jews. The record, however, reveals not merely common interests but a deep ideological affinity rooted in the extreme chauvinism which they share.”

    *Arab population in Palestine in 1947, at time of partition, was 1,181,000.

    Ralph Schoenman, THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF ZIONISM

    If the United Nations wanted to create a Jewish homeland, they should have given the Jews Bavaria.

    The Palestinians had nothing to do with the Holocaust.

  8. Lazarus November 5, 2019

    FOUND OBJECT

    Just another eleven-member committee…

    As always,
    Laz

    • Michael Koepf November 5, 2019

      Hating Israel is progressive chic; hating Israelis political de rigueur for an anti-Semite on the left showing off his deepest thoughts created by someone else. How about Himmler for a start?

      • Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

        Hating Israel is rational.

    • Louis Bedrock November 5, 2019

      “Antisemitism” is a euphemism for hatred of Jews. Along with the silly expression “self-hating Jew”, it is frequently used by inarticulate defenders of Israel and Zionism against any critic of Israel. (Like the illiterate and ignorant Koepf.)

      Noam Chomsky, Ralph Schoenman, Norman Finkelstein, and Alexander Cockburn are among those who have tarred with this label. Cockburn lost his job at THE VILLAGE VOICE because of such baseless accusations. Finkelstein, whose parents endured the Warsaw ghetto and the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Maidanek, has been called an anti-Semite and a self-hating Jew.

      Labeling people as self-hating Jews and anti-semites is much easier than refuting their arguments.

      • Michael Koepf November 5, 2019

        If it fits, wear it.

        But, while I’m attempting to educate Louis Bedrock on how far progressive, political style has taken him down the dark tunnel of bigotry, I often wonder why he and Harvey Reading, who both live in different states and have noting to do with Mendocino County, persistently comment in this space. Of course, it’s a free country and dangerous internet, but why here? They know nothing of our local, and their comments appear to be strictly national and international: we hate Trump, America bad, etc, etc, on and on. Have they been ostracized where they live? Has the AVA become the nirvana for left wing nuts who have nowhere else to go? Left is fine with me when they have something intelligent to say, as often occurs in this space. I can learn a thing or two when the left uses reason to make a point. But, these guys are out of whack,

        • Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

          You dimwit, as I have mentioned in the past, I heard about AVA via a plug made for it on Counterpunch several years ago. If you don’t like me making comments, then that’s too damned bad, you insular, ignorant, not-too-bright old fool. I suspect that the Clearcut Triangle gets plenty of federal tax dollars, too, which gives me a vested interest in what happens there. Like it or lump it, Mr. Tough Guy!

          • Michael Koepf November 5, 2019

            See how they are.

            • Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

              See how he is?

        • Louis Bedrock November 5, 2019

          I don’t need to be educated by red-necked white trash.

          As Isaac Asimov observed,

          “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that, “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

          Koepf is a charter member of that cult.

          • Michael Koepf November 5, 2019

            See how they are: quoting others, name calling; devoid of original thought. We don’t always agree in Mendocino County, but we’re a kind of family nonetheless. The trees, the sea and freedom; respecting to disagree.

            • Louis Bedrock November 5, 2019

              “The trees, the sea and freedom; respecting to disagree.”

              What eloquence!
              What wonderful grammar!
              What profundity!

              Good to know that the trees, the sea, and freedom “are respecting to disagree.”

            • Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

              Your Mendocino “family” is totally dysfunctional, judging from reading AVA. Your last sentence is a real doozy, too: “…respecting to disagree.” What school you went anyway? Or is that meaningless collection of words what passes in your tiny brain for “original thought”?

              Take a good, long look at aerial views of your clearcut forests and read up on your “sea”, that is dying, along with your salmon and steelhead spawning streams, killed by diversions and horrendously bad forestry practices.

              No one is fooled by you and your ignorance. You are nothing just another would-be tough guy who never had an original thought in his entire lifetime.

  9. Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

    ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

    Apparently the article must have been a good one. From the comment and my lifelong experience with the conservative subspecies, it was dead-on accurate as well.

  10. Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

    THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD

    A REAL hero.

  11. Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

    Bill Maher? He’s still around?

    • Stephen Rosenthal November 5, 2019

      Funny, I thought the exact same thing about 60 Minutes.

      • Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

        Me, too, though I haven’t even thought of 60 Minutes at all for decades.

  12. Louis Bedrock November 5, 2019

    “america was once a paradise
    of timberland and stream
    but it is dying because of the greed
    and money lust of a thousand little kings
    who slashed the timber all to hell
    and would not be controlled
    and changed the climate
    and stole the rainfall from posterity
    and it wont be long now
    it wont be long
    till everything is desert
    from the alleghenies to the rockies
    the deserts are coming
    the deserts are spreading
    the springs and streams are drying up
    one day the mississippi itself
    will be a bed of sand
    ants and scorpions and centipedes
    shall inherit the earth”

    archy (Don Marquis)

    (For Hollister and his ilk)

    • Michael Koepf November 5, 2019

      See how they are.

      • Bruce McEwen November 5, 2019

        The parody of a Lefty as an intellectual miser, a recluse curmudgeon, a crackpot, a stinker, a sniper, a pedant, a tinker, — I dare say, we have all those and more embodied in the See How They Are Duo.

        • Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

          Sad Sack is still pretending to be a writer it seems. Give it up. You lack the talent. The best you should hope for is to become a parody of a writer. You are such an ass-kisser, too!

      • Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

        See how he is?

      • Bruce McEwen November 5, 2019

        Really, Michael, you should adopt the Beatles line “See How they Run” since they “run” in types, don’t they, like blind mice? W/ their tails cropped off short —!

    • George Hollister November 5, 2019

      What we call America was also once a paradise for mammoths, mastodons, ground sloths, short eared bears, saber tooth cats, etc. Then unfettered people showed up, ate well, introduced fire, later introduced husbandry, and created what the first explorers found in 1492. Mega fauna, what’s that? Interesting how human perspective can be different, yet unchanging.

      • Harvey Reading November 5, 2019

        George, I refer you back to my first comment of the day.

        And, I ask, how is it that you KNOW “America” was a paradise for those extinct creatures? Were you there, and, if so, did you ask them?

  13. Lee Edmundson November 5, 2019

    Whoa, fellas. Whoa. Steady.

    Koepf, Reading, McKewen & Bedrock — please go to your neutral corners.

    George Hollister and Jerry Philbrick please join them there at your earliest possible opportunity.

    You guys (Why is it always the GUYS?) think these exchanges pass as reasonable discourse? Is this what we’ve sunken to?

    Welcome to Trumptopia.

    Talking at each other. Past each other…

    If you were all placed into a common room, with an extended clip firearm, I wonder who would walk out of it alive.

    Your (possibly valid) points are lost in the smoke and fire of your verbal pyrotechnics. Your respective point (s) being… exactly what?

    I direct y’all to Lao Tzu: “Those who know, don’t say; those who say don’t know”.

    Try a little less vituperation and a little more compassion. Then perhaps your ideas might garnish greater currency.

    Otherwise, it’s just intellectual sandbox fighting.

    • Louis Bedrock November 6, 2019

      “I am not Christ or a philanthropist, old lady, I am all the contrary of a Christ … I fight for the things I believe in, with all the weapons at my disposal and try to leave the other man dead so that I don’t get nailed to a cross or any other place.”

      —Che Guevara

      Mr. Edmundson,

      If you read the comments again, you’ll notice that it was Koepf who responded to my criticisms of Israel by calling me an antisemite. This is his modus operandi. He is a vulgar, lazy, ignorant lout who is too lazy to pick up a book or a magazine to research an issue so he responds to ideas with which he disagrees by insulting the people who spawn them.

      I’m capable of being civil to people who disagree with me. But like Che, I’m no mythical Prince of Peace or philanthropist. When attacked, I fight back.

    • Harvey Reading November 6, 2019

      In my opinion, Mr. Edmundson, it is people like you who are the major problem facing this country. If you do not fight fire with fire, you will never win, as can be seen from the direction this country has been taking since the end of the second war. Enjoy your fleeting freedoms while you can.

Leave a Reply to Michael Koepf Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

-