MCT: Friday, August 28, 2020

• Hot & Smoky
• 659 Cases
• Gibbons Book
• Seen Piper?
• Chief Blaylock
• Naked Male
• Please Carry
• Ed Notes
• Ukiah 1933
• Defensible Space
• Foodbank Produce
• Police Reports
• Seized Plants
• Asinine Sports
• Legal Trivia
• King House
• Sculpture Trail
• Nose Out
• Home Market
• Lined Paper
• Brinks Heist
• Yesterday's Catch
• Counterfeit Stuff
• 50s Ukiah
• Policing Crisis
• Flavor Land
• Day Four
• Trump Votes
• Depression Christmas
• Progressive Movement
• Firefighting Funds
• Zerolene
• Nuclear Shutdown
• Fonda Fixation
• Found Object

A HOTTER DAY is in store for inland valleys today, with persisting areas of smoke and haze. Coastal areas will remain cool and hazy with limited areas of marine layer clouds. Dry weather is expected through next week, with warm temperatures possibly extending to the coast Tuesday and Wednesday. (NWS)

SMOKY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL at least until Sunday. Otherwise clear and hot with daytime highs approaching 100. Similar conditions on the Coast with highs near 60. Fairly calm winds. A little morning fog now and then.

THREE MORE COVID CASES IN MENDO. ANOTHER DEATH

Covid daily update, 8/27/2020: 3 additional cases of Covid-19 have been identified in Mendocino County bringing the total to 659. One additional death has been reported for the Ukiah area.

"A JOG DOWN MEMORY LANE" is former Mendo distance runner Jim Gibbons’ fast paced, fascinating personal history of running in 56 stand-alone stories that will hold the interest of current runners, former runners and even non-runners alike. Checking out on Amazon.com under the title. Please download onto Kindle Tablet, Phone or Ereader. It is anticipated that this will be available in print sometime this fall.

IT IS A SAD AND PUZZLING MYSTERY that I have walked our 9 acres more than a dozen times and have seen no sign of our 15+ yr old border collie Piper, since Wednesday @2pm. 

I have had help (profuse thanks to Debra Eloise and Autumn Ehnow for helping us search); I’ve been up searching again since first light. I’ve checked with neighbors, posted here and Boontswap, called it in to KZYX, asked folks walking down Ornbaun Road. I don’t know how he got out. He’s deaf, with poor eyesight and arthritis and he could not have gotten far. Please look for him if you’re in the area and pass this on to others. We’re heartbroken.

Susan Robinson

ED NOTE: Unfortunately, Ms. Robinson did not provide any contact information. So if you happen to see Piper, you’ll have to visit Boontswap or Valley Hub on Facebook or try her own facebook page: facebook.com/sunrobin

WILLITS WELCOMES INCOMING POLICE CHIEF, ALEXIS BLAYLOCK

Chief Alexis Blaylock comes to us with nearly thirty years of law enforcement experience in various capacities. She spent nearly 25 years as a sworn member of the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) where she served both in patrol functions and in specialized assignments such as in dignitary protection, the border crime suppression team, internal affairs and juvenile services. She concurrently spent more than three years as an adjunct instructor teaching Police Investigative Report Writing for the San Diego Community College District. After retiring from the City of San Diego, Chief Blaylock joined the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) as a training consultant where she was responsible for state-wide police training programs and was the legislative affairs liaison. She left POST to become a public safety lieutenant at the University of Southern California (USC). During her time at USC, Chief Blaylock assisted in getting legislation passed to benefit the public safety departments of private institutions of higher learning (AB2361, 2016), expanding their ability to protect their campus communities. While at USC, she also initiated leadership and diversity training to help officers be more effective leaders. She also developed a mentoring and coaching program at USC to help officers better perform their duties and prepare for advancement. 

Chief Blaylock graduated Summa Cum Laude from California State University San Marcos with a BA in Criminology and Justice Studies and holds several certifications. She is known for her ability to get things done, her passion and skill in mentoring young officers, her leadership skills, and her strong work ethic. 

Chief Blaylock cares for those less fortunate. During an economic crisis when many SDPD officers could not give monetary contributions to charities, she initiated and led a charity event where officers throughout the city of San Diego donated clothing to homeless men, women, and children. Donated items were cleaned, sorted, and delivered to four organizations within San Diego County who all agreed to distribute the items to those in need. This was a highly successful event where donations exceeded all expectations. With Chief Blaylock’s leadership, officers were able to make a difference in their communities and help those in need. 

Chief Blaylock also volunteered at the Sacramento SCPA where she enjoyed working with shelter animals. She loves gardening, decorating, woodworking, and is an accomplished singer as well. She sang in a number of musical theatre productions and at various public events throughout her career.

Chief Blaylock comes from a small town in Florida, so is no stranger to small town life, and says that she looks forward to living in Willits. She is honored to lead the Willits Police Department and be a part of the Willits community. She will be highly visible and accessible, and looks forward to listening, learning from, and meeting with the people of Willits. 

(Willits City Council Presser)

UH, YOU WANT TO DEFUND THESE PEOPLE?

On Tuesday, August 25, 2020 at 12:53 PM the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received a report of a naked 32-year old adult male standing on the roof of a residence in the 4000 block of North State Street in Ukiah, California.

A Deputy arrived and saw an adult male standing on the roof of the residence as reported. The adult male was naked, holding a kitchen knife and was acting in a bizarre manner.

The Deputy asked the adult male to climb down off the roof and to drop the knife. The adult male refused to comply with the Deputy's verbal requests.

Shortly thereafter, the adult male disappeared from the roof and appeared to have taken a position in the residence's backyard.

Additional Deputies arrived and patrol car PA system announcements were given asking for the adult male to appear and verbally interact with the Deputies.

The announcements were unsuccessful after several minutes prompting a Deputy to climb on top of the roof in an attempt to locate the adult male.

The Deputy was able to see the adult male in adjacent backyard.

At this time the home owner exited the rear of the residence armed with a handgun in what appeared to be an attempt to confront the naked adult male. The Deputy was able to verbally instruct the home owner to enter back inside their residence preventing a violent encounter.

Deputies with the assistance of Mendocino County Probation Officers responded to this specific residence that was located on Sunnycrest Drive.

Upon their arrival the adult male fled into the backyard of the original residence where he had been on the roof and subsequently busted through fencing into the front yard.

When the adult male saw the presence of a Deputy in the front yard he then fled into a neighboring residence's front yard and crawled underneath the home from an opening at the front porch.

The adult male minutes later busted through the home's siding along the backyard and was grabbed by three Deputies who were able to handcuff him after a brief struggle.

The adult male was sweating profusely and was speaking incoherently while he began to kick at the Deputies. The Deputies held the adult male on the ground and controlled his legs so that he could no longer kick.

Based upon the adult male's behavior and physical condition an ambulance was immediately requested in the event the adult male suffered a medical emergency (condition known as excited delirium).

Deputies provided verbal instructions for the adult male to exercise controlled breathing, applied cool water on him from a garden house and shaded his body with a portable canopy located in the backyard.

The adult male continued to act bizarrely, was incoherent to most verbal commands and appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance. During questioning the adult male did state he had ingested cocaine.

An ambulance arrived and began to medically treat the adult male prior to transporting him to Adventist Health Ukiah Valley for further treatment.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is not seeking criminal charges in regards to this incident at this time.

FORT BRAGG: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT

ED NOTES

ANDERSON VALLEY'S young scholars are in their first week of distance learning. Sid Frazer, Elementary School principal, said this morning that he'd hoped to get fifty percent participation from the young 'uns but was delighted that 90 percent showed up electronically. The principal attributed this initial success to his teachers who've gone the extra mile and then some to ensure that local kids aren't educationally shut down in this unprecedentedly difficult time for everyone.

AND HIGH SCHOOL principal, Jim Snyder reports: "Distance Learning is actually going incredibly well. On the first day of school on Tuesday, we had over 95% of students ‘show up’ to school. This far exceeded our expectations for the first day. There are still a lot of connectivity issues to be worked out, and a lot of our students are still struggling with internet, but we are working on solutions. We have purchased 300 hotspots and unfortunately only half of those have arrived, but we expect more soon. Some students were not able to get one yet, but have been able to use hotspots off their phones or find another way to connect with their instructors.

“Every student in the district got a Chromebook Laptop to take home with them, along with school supplies, textbooks and materials. We're really impressed with the collaborative effort of all the teachers, parents and students for working together trying to get everyone connected.

"We will still have a certain percentage of students who won't be able to get good internet due to where they live and the poor reception that exists in some parts of the Valley. I am going to work with local internet providers and try to partner with local businesses to sponsor families who need extra support to bring internet to their homes. In the meantime, we will get those students everything they need to continue with their studies offline.”

FOR THOSE of you worried about voter fraud on top of your worries about global warming, civil insurrection, unemployment, and shelter, rest assured that our Mendocino County all-in-one Clerk, Recorder, Assessor, Katrina Bartolomie, has your back. Your front, too, for that matter. If there's any place in the country where voter fraud is less likely than Mendocino County, name it! Ms. B has even arranged for those of you who don't trust the Post Office — another unfairly maligned American institution — to deliver your ballot: Ms. B has arranged for a ballot drop-off at the Boonville Fairgrounds. If you don't trust the Fairgrounds, well, my condolences. These are especially rough times for paranoids.

SO THIS GUY says, “I'm glad that the new Willits Police Chief is a woman, and a black woman, a twofer for Mendo. First female police chief, first black female police chief. But is she qualified to handle Willits?”

I STAGGERED BACKWARDS a few steps in stunned disbelief. Three decades of experience in San Diego and the new chief can't handle a few rural tweakers and miscellaneous incompetents, throw in the usual drunks and marital brawlers? Please. The only prob Chief Blaylock might have in Willits is getting paid. The town's broke but looking to raise its sales tax to be less broke.

UKIAH 1933

MENDOCINO COUNTY FIRE SAFE COUNCIL'S DEFENSIBLE SPACE LOW INCOME/SENIOR PROGRAM

Check out Mendocino County Fire Safe Council's Defensible Space Low Income Program (DSLIP), it helps low-income seniors and physically disabled persons adhere to defensible space regulations. If you are physically and financially unable to maintain the state-mandated 100’ of defensible space around your home, our Defensible Space Low Income Program may help. 

This program is funding dependent and services are offered on a first-come, first-served basis as program funds are available and as efficient scheduling of contractors permits.

Dead tree removal is not included in this service.

This program is offered by the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council. Funding is currently provided by a grant from Pacific Gas & Electric. Current funding extends only through November 2020, SO BE QUICK. However, if you qualify and your work cannot be funded with current grant resources we will keep your application in file for future potential opportunities. 

For more information and to sign up: firesafemendocino.org/defensible-space-assistance-program/

DROP OFF PRODUCE AT THE AV FOOD BANK

Anderson Valley Food Bank would love to have people drop off produce on the mornings of our food bank days, which are the first and third Mondays of the month. Packing happens at 10 am in the AV Methodist Church. We serve 120 families each foodbank, so being able to give away local delicious fruits and vegetables is our goal. Thanks everyone for helping us achieve our goal.

You can contact Benna Kolinsky at boonville95415@gmail.com for more info

DRIVING MR. BAD BOY

On Monday, August 24, 2020 at about 12:40 AM, Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle for failing to stop at a posted stop sign near the 76000 block of Highway 162 in Covelo.

During the traffic stop Deputies discovered the driver, Maryanne Whipple, had a suspended driver's license.

Deputies further discovered the passenger, Anthony Barber, 31, of Ukiah, had two felony arrest warrants from Lake County for failing to appear with a no bail status. 

Barber was also found to have two misdemeanor arrested warrants from Mendocino County for possession of a controlled substance and violation of probation.

Whipple was released on a citation for driving while having a suspended driver's license.

Barber was arrested on all four arrest warrants and booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held at a no bail status.

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VISITING FROM GALT

On Monday, August 24, 2020 at 10:45 PM, Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies were conducting focused uniformed patrols in Covelo.

Deputies observed a traffic violation and conducted a vehicle stop wherein they contacted Michelle Woodyatt, 36, of Galt.

Deputies discovered Woodyatt had a felony arrest warrant (no bail warrant) issued in Butte County for vehicle theft.

Woodyatt was arrested on the Butte County arrest warrant and booked into the Mendocino County Jail where she was to be held on a no-bail status.

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JESUS’S COCAINE

On Sunday, August 23, 2020 at approximately 9:30 PM, a Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a Toyota truck for a vehicle code violation at Hopper Lane and Ledger Lane in Covelo.

The Deputy contacted three subjects inside the vehicle and discovered they were all from Santa Rosa.

A passenger, Jesus Espinoza, was holding a bag of "Chex mix" when contacted. While running records checks on the subjects, the Deputy noticed Espinoza toss items outside the vehicle.

Sheriff's Office Dispatch advised Espinoza was on pre-trial release with terms of obey all laws and submit to search.

The Deputy checked the area where they saw Espinoza toss the items and located two small clear plastic bags containing a white powdery substance.

The Deputy searched Espinoza per the terms of his pre-trial release, also including probable cause and located a large amount of US Currency on his person. In the "Chex mix" bag the Deputy located five more small clear plastic bags containing a white powdery substance.

Further investigations led the Deputies to believe the white powdery substance was cocaine.

Due to the numerous bags of cocaine with similar weights, the large amount of US Currency, other evidence and the Deputy’s training and experience it was determined the cocaine was possessed and being transported for sale.

Espinoza was also in violation of the terms of his pre-trial release (violation of a court order). Espinoza had also tried to conceal or destroy evidence by throwing the items out of the vehicle.

Espinoza was told he was under arrest and he crossed his arms and refused to follow verbal commands. Espinoza began physically resisting and pulling away from Deputies as they tried to place him into handcuffs. Espinoza was subsequently placed into handcuffs without injury to himself or the Deputies.

Espinoza was transported to the Mendocino County Jail charges of Transportation for sale of a controlled substance, Destroying/concealing evidence, Disobeying a court ordere, and Resisting a Peace Officer. He was released on zero bail at the conclusion of the jail booking process. This was due to the Judicial Council adopting a temporary emergency statewide COVID-19 bail schedule.

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ON LINE COMMENT

Released without bail, that must be frustrating to the cops. Why would it be, or should it be frustrating to the police? In fact, the less emotional involvement an officer happens to have regarding the administrative end of the judicial process, the better. Especially during these special times. For anyone who is choosing to believe that the “book and release” orders this fishing season amounts to a mass carte blanche situation, it most definitely does not. It may seem that way during this swing of the pendulum. But when things start moving in the other direction, and process and facility are operating “at normal” everyone will hear the bell for recess and line up accordingly, single file, at the courthouse door. Most probably not in that fashion, but it’s real hard to outrun your paperwork. Damn near impossible(examples abound). No matter where you rest, your deeds/court dates/ex wives/good dogs will find you.

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NO BAIL FOR TWO-GUN GURROLA

Recently the Round Valley Indian Tribes have requested assistance from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office in focusing on crime prevention on and around the Tribal lands.

This includes illegal cultivation of marijuana, sales of other drugs, sales of firearms and environmental degradation.

Over the past few months there has been a spike in violence in and around the community of Covelo and law enforcement has seized a number of firearms while performing focused enforcement efforts in and around Covelo.

On Tuesday, August 25, 2020, at approximately 8:24 PM, a Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputy made a traffic enforcement stop on a vehicle for failing to stop at a stop sign on Howard Street, where it intersects with Airport Road in Covelo.

During the traffic stop, the Deputy saw what he believed to be a handgun on the passenger side floorboard.

Upon seeing this, both the driver and passenger were removed from the vehicle and the handgun was found to be a plastic replica firearm.

However, when the Deputy was inspecting the replica handgun, he observed what he recognized as the muzzle of a rifle sticking out from underneath a sweater in the rear passenger area of the vehicle. The Deputy removed the sweater and discovered the rifle in question was in fact a loaded assault weapon shortened down to pistol form.

Under California law the weapon was clearly found to be illegal to possess as it is defined by its nature as an assault weapon.

The Deputy determined the driver, Jesse Gurrola, 25, of Covelo, was the owner of the firearm.

The passenger was released, and Gurrola was arrested. He was subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail on charges of Possession of an Assault Weapon and Possession of an Unregistered Handgun.

Due to the Judicial Counsel COVID-19 Emergency Declaration, Gurrola was to be released on zero bail at the conclusion of the jail booking process.

Over the past several months, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office has seized numerous weapons in and around the Covelo area.

Several of these weapons were high powered assault style weapons which are believed to have been brought into the community and sold illegally in furtherance of criminal organizations involved in the drug trade.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office will continue to focus enforcement efforts on these types of cases and will request prosecution from the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office and at times the Office of the United States Attorney General.

BIG LEAGUE SPORTS

Editor,

Man oh man, really huge news out of the big league sports world Thursday, never thought it would be possible that soon there would be no more blather about scores monopolizing tv time. No more pictures of Mel Ott hitting one out of the park, no more pictures of hockey stars beating up on each other, no more guys running back and forth on the basketball court, trying and often succeeding in dunking another ball through a hoop. What is this world coming to? What has police violence done to our country that I may soon not be tortured out of my mind by all of these asinine sports clips? No, don't tell me that there are issues bigger than a football making it through a goal post. It simply cannot be. 

Ken Ellis

New Bedford, MA

MENDO DA's THURSDAY EVENING LEGAL TRIVIA

QUESTION: Who was the first female attorney in Ukiah?

ANSWER: Laura Scudder (1881-1959)

From the Encyclopedia of Women in the American West (2003), pages 256-257; edited by Gordon Morris Bakken (CSU Fullerton) and Brenda Farrington (Fullerton College) …

"Laura Clough was born in Philadelphia in 1881. Her mother died when she was 2, and her father remarried. After graduation from high school, she worked at John Wanamaker's department store and learned a great deal about the power of advertising. She attended Temple University with the objective of becoming a doctor, but was unable to save enough money to go to medical. In the alternative, she entered Mercer Hospital School of Nursing (Trenton, N.J.) in 1904, and after 3 years of 15-hour days, she earned her diploma.

While working at Mercer Hospital, she cared for Charles Scudder, a widower with three children and 21 years her senior. Charles grew increasingly fond of her and asked her to marry him. She said, "sure," but waited through a season of courting until their marriage in 1908. Laura moved to Charles' farm on the Delaware River in New Jersey and there she bore her first child in January 1910. Trouble with her numerous in-laws living on the farm forced her to tell Charles that she was moving west. He consented and they moved to Seattle.

In Seattle, Charles became a produce salesman but continued to work on inventions. He patented a blind stitch sewing machine and invented food cartons such as an egg box. Unfortunately, Charles spent money without plan or budget; but fortunately, Laura's grandmother's estate brought her enough money to pay his bills and to start a business. Laura developed respiratory problems and the family moved to San Francisco in 1913 in hopes that the weather would improve her health. 

They subsequently moved to Ukiah, a small inland community without coastal fog , and there bought The Little Davenport, a little cafe [DA Eyster note: located on the left side of what is now Schat's Bakery]. Laura's food and service as well as Charles' demonstration of flapjacks flipping in the cafe's front window brought plenty of customers. Farmers, lawyers, and judges mingled in the cafe, enjoying the Scudder fare. 

Laura inquired of the members of the bar how one became a lawyer in California and, so informed, started to read law. She passed the California bar in March 1918 at the Fourth District Court in Sacramento and became Ukiah's first female lawyer. She did not practice but used the knowledge to her advantage in future business ventures.

A fire that wiped out a city block also took the cafe and enabled a move south with insurance money in hand. In Monterey Park, the Scudder family put down roots with a new home and a full-service gasoline station at the corner of Garvey and Wilson (now Atlantic). It was one of the first in the San Gabriel Valley. Charles and his eldest son from his first marriage, Charles A. Scudder, worked repairing vehicles, and Laura pumped gas. The profits went into a large brick building on the property, but when the renter defaulted, Laura looked for a more profitable use. Laura's action was typical of her search for a higher and better use for her property and ideas.

Turning to a friend in the potato chip business in San Diego, Laura quickly innovated into this stable and profitable enterprise. In 1926 she opened the business but refused to sell in bulk in favor of wax paper bag packaging. This innovation kept the product fresh, provided employment for housewives working at home, and vastly expanded the popularity of the product. Her Mayflower Chips became well known throughout Los Angeles County, and she soon expanded to Northern California with Blue Bird Chips in the Bay Area. Other business innovations included setting cash aside in lieu of depreciating her delivery trucks, reducing the cost of business financing and paying all invoices on the day of receipt, increasing vendor confidence, and encouraging fair dealing. Perhaps the most important innovation was advertising on outdoor billboards for the benefit of consumers and grocers, the retailers Laura was dependent upon for sales.

Laura's media savvy was significant. She held regular media meetings with her sales personnel. She controlled advertising content and kept it simple. For example, her Laura Scudder Peanut Butter billboard simply said "PURE," with an arrow pointing to the jar. This purity image was backed by her insistence that only the highest grade of ingredients be used in the products. For example, her peanut butter contained only the highest grade Virginia peanuts, with the bitter core removed before manufacture, resulting in a naturally sweet taste rather than the sugar-added flavor of the competition. Amidst the company's success and the building of an Oakland plant for Blue Bird Chips, Charles died at age 68. As a result, his son, Charles A., took a greater role in business management and grew closer to Laura. They married in 1929. In 1935 they built a new home in La Habra Heights. 

The business continued to grow with California. Laura moved into the market for mayonnaise and bought a chicken ranch to ensure the quality of the eggs for the product. She used freshness-dating to further convince the consuming public of her commitment to quality.

World War II brought product shortages, but they were able to maintain the flow of their product, and Laura moved further into media to make sure the public knew that her products were of the highest quality. She put a cooking program on the radio, demonstrated products and cooking in department stores, put advertising in Spanish on the radio in the 1950's, and moved into television in its infancy. She sponsored the Lawrence Welk program, Engineer Bill's Cartoon Express for kids, and the Annie Oakley show for western fans. Early commercials even featured animation and reached out to a wide audience watching black-and-white tubes. 

The mid-1950's produced the first $20 million gross year, a plant in Fresno, and trucks now numbering 350, but Laura's health failed. In 1957 she decided to sell and turned down an $11 million deal with Sunshine Biscuit because it lacked a guarantee of employment for her hundreds of loyal employees. She took $6 million from Signal Oil for the company to guarantee employment. She passed away in 1959, leaving a legacy in her employees and her products still on store shelves today. 

— Brenda Farrington"

DR. KING HOUSE, UKIAH, 1900

CLOVERDALE SCULPTURE TRAIL: August 1, 2020 – April 27, 2022

10 new sculptures have been installed along the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail in downtown Cloverdale after a 3 month delay due to COVID-19. 

Residents and tourists alike applaud the fact that Cloverdale has brought a feeling of normalcy to the community. Each year for 17 years, new sophisticated sculptural diversity has appeared in downtown Cloverdale bringing excitement and wonder; what will be on display? Cloverdale Boulevard between Citrus Fair Drive and 3^rd Street are lined with an array of playful and provocative sculptures, unmatched in Sonoma County. What better way to spark our Imagination than with this impressive exhibit of public art?

The current Trail will be available for viewing until April, 2022. For sculpture locations, a map of the walkable Sculpture Trail can be downloaded at www.cloverdalesculpturetrail.org . If you cannot visit the Trail in Cloverdale, visit the Trail’s website to explore the sculptures on display and learn about the artists behind the unique sculptures. While visiting you may vote for your favorite sculpture via a link from the Home Page to People’s Choice voting.

The Cloverdale Sculpture Trail brochure can also be downloaded at the website. Enjoy the Trail.

RUDE REQUESTS

Editor,

This doctor's assertion (see below) might just explain why I am finding small businesses to be overaggressive in mask enforcement.

When I'm reading a label or book in a store, I have my reading glasses on and I have to pull my mask down to expose my nostrils so the glasses don't get fogged up. I'm finding some businesses like independent grocery stores, a record store, two Copperfields, and bookstores and a few independent coffeehouses -- have snapped at me to pull my mask over my nostrils. I take offense to the way they do it — without tact would be how I would describe it.

At the big-box store, Safeway which I go to about four times a week, they never hassle me about this issue or at-large drugstores or a place like Target.

Today I walked into an independent record store in Santa Rosa and the female college aged employee asked me to pull my mask over my nostrils so I turned around and left.

I don't give business to these businesses that are overaggressive. I normally like small businesses over the big corporations but I'm not giving business to them if they are rude to me. Anyway maybe they should take out their anger on the state government instead of on their customers!

Keith Bramsted

San Anselmo

Attached: news article from a Marin County community newspaper entitled Marinscope for the week of August 19, 2020 entitled “Health Officer blasts governor for misdiagnosis” in which Dr. Scott Morrow, chief health officer for the Bay Area, is reported to have complained about bad advice from Governor Newsom which he says unnecessarily punishes small business who are not contributing to the spread of the virus.

KERHART’S HOME DELIVERY

LINED PAPER ONLY?

Editor,

Mendocino County Jail has instigated a new policy regarding incoming personal mail to inmates: under the heading "any other reason deemed inappropriate by the facility supervisor."

"Letters must be on lined paper."

This irrational and unfair and unlikely unlawful policy is arbitrary and has already caused me two valuable letters from my wife Victoria.

Other inmates suffer from this rule also which places an undue burden on their elderly and less literate family members who choose to type and use spellcheck. It further places their family and friends at risk from covid in that they must now drive to a store and purchase lined paper not to mention lost stamps, lost fuel, lost time and lost communications.

This policy further reduces family and community ties and makes it more difficult to reintegrate inmates into the community upon release.

Short of using scarce County money to judicially reviewed this ridiculous policy, I am appealing to this community to convey the transformation required.

Thank you,

Casey William Hardison

Mendocino County Jail, Ukiah

PS. A facility training officer informed me that this was "the Captain's decision" (the Captain being Corrections Division Commander Tim Pearce) because a letter came in covered with methamphetamine and lined, not book, paper makes it easier to detect.

YESTERDAY, we ran a photo of the Brinks Truck that was robbed back in 1984 on Highway 20, complete with conspicuous bullet holes in the truck’s front windshield. For those who came in late, here’s the backstory:

THE BRINKS ROBBERY occurred on Highway 20 just north of Ukiah, and it was the work of neo-nazis led by Robert Mathews, a lapsed Mormon who'd begun his career in rightwing extremism at age 11 when he joined the John Birch Society. (If the Mormons had instead handed the kid the Communist Manifesto, he would have grown up to be, ah, Starhawk?) One of Boonville's resident deputies at the time, Dennis Miller, was backed up in what he thought was a traffic accident on Highway 20, but it was Mathews and ten or so other rightwing commandos who'd stopped a Brinks truck in the middle of the road by pulling a pick-up in front of it, out of which a man with an automatic rifle then leaped onto the hood of the Brinks truck, spraying gunfire at the unreinforced windshield. The two Brinks workers, both young black men, having survived the gunfire uninjured, surrendered the cash amounting to $3.6 million. The money first was driven to Lake Mendocino where it was loaded into another vehicle; the robbers then drove it west to the dependably vacant Armstrong State Park where they spent the night. The money was split among them and, with the exception of uber-fanatic Mathews, the gang went on careless spending sprees that alerted law enforcement that a bunch of guys who had no money suddenly had lots and lots. Mathews himself shot it out with the FBI on Whidby Island, Washington, dying in the burning house he was barricaded in of smoke inhalation and gunshots. 

CATCH OF THE DAY, August 27, 2020

RODOLFO ALVAREZ-MARTINEZ, Winton/Covelo. Fugitive from justice.

JESSE GURROLA, Covelo. Assault weapon, loaded handgun-not registered owner.

SKYLAR HENDERSON, Willits. DUI, no license.

STEVEN LUNA JR., Covelo. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

KYLE PENNINGTON, Sebastopol/Ukiah. Petty theft, vandalism, concealed dirk-dagger, suspended license.

JAMES PEREZ, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

AMAZON'S PROBLEM WITH COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS

From YouShouldKnow:

"Anecdotally, the problem is getting severe. I used to buy all my household basics on Amazon (shampoo, toothpaste, etc), and I've gotten a very high rate of fake products over the past two years or so, specifically.

Most recently, I bought a bottle of shampoo that seemed really odd and gave me a pretty serious rash on my scalp. I contacted the manufacturer, and they confirmed it was a fake. Amazon will offer to give your money back if you send it back, but that's all the protection you have as a buyer.

Since I started noticing this issue, I've gotten counterfeit batteries, counterfeit shampoo, and counterfeit guitar strings, and they were all sold by Amazon.com. 

It got so bad that I completely stopped using Amazon. The bigger question is "what the hell is going on?" This didn't seem to be a problem, say, 5 years ago. I started looking into why this was the case, and I found a pretty clear answer: commingled inventory.

Basically, it works like this:

As we know, Amazon has third-party sellers that have their products fulfilled by Amazon.

These sellers send in their products to be stored at an Amazon warehouse.

When a buyer buys that item, Amazon will ship the products directly to buyers.

Sounds straight-forward enough, right? Here's the problem, though: Amazon treats all items with the same SKU # as identical.

So, let's say I am a third-party seller on Amazon, and I am selling Crest Toothpaste. I send 100 tubes of Crest Toothpaste to Amazon for Amazon fulfillment, and then 100 tubes are listed by me on Amazon. The problem is that my tubes of Crest aren't entered into the system as “SolitaryEgg's Storefront Crest Toothpaste,” they are just entered as “Crest Toothpaste” and thrown into a bin with all the other crest toothpaste. Even the main “sold by Amazon.com” stock.

You can see why this is not good. If you go and buy something from Amazon, you'll be sent a product that literally anyone could've sent in. It's basically become a big flea market with no accountability, and even Amazon themselves doesn't keep track of who sent in what. It doesn't matter if you buy it directly from Amazon, or a third party seller with 5 star reviews, or a third party seller with 1 star reviews. Regardless, someone (or a robot) at the warehouse is going to go to the Crest Toothpaste bin, grab a random one, and send it to you. And it could've come from anywhere. This is especially bad because it doesn't just allow for counterfeit items, it actively encourages it. If I'm a shady dude, I can send in a bunch of fake crest toothpaste. I get credit for those items and can sell them on Amazon. Then when someone buys it from me, my customer will probably get a legitimate tube that some other seller (or Amazon themselves) sent in. My fake tubes will just get lost in the mix, and if someone notices it's fake, some other poor seller will likely get the bad review/return.

I started looking around Amazon's reviews, and almost every product has some percentage of people complaining about counterfeit products, or products where the safety seal was removed and re-added. It's not everyone of course, but it seems like some percentage of people get fake products pretty much across the board, from vitamins to lotions to toothpaste and everything else.

Seriously, go check any household product right now and read the 1-star reviews, and I guarantee you you'll find photos of fake products, items with needle-punctures in the safety seals, etc etc. It's rampant. Now, sure, some of these people might be lying, but I doubt they all are.

In the end, this "commingled inventory" has created a pretty serious counterfeit problem on amazon, and it can actually be a really really serious problem if you're buying vitamins, household cleaners, personal hygiene products, etc. And there is literally nothing you can do about it, because commingled inventory also means that "sold by amazon" and seller reviews are completely meaningless."

DOWNTOWN UKIAH, 1950s

THE POLICING CRISIS

Bernie Sanders’ recent refusal to embrace demands to defund and abolish policing (demands that tacitly accept the limits of austerity budgets) has drawn hoots and catcalls from the cancel culture activists of Twitterverse and Leftbook. Accustomed to circulating arcane terms amongst small groups of insiders, some have couched their counsel in inventive definitions of what the term “defund” might mean. Libertarians, at least, are honest about words and understand what they’re saying when they call for defunding: they want to privatize policing and put all security arrangements on the marketplace. Bernie’s position, by contrast, views security as a public good. This approach has the advantage of aligning with public opinion, which acknowledges racist enforcement, supports reform, and—across all race/ethnic groups—strongly opposes defunding. It also resonates with Colin Kaepernick’s point about underfunding and undertraining: 

“You can become a cop in six months and don’t have to have the same amount of training as a cosmetologist. That’s insane.” (By contrast, Northern European police typically receive 2 to 3 years of training, including extensive coursework in social sciences, human relations, and psychology—with emphasis on conflict resolution and crisis management.)

Embracing the urgent need for radical reform, Sanders also makes his commitment to a welfarist version of public security clear: “Do I think we should not have police departments in America? No, I don’t. There’s no city in the world that does not have police departments.” The democratic socialist elaborates: “I called for police departments that have well-educated, well-trained, well-paid professionals. And, too often around this country right now, you have police officers who take the job at very low payment, don’t have much education, don’t have much training—and I want to change that.” He continues, envisioning a much wider role for social services, as distinct from policing: “[M]any police departments and cops deal every day with issues of mental illness, deal with issues of addiction, and all kinds of issues which should be dealt with by mental health professionals or others, and not just by police officers.”

The call to defund or abolish the police is a gift to the right. We need instead a series of radical reforms along with enhanced training, closer supervision, and democratic accountability. We should be looking to models that work rather than engaging in fantasies about civil patrols and communal policing, which will ultimately mean an expansion of private guard labor and private policing, unaccountable to public oversight.

Carol Mattessich (Coast Listserve)

FLAVORLAND, UKIAH

TRUMP PAINTS BIDEN AS A 'RADICAL' CANDIDATE AND A DANGER TO AMERICA

by Daniel Strauss

Against a backdrop of a global pandemic, heightened racial tensions, and widespread unemployment, Donald Trump framed his Democratic rival Joe Biden as the real danger to the country’s safety and economic welfare in his address to the Republican convention on Thursday.

Accepting the party’s presidential nomination ahead of November’s elections, Trump argued for more than an hour that his administration had accomplished everything it had set out to do and warned that a Biden presidency could be ruinous.

“This is the most important election in the history of our country,” Trump told an audience of around 1,500 supporters and officials on the South Lawn of the White House, raising concerns over the ethics of holding a political rally at the site, and over the apparent lack of social distancing measures.

“At no time before have voters faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, two philosophies, or two agendas.”

Trump went on to excoriate the Democratic party and argue that the choice for voters is between a “law and order” president who has a record of unmatched accomplishments, and a “socialist” opposition party and “radical” candidate eager to bring anarchy to the streets.

“Your vote will decide whether we protect law abiding Americans, or whether we give free reign to violent anarchists, agitators, and criminals who threaten our citizens, Trump said.

“And this election will decide whether we will defend the American way of ‘life, or whether we allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it.

“At the Democrat national convention, Joe Biden and his party repeatedly assailed America as a land of racial, economic, and social injustice,” Trump said. “So tonight, I ask you a very simple question: how can the Democrat party ask to lead our country when it spends so much time tearing down our country?”

Trump delivered his speech in front of a line of flags on a stage at the White House, a decision that raised questions over whether doing so would be violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activity while on duty. Though the president is exempt from that law, government officials are not.

“It certainly breaches any norms for just good government, the idea of mixing politics with government resources,” Daniel Jacobson, a former Obama administration attorney, told the Guardian.

Trump’s remarks were the capstone of a night during which speakers focused on national security and policing, describing the country as rife with chaos and lawlessness in the streets because of Democratic leadership.

Speakers also repeatedly stressed that Trump was a longstanding friend of the African American community and minorities. Most speakers of color at the convention devoted significant portions of their speeches to stressing that Trump is not a racist.

Few mentioned the coronavirus pandemic, which has left more than 180,000 Americans dead and more than 5.8m infected, far more than any other country in the world. “If we had listened to Joe, hundreds of thousands more Americans would have died,” Trump claimed, ignoring widespread criticism of his administration’s response to the pandemic.

“I did what our political establishment never expected and could never forgive, breaking the cardinal rule of Washington politics,” Trump said. “I kept my promises.”

Trump has kept around half of his 2016 campaign pledges, according to Politifact. Earlier in the campaign cycle Trump struggled when directly asked what he would do if elected to a second term in office, but laid some plans out on Thursday.

Trump promised, if re-elected, to create 10 million jobs within the first year of his second term. He said more police would be hired and more judges appointed, and he promised to defend social security and protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions, despite his administration’s moves to weaken those programs during his current term.Protesters try to drown out Donald Trump's acceptance speech on last day of RNC – video highlights

He promised to reduce taxes and cut regulations “at levels not seen before”, adding: “We will fully restore patriotic education to our schools, and always protect free speech on college campuses.” He also said the country would land a woman on the moon, and “the United States will be the first nation to plant a flag on Mars”.

Trump delivered his speech amid heightened tensions across the country over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was repeatedly shot in front of his children and left paralyzed by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday. The shooting has sparked another wave of anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests across the country.

Though the protests have been largely peaceful, Trump condemned “rioting, looting, arson and violence” that he said had taken hold in Democratic-run cities, but did not mention Blake by name.

Trump and his campaign have charged again and again that Biden is a “socialist” and liberal extremist who wants to defund police across the country and supports a government-run Medicare for All healthcare plan championed by the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. Both are untrue, and Biden is seen as a moderate in the party.

Biden himself has pointed out that the dire picture Trump has described is actually what’s going on now, during his time in office.

“The violence you’ve seen is in Donald Trump’s administration. Donald Trump’s America,” Biden said on Thursday.

Trump, Mike Pence, and other speakers have also argued that under Trump the economy has only improved, foreign terrorists have been defeated, and the coronavirus pandemic is an afterthought. But the US defense department says Isis has not been entirely defeated; tens of millions remain unemployed; and Covid-19 is still claiming hundreds of lives every day.

Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and White House advisor, gave the most effusive speech of the evening.

“My father isn’t deterred by defeatist thinkers. The word impossible, well it only motivates him. Donald Trump rejects the cynical notion that our biggest accomplishments are behind us,” she said. 

Besides the Trumps, the Arkansas senator Tom Cotton and Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani delivered speeches. 

Giuliani, the former New York mayor, used his speech to paint a portrait of an America on the verge of anarchy, and accused New York current mayor Bill De Blasio of allowing protests and crime to spiral.

“Today, my city is in shock. Murders, shootings, and violent crime are increasing in percentages never heard of in the past,” Giuliani claimed. In reality, serious crime is down under de Blasio, the annual number of murders is around half the number it was under Giuliani.

“These continuous riots in Democratic cities gives a good view” of a Biden administration, Giuliani claimed. He ended by saying “Mr President, make our nation safe again!”

In a taped speech, senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, described Trump as his friend, and framed himself as a midwestern champion leading the defense of the Senate from Democrats.

“Today’s Democratic party doesn’t want to improve life for middle America,” McConnell said in the video, going on to say “we are the firewall against Nancy Pelosi’s agenda”.

Unlike most speakers this week, Trump’s housing secretary Ben Carson directly addressed Blake’s shooting, starting his remarks by saying “our hearts go out to the Blake family” before launching into a full throated defense of Trump on the African American community.

“Before the pandemic African American unemployment was at an all time low,” Carson said, in a somewhat misleading statement. “At this point in time President Trump is the man with the courage, the vision, and the ability to keep it shining brightly.”

The RNC has notably lacked some key party figures and the presence of the last Republican president, George W Bush. Meanwhile, Democrats’ convention included speeches by former Republican elected officials who have emerged as outspoken critics of the president.

On Thursday morning, aides to the previous two Republican nominees for president, the late John McCain and the Utah senator Mitt Romney, released statements endorsing Biden. The Biden campaign hopes that support will motivate moderates and Republicans to support the centrist Democrat.

Earlier on Thursday, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, delivered a scathing rebuke of the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic.

“The Republican convention is designed for one purpose: to soothe Donald Trump’s ego, to make him feel good,” Harris said. “But here’s the thing: he’s the president of the United States, and it’s not supposed to be about him. It’s supposed to be about the health and the safety and the wellbeing of the American people.”

Thursday night’s events ended with Trump and his family standing on the stage in front of the White House balcony listening to a band play Ave Maria, another norm-shattering piece of Trump’s convention.

(courtesy The Guardian)

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Anybody else seen video of events in DC last night, BLM mob of about 50, surrounding diners in a restaurant, shouting in their faces “White Silence is Violence”, and “Black Lives Matter”, insisting these poor people raise their fist in solidarity? I mean they were screaming at one woman who wouldn’t comply for 5 solid minutes … Its hard to watch, she was surrounded, reminded me of boot camp when DIs focus their wrath on one beleaguered recruit, you had to feel sorry for her just sitting there looking down, she was merely eating dinner, then this. They surrounded the table of one little boy of about 8, looking confused and frightened, he raised his little fist; he won’t be forgetting this incident anytime soon.

And in Kenosha, an elderly man rushes to his burning package store with a fire extinguisher, Community Members streaming out with arms full of bottles, looted goods; a young Community Member suddenly coldcocks the old man, knocking him out. He was down when the video ended.

Needless to say, don’t expect to see anything about these incidents on CNN. No matter, tens of thousands of people are aware of them. And it means tens of thousands of more votes for Trump.

A GREAT DEPRESSION CHRISTMAS DINNER in home of Earl Pauley, near Smithfield, Iowa, 1936. The dinner consisted of potatoes, cabbage and pie, 1936.

TIME TO DEFEAT TRUMP, Without Make Believe About Biden

by Norman Solomon

One result of the Republican convention will be a drop in the number of progressives who are in denial about the Trump regime’s momentum toward fascism. This week’s relentlessly unhinged GOP gathering has probably done more to win votes for Joe Biden from the left than last week’s Democratic convention did. And that points up a problem.

The people running the Biden show have been trying hard to woo Republicans, while the affection remains largely unrequited. Mainstream media keep featuring VIP anti-Trump Republicans, but few registered voters have defected from Trump. Recent polling data continue to show the electoral folly of messaging to cultivate “Biden Republicans” while damaging the turnout prospects from the Democratic Party’s progressive base.

Neither the Democratic nominee nor his media echo chambers have much use for Bernie Sanders supporters or genuine progressives overall, who now rarely get words in edgewise -- even though they represent a major chunk of the electorate (many times that of the phantom “moderate Republican voter”).

During the spring, the Biden campaign extended a few olive branches in a progressive direction, but some of them morphed into sticks in the eyes of Bernie convention delegates and their constituencies -- whether in the form of the eleventh-hour deletion of a platform provision to end fossil-fuel subsidies and tax breaks, or the suppression of the delegates’ vote tally that had more than 1,000 voting against the platform mostly because it lacks Medicare for All. In a non-virtual convention or a country with less corporately biased media, such dissent from a party platform would have been big news.

The imperative of preventing a second Trump term is roaring at us every moment. Some progressives mistakenly believe that means we should melt into the ranks of Biden boosters and otherwise keep quiet until after the election. On the contrary. For instance, continuing to insist that the Democratic Party must take a clear stand for Medicare for All is not only the morally right thing to do; it’s also good politics in 2020, as polling clearly shows.

Nor should we pretend that Biden doesn’t have a five-decade record that is very far from progressive. Reasons to distrust him are profuse. But this presidential election isn’t really about Biden, who’s a garden-variety corporate Democrat. It’s about a clear and present threat to democratic capacities in the United States.

The irreversible fork in the historic road of this election was aptly summed up by an activist and scholar with a long history on the left, H. Bruce Franklin, who concluded a new article this way: “Even in these dark days, light is visible. In my 86 years as an American, I have never witnessed a progressive movement as broad and deep as the one sweeping across the nation today. If Biden and the Democrats win in November, this movement will have room to thrive. If not, it will be crushed.”

Progressives should be a leading force in a united front against Trump for the next 10 weeks. We must go all out, so that we -- and progressive movements -- are not crushed.

There’s no point in arguing about whether progressives should vote for Biden in “safe states” like New York or California; such discussions are at best a waste of time. Whether Trump can remain president for another four years will hinge on the votes in a dozen swing states.

Professor Franklin takes aim at the disconnected-from-facts argument sometimes heard (disproportionately in reader comments on some progressive websites) that the two parties are, in essence, indistinguishable: “Really? If you can’t see glaring differences between the Supreme Court justices chosen by the two parties and their votes crucial to our lives, your name might be Magoo.”

And Franklin added: “Compare the Democrats: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer (Clinton appointees); Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan (Obama appointees) to the Republicans: Clarence Thomas (appointed by George H. W. Bush to take the place of the great Thurgood Marshall, appointed by LBJ); Samuel Alito and John Roberts (appointed by George W. Bush); and Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh (appointed by Trump). I agree with Mitch McConnell that there is no more important outcome of presidential elections than the composition of the Supreme Court, an outcome that will probably be crucial for decades after the four- or eight-year term of Donald Trump. For starters, who will get to appoint the successor to the heroic Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg? The same president who will get to appoint the successor to the 82-year-old Justice Stephen Breyer. If it’s Trump, those two will be replaced by two more Kavanaughs, or worse if possible. Whatever Trump wants to be the law of the land will be validated by that truly supreme court.”

Franklin makes a broader point: “On health care, public education, voting rights, civil rights, the environment, abortion rights, immigration, minimum wages, union rights, and taxation of the wealthy, every vote in the House and Senate splits right along party lines. And these party lines are drawn along the lines of the voting bases of the two parties. The Republican Party today is the party of white supremacy.”

Denial of such realities is dangerous. As my colleagues at the #VoteTrumpOut campaign point out, “For every undocumented family seeking asylum, for every woman seeking access to reproductive healthcare, for every young person fighting to avert climate catastrophe, for every parent afraid of gun violence at their children’s school, for every working class family hoping for some relief from the medical and economic fallout of the coronavirus, life will be very different under a Biden presidency than under four more years of Trump.

“And crucially, Biden is moveable. We’ve already shown that with mass pressure, we can push him to support more progressive policies. Trump, on the other hand, is immune to public persuasion or protest. With a Biden presidency, a disciplined and mobilized left could extract significant victories. With another Trump presidency, the left would have few options and could face new levels of government repression. Our democracy, our planet, and our human rights would continue to sustain enormous -- and potentially irreparable -- damage.”

This is our political crossroads.

(Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and the author of many books including “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.” He was a Bernie Sanders delegate from California for the 2020 Democratic National Convention.)

CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS PROPOSE LAST-MINUTE BILL providing funds for fighting wildfires

Facing another catastrophic wildfire season, state lawmakers are proposing last-minute legislation to tap into a utility-bill fee to free up $500 million for training firefighters and other immediate steps.

mercurynews.com/2020/08/27/california-lawmakers-propose-last-minute-bill-providing-funds-for-fighting-wildfires/

STANDARD OIL, UKIAH

MORE EVIDENCE THAT NUCLEAR POWER IS WILDLY INSANE

Massive Wind Storm Hammers Iowa Power Plant.

Nuclear power plant too damaged to continue operating.

The single unit Duane Arnold nuclear power station, just eight miles northwest of Cedar Rapids, Iowa will not restart following an emergency shutdown on August 10, 2020. The massive derecho [intense wind] storm that swept across much of the nation’s Midwest with sustained winds in excess of 120 miles per hour knocked down the electrical power grid, including to the atomic power reactor. During power operations, nuclear power station safety systems receive 100% of their power from the offsite electric grid. NextEra Energy had already decided in 2018 to permanently close the uneconomical nuclear power station by October 2020 but onsite wind damage prompted the company to permanently shutter the facility early. Duane Arnold had received its license extension from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2010 to operate until 2034 but demonstrated that it could not compete with more economical and reliable wind power generation. 

Duane Arnold had been operating at reduced power since July 9, 2020 because of leaky nuclear fuel in its reactor core. When the hurricane force wind knocked down the grid, the Fukushima-style reactor experienced an automatic SCRAM and the on-site emergency diesel generators turned on to maintain essential safety systems like the reactor cooling pumps to prevent a catastrophic melt down. 

According to a report by the American Wind Energy Association, the Des Moines Register reports, wind energy is Iowa’s largest single source of electricity generation at more than 10,000 megawatts (40%) and growing. Wind power now surpasses coal burning electricity generators in Iowa. 

Source: beyondnuclear.org/nuclear-reactors-whatsnew/2020/8/26/disastrous-derecho-closes-iowas-only-nuke-early-wind-energy.html

BOMBS AWAY

Editor,

Henry should have pulled out.

Let's give Jane Fonda her due! Sometime ago Miss Fonda was pictured in North Vietnam along with a wad of vertically challenged rice eaters. These beauties were sitting on and about an antiaircraft gun used in shooting down American aircraft, killing our American pilots! And adding insult to injury she (Ms. Fonda) had a big grin on that pretty commie face. Must give the devil his due. Not!

Do you think Henry was happy with all that? You fantasize that she was there on a peace mission. Yeah right! In a pig’s nose!

Moving on thereafter our beauty married Mr. Ted Turner. This old rich team owner must have somehow, some way thought he could get her attention or — come on now, teddy bear, let's not get too frisky. The mind is a terrible thing to waste. Please tell me how that worked out if it got that far. Oh, get over that one. I saw your grandpa peeing off the back porch in the afternoon? Our beauty was recorded on national TV at an Atlanta Braves baseball game doing the Indian Tomahawk chop with its racist connotations. You bet! Shame on you, you third letter. Yet a large number of you retards just love her or would like to (censored). They say every one is good at something. That's grand. If you flamers are so thin skinned that you must take John Wayne's pictures down you sure in hell cannot allow Ms. Fonda’s pictures to be put up in public. If you want to pitch you damn well better be ready to catch. Don't want to play? My my! Go home! And that ain't here! Take a boat or swim!

Strong letter to follow!

God bless America, the Donald, and Jerry Philbrick,

Getting Older and A lot Angrier.

Boonville

FOUND OBJECT