MCT: Tuesday, October 6, 2020

• Cooler Ahead
• Full Mars
• Fire Updates
• 1010 Cases
• Mari Ill
• Ballots Mailed
• Bridge Wreck
• FB Dropbox
• Moonstone Cave
• Community Service
• Write-in Candidate
• Mars Bar
• Bad Weeders
• MSP Updates
• Chestnut Gathering
• Old Albion
• Museum Events
• Wages Creek
• Ed Notes
• Yesterday's Catch
• Zappa Interview
• Covid Deathrate
• Steroid Recovery
• Parrazzo Websites
• Kibesillah 1882
• Comments
• Hospital Entrance
• Prohibition Fails
• Antifa Terrorist
• Ginsburg Institute
• Permission Note
• Trump Travails
• Tele Vision
• Corporate Theocrat
• Found Object

AN UPPER RIDGE currently located over the western United States is forecast to break down during the second half of the week as upper troughing occurs over the northeastern Pacific Ocean. A series of storms systems will then impact the West Coast, which will favor cooler and more humid conditions, as well as periods of rain Friday and Saturday. (NWS)

RAIN? Cal Fire meteorologist Tom Bird said the North Bay has just around a 25% chance of a quarter-inch of rain. “Whereas we may see some rain on the fire this weekend, I do not believe it will be significant enough to be a season-ending event,” he said. Bird said winds should shift to blowing from the northwest starting Wednesday, bringing a marine layer and causing significantly cooler temperatures and more humid conditions for both the interior valleys and burn areas in the hills through the rest of the week. (via Press Democrat)

FULL MARS TONIGHT. The red planet will be bright in the sky as Earth passes between it and the sun this evening, the closest Mars has come to our dying planet in 17 years.

More info: mars.nasa.gov/all-about-mars/night-sky/close-approach/

FIRE UPDATES (Tuesday morning)

Glass Fire: 66,840 acres; 50% contained; 1,411 structures destroyed

Crews fighting the Glass Fire experienced moderate fire behavior throughout the night due to poor humidity recovery and above average temperatures at the higher elevations. Aggressive mop up and tactical patrol continue in areas where the fire’s forward progress has stopped. Heavy dead and down fuels continue to threaten the fire line. As people start returning home, be vigilant that emergency crews are still working in the area..

A local assistance center will open Monday, October 5 at Napa County Health and Human Services campus: 2751 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Building A, Napa, CA 94558.

A local assistance center in Sonoma County is open in the City of Santa Rosa: Maria Carillo High School 6975 Montecito Blvd., Santa Rosa, CA 95409

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August Complex: 1,006,140 acres; 60% contained; 199 structures destroyed

North Zone

(Redding, CA) – The August Complex has been divided into four zones: Northwest, Northeast, South and West. The dividing line between the Northeast Zone and the Northwest Zone is along South Fork Mountain, crossing State Route 36 near milepost 56 and continuing north along the South Fork Trinity River. Two zones will provide more supervisory personnel, increased oversight and improved the effectiveness of fire resources. Crews who have been working in the Ruth Valley will be the same to preserve that continuity. Smoke is expected to stay in valleys throughout the day. Light wind at mid-slopes and ridgetops today will be from an easterly direction, and winds may shift to upslope in the afternoon. 

Northeast Zone – Yesterday, lower winds and smoky conditions moderated the fire’s behavior, but it continued to spread due to low humidity and dry fuels. Firefighters took advantage of these moderate conditions to strengthen existing containment lines and work directly on firelines where possible. 

Along the northern edge of the fire, dozers on both sides of the South Fork Trinity River are building line to tie in with crews working from the east along Forest Road 14. Multiple contingency lines utilizing forest roads and old fuel breaks, northwest of Post Mountain to South Fork Trinity River, are also being improved utilizing dozers followed by hand crews and masticators. Fire crews secured a 6-acre spot fire, yesterday, south of SR 36 in the Rattlesnake Creek drainage near mile marker 68. SR 36 remains closed from the Trinity County line east to State Route 3, due to active fire, hazardous trees and heavy fire traffic. 

The fire that spotted over the fire line near Round Mountain, approximately 5 miles south of Wildwood, has become well established and is in the upper Beegum Creek drainage—an area that is difficult to access. There, firefighters are engaging in direct suppression where possible and continue to strengthen contingency lines. The community of Wildwood remains in an Evacuation Warning status as of this morning. Crews are assessing and developing structure protection plans in Wildwood, Platina, and nearby communities.

Northwest Zone - Yesterday, crews responded to and extinguished several spot fires that moved over the line near the SR (Hwy) 36 and South Fork Ridge area. Fixed wing aircraft equipped with infrared sensors were used last night to gain further information that will aid firefighters in locating and snuffing out any further spot fires. Contingency and alternate lines are being identified in the event that the fire moves further north. Firefighters successfully conducted firing operations to reduce fuel in order to protect the Journey’s End structure as well as others in the area. This will attempt to pinch off the fire as it backs down the hillside. Spot fires are being put out and mop up will continue around the southeast side of Ruth Lake. Crews will take advantage of the reduced vegetation within the previous Gobbler and Lassics Fires to slow the spread from Black Lassic towards the west side of the Ruth Lake. 

In the Zenia area, crews will improve dozer contingency lines in anticipation of possibly carrying out night firing operations. By doing this in the evening, crews hope to take advantage of the higher humidity and lower winds to safely provide a slow creeping fire to reduce fuel between the fire front and the contingency lines. Along this front, this continued coordination with CAL FIRE is critical to our success is containing this fire. Where crews cannot directly fight the fire due to terrain or safety concerns, they are using indirect techniques such as anchoring to road systems and using dozer lines for containment well ahead of where the fire is currently burning. 

For more information on the North Zone, call (530)-628-0039.

West Zone

CAL FIRE’s unified team and the U.S. Forest Service are engaged in a coordinated and collaborative response to take suppressive action on the August Complex, which has been reconfigured into four zones, to effectively provide a response for the communities at risk. Due to resource draw down throughout the state, CAL FIRE’s Incident Management Team requested the California National Guard to assist with fire suppression efforts and as a result of CAL FIRE’s request, 138 National Guard personnel are assigned to the incident. Additionally, resources from across the state of California as well as Montana, Texas, Washington and New Jersey have been assigned to assist on the August Complex-West Zone. The August Complex-West Zone has burned 134,836 acres, peaking at a span of 266 miles of fire line to date, and is 60% contained with approximately 1,600 firefighters battling the fire from the air and the ground. Fire activity increased overnight with areas of isolated torching observed. Active fire behavior remained above the community of Zenia and continued to move towards the south and west in Buttermilk Creek. Dangerously low humidity levels; which are unprecedented for this area; remain a hinder to fire suppression efforts. Firefighters persevered as they continued to reinforce containment lines, identify any hazards, improve indirect lines, insert hose lays to support fire lines and protect structures. Today will bring more high temperatures with low humidity. Terrain driven south, southeast winds will be present in the morning, with south, southwest winds and wind gusts up to 17 miles per hour in the afternoon and evening. Challenging conditions remain with active spot fires within heavy timber and steep rugged terrain as crews work to hold the fire within current control lines and strengthen containment lines. Assistance continues on the August Complex – North Zone. Incident Commanders continue to monitor the fire burning in the Yolla-Bolly Middle Eel Wilderness, which is part of the August Complex – North Zone.

FIVE MORE COVID CASES reported for Mendocino County on Monday. Total now 1010. 

2ND DISTRICT SUPERVISOR CANDIDATE, Mari Rodin, confirmed Monday afternoon that she was ill and unable to participate in a zoom candidate's night scheduled for tonight (Monday) by the on-line website, Mendocino Voice. Asked if she'd been felled by Covid, Ms. Rodin replied, “I’ll be sharing more information as I have it, but it might be a few days. Looking forward to the rescheduled debate Oct 19th.” 

MAIL BALLOT AVAILABILITY

Mail Ballots (aka Vote By Mail or Absentee Ballots) were mailed to all active registered voters in Mendocino County today, Monday, October 5, 2020 and are available now in the County Clerk's Office, for the Statewide (Presidential) General Election, to be held on November 3, 2020, according to Katrina Bartolomie, Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder. The County Clerk's Office is located in Room 1020 of the County Administration Building located at 501 Low Gap Road, Ukiah. The normal delivery is five to seven days, if you do not receive your ballot within one week, please call our office at (707) 234-6819 for a replacement ballot. 

Sample Ballots (local voter information booklets) were mailed by our vendor and should have arrived in your homes last week, if you do not receive your Sample Ballot by the end of this week, please call our office so we can send you one. 

According to the Secretary of State’s office, the State Voter Information Guides (VIG) that include information on the statewide propositions have been delayed, but should be arriving later this week. If you would like to view the VIG online, please visit: https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/ 

Katrina Bartolomie would like to remind voters who wish to vote in the November 3, 2020 election, that The Last Day To Register To Vote Is October 19, 2020 to receive a regular ballot in the mail. Please call our office for a Voter Registration card or go to: https://registertovote.ca.gov/ to register to vote online. 

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

VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT DROP BOX INSTALLED AT FORT BRAGG CITY HALL 

On Monday, October 5, 2020, the Mendocino County Elections Office mailed all registered voters their 2020 General Election ballots. The normal delivery time is five to seven business days, so be sure to monitor your mailbox during this upcoming week. 

Completed vote by mail ballots may be dropped off at the utility bill payment slot to the right of the front doors at City Hall, 416 N. Franklin Street, Fort Bragg, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, between now and election day, November 3, 2020. Secure ballot retrieval procedures have been set up for transportation of the ballots from City Hall to the County Elections Office in Ukiah, following strict chain of custody protocols established by the County Registrar of Voters/Elections Official.

City Clerk June Lemos stated, “Ballots will be batched and counted several times a day by two City employees, myself as Elections Official and one other staff member, and maintained in a locked ballot box in a locked and secure location at City Hall until retrieved by the County.” The County will schedule pickups every other day to start and then every day as the number of ballots dropped off increases closer to Election Day.

There are no local measures on this ballot, and the incumbent Councilmembers, Will Lee and Bernie Norvell, were appointed to the two open Council seats on August 13 when no other candidates qualified for the election.

For further information on the upcoming election, view the County Press Releases on the Election: mendocinocounty.org/government/assessor-county-clerk-recorder-elections/elections/press-releases

Questions regarding this information should be directed to June Lemos, CMC, City Clerk, at (707) 961- 1694. 

NIGHT LIGHT OF THE NORTH COAST: Strange Looks at the Beach

by David Wilson

A trip to the beach in search of night light yielded a few views to share from Humboldt’s beautiful Pacific coast. Though most poignant was an image of a dead ray lying on the beach, its tail in the still waters of Little River where it emptied into the ocean, it was the beauty of the world seen from a cave that called to me most.

I would have let the cave image stand alone. It should, in a way, but in working with it, other things started happening. The image took me on a visual trip of its own as I played with it. I noticed the forms and shapes and how things might line up. I moved the image around, trying this and that until, as I looked through the cave’s opening, a face stared back at me. Hmm. I played some more. More faces. 

I will leave you with them now, and let your imagination do the rest.

The cave’s mouth opened onto a world of dazzling light and color beneath the cosmos. A shooting star stabbed across the camera’s eye. The bright point near its tip is Saturn, while the brightest point is Jupiter. To their right is the Milky Way. September 18, 2020. Humboldt County, California.

(To keep abreast of David Wilson’s most current photography or purchase a print, visit or contact him at his website mindscapefx.com or follow him on Instagram at @david_wilson_mfx and on Twitter @davidwilson_mfx.)

VIVA, AVALOS!

To the Editor,

I’d like to bring your attention to Perla Gaona & Alvaro Avalos, the owners of L&B Avalos Auto Shop in Point Arena. They and their children spent Sunday picking up the litter on Mountain View Road. I am so grateful to them for their community service. Good people.

Stay safe and well.

Alethea Patton

Point Arena

CANDIDATE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THIS ELECTION

Editor,

I have filed papers and am running as an offical write-in candidate for the Point Arena City Council.

There are three seats up for election and only two candidates on the ballot, so I am hoping to fill the third.

If you decide to vote for me you will need to check the box next to “Write-In” and enter my name. 

If elected, I promise to be a nice guy.

Eric Dahlhoff

Point Arena

REPORTS OF ILLEGAL CANNABIS GROWERS STEALING EQUIPMENT AND POINTING LASERS AT FIREFIGHTERS BATTLING THE AUGUST COMPLEX

Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall has confirmed Cal Fire personnel staffing the August Complex Fire have reported multiple encounters with illegal cannabis growers, on one occasion being robbed of a water pump essential for firefighting efforts. Sheriff Kendall said the water pump theft occurred on Monday, September 28, along Mina Road outside of Round Valley.

kymkemp.com/2020/10/01/reports-of-illegal-cannabis-growers-stealing-equipment-and-pointing-lasers-at-firefighters-battling-the-august-complex/

AN UPDATE: Mendocino Sports Plus Continuation, Memorial, The Dog

by Shane McCarthy

I wanted to take a moment to answer some remaining questions I've been asked lately. Apologies for the long format. 

1. "What will happen with MSP?"

It's going to continue in some capacity, but not by me directly taking my dad's place. My original role in MSP was minimal - occasional technical support. I work a full time job and would not be able to service this page beyond admin duties.

So MSP will either Aggregate the news from other pages passing the news torch, or have volunteer editors take up a specific beat to report on MSP directly, so that the work is distributed and frequently reported. Before that, I would need to delete all the Messages DM'd to MSP to protect the confidentiality of user submissions and tips. 

The majority of you wanted MSP to continue, even if it will never be the same. 

However,

A fair amount reached out to me privately asking that should it continue it should NOT be under the MSP name. 

I think both of these thoughts are valid. 

The news shouldn't disappear with one person, but MSP was, and always is a thing built and driven by my dad.

I want to make sure we get the continuation right so it will be awhile before MSP comes back.

In the mean time, I will pin alternative local news pages in the interim so you can stay plugged in. If I miss any, please let me know.

2."Are you holding a Memorial for Paul? When is it?"

Yes, but not anytime soon. 

Probably next year. I am profoundly uncomfortable holding a memorial with even the remote possibility that one of you could get sick from it. It will also give me time to plan something special he would have liked.

3. "How is the Dog? What happened to him?" 

I've rehomed Willie and he is doing well. Getting Willie taken care of was one of my first priorities, and it is very difficult to find a place for a male dog that still needs to be fixed (in a time when getting that done takes months...). 

He now is settled in a home where he will be fed well and have all his needs looked after. I will still be able to visit him when I come back to the coast so it's the best outcome I think.

Thank you for your patience and support in this time. 

The sudden passing of my father has been very difficult, and the timing between the fires, Covid pandemic, my work, has complicated an already hard situation. 

Take care, and stay safe. 

Shane

THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN at Zeni Ranch

37th annual chestnut gathering at the Zeni Ranch will be Saturday October 31st. Halloween. 10 am to 4 pm.

Covid rules will be followed and masks required. No potluck this year because of covid but you can bring a lunch and enjoy one of the picnic areas.

Adult and kids costume contest.

Pumpkin carving contest for kids (if you can't bring a pumpkin to carve some will be available).

Dogs on leashes ok but you're responsible for your dog. 

Chestnuts are $3.50 a pound if you pick and $4.50 a pound if already picked.

Call or text Jane Zeni 707-684-6892

Also we will have fresh raw chestnut honey, Zeni Ranch T-shirts and our popular nut sacks.

GRACE HUDSON OFFERS FALL PROGRAM: Online, outdoors, and open to all:

On Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m to 3 p.m., the Grace Hudson Museum will host an outdoor walk in the Wild Gardens. Self-guided materials will be available, and Little Bear will be presiding over his table of Native tools and toys. The event is free. Social distancing protocols will be in effect. 

The Grace Hudson Museum is at 431 S. Main St. in Ukiah. For more information please go to www.gracehudsonmuseum.org

Grace Hudson Museum has put together a fall program that will offer education, community, inspiration and enjoyment to carry all of us into the holiday season. Beginning this Saturday, October 10th in the Wild Gardens and stretching through December 6th with a livestreaming Holiday Special, the program includes a talk on Inuit printmaking with Leslie Saxon West; an acorn harvest in the Wild Gardens later in the season; and a virtual book club reading about Grace Hudson's grandmother, an early activist for women's rights. All events on the fall calendar are free. 

The Wild Gardens will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday for visitors to take a stroll. Exploration is encouraged with self-guided materials. Little Bear will be presiding over his popular table of Native tools and toys. The Wild Gardens is a work in progress designed to showcase native plants and their habitats, and to learn about environmental sustainability and the cultural traditions of the Pomo Indians, Ukiah Valley's original inhabitants. The Gardens feature an outdoor classroom with open-air seating; a fish trap sculpture and artisanal benches; and replicas of a salmon stream, wetlands, and other native environments. 

Visitors are requested to observe social distancing and to wear masks during their visit. There will be a limit of 50 people in the garden at one time. 

WAGES CREEK (early 1900s)

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ED NOTES

MARSHAL NEWMAN WRITES: “According to the gauge, the current Navarro River flow is 0.22 cubic feet per second, equal to 2014, the lowest recorded flow on this date in 69 years.”

AND the battered Navarro looks sicker than I’ve ever seen it, with that yellowish-lime green algae from stem to stern.

VERNON AND CHARLENE ROLLINS have been burned out of their Southern Oregon home and are soliciting re-build funds on GoFundMe. Which Boonville people are unlikely to donate to given that the locally infamous founders of the New Boonville Hotel fled the Anderson Valley in the middle of the night owing locals alotta money. Read all about it (without mention of the couple’s inconvenient history) in the Medford newspaper: medfordmailtribune.or.newsmemory.com/?publink=07e21200f

STRIDING into Farm Supply one day last week like I owned the place, the young man at the counter said, “Excuse me, sir, but do you have a mask?” I grabbed my face. God’s teeth! No mask. First time I hadn’t masked up upon leaving my presumably plague-free office that day. Did a quick about face, got my mug covered, completed the transaction. 

THE HUMILIATION of the 49ers' quarterback, Nick Mullens, Sunday evening was painful to watch, as he suffered such a terrible game against Philadelphia he singlehandedly lost it. And was jerked off the field for the third-string qb who looked very, very good by comparison. The camera returned several times to flash Mullens standing by his dejected self on the sidelines. Off this one terrible performance the guy faces unemployment. (At least we Niner diehards got that amazing jump-the-defender touchdown by Brandon Aiyuk.)

A PREPOSTEROUS NOTION flashed across my brain pan. What if we could freeze-frame insane, or merely incompetent, performances by, say, the Board of Supervisors, or some of their wacky administrators? Mullen-ize them? Lots of people, not just jocks, are routinely exposed for outrageous performance, and how gratifying it would be to apply basic performance standards to our elected officials, including public bureaucrats, judges (for sure — we've had some doozies here in Mendo), and even local news gathering organizations, including this one. If Mendo's news gatherers had an eye on them they might more often surpass their obvious limitations to become positively inspirational. As it is, our focus is on the Supes, whose meetings are like six hours of someone lightly tapping on your skull with a tack hammer. Here in Boonville, on the Tuesdays the Supes meet, it's Bummer Day, throughout which our sound track is a constant stream of violent pejoratives along the lines of, "I'm paying property taxes to fund this?

W. BUSH was a much worse president than Trump. Bush destabilized the entire world with his pretext lie invasion of Iraq, and the world has stayed destabilized. But Bush didn't dominate the news like Trump. Every day all day it's Trump, and sure enough today (Monday), we get the Miracle Cure: “I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30pm. Feeling real good! Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago.”

SOMETHING'S big time fishy about all this. How can you go from oxygen and last ditch drugs to "Hey, I'm fine" in the space of five days? And the great pumpkin's return to the White House, breathlessly covered by all the tv channels? Prime time, of course.

COULDA KNOCKED ME OVER with a feather. Lead story in this week's ICO: “Wildfires continue to devastate California.” Fake news? Next the ICO is probably going to tell us that's where all the smoke is coming from!

CATCH OF THE DAY, October 5, 2020

LAURA ADAMS, Ukiah. Disobeying court order, failure to appear, probation revocaiton.

ERIC BACH, Ukiah. Failures to appear.

SONO CARRIGG, Ukiah. Vandalism, parole violation. (Frequent flyer.)

KELLEY CRUZ, Ukiah. DUI.

KENNETH DEWITT JR., Ukiah. Parole violation.

DAVID MARQUEZ, Ukiah. DUI, no license.

ANGEL MILLER, Ukiah. Parole violation.

SAMUEL SOUSA, Ukiah. Domestic battery.

KEVIN STARNES, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol. (Frequent flyer.)

LARRY WEBB, Sacramento/Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

KELLY WOOD, Willits. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, protective order violation.

PLAYBOY INTERVIEWS FRANK ZAPPA

Playboy: Were you tempted by drugs?

Frank Zappa: All you'd have to do was look at the people who used them and that was enough. People would do frightening things and think it was fantastic. Then they would discuss it endlessly with the next guy, who had taken the same drug. I tried marijuana and waited for something to happen. I got a sore throat and it made me sleepy. I'd look at them and go, "Why?" I'm not going to be Bill Clinton and say I never inhaled. I did inhale. I couldn't understand what the big attraction was. I liked tobacco a lot better.

Playboy: Were you involved in other aspects of the counterculture?

Zappa: In order to be a part of it, you had to buy into the whole drug package. You had to have been experienced, in the Jimi Hendrix sense of the word. And all the people I knew who had been experienced were on the cusp of being zombies.

Playboy: Was it disconcerting that your audiences were high much of the time?

Zappa: The worst part of it for me was that I really didn't like the smell of marijuana. I had to go into a place that had the purple haze and work for a couple of hours in that. They were entitled to do whatever they wanted, so long as they didn't drive into me under the influence of it.

Playboy: But you told people drugs were stupid, before Nancy Reagan did.

Zappa: One of the reasons we weren't rabidly popular at that time was that I said what was on my mind about drugs.

Playboy: Did you feel like an outsider? It's safe to say that every other major rock star in those days was doing drugs.

Zappa: Looped. It wasn't just the other musicians but the people in the band. The guys in the band who wished they could do drugs couldn't because it meant unemployment. I was unpopular for it. As for the rock stars, if you've met them, you know that they generally have very little on their minds. I never had any great desire to hang out with them.

Playboy: Is there rhyme or reason behind the subjects you choose to attack?

Zappa: Whatever I'm mad at at the time. I like things that work. If something doesn't, the first question you have to ask is, Why? if it's not working and you know why, then you have to ask, "Why isn't somebody doing something about it?" The government, for starters. Most institutions. The nation's education system is completely fucked up.

Playboy: Fucked up how?

Zappa: The schools are worthless because the books are worthless. They still are on the level of George Washington and the cherry tree and "I cannot tell a lie." The books have all been bowdlerized by committees responding to pressure from right-wing groups to make every aspect of the history books consistent with the cryptofascist view-point. When you send your kids to school, that's what they're dealing with. Your children are being presented with these documents, part of a multibillion-dollar industry, which are absolutely fraudulent. Kids' heads are crammed with so many nonfacts that when they get out of school they're totally unprepared to do anything. They can't read, they can't write, they can't think. Talk about child abuse. The U.S. school system as a whole qualifies.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY (early Monday morning)

If Trump leaves the hospital on Monday it will be because he insists on being released. It won’t be because he is discharged per doctor’s recommendations or direction. He’ll then be right back in, or be dead.

Today I think I know why he felt good enough to go on his little “joy ride” to show his supporters he’s “well”. He was given the steroid dexamethasone. Even when quite ill it can temporarily make you feel good. A month ago my Dad was hospitalized with Sepsis and almost died. He’s been on prescription steroids for many years due to Addison’s Disease, which John F. Kennedy had, btw. (Addison’s destroys the adrenal glands which is why you have to take steroids in order to live. This is why JFK went from being quite thin like his brother RFK to being bulked up with a thicker neck). Anyway, long story short, my Dad’s doctor temporarily quadrupled his steroid intake in order to help his body handle the stress of being in such bad shape with the Sepsis. He quickly felt much, much better. Stronger even. I’m betting this happened with Trump today.

From the LA Times today:

“Like other steroids, dexamethasone can have significant side effects that could have an impact on Trump’s ability to work. Those can include irritability, mood swings and trouble sleeping, according to medical experts. By reducing fever and discomfort, it can also make patients feel temporarily better even if their illness and risk haven’t changed, Dr. Robert M. Wachter, head of the Department of Medicine at UC San Francisco, said on Twitter.”

I believe this is going to ultimately do Trump in. Maybe not right away, but due to his cavalier Benr type mentality probably will be pretty soon. If not, complications from COVID will keep dogging him until it finally kills him. He has several risk factors. And I believe he has had a mini-stroke or two that he has successfully kept hidden from the public.

From the same LA Times article:

“The disclosure that Trump is receiving dexamethasone is a clear signal that his illness is a serious one, said Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. In an interview Saturday, Jha said he would watch for use of dexamethasone, which would be a “very clear signal that he has a more severe disease.””

TRUMP-LINKED CONSULTANT TIED TO FACEBOOK PAGES WARNING ELECTION WILL CAUSE CIVIL WAR

Network run by fake news-publishing father and son spreads word to Trump supporters they should prepare for violence in November.

theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/04/revealed-trump-linked-consultant-facebook-pages-warning-election-cause-civil-war

ON LINE COMMENTS OF THE WEEK

[1] To the ava: I have heard from law enforcement that there was a "pissing contest" between the feds and Calfire. The feds told Calfire to stand down. I heard that Calfire would have or possibly could have kept the August Complex fire two or three ridges to the east of the Sanhedrin and Impassable Rock if the feds had let Calfire go to it sooner. As you have your finger on the pulse of Amnesia County I'm curious as to what news you have about this. I live in the Hearst area, "across the bridge" in a mandatory evacuation zone and I went to Emandel when the warnings were issued because I work there. We set up nightly watches of 90 minutes each watching dozers work all night on Sunday, September 13 on top of the ridge. During the day when smoke allowed the flights came in here. Ace pilots, for sure! PS. Previously I suggested a crash pool for the Willits Bypass. Boy was I wrong. It must be wider than I thought. (I've never been on it.) PPS. I just listened to the presidential debate. They should be put in soundproof booths so they can turn off whoever is not supposed to be speaking!

 [2] Trump just showed himself even more clearly in contrast to Biden, who is a real human being. At the end I felt sick at my stomach, literally. At one point wanted to turn it off, but I wanted to see if Biden could hold his ground and speak away from Trumps traps. He did it well and he spoke to the American people directly I thought it was good for people to get this full dose of ugliness, not that we haven’t seen it, but this format actually allowed Trump to puff himself up fully like some kind of reptile and go for the jugular. I thought Biden did well. This country needs healing. If there is any politician of long tenure who can bring that to this country, it’s probably him. I like the fact that he is ordinary. We need ordinary as soon as possible. If they win the Senate and Biden wins, it might be possible to turn this train away from the wreck it is approaching.

[3] It's understandable that Trump is fed up and angry and correctly feels that the injustice over the fictitious Russiagate will be swept under the rug if Biden is elected. And it will be — Biden isn’t the only one with “memory” problems. James Comey just can’t remember anything important about it no matter how hard he tries. It’s amazing but no one told him anything — as far as he can remember. 

Trump should have realized never interrupting and using his full time to advantage would have served him best but that’s not his personality. He could have brought up Hunter Biden’s cash stream effectively but it turned on him when Biden went on a tirade about his dead son Beau who honorably served. 

Chris Wallace was pretty obviously pro-Biden but to give him credit he did ask him one very compelling question: did you ever pick up the phone and call the mayor of Portland or the governor of Oregon about the on-going riots? Biden slithered out of it by saying “he’s not in government now” but the question was pointedly about his moral authority as head of the Democratic party. 

We are in big trouble as a country (no surprise to anyone who can read) as both parties are preparing to accuse the other of voter fraud and not accept the outcome.

[4] This crud spreads like wildfire without mitigation. Bullshit, It is no more contagious than any other flu or virus. Just luck of the draw. I may be infected tomorrow, but in the past couple of months I have traveled coast to coast. I do not wear a mask unless absolutely forced to. At first I masked up to humor some folks, and I still don a mask around some old friends who have other health issues and are scared of the virus. The stupidest thing the USA did was to shut down the economy over this. I have a few friends that have contracted the virus and came through with flying colors. Some at the age of 65 or so and some in their 30’s. I personally don’t know anyone who died from covid. It hasn’t spread like wildfire in my community. Here, it has mostly been a problem for more elderly people, (80 yrs. and up). A local nursing home had the most deaths, but there too, some residents who were stricken recovered surprisingly fast.

[5] I am still somewhat astonished that people can seriously think the Obama was anything but a middle-of-the-road conciliator in the overwhelming majority of his policies.

Aside from the ACA, which Congress passed and he signed, which was a highly laudable effort to provide insurance and healthcare to some of the millions of the uncovered in the US, even if imperfectly done, he was clearly a centrist policy wonk.

The only thing divisive about Obama was that he was of mixed-race parentage. He wasn’t a bully, he didn’t name-call or try to humiliate opponents, and he presented himself as a someone who took the job he had seriously and intelligently, even if I disagreed with many of his policy decisions. Calling him the “Great Divider-in-Chief reeks a bit of simple racism.

If you were going to blame the Trump presidency on anything, I’d suggest it was the DNC machine insistence on pushing the highly unlikeable Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.

[6] TRUMPERS AND ARCATA:

Food for thought… My wife, daughter, granddaughter and myself we’re in this Trump support parade, With my daughter driving and my 12 year old granddaughter sitting in the passenger seat. And let me say, the turnout of participants and the support driving through Fortuna Eureka and McKinleyville was incredible. About 25 of us drove through Arcata which was an entirely different story. For a town which touts itself on its diversity and inclusiveness it really showed his true colors. Besides being 100% immune to being flipped the bird now, and hearing many people wishing death upon our President we were all called racists over and over. While driving through the all inclusive farmers market our truck was accosted we were spit at. A 50 something aged grown woman flipped off my 12-year-old little girl and called her a racist pig, While a 50 something grown man tried to rip the flag out of my wife’s hand while telling her to go fuck herself. The icing on the cake was the young lady who told us that Arcata wasn’t OUR town and to get the fuck out of there. Reminder, none of these people know us.. The vile Bias and bigoted hatred Spewing from their distorted faces was absolutely unforgettable. Also, I may not live in Arcata but I have had a job for the last 21 years in which I provide a very essential service for this community and I do it with a smile and love in my heart No matter how many BLM , we believe or Biden signs They have in their yard. But I can’t promise this, and I’m sorry to all the entrepreneurs in Arcata. I will never spend another dime in the city of Arcata again. Please, let’s not forget we are all human and should treat each other as such.

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY #2

Absolutely wrong about prohibition being a solution to the “drug problem”. We tried it with alcohol, and the only result was more people drinking, corruption of law enforcement as well as the judicial system, and the massive boost it gave to organized crime – a policy blunder that still plagues us today. We’ve also tried it with illegal drugs like marijuana, hallucinogens, opioids, and stimulants with exactly the same results. It simply doesn’t work. The demand is too great and the money to be made supplying that demand is worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Mexico is a prime example of how an entire country can be destabilized by the drug trade. So no, ruthlessly cracking down on “the last mile dealers” has been tried and it’s an abject failure. I’ve even heard dim bulbs who know nothing about the history of prohibition say that we should execute drug dealers. If they knew anything about the subject, they would know that back in Merry Olde England, pickpockets made their best hauls at hangings – when the penalty for picking pockets was hanging.

GINSBURG INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE NEEDED FOR OUR DEPLETED DEMOCRACY

by Ralph Nader

Jean Monnet – a founder of the European Union once said: “Nothing is possible without men, but nothing is lasting without institutions.”

I’m reminded of his observation each time our country loses a “just” Supreme Court Justice. So, what will follow after the few days of prominent encomiums at memorial events and editorial praise of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

Historians will record her decisions, writings, and advocacy. Many people will celebrate her groundbreaking contributions to equal rights for women and other civil rights. Justice Ginsburg’s fervent admirers, however, should look not only at past accomplishments but to creative ways to build on a great and enduring legacy.

Several years ago, I tried to interest some of Justice John Paul Stevens’ former law clerks (many of whom became successful lawyers) to enlist their colleagues in establishing a “John Paul Stevens Institute for Justice.” In 2014, retired Justice Stevens, at age 94, had just published another book – Six Amendments: How And Why We Should Change The Constitution. This book was then the latest product in his vigorous retirement period of writings and addresses.

I wrote to Justice Stevens urging him to give a nod to his 100 or more clerks, many of whom were wealthy attorneys. He was too modest. A few former clerks showed interest, but not to the point of initiating action.

A similar attempt to persuade supporters of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor fell flat. At the time, she was pressing hard for full legal aid for poor people seeking justice and real civic education in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools.

After she retired from the Court, she criticized the 2010 Supreme Court decision – Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission – that opened the floodgates for corporate campaign cash. Her former clerks did not envision an “Institute for Justice” in honor of their adored mentor. Justice O’Connor was also honest enough to publicly acknowledge regret about her vote in the 5-4 decision to install George W. Bush as president.

Was I just engaging in fanciful dreaming about adding these new institutional oak trees for justice to replenish our depleting democratic forest? Not at all. A vibrant Brennan Center for Justice has been on the ramparts for justice since 1995. Located at New York University Law School, it was founded by the family and former law clerks of Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, who was nominated to the Court by President Eisenhower.

With an annual budget of $26 million, the tough Brennan Center for Justice has produced a remarkable output on ways to advance improvements in criminal justice, electoral procedures, and broader public participation in the circles of power.

The Center has been described as “part think-tank, part public interest law firm [that litigates] and part communications hub,” working to advance “equal justice for all.”

It started when one former law clerk stepped up, followed by more who joined the effort to create this institutional tribute to Justice Brennan. Together, they raised the seed money and this new institution was launched to implement the law as if people mattered first and foremost.

The same kind of institution can be created quickly, should Justice Ginsburg’s over 100 law clerks, from her many years as a federal circuit court judge and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, heed Jean Monnet’s words.

Given the immense goodwill and unprecedented popular fame of Justice Ginsburg, especially among women, as a pioneering lawyer and jurist, raising the basic funding should be easy. Moreover, foundations would line up to back this initiative and its projects.

For this to happen, the energy from the huge outpouring of accolades since her passing on September 18, 2020, need to be promptly transformed into an operating vision and not left as a nostalgic memory.

Some of the former law clerks who could form the core group are Amanda L. Tyler, professor of law at the University of California-Berkeley; Kelsi Corkran, who heads the Supreme Court practice at a large law firm; Ruthanne Deutsch, an appellate litigator; Elizabeth Prelogar, a Supreme Court and appellate litigator; Trevor W. Morrison, Dean of New York University School of Law; Neil S. Siegel, professor of law and political science at Duke University School of Law; Paul Schiff Berman, professor of law at George Washington University Law School; and many others who revered and were so inspired by the feisty, resilient, kind Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

I’m sure that Brennan Center’s president, Michael Waldman, would be pleased to share his experience in furthering such a noble and lasting mission.

Is there any better way to compliment Justice Ginsburg’s legacy and carry forward her foundational work for the American people? It is really entirely in the hands of Justice Ginsburg’s admirers to accomplish this worthy goal.

Perhaps the creation of the Ginsburg Institute for Justice will jumpstart the now influential former clerks of Justice Stevens and Justice O’Connor to follow the example of Justice Brennan’s clerks. It is never too late for more institutional infusions toward a just society.

(Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate, lawyer and author of Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!)

OUT OF THE WOODS?

by James Kunstler

Hallelujahs echoed across the Blue Media late last week when the news broke that Donald Trump tested positive for coronavirus. For four years the president had foiled every ambuscade set along his path by a morally-inflamed, predatory Resistance, and each time he beep-beeped his way around the trap. But, now, with a little help from a pitiless universe, they had him! A gazillion tiny, viral assassins were stealing through his bloodstream like so many microscopic jihadis, primping him for an agonizing death: his alveoli withering, red corpuscles robbed of their vital O2, pink foam issuing from his nostrils, toes and fingers turning blue-green — and most deliciously of all, he’d remain conscious of his imminent defeat, of the life (which he’d never deserved in the first place) draining by degrees from his wicked, orange, bloated, supine carcass…

Except… wait a minute… what the hell…? How could it be! Late Sunday he somehow arose from his bed-of-death, ordered pizza (with meat!) for a thousand imps and demons camped outside Walter Reed Hospital, and walked under his own power (!) into a limousine to take a ride around the block and wave at his unholy minions! The cheek of this man!

CNN had a whack attack. Brian Stelter was beside himself, hinting that sinister forces had punked the network, and all the other righteous Resistance cadres, and that Mr. Trump could be endangering every federal employee down to the enlisted men posted overseas by venturing from his sickroom. The New York Times went farther afield (of course), declaring that “the murky and shifting narrative of his illness was rewritten again with grim new details.” Nicely put by an outfit that has come to specialize in shifting narratives!

And indeed, the new Resistance narrative demands to know just exactly when did the president start to feel ill? Did he, perhaps on-purpose, haul his ailing, hulking, scheming Golem ass into the Cleveland debate venue with the hope of infecting his rival, delicate Ol’ White Joe Biden? Did he recklessly put at risk the White House staff, dignitaries and luminaries coming and going, their family members, associates, underlings, servants, children? Did he threaten the global order, world peace, the fate of humanity?

So now, a keening wail of lamentation rings out across the land at Mr. Trump’s possible, dastardly recovery. How dare he! — to paraphrase Saint Greta Thunberg. 209,000 other Americans died, and not him! What vile and unholy devices got him out of a sure death sentence? No doubt Democratic Party astrologasters and consulting augurers will be searching for clues among the orbiting planets and the spilled organs of sacrificed chickens in the days to come. Perhaps Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) can snare a few of the president’s attending physicians into his House Intel Committee and rev up another impeachment for going against doctors’ orders. Wouldn’t that be a delectable counter to the looming confirmation process for Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement next door in the Senate this month?

Over his dead body, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is hinting — a tantalizing prospect, with Covid-19 on the loose. It was Chuck who memorably told Rachel Maddow of MSNBC in 2017 that the Deep State “has six ways from [sic] Sunday at getting back at you.” By my count, they’re well over their allotted six by now. Not only did they all fail, but the seditionists behind them are liable to wind up behind bars before this is all over, perhaps even a few of Senator Schumer’s colleagues.

Anyway, Majority Leader McConnell isn’t buying Mr. Schumer’s sob story. “The Senate’s floor schedule will not interrupt the thorough, fair and historically supported confirmation process,” McConnell said on Saturday. The hearings are pegged to begin on October 12. Prediction: they will run three days, tops, and the nominee will sail through. No doubt Senator Schumer and company will be combing the legislative rules thickets with their Lawfare bush-beaters in search of some recondite, magic by-law that might prevent the deal from going down. Or else Chuck will threaten to shoot a puppy on the floor of the Senate if the Amy Coney Barrett hearing proceeds.

The news has it this morning that the president might check out of Walter Reed later today. The event is loaded to the brim with portentous metaphor, mainly, that Mr. Trump has overcome yet another adversity, specifically one that the Resistance has been using to scare the public into compliance with economy-wrecking rules. As the president re-enters something like normal life in the days ahead, perhaps the rest of America will rethink the abnormalities of 2020. Perhaps they will notice the Democratic Party’s investment in the Covid-19 lockdown narrative, and what it has done to their livelihoods, their families, and their futures. Maybe watching Mr. Trump get through this, they will see a way out of the woods.

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

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE PRESIDENT: MIKE PENCE, CORPORATE THEOCRAT

by Norman Solomon

If President Trump dies from the coronavirus that has killed more than 200,000 Americans largely due to his deliberate negligence, the man replacing him will be no less dangerous. While Mike Pence has eluded tough media scrutiny -- in part because he exhibits such a low-key style in contrast to Trump -- the pair has been a good fit for an administration that exemplifies the partnership of religious fundamentalism and corporate power.

The vice president, a former Indiana talk-show host who went on to become a six-term congressman and then governor, has described himself as “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” But he remains at cross-purposes with the biblical admonition (Matthew 6:24) that “you cannot serve both God and money.” Whether Pence has truly served God is a subjective matter, but his massive service to money -- big money -- is incontrovertible.

Pence ranks high as a Christian soldier marching in lockstep with Trump on all major policy issues, a process that routinely puts business interests ahead of human lives. Whatever his personal piety might be, the results of Pence’s fidelity to right-wing agendas have further consolidated a de facto coalition of those seeking ever-lower taxes on wealth and corporations; denial of LGBTQ rights; a ban on abortion and severe restrictions on other reproductive rights voter suppression and barriers to voting by people of color; obstruction of healthcare for low-income people; and on and on.

Pence embodies the political alliance of very conservative evangelical forces with anti-regulatory forces of corporatism. In the arenas of elections and governance, that coalition is the present-day Republican Party, dedicated to imposing the edicts of religious dogma, rolling back democratic reforms and serving the rich at the expense of everyone else.

“As vice president, Mike Pence is doing everything in his power to control people’s bodies,” the Planned Parenthood Action Fund declares.

Meanwhile, those who are inclined toward racism or outright believers in white supremacy are bolstered. And Wall Street has never had a better friend in Washington.

Pence’s most consequential role during 44 months as vice president has been as chair of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Since late February, he has functioned -- in effect -- as Trump’s willing executioner, standing by and blowing smoke while Trump obfuscated and lied as the death toll kept mounting.

“The truth is that we’ve made great progress over the past four months,” Pence proclaimed in a mid-June statement “and it’s a testament to the leadership of President Trump.” Pence charged that “the media has taken to sounding the alarm bells over a ‘second wave’ of coronavirus infections” -- but “such panic is overblown.”

To underscore his full devotion to Lord Trump’s downplaying of the virus, the vice president concluded with a blame-the-messenger flourish: “The truth is, whatever the media says, our whole-of-America approach has been a success. We’ve slowed the spread, we’ve cared for the most vulnerable, we’ve saved lives, and we’ve created a solid foundation for whatever challenges we may face in the future. That’s a cause for celebration, not the media’s fear mongering.”

Pence’s June 16 statement made its way into the *Wall Street Journal* as a prominent op-ed piece whistling past Covid graveyards. “It was so clearly wrong back then and has turned out to be so clearly wrong since that I hope there's some part of him that's embarrassed,” Ashish Jha, the head of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said in late summer. “I had already been seeing data for a good week that things were really heading in the wrong direction.” The *Washington Post* editorial board immediately responded with a denunciation under the headline “Mike Pence Is a Case Study in Irresponsibility .”

No one with any discernment would associate Trump with religiosity because he held up a Bible at a photo op. But the other half of the ticket is a very different matter. Days after the November 2016 election, Jeremy Scahill wrote that Trump is “a Trojan horse for a cabal of vicious zealots who have long craved an extremist Christian theocracy, and Pence is one of its most prized warriors.”

Scahill quoted an author of books on far-right fundamentalism, Jeff Sharlet, who said that “when they speak of business, they’re speaking not of something separate from God, but they’re speaking of what, in Mike Pence’s circles, would be called biblical capitalism, the idea that this economic system is God-ordained.”

What does all this mean for progressives? The case of Mike Pence should be an ongoing urgent reminder that -- as toxic and truly evil as Donald Trump is -- the current president is a product and poisonous symptom of an inherently unjust and anti-democratic status quo.

Instead of focusing our rage on the persona of one destructive leader, we should remember that corporate domination provides an endless supply of destructive leaders. While they come and go, the system of corporate power remains -- and we must replace that system with genuine democracy.

(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.)

FOUND OBJECT