Mendocino County Today: Tuesday, June 29, 2021

High Pressure | 9 New Cases | MCRPD Misconduct | Salmon BBQ | Evers Search | Not Jade | Jackson March | Fish Rock | AV Seniors | Ed Notes | Like Tomatoes | Money Plant | Not Listening | Medium Gallery | Caspar 4th | Police Reports | Hopland Beauties | Invasive Mussels | Mailliard Reserve | Code Enforcement | Michoacan 1933 | Homeless Challenge | Yesterday's Catch | SoHum Report | Tobacco Card | Motorpsycho Nightmare | Assange Witness | Berry Protest | Desirable Escape | Forgives Everything | Comments | California Ag | Greenhouse Planet | Mean Tweets | Falsehood Rules

HIGH PRESSURE WILL DOMINATE the region's weather for the foreseeable future and bring hot and dry weather to most of Northwest California. Coastal areas will remain seasonably cool, with persistent marine layer clouds and only partial afternoon clearing. (NWS)

YESTERDAY'S HIGHS: Portland (OR) 115°, Ukiah 95°, Yorkville 94°, Boonville 86°, Fort Bragg 62°

9 NEW COVID CASES (since last Friday) reported in Mendocino County yesterday afternoon.

GRAND JURY RIPS COAST PARKS & REC DISTRICT

by Malcolm Macdonald

“The Mendocino Coast Recreation & Parks District (MCRPD) lost almost $3 million in grant funds from the State of California.”

That is the header of the Mendocino County Grand Jury report released this Monday, June 28. The Grand Jury (GJ) summarized issues written about in the online and print editions of the AVA, notably August 9, 12, and 19, 2020; September 30, 2020; November 4, 2020; and December 9, 2020. The focus of the GJ inquiry stemmed from the State of California Off Highway Vehicle Parks Department (OHVPD) suspending almost $3 million ($2,995,249) in grant funding to MCRPD. The OHVPD subsequently suggested the resignation of three members of the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District Board of Directors involved with the grants due to inconsistencies identified in an audit conducted by OHVPD. Those three MCRPD Board of Directors (BOD) members proved to be John Huff, Kirk Marshall, and Bob Bushansky.

The OHVPD awarded MCRPD Planning and Restoration Grants in the fall of 2017 and spring of 2018 to upgrade its property along Highway 20. The grant funds would have been used to help construct an Off Highway Vehicle Park. In a letter dated July 11, 2018 OHVPD notified MCRPD that both grants were being placed on hold because of issues raised during a routine preliminary internal grant audit. 

In June of 2020 the two grants were completely suspended by OHVPD. In November of last year MCRPD paid back more than $76,000 to OHVPD.

At a June 17, 2020 MCRPD meeting, the district's board received a report about a June 15, 2020 conference call involving two members of the BOD who were deemed untainted by prior activities, the MCRPD bankruptcy attorney, and OHVPD representatives. Part of that report stated that OHVPD believed MCRPD “had inappropriate conduct with the relationship between MCRPD and CRA [California Recreation Alliance]. They [OHVPD] will not accept grant matches from CRA.”

The Grand Jury summary makes clear that in June 2020 the OHVPD representative communicated to MCRPD, that because of this alleged misconduct, the Parks Department would not proceed with grants as long as any MCRPD BOD member who had approved the arrangement with CRA remained on the BOD. The OHVPD representative was careful to state that since the BOD is an elected body, the OHVPD could not mandate such changes. The OHVPD representative also stated, in view of the history of alleged self-dealing, the (California State) Parks Department could not authorize any additional funds under the grants. 

As for the three cited members of MCRPD's BOD, Kirk Marshall served out the rest of his term and retired from the board at the end of 2020; John Huff initially resigned his board seat then later ran for an open seat and was elected in November, 2020. 

Bob Bushansky's term in office does not expire until after the November, 2022 election. Thus, the MCRPD still has two board members, Huff and Bushansky, associated with the grant debacle, the two board members, Barbara Burkey and Leslie Bates deemed untainted by OHVPD, and one newly elected (November, 2020) member. 

Readers may be interested in the detail that the grants in question were written for MCRPD by Sarah Bradley Huff, spouse of John Huff. She has subsequently left that position. For a two year period, Ms. Huff and her husband, John, made up two-thirds of MCRPD's critical Regional Park committee. The third member was Bob Bushansky. The questioned grants and the contracts awarded to bidders for work on the Highway 20 Off Highway project flowed through the Regional Park Committee.

The Grand Jury report notes that the Regional Park Committee awarded a nearly $2.6 million dollar contract to a company not on the original list of potential bidders and in opposition to state code that the company's bid was not the lowest one submitted. In addition, the GJ report states that a member of that firm helped prepare the contract specifications and cost estimate for the grant application. The GJ report goes on to state, “Only one assigned Committee Board member was in attendance at the Regional Park Committee meeting [for the recommendation of the grant contract]. Another member of the BOD not assigned to the committee attended the meeting, participated in the rating process and voted for approval of the [$2.59 million] fence contract.” 

There are more intricate details to the GJ report that go back to many years prior to the current BOD, but let's skip to the “Findings” and “Recommendations” of the Grand Jury:

Finding 1. MCRPD lost the opportunity to receive more than $2.5 million in grant funds because it operated in violation of State Codes and guidelines pertaining to the administration of the CAOHVPD Grants and award of the fence contract per PCC section 20682.5 (b). 

Finding 2. MCRPD incurred debt which it has been unable to repay and led to bankruptcy because of purchasing the Highway 20 property prior to the completion of the feasibility study for the intended purpose of a golf course and the possible mismanagement of public funds. 

Finding 3. MCRPD BOD does not have an effective mechanism to ensure training and compliance with conflict-of-interest rules. 

Finding 4. MCRPD risks civil litigation or statutory violations as MCRPD BOD and Executive staff do not receive initial and annual training in Brown Act, Ethics and Harassment in compliance with AB1234. 

Finding 5. MCRPD risks potential conflicts of interest and potential litigation as Bylaws do not require attendance of Counsel at its BOD meetings. 

Finding 6. MCRPD fails to provide financial transparency to the public as monthly financial statements are not routinely published for public viewing. Monthly financial statements would identify revenue sources such as rental fees, expenditures and capital commitments.

Recommendation 1. MCRPD’s BOD should amend its Bylaws within 60 days following release of this GJ report to require independent professional legal guidance for any project to assure that all Grant(s) and the award of contracts comply with State codes and guidelines to guard against the loss of grant funding due to conflicts of interest and outdated bylaws. [In reference to Finding 1] 

Recommendation 2. MCRPD’s BOD should engage a professional consultant to develop a feasibility study and strategic plan prior to the initiation of any capital improvement project (CIP). MCRPD should document and publish the report for public review and comment at least 60 days prior to the award of contract for any CIP. Complete disclosure and public notice in the letting of all Special District contract may avoid the loss of grant funding due to conflicts of interest and outdated bylaws. [In reference to Finding 2]

Recommendation 3. MCRPD’s BOD should engage an independent Outside Counsel to review its Bylaws within 90 days of this report; MCRPD’s Bylaws should be updated annually with outside Counsel at the beginning of each new term and post them on MCRPD’s website to make them available to the public. [In reference to Finding 3] 

Recommendation 4. MCRPD’s BOD within 60 days of the start of their term and annually should receive training for Brown Act, Ethics and Harassment laws and regulations as required. All staff at the start of employment and annually thereafter should receive training for Brown Act, Ethics and Harassment laws and regulations as required. Records should be maintained to track participation. [In reference to Finding 4] 

Recommendation 5. MCRPD’s BOD shall retain legal counsel with required attendance at every BOD meeting to avoid actions that may violate Federal, State, County, Local, Penal Code, Ethics or Brown Act violations. [In reference to Finding 5]

Recommendation 6. MCRPD shall prepare and publish on its website a monthly financial report as approved by the BOD to provide transparency to the public. This report should include a review of the monthly accounting of checks issued and revenue received. [In reference to Finding 6] 

* * *

GRAND JURY ON COAST PARKS AND REC (BUSHANKY-ISM IN ACTION)

The 2020/21 Mendocino County Grand Jury has released a report on the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District.

The report is linked on the Grand Jury’s website: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/government/grand-jury/2020-2021-reports

Kathy Wylie, Secretary

2020/21 Mendocino County Grand Jury 

RED BEARD, aka William Evers, the Cameron Road fugitive, is rapidly approaching local legend status. There was a recent sighting of RB in Gualala, although it's highly improbable that he's ranged outside a couple square miles of the Elk area. Originally sought for a parole violation, Evers, 40, has been breaking into houses on Cameron Road — the same house twice — but made the serious tactical error three weeks ago of shooting at a pursuing deputy. Now, rather than a few months in jail for the warrants and parole violation, he'll be facing attempted murder of a cop charges or he'll be killed himself. On surveillance cameras Red Beard has lost a lot of weight, and he's obviously desperate as he demonstrated when he took a shot at the deputy, the whole package militating rather severely against his survival chances 

RED BEARD: THE SEARCH INTENSIFIES

(Sheriff’s Office Update)

On Monday, June 28, 2021 the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office began conducting a further search of the heavily wooded Cameron Road area (Elk, California) in an attempt to locate fugitive William Allan Evers.

This planned search effort will continue for multiple days if needed and residents should expect to see a significant law enforcement presence in the area of Cameron Road until further notice.

Evers is currently wanted for an active No Bail arrest warrant by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for Criminal Threats (422 PC) and should be considered ARMED AND DANGEROUS.

Evers is also being sought in connection with several local burglaries of residences and the May 12, 2021 Officer Involved Shooting in Elk.

Anyone with information regarding Evers, or the whereabouts of Evers, is asked to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office at 707-463-4086 or the Sheriff's Office Tip-Line at 707-234-2100.

(Sheriff’s Presser)

WASN’T JADE

AVA,

I hope you can update again regarding the supposed suspicious person in Boonville being Jade Bennett. I can assure all interested that it was not Jade. Jade is currently in the Mendocino County Jail at 951 Low Gap Road in Ukiah.

Funny how two people can claim they saw Jade then print it as fact in the newspaper and it becomes fact. I can also assure you when and if you see him walking up Manchester Road he won’t be wearing a mask. And if interested Jade turned 46 on June 6, 2021.

Hope to see all of you at the Fair.

Thanks 

Cleo Bennett (mother)

Boonville

CHRIS SKYHAWK: "We had a wonderful march on Cal Fire office today in Fort Bragg...YES! that is me leading the march on my scooter, geezerhood has officially arrived! well over 50 people marched and raised their voice to protect Jackson State Forest"

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THE LATEST ON JACKSON STATE FOREST

First, on Monday, June 28th, at 11am there is a "March for the Forest." Meet at the corner of Oak Street and Highway 1. Bring signs and friends and your love of the Forest. We will walk north to the Cal Fire Office and gather there for a Rally.

Logging in the Caspar 500 is still "paused" for the time being. We have spotters checking the area--so far so good.

Cal Fire had their "Meeting" on Saturday. The Trail Stewards had an informational table at the event. Several Forest Defenders sat with them. Here is what Marie Jones of the Trail Stewards wrote:

"We held down a table for 2.5 hours in 89 degree heat. Our table was the most visited table at the event. We had at least ten people gathered around at any given time. Lots of good exchange of ideas etc. Cal Fire started sending a delegation over to our table toward the end of the event so they could talk to people and contradict us (Lynn came to argue that large trees don't store more carbon than small trees!). But we broke up camp right about then. We were interviewed by the MendoVoice editor as well.

All in all I would say about 40 people came to the event. Cal Fire had more than 40 staffers on hand, so it was a little pathetic. I am not sure if we won anyone over, but lots of people appreciated our handouts and I received many compliments from people thanking us for being there.

Cal Fire is going to do the same dog and pony show in Fort Bragg on Monday night at 6:30 (location TBD), Tuesday night in Willits and Wednesday night in Ukiah. I am game to table in Fort Bragg on Monday. Does anyone else want to pick up Tuesday or Wednesday? I think someone from our group should be at each of these events to provide the other side.

Dan Gjerde was there, as was Mo Mulheren, the supervisor from Ukiah, Okay that is it for now. I am pooped after talking straight for 2.5 hours!

News of our efforts to Save Jackson State Forest is starting to spread.

It is very important that news of our campaign get outside of Mendocino County and on the Governor's desk, and that is starting to happen. The California Report on KQED featured a segment on our struggle.

AV SENIOR CENTER NOT OPENING YET

Although many restaurants and businesses will be re-opening to full capacity with decreased restrictions on June 15, 2021, the AVSC will not. We will remain serving our wonderful people of the Valley the same way we have been for the last year—pick up or delivery only. We came to this decision because of the rise of new Covid-19 cases and mostly in consideration of the vulnerable population we serve. We will revisit the possibility of re-opening for congregate dining on a month-to-month basis and come up with a plan for when we can safely re-open. We so look forward to seeing everyone and miss you all so much!

ED NOTES

MARSHALL NEWMAN WRITES: “Back in the 1970s, a man from Redwood Valley contacted my father, Irv Newman, to ask if he could rent El Rancho Navarro, the summer camp my parents owned near Philo, to use for weekend church retreats. The man later came to see the camp. As he took him on a tour of the property, my father became more and more uncomfortable. At the end of the tour, he told the fellow the camp would not be available to rent. The man took the news well. With pleasant ‘good-byes,’ Reverend Jim Jones headed back to Redwood Valley and my father never heard from him again.”

SO MANY world class maniacs have passed through the Anderson Valley and Mendocino County, many of us have had direct experience with one or more of them. Although the Manson Girls lived in Navarro for a summer, and Big Chuck himself was arrested near Ukiah for some minor offense, the only story I've heard about the merry band of psychopaths was one I heard from a Boonville guy who told me that local kids, some of them anyway, were gifted with their first marijuana by the Manson Girls who, incidentally, aroused the attention of much older men who would drive by hoping to get a glimpse of forbidden flesh as the girls cavorted in the nude on Gwschend Road.

WE REGULARLY get Sheriff's pressers about people, invariably men, who have failed to register as sex offenders. But there are pervs and then there are dangerous pervs. If a guy is registered because he has committed rape, the specifics of his conviction should be made clear. Ditto for chomos — especially chomos. Statutory rape involving an 18-year-old man, technically an adult, and his 16-year-old girl friend gets the young man a perv jacket he probably doesn't deserve. Weenie Waggers? I know a guy who was mooning people for the hell of it only to find himself with an indecent exposure conviction. But the men who habitually expose themselves to whomever, yeah, they've earned sex offender status. The point, I guess, how about a ranking system, with sexual predators as Perv One on down through the mooners and exhibitionists.

THIS FELLOW Troy Mihalcean, 40, of Fort Bragg, was a registered sex offender in Illinois, but failed to register when he relocated to California 8 years ago. Beyond these scant facts we know nothing more about him.

FAILED TO REGISTER

On Thursday, June 17, 2021 during an unrelated investigation, a Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputy was made aware that Troy Mihalcean, 40, of Fort Bragg, had been living in Mendocino County for approximately eight years as an unregistered sex offender out of Illinois.

The Deputy followed up on this information and contacted LaSalle County in Illinois where Mihalcean was registered as a sex offender.

The Deputy spoke with the LaSalle County Probation Department and was informed that Mihalcean had moved to California in 2013.

Prior to moving, Mihalcean had been informed that once he had moved to California, he would be required to register as a sex offender within three days of his arrival.

Mihalcean failed to comply with this term and had not registered as a sex offender since arriving in California back in 2013.

After the Deputy completed his investigation, Mihalcean was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender.

Mihalcean was booked into the Mendocino County Jail, to be released after the booking process on zero bail pursuant to COVID-19 bail schedule set forth by the State of California Judicial Council.

ED NOTE: According to an Illinois internet sex crime registry post Mr. Mihalcean was listed as a “child sex offender,” convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a 13-year old victim when Mr. Mihalcean was 28 years old. He was booked into Illinois’ Lasalle County Jail in November of 2009.

SUPERVISOR WILLIAMS:

TG: Our research hasn’t found cannabis to be particularly thirsty relative to other crops.

VB: Legal outdoor production uses about the same amount of water as a crop like tomatoes.

-- Van Butsic and Ted Grantham, co-directors of UC Berkeley’s Cannabis Research Center and adjunct fellows at the PPIC Water Policy Center

JOHN MCCOWEN

Supervisor Mulheren has nailed it with this quote: "This isn’t a sound bite topic."

Please get the facts before signing a misleading referendum to force an expensive special election to repeal something that is already going to be repealed.

The Supervisors have been listening and paying attention. The Supervisors have agreed to a limited amount of expansion without the provision for 10% of parcel size (which was itself a limitation with many restrictions - not an entitlement).

Expansion will be capped at a maximum of 2 acres at least until January 1, 2026 and only with approval of a Major Use Permit and numerous restrictions and conditions.

The only people who are not listening are the referendum proponents.

THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE

The ‘Medium’ is the message: Nonprofit art gallery opens doors in Ukiah on First Friday

JULY 4TH FAMILY CELEBRATION AT THE CASPAR COMMUNITY CENTER

On Sunday July 4th KNYO/The Noyo Radio Project will host an outdoor/indoor 4th of July Family Celebration at the Caspar Community Center from 12:30 to 8:30. We will have food, drinks, beer and wine, a Kid Zone with fun and games for the Kids, and lawn games for the Grownups. But most exciting, we will have LIVE MUSIC for your listening and dancing pleasure. Our lineup includes The Seaside String Sisters w/ Lori Wardlaw, Paka G, Cyrus Clarke from Santa Barbara formerly with The Cache Valley Drifters, 2nd Hand Grass, The Hot Club of Comptche, the debut of The Bon Ton Rulers, Tommy Brown's hot new zydeco band, and to finish it with dancing style, Mama Grows Funk w/ Ui Wesley. $15 gets you into this party, with Kids under 16 free. Come join us and your neighbors in celebrating Life, Love, and LIVE MUSIC ! Enjoy the great vibes and Community spirit that resides at The Caspar Community Center, and help support your local homegrown, all volunteer, nonprofit radio station, KNYO. Many thanks to Lea, Jeff, Joe, Rosa, and all the wonderful Volunteers and folks who have made this happen. I will see you there!

SLIPPED HIS TEMPORAL BOUNDS

On Friday, June 25, 2021 at approximately 9:30 PM Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies were notified that Travis Bonson, 41, of Willits, who was on active parole, may have possibly removed his electronic ankle monitor.

Bonson's Parole Officer contacted the Sheriff's Office and reported an electronic alert showed Bonson may have removed his electronic ankle monitor and his last known location was in the 39000 block of Highway 162 in Willits.

Deputies responded to the location and contacted Bonson with his vehicle. Deputies observed Bonson had cut off his electronic ankle monitor which is a violation of parole terms.

Bonson's Parole Officer was contacted who requested Bonson be arrested for violating his Parole terms.

Bonson was arrested and booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held without bail due the parole hold violation.

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FREDY FEMALE BEATER

On Saturday, June 19, 2021 at approximately 3:12 P.M. Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies were dispatched to a reported domestic violence incident in the 2100 block of South State Street in Ukiah.

The caller reported the male subject was kicking and punching the female subject as she lay on the bathroom floor inside an apartment.

Upon arrival, Deputies contacted a 24 year-old adult female at the residence and Fredy Reyes-Rubio, 28, of Ukiah, who was walking a couple blocks away from the residence.

Deputies learned the adult female and her boyfriend, Reyes-Rubio, had gotten into a verbal argument while he was drinking whiskey. The argument turned physical when Reyes-Rubio punched the adult female in the head and then hit her in the head with a small portable speaker.

The physical altercation between the two continued as the adult female started making her way towards the bathroom. Once they reached the bathroom, Reyes-Rubio pushed the adult female onto the bathroom floor and began kicking her.

Reyes-Rubio kicked the adult female two times, once in the stomach and once on the left thigh. Once Reyes-Rubio realized an eyewitness was calling 911, he left the residence on foot.

Deputies observed visible injuries to the adult female's wrist and she complained her head hurt from being punched.

Reyes-Rubio was arrested for domestic violence battery and was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

A NEW THREAT TO OUR RECREATIONAL WATERS

Post Date: 06/28/2021 10:30 AM

For Immediate Release

June 28, 2021

Contact: Deborah Edelman, MCRCD Project Manager

707-462-3664 x 106

Whether you are an avid angler or just enjoying a day at the pond, a new threat to our recreational waters has the potential to ruin the fun and have long-term consequences for our water systems. 

We need your help to prevent the introduction and establishment of invasive Quagga and Zebra Mussels in the ponds at Mill Creek County Park. When introduced into water bodies, these invasive mussels have negatively impacted fish and waterfowl populations, increased maintenance costs to drinking water and dam infrastructure, and altered ecosystem functions in detrimental and unmanageable ways.

There are currently no Quagga or Zebra Mussels in North Coast waterways, including Mill Creek Ponds, Lake Sonoma, or Lake Mendocino. Let’s keep it that way!

To prevent the spread of the mussels the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District has been conducting surface monitoring at the ponds. To increase public awareness of this issue, District staff will be on site to interact with anglers and recreationists on July 3^rd at Mill Creek Ponds. This year July 3^rd is Free Fishing Day, so anglers do not need a fishing license to fish in California.

By participating in a 3-minute survey on-line or in person with District staff, you are providing valuable information on how we can prevent the spread of Quagga and Zebra Mussels into Mendocino County. No personal information will be gathered; we are simply interested in your knowledge and perspective about invasive mussels! 

The event is co-sponsored by the Mendocino County Water Agency, the California Division of Boating and Waterways, and the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District. To take the on-line survey, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5Z33LYB. For more information about the ongoing efforts to keep invasive mussels out of our local waterways, visit www.dontmoveamussel.com.

(County Presser)

CODE ENFORCEMENT NEWS

Fourth week of June 2021 - Multiple commercial cannabis locations identified, plants voluntarily abated to avoid penalties. (UPDATE) Dos Rios - Non-permitted commercial cannabis cultivation in non-permitted structures. 

In the fourth week of June 2021, the Mendocino County Code Enforcement Division conducted investigations regarding non-permitted commercial cannabis cultivation at the listed locations below.

The Code Enforcement investigation confirmed that commercial cannabis cultivation was occurring in non-permitted structures, without a County Cultivation Permit, or State Cultivation License. The responsible parties voluntarily abated the cannabis plants being cultivated, and thereby avoided the associated penalties.

6/21/21 – 2600 Block of Center Valley Road in Willits – 345 Cannabis plants abated.

6/23/21 – 12000 Block of Tomki Road in Redwood Valley – 129 Cannabis plants abated.

Code Enforcement intends to take additional action as needed to achieve compliance with the non-permitted structures.

(UPDATE) In the third week of June of 2021, The Mendocino County Code Enforcement Division conducted an investigation regarding non-permitted commercial cannabis cultivation at the 3500 Block of Laytonville Dos Rios Road.

The Code Enforcement investigation confirmed that commercial cannabis cultivation was occurring in non-permitted structures without a County Cultivation Permit or State Cultivation License. The responsible party refused to abate the 450 cannabis plants being cultivated and Code Enforcement subsequently issued Administrative Citations with penalties as follows:

1.) $520 per day for non-permitted structures used for commercial cannabis cultivation.

2.) $1,000 per day for violations of the Mendocino County Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance.

3.) $90,000 (450 plants x $200 per plant) one time penalty for non-permitted commercial cannabis cultivation.

As of 6/23/21, the responsible party voluntarily abated the 450 cannabis plants. During the course of the investigation an additional 1371 non-permitted commercially cultivated cannabis plants were discovered, and voluntarily abated on 6/24/21. 

Code Enforcement intends to take additional action as needed to achieve compliance with the non-permitted structures. 

The Code Enforcement Division receives all Cannabis and General Code Violation complaints in the unincorporated areas of the County. Complaints can be made in person at our offices or by visiting our website at: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/government/planning-building-services/code-enforcementto file an online complaint. Cannabis specific complaints can also be filed by calling the Cannabis Complaint Hotline at: (844) 421-WEED(9333).

(County Presser)

THE STATE OF HOMELESSNESS

Earlier this year, editors of 12 Digital First Media newspapers in California — including this one — began discussing homeless issues on a Zoom conference call.

Mike Wolcott, editor of the Chico Enterprise-Record, asked the group a question: “How many of you would say that homelessness is a big issue in your city?”

Every hand went up.

Wolcott asked a follow-up question: “Do many people in your city say the only reason homeless people are there is because of all the great benefits they receive, and if people would just stop enabling them, they’d all go back to wherever they came from?”

Again, every head nodded in unison, and every hand went up.

The discussion continued from there, and that’s when we noticed every one of us was hearing the same narratives — true or not — about an issue that’s simply too complex for any single narrative to accurately describe.

From Santa Cruz to Red Bluff and from Woodland to Eureka and even south to Los Angeles, we were all hearing the same stories.

For example, “We should just put all these people on a bus out of town.”

A fascinating concept, especially considering the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says there are more than 160,000 homeless people in California. They all come from somewhere, and the notion that they’re all “from somewhere else” is simply foolish — especially since Point In Time surveys usually show a majority of homeless people grew up fairly close to where they’re staying now.

Another one we hear all the time is “If you people like homeless people so much, let them camp in your front yard.”

We hate to break it to anybody, but that’s not exactly an original line. It gets spread on social media sites from the Oregon border to San Diego every single day.

And finally, “(Insert name of your town here) is the place to be if you’re homeless. Everybody knows that. That’s why they all come here.”

But unhoused people are all over the state (and up and down the West Coast) in ever-growing numbers. There is no “one magical spot” they all long to be, urban legends aside.

In time, we decided since we were hearing these same things — and in many cases, our cities were fighting the same battles — we should make all of our collective readers aware of that. So today, we are.

In our “State of Homelessness” project, reporters from a variety of our group of California newspapers have teamed up to give you an overview on our collective state of homelessness.

We take a look at shelter options, the number of people on the streets, the roles of law enforcement, issues (and even success stories) from the eye of the service providers and treatment facilities and — as has been in the headlines of some of our cities recently — even the lawsuits that have greatly impacted the homeless landscape.

In more than one city, the Martin v. Boise federal case has led to some highly charged political drama as well as a big upheaval of what’s allowed and what isn’t in terms of enforcement. It says, in effect, cities cannot criminalize the act of being homeless — and they can’t continually force homeless people to move from public lands unless they have someplace they’re allowed to be.

It’s just one of many things we’ve found that so many of our California communities have in common — whether we want to recognize it or not.

Homelessness is a national problem and perhaps especially a California problem. We don’t have all of the answers and none of us pretend that we do. Some cities have had more success managing it than others; San Francisco, meanwhile, has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the issue every year for what seems like an eternity, and it’s barely made a dent in the situation.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, is promising a $12 billion investment toward getting more people off the streets and into homes of their own. That’s a dollar figure so high, it’s inconceivable for anyone to truly fathom; we’ll be expecting him to put it to good use, and in a way where we can keep track of the successes and failures.

So, while we don’t have all of the answers, we can at least collectively ask a lot of questions and report what we’ve learned in hopes it’ll help us better understand the scope of the homeless problem and the common challenges we’re facing.

The alternative is to continue to stick our heads in the sand and wish it would all “just go somewhere else.”

Let’s start by noticing it already has — from Chico to Santa Cruz and Eureka to Woodland and far beyond. This isn’t just anybody’s challenge; it’s everybody’s.

(K.C. Meadows, Editor, Ukiah Daily Journal)

CATCH OF THE DAY, June 28, 2021

RACHEL AKINA, Modesto/Ukiah. Under influence.

WALTER CREED JR, Willits. Parole violation.

SIERRA GRINSELL, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

BRIAN HURTADO, Willits. Parole violation.

JACOB PARMELY, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, parole violation.

SAUNDRA VASQUEZ, Placerville/Ukiah. Probation revocation.

THE SOHUM REPORT: Summer Solstice Weed Update

by Paul Modic

There is no market. 

If you didn't get $700 a pound last month you might not get $600 now for last year's off-brand flavors. Everyone who was waiting to get more, in both the black and white markets, is now scrambling to dump it before they have to settle for $500 or $400 or who knows how low it will go? 

The buyers are just not showing up as they can get it cheaper closer to home.

In other news the neighborhood dealer lady turned me on to an interesting clone: It's called GMO and is Girl Scout Cookie crossed with Chem Dawg, and then crossed again with Purple Punch. I looked it up and it's so strong that 3% of users report paranoia. (Hmm, sounds like the good old daze.) Her backyard is planted up with it so that's good, right? Grow what the buyers like...

People are talking about The SoHum Report:

Humboldt Planning Director John Ford: Good job SoHum Report. Those GMO's are looking pretty good from up here on the satellite but can't you count to six? Looks like sixty or more so we'll drop by for a little visit when we come down later to bulldoze the last dreams of the mom 'n pops. But “GMO,” are you kidding? All my hippie friends hate that name.

Humboldt Supervisor Sun Gnome Madrone: But what about the good brands? I've still got thirty elbows of Ice Cream Cake to move. What, you think anyone can live on a measly salary of a hundred grand plus bennies? Typical bumpkin reporting—not a word about prices for the good stuff.

Humboldt Sheriff Honsal: Damn, I want some of those GMO clones for my backyard patch! You think cops don't like to rock the fatties? Now I gotta run, I hear another Antifa bus just rolled into Arcata.

Media Icon Kym Kemp: That's it, the dream has died, no way will I be able to compete against The SoHum Report. The RHBB will be closing down as of midnight tonight.

MOTORPSYCHO NIGHTMARE

I pounded on a farmhouse
Lookin’ for a place to stay
I was mighty, mighty tired
I had come a long, long way
I said, “Hey, hey, in there
Is there anybody home?”
I was standin’ on the steps
Feelin’ most alone
Well, out comes a farmer
He must have thought that I was nuts
He immediately looked at me
And stuck a gun into my guts

I fell down
To my bended knees
Saying, “I dig farmers
Don’t shoot me, please!”
He cocked his rifle
And began to shout
“You’re that travelin’ salesman
That I have heard about”
I said, “No! No! No!
I’m a doctor and it’s true
I’m a clean-cut kid
And I been to college, too”

Then in comes his daughter
Whose name was Rita
She looked like she stepped out of
La Dolce Vita
I immediately tried to cool it
With her dad
And told him what a
Nice, pretty farm he had
He said, “What do doctors
Know about farms, pray tell?”
I said, “I was born
At the bottom of a wishing well”

Well, by the dirt ’neath my nails
I guess he knew I wouldn’t lie
“I guess you’re tired”
He said, kinda sly
I said, “Yes, ten thousand miles
Today I drove”
He said, “I got a bed for you
Underneath the stove
Just one condition
And you go to sleep right now
That you don’t touch my daughter
And in the morning, milk the cow”

I was sleepin’ like a rat
When I heard something jerkin’
There stood Rita
Lookin’ just like Tony Perkins
She said, “Would you like to take a shower?
I’ll show you up to the door”
I said, “Oh, no! no!
I’ve been through this before”
I knew I had to split
But I didn’t know how
When she said
“Would you like to take that shower, now?”

Well, I couldn’t leave
Unless the old man chased me out
’Cause I’d already promised
That I’d milk his cows
I had to say something
To strike him very weird
So I yelled out
“I like Fidel Castro and his beard”
Rita looked offended
But she got out of the way
As he came charging down the stairs
Sayin’, “What’s that I heard you say?”

I said, “I like Fidel Castro
I think you heard me right”
And ducked as he swung
At me with all his might
Rita mumbled something
’Bout her mother on the hill
As his fist hit the icebox
He said he’s going to kill me
If I don’t get out the door
In two seconds flat
“You unpatriotic
Rotten doctor Commie rat”

Well, he threw a Reader’s Digest
At my head and I did run
I did a somersault
As I seen him get his gun
And crashed through the window
At a hundred miles an hour
And landed fully blast
In his garden flowers
Rita said, “Come back!”
As he started to load
The sun was comin’ up
And I was runnin’ down the road

Well, I don’t figure I’ll be back
There for a spell
Even though Rita moved away
And got a job in a motel
He still waits for me
Constant, on the sly
He wants to turn me in
To the F.B.I.
Me, I romp and stomp
Thankful as I romp
Without freedom of speech
I might be in the swamp

— Bob Dylan

KEY WITNESS IN ASSANGE CASE ADMITS TO LIES

A major witness in the United States Department of Justice case against Julian Assange has admitted to fabricating key accusations in the indictment against the Wikileaks founder.

stundin.is/grein/13627/key-witness-in-assange-case-admits-to-lies-in-indictment/

THE TOKYO OLYMPICS haven't even started yet, but we already have a clear Gold-medal favorite in the Attention-Seeking Brat race. I had assumed that Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka might win this, after her fit of indignation at the French Open tournament in which she was outraged by the thought journalists might ask her any negative questions. But I fear narcissist Naomi's only going to end up with silver in the Attention-Seeking Brat competition, for we now have a comfortable new front-runner in the form of American Hammer thrower Gwen Berry. 

I've seen some outrageous antics from athletes in my time, but Ms Berry's narcissistic tour de force at the US Olympics trials in Oregon on Saturday takes the proverbial biscuit. She was on the podium, having come third, when the American national anthem began playing. Normally, this would be a moment of great pride and tearful joy for any Olympian. This was clearly one of the worst moments of her life. As the two other competitors who had beaten her turned respectfully to face the American flag and placed their hands on their hearts, furious Berry turned the other way, placed her hands angrily on her hips, and then held up a T-shirt proclaiming the words 'ATHLETE ACTIVIST' before putting it over her head. The Olympics are supposed to be about the world's greatest athletes competing to see who's best at their sport - not who's the best activist. The very last thing they need or want is an American athlete using the Olympic Games as a chance to diss their country in front of the entire world. 

— Piers Morgan

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

There won’t be any revolution until the general population loses what is valuable to them. That includes abundant food, social media, computer games and tv. Technology has so removed the average person from the means of production that they don’t even consider what’s really happening. In this new world, injustice and rotten politics don’t matter as long as someone can watch their favorite tv programs, eat when they want and text their friends. 

Life is hard when you factor in material and emotional needs, so escape has always been desirable, and technology now has evolved to the point where it can provide escape for most people. But when supply and power lines break down, you’ll see widespread rebellion (real insurrection).

ON LINE COMMENTS OF THE WEEK 

[1] Illegal Cannabis growth is coming to a neighborhood near you. With this growth comes security issues, countless cars all hours of the night, terrible stench, incredible use of water during a drought and water contamination. Also, second hand smoke when kids are in the room attacking their developing brain, impaired driving, basic lack if incentive to be productive, and for many a gateway drug. Yahoo we hit the mother load.

[2] I’m sorry you’ve come to this conclusion. In the real world of cannabis culture there are many gardeners and farmers who are respectful of their neighbors, who take care of the land and the water sources on it and are highly conscious and respectable people. There are also gun toting violent thugs that don’t give a rat’s ass about the environment or for the people in their neighborhood or community. I believe they are in the minority. So let’s not lump everybody in the same category. I prefer to see the culture for what my experience has been. Good people being stewards of their land, learning loving from this plant and forwarding that spirit to nourish and grow the community. Sounds hippy dippy. But our intention our tending our love for this sacred plant is real and guess what? It radiatessssssssss out from there. Get it? Haha it’s all about love people.

[3] Alcohol and tobacco are legal and murderous. The old fascists can’t live without alcohol because their life is one of pain and disease with no cure. The old fascists and the young–many of whom comment here–are in absolute denial as to what is causing their pain unto death. The nation is separated by class and caste. Each sector has its own arguments. But the fact is in any annual cycle the old fascists end up with 90% of the wealth produced by all us peasants. That’s what has to be understood. Loyalists are total dupes. They believe the old fascists aren’t perverts with secret agendas. So we are at a cultural stand still until you realize how indocrinated and duped and hogtied you are by the fascist memes that you have been fed with since birth. You have to be an atheist to see the meaning of religion and patriotism as diseases inducing submission to illegitimate authority. That’s why hippies separated out of the war mongering mainstream:remember only the rich make laws and only the poor end up in prison.

[4] When I die and (hopefully) go to Heaven and can ask God just one question (I have hundreds), I would say, “During the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic, what percentage of U.S. doctors were mindless, cowardly twits out to just go along and not question any authority in order to get checks?”.

God says, “82%”. And my reply, “I knew it!!!”

Then God says, “But you are still dead.”

[5] You would be surprised the number of people who consider Biden competent. To me it’s amazing that anyone can look at him and not realize the man is struggling. From one brief article I read, the meeting between him and Putin was scheduled for 4 hours and broke up early. It was a mistake to give Putin a closeup view of his opponent but he probably already knew he was dealing with the dummy, not the ventriloquist.

[6] In a world where conversations about science often get mired in pointless, bad-faith arguments, pitting cynical science denial against overheated science-based panic, it’s sometimes helpful to stare at tables of raw data. And the public hydrological data for California—to name just one state caught up in the drought—are horrifying.

Look for yourself, and you’ll see that, well, the water supply is down, no matter how you measure it. Measurements of reservoir storage, snowpack, and precipitation are all low in the dozens of places they’re measured (Yosemite, which saw low rainfall this season, but more than it saw last year at least, seems to be the lone exception that proves the rule).

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s drought monitor map is even scarier: blobs of “severe,” “extreme,” or “exceptional” drought cover nearly three quarters of the western United States. And experts say the numbers are exactly as ominous as they might appear.

“Am I scared? You betcha,” said James Holland Jones, associate professor of Earth system science at Stanford whose research focuses on human ecology, or the ways humans interact with their environments.

For starters, he, too, is worried about fires. “It’s hot and dry and it’s only June,” Jones told The Daily Beast.

[7] I’m reminded of the Simpsons cartoon where there’s a gay pride parade.

Marchers: We’re here! We’re queer! Get used to it!

Lisa: We ARE used to it! You do this every year! 

My main impression of Pride Month is that it’s a crashing bore. The most predatory corporations put rainbow flags on their websites so isn’t that nice!

LETHAL HEAT HITS THE PLANET

by Robert Hunziker

The news does not get much worse than a recent scientific report that the planet is trapping twice as much heat as it did only 14 years ago.

If this one report does not turn heads and create a sense of panic to get off fossil fuels, as soon as yesterday, then nothing will ever move the needle to fix the planet’s broken climate system. (Source: Norman G. Loeb, et al, Satellite and Ocean Data Reveal Marked Increase in Earth’s Heating Rate, Geophysical Research Letters – Advanced Earth and Space Science, June 15, 2021)

Scientists have been warning about the consequences of human-generated greenhouse gases ever since James Hansen testified before a Congressional committee 33 years ago: “The greenhouse effect has been detected, and it is changing our climate now.”

In fact, the warnings have been coming for 44 years. Prior to James Hansen’s testimony before the Senate committee, the most publicized report came from the National Academy of Sciences in 1977 when it warned that burning coal would crank up global temperatures to intolerable levels by 2050.

Meanwhile, a well-orchestrated core of climate deniers, including many members of the Republican Party, current and past, for decades have worked to create “doubt” about human impact on global warming in order to safeguard the fossil fuel industry and as a consequence block effective governmental policies to halt greenhouse gas emissions.

That type of obstructive behavior was formidably demonstrated only recently by former president Trump along with his entourage, like Pompeo, who shortsightedly celebrated Arctic ice loss in an Arctic Council speech. Unfortunately, he described as a positive event the meltdown of the planet’s greatest safeguard against global warming, i.e., Arctic ice. As the former secretary of state spoke, the planet was in its final throes of losing its biggest, most important giant reflector of incoming solar radiation, which has been around since humans discovered fire but now gone in only a few short decades because of human-generated global warming greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels like oil and natural gas and coal.

The climate denier class, especially in America, carries a heavy burden for the current out-of-control status of the planet’s climate system. It is beyond shameful that repeated warnings by the nation’s scientists have been ignored for decades, finally leading to the current state of a worldwide climate emergency. Deadly heat is tormenting the world.

Along those lines, Donald Trump’s destruction of environmental agencies and the removal of scientists and destruction of years of irreplaceable scientific data, and removal from the Paris climate agreement of 2015 will go down in history as the worst-timed stupidest policies in all of American history.

The shocking Loeb study that lamentably demonstrates a frightening rise in heat absorbed by the planet utilized satellite data via CERES instrumentation that measures how much energy the planet absorbs in the form of sunlight and how much it emits back into space in the form of infrared radiation. This measures “energy imbalance.” Their study found a doubling of the imbalance for the period from 2005 to 2019. That’s exceptionally troubling, almost beyond comprehension, data collection is indicative of a climate system that’s way out of balance as an impending threat to existence.

Meanwhile, making matters doubly bad and emphasizing the fact that the planet is absorbing twice the heat, NASA reported 2020 as the “hottest year ever.” And, by all appearances, 2021 is shaping up to break the records once again, as abnormally high temperatures throughout the planet exceed all-time records. The planet is literally in a burn mode like humanity has never experienced, and nobody is doing anything about this burning dilemma with any sense of global reach. Meanwhile, talk of holding back temperature by controlling emissions at the nation/state level remains, like always, very cheap and ineffective. As well as totally remiss of the big picture of a global mess that requires global unity, or the lights go out fairly soon, here and there all across the land.

Confirmation of the Loeb study’s CERES data was established using Argo, which is an international network of sensors in the world’s oceans used to measure the rate at which the oceans absorb heat. This strengthened and confirmed the CERES data that the planet is trapping twice the amount of heat of 14 years ago.

According to the scientists for the study: “The two very independent ways of looking at changes in Earth’s energy imbalance are in really, really good agreement, and they’re both showing this very large trend,” Norman Loeb, lead author for the new study and principal investigator for CERES at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. (Source: Earth is Trapping Twice as Much Heat as it did in 2005, Space. Com, June 24, 2009.)

Thirty-three years after James Hansen testified to Congress, global carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 70% and have never gone down in any given year, always up, never down. When Hansen testified, fossil fuels were 79% of the world’s energy. It’s 84% today in the face of every wind turbine and solar panel that’s been installed over the past decades ever since Hansen spoke out about the dangers of greenhouse gas emissions.

Frankly, the world is getting what it deserves and what it has failed to recognize in spite of the world’s top scientists’ warnings, a lot of heat!

(Robert Hunziker lives in Los Angeles and can be reached at rlhunziker@gmail.com.)

FALSEHOOD RULES

by James Kunstler

Who knew that reality could become such a squishy thing in the USA? But such are the agonies of a collapsing society that it becomes ever harder to know what’s real, especially with factions in power intent on gaslighting, manipulating, obfuscating, and coercing the raw material of public opinion, which is: what has actually happened in the past and what is happening now.

When I wrote The Long Emergency, I expected we would be living through a period of confusion and disorder, but I didn’t know what it would feel like to go through it: a nauseating existential disorientation, like being seasick on dry land… like living in a German expressionist horror movie of the 1920s (and we know what that led to)… like being held prisoner inside Franz Kafka’s castle: an immersion in totalizing falsehood.

The collapse of authority is especially striking and disturbing now because ground zero for it is the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the very place that is charged with determining what is true and what is false, what is real and what is unreal, and especially what is okay, and what is not okay.

The collapse of authority at DOJ got sickening traction after the election of 2016, when FBI Director James Comey and his underlings, along with many high officials at its parent agency, DOJ, undertook a campaign to disable and expel the winner of that election, starting before his inauguration. The Russia Collusion operation was the epitome of falsehood concocted in bad faith, and the actions taken in it were never adjudicated — though an ectoplasm named John Durham is floating somewhere out in the national ether, still delegated to make cases. Leaving all that hanging this long has been a grievous injury to the country’s identity as a place on this earth where fair play was supposed to be normal.

The Mueller Investigation was another insult to the public interest, devised to distract and cover up the all the previous seditious bad faith of Comey & Company, and the C-suite at DOJ — and, of course, the Special Counsel came up with absolutely nothing actionable, which was stunning considering the resources behind it, and the time spent. At a Senate hearing about it in 2018, Robert Mueller himself claimed to be unacquainted with key characters in his own investigation and key pieces of evidence. His performance was worse than not reassuring — he appeared to be lying or incompetent, or pretending to be incompetent, and since that moment he has gone-to-ground… untouchable.

Impeachment No. 1 was supposedly about a phone call that the President made to his counterpart in Ukraine, Mr. Zelensky, regarding suspicious activity of one Hunter Biden receiving large sums of money from a gas company there while his father was Vice-president. At the time, the FBI (and the DOJ) did not disclose their possession of a laptop computer owned by Hunter Biden containing hundreds of memoranda and emails detailing the Biden family’s lucrative business dealings in Ukraine and several other foreign countries, involving sums of money far greater than the Burisma Company of Ukraine was paying Joe Biden’s son, and how the income was split between the family members. In other words, evidence that then-Vice-president Joe Biden himself was on the take from foreign countries, including companies linked directly with the communist party of China. Not important, you think? Not germane to the impeachment?

Why was that information not turned over to the president’s lawyers during the initial hearings and then the impeachment trial itself? That has never been adequately addressed, not even a little, and largely because the mainstream media does not want to know, and didn’t ask, while the alt.media does not have access to ask the officials who might know — and Congress, under Mrs. Pelosi and Chuck Schumer certainly didn’t want to ask or know. Do you appreciate how damaging this act of institutional dishonesty was?

Then there was the election of 2020, held under the Covid-19 emergency, with new rules about mail-in voting that lent themselves to fraud — or so declared former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, who ran a commission on election reform in 2005 — and that appears to be exactly what happened. The specious and dishonest claim is made by the putative winners that the matter was completely settled in the courts post-election. That is simply not true. The actual evidence was not entertained, most particularly not by the Supreme Court, which declined on the basis of “standing,” a mere point of procedure.

Now there is one official forensic audit of the 2020 election underway in Maricopa County, Arizona, (the Phoenix metro area), ordered by the State Senate, and some conclusions from phase one, involving the paper ballots, are due to be released this week, with additional phases to come concerning the Dominion voting machines. Many other state legislatures sent delegations to Arizona to learn the ins-and-outs of conducting a forensic audit, and they are making noises about actually doing it.

So, in stepped Attorney General Merrick Garland. At the start of the Arizona audit, he sent a letter to the Arizona State Senate threatening to use the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ to halt the audit on the basis of depriving voters of their civil rights. Arizona responded by promising to jail any federal officials who laid their hands on any ballots. That was the end of that gambit for now — they may try it again in phase two.

In the meantime, a county judge in Georgia (one Brian Amero) has ruled that 147,000-odd ballots alleged to have chain-of-custody problems must be made available for inspection, and also that five members of the Fulton County (Atlanta Metro Area) Board of Elections are now individually parties to the lawsuit brought by nine Georgia voters, and may be subject to deposition (being questioned under oath). That is believed to be the beginning of an effort to conduct a full audit in Georgia.

So, again, in steps Attorney General Merrick Garland with his Civil Rights Division, led by political activist Kristen Clarke, bringing a lawsuit against the Georgia election reform act passed earlier this year — a shot over Georgia’s bow, shall we say. Ms. Clarke happens to be a colleague of Georgia activist Stacey Abrams, a former Democratic candidate for governor. Ms. Abrams is also a part-owner of a company, NOWAccount, that does payroll for a private company called Happy Faces, which furnished dozens of poll workers to tally the 2020 election in Georgia, as well as the 2021 US Senate runoff election that put two Democrats, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, in office.

Elections are supposed to be conducted by public officials, not by private entities. Supposedly, the Georgia election officials turned to Happy Faces because it was a way to avoid hiring workers for less than 30 hours-a-week, which would have otherwise required providing them with health care under ObamaCare, the ACA Act. Was that legal? It has not been adjudicated.

Nor has the much bigger scandal of a private Chicago-based non-profit called the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which received $350-million from Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg to arrange grants targeted at swing districts in Democratic strongholds such as Milwaukee, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, for the purpose of hiring ballot harvesters, among other activities. Mr. Zuckerberg met with Kristen Clarke, Stacey Abrams, Al Sharpton, and other Democratic activists at a dinner in 2019, at which he promised to help. Did his help cross any legal boundaries? It has not been investigated, nor has the use of the company he runs, Facebook, in its campaign to influence public opinion by blocking news and deleting accounts of non-Democrats exclusively.

Assistant AG Kristen Clarke’s DOJ lawsuit against Georgia’s election reform act alleges that it “imposes substantial fines on third-party organizations, churches, and advocacy groups that send follow up absentee ballot applications, and requires new and unnecessarily stringent identification requirements to obtain an absentee ballot.” In other words, the Georgia law seeks to restrict the activities of private, non-official entities — such as the Center for Tech and Civic Life — sprinkling gargantuan sums of money over key election districts to influence the outcome. Or for companies such as Happy Faces to supply activists for counting votes. That is how disingenuous Merrick Garland’s DOJ is, now a strictly political operation.

We haven’t nearly seen the end to any of this, nor the reaction that it is liable to provoke among citizens who have had enough of being played by their own government. Think about all that while you make plans to celebrate the Fourth of July, a holiday that commemorates an earlier time when the people of this land had enough of being played by their rulers.

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