NOT JUST WOMEN
Editor,
Mendocino Coast Clinics sent an article to the Fort Bragg Advocate-News about celebrating National Women's Health Week. “It's Your Time” is the theme of the article with the implication that women sacrifice and put their own needs last compared to men and children. But men and boys need equal time when it comes to health issues. Feminists are responsible for far too much incorrect information, and health issues are more of the same.
Years ago, Gloria Steinem, while channeling Naomi Wolf, spread the myth that 150,000 women were dying each year from anorexia and men were blamed and compared to Nazis killing Jews. One needed to believe that men would rather have a lover with a stick figure body over that of a Playboy centerfold, but the national press ran that story without criticism. The truth: 150,000 women were not dying from eating disorders, feminists were off by several zeros. It was less than 100. Today, we know that anorexia has a genetic component; males are anorexic as well, and it's not fathers, but mothers, putting pressure on daughters to be thin.
The National Organization for Women as a “Love Your Body” campaign asking fat girls to accept themselves as fat and be happy about it. A woman elsewhere wrote: “Do your daughter a favor, tell her she's fat.” Her logic was that being obese makes it more likely that you'll end up with cancer, diabetes, lost limbs, and an early death. So buck up, lose the weight, stop feeling sorry for yourself for your bad lifestyle choices and make better choices.
You can find thousands of articles online about how girls struggle with body imagery and many blame men. Meanwhile, the gender that taught fat girls that their bodies are not worthy of equal concern has a larger problem than anorexia. Teen boys and men tend to stuff themselves with a couple of cheeseburgers or a pepperoni pizza with a 40 ounce soda drink and a refill or a sixpack of beer for a chaser. They top it off with trans-fat transportation devices — french fries — and then they sit for hours in front of computer screens letting the grease do its damage. Dad watches TV and mom makes cookies with corn syrup while companies building planes are making bigger seats for the growing middle classes. And this is going to be the first generation that dies younger than their parents.
Political correctness taught us that “the number one cause of birth defects, more than all other causes combined, is from men beating pregnant wives.” But a call to the Centers for Disease Control will tell you that this is horrible propaganda. Men beating women is not on the list of primary causes at all. The number one cause of birth defects is from women drinking and doing drugs while pregnant. Another surprise, thousands more women in America are beating their children and our fathers. If women caring and sacrificing for men and children was a gender trait then such things would rarely exist and old women on the Titanic would have given up their seats on lifeboats to young fathers waving goodbye with tears to their children.
Women only outlived men by one year in 1920. Today it's six years, proof that we have not been neglecting women's health. Before Obama we had a few national women's health centers and none for men. After Obama, a few more and still none for men, while it's men who die early from the ten leading causes of death and often from preventable diseases.
In “PC MD” author Sally Satel MD tells about her research to learn how women were underserved in medicine. Satel found that feminist myths were negatively affecting scientific research. She found that women were much better cared for than men. Reading her book you can only conclude that we do need a “National Health Week” but not just for women. If either gender suffers from health problems, both genders suffer.
Steve DeLuca
Mendocino
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WASTING ACCESS
Editor,
It just seems so inane that someone can buy up a riverfront and then immediately deny access to everyone who has used it for years before. What a waste of resources! I am familiar with the river bottom of the Navarro, even though I live in Canada. Here we have a law that all navigable waters have an eleven foot easement on all shores, for purposes of safe landing in case of emergency while boating. In the meantime, all people have access to this land because it is owned by the government and, as such, is common land. Such a sensible way to go. Water resources are a nation’s treasure and should not be restricted to the oligarchy of the rich. The Navarro is indeed a treasure that should not be restricted by private ownership.
D. Schieder
Ukiah
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BACK TO VIETNAM
Editor,
On Memorial Day I read a disturbing article in the Vietnam Veterans of America California Zephyr magazine (Spring 2012) by Richard Halloran, “Return to Vietnam,” which was first published in Air Force Magazine in January 2012. Halloran, a freelance writer based in Honolulu, was formerly a New York Times foreign correspondent in Asia and a military correspondent in Washington DC.
“Return to Vietnam” documents the gradual expansion of “low-key” military relations with Vietnam by the United States over the last decade based on mutual fear of China which seeks to limit the US military presence in East Asia and may eventually try to push American forces back across the Pacific.
According to Halloran, “China has begun openly flexing its strategic power in Asia and sees the United States as the main obstacle to establishing a modern version of the ancient Middle Kingdom. In response, the United States has been cultivating allies and friends including Vietnam to counter the Chinese drive. A focal point of common interest is the South China Sea which China has claimed as sovereign territory while the United States, Vietnam and Southeast Asian nations along the sea's shores and have asserted as an international waterway — a position that is supported by international law. Keeping the South China Sea open to shipping traffic is vital to the economies of Asia, including that of China, because more traffic passes through these waters each year than through the Suez and Panama canals combined.
“For the US Navy, the sea lane is a crucial passage through which warships transit between the Pacific and Indian oceans — precluding the time-consuming and costly need to sail farther south around Australia.
“The focus on both the South China Sea and Vietnam seems likely to sharpen as the Air Force and Navy push ahead with the air-sea battle concept. Among the doctrine's salient features is the need to acquire access to as many bases as possible over a wide expanse. This strategy will complicate the offensive operational plans of the Chinese and other adversaries by forcing them to target multiple bases to pursue an anti-access, area denial strategy. The Chinese government in Beijing is aware of the new US Vietnam military relations and has expressed displeasure, telling other nations to butt out of the South China Sea and let China and other Southeast Asian nations resolve differences themselves. Beijing claims “indisputable sovereignty” over large reaches of the South China Sea and officials have asserted that the US and Vietnam training, even in noncombat air sea rescue exercises, is “inappropriate.” The Chinese have asserted that US warships have no right to sail into China's exclusive economic zones while the US and most other nations contend warships can sail in all waters outside of a nation's 12 mile limit on territorial waters.”
Here we go again! Big Daddy Warbucks Combine is worried that plummeting public support for the Middle East wars will result in a US phaseout of global military interventions. Time to find a new foreign enemy to maintain the homeward flow of bodybags to keep the tombstone, flag and floral industries afloat.
And where have all the flowers gone?
Cheers,
Don Morris
Skunktown/Willits
PS. Enjoyed our ramble down and up Mount Bruce. Now we'll have to come up with a name for that massive, gnarly, residual old-growth fir Sentinel that resides atop the mountain. How about “big Ed"? As in editor.
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SALVAGE THE PALACE
Editor,
Several recent events have caused me to reconsider my understanding of Palace Hotel situation; first, there was the recent letter by highly respected local architect Bob Axt attesting to what he felt was a surprisingly sound basic structure of the building, Secondly, there was the Journal's article last week about the extensive work currently going on there. Even though the project had been red tagged and needed to have an asbestos inspection before it could get building permits to proceed, I was kind of blown away at the contractor's guesstimation that the project may take four years and $7 million!
Knowing as little as I do about the financial realities of rehabbing a huge old ramshackle building in Ukiah, and even less about what kind of debt load such a resurrected Palace Hotel might reasonably expect to bear, I can only wonder; is such an investment at all reasonable? Especially in the wake of the ostentatious Branches fiasco down on Airport Park Blvd. a structure so grandiose, that I could hardly drive past it during any phase of its construction, without wondering,” and what kind of business is going to pay the note on this thing?!” The answer of course was obvious; no business. Just as no business is likely to profitably occupy the Palace Hotel should it ever be restored to its former glory.
I remember when Pat Kuleto served as the conduit for fat tranches of cash that the federal government used to (in those days) ladle out for makework jobs during economic downturns such as we were experiencing then, when I was new to Ukiah. They hired just about everyone looking for a construction job, and a lot of good came out of it; a lot of successful local contractors got their start there. Unfortunately, all the work on The Palace was superficial, strictly for show, rather than digging into the basic systems that were falling apart; plumbing, wiring etc. that decision resulted in more deterioration of the building over all these years. That is why I suspect that the $7 million estimate is wishful thinking, and by the time they deal with all the unforeseen problems, it is likely to be multiples of that, especially if they are required to do something about the visibly crumbling basic brick structure
If someone has $7 million burning a hole in their pocket, and wants to invest it in a commercial building in the heart of Ukiah, a town with a large number of empty commercial storefronts, more power to them! I'm sure that a lot of folks will be happy to take the jobs that will be generated. However, I very much doubt that any prudent banker would wish to put that kind of capital on the line, and the days of either state or national government funding such projects seem to be over for good.
The likeliest thing, it seems to me, is that after whoever is presently funding the project has spent a million or two, it will dawn on them that they will need at least another 10 that no one wishes to lend them, and The Palace will once again, after this brief hiatus, continue downward with its death spiral.
Salvage bricks and a parking lot, it still seems to me, will be its eventual fate.
Sincerely,
John Arteaga
Ukiah
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WHY LIBRARY FI?
So, Editor,
I was quite taken aback recently when I went up to the CA DMV website to change my address and my Mendocino County Library WIFI sign-in page popped up — with no prodding from me. Kinda creepy, ya know?
Leery in
Leggett
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WHY NO ACCESS?
Editor,
% It’s inconceivable that there’s no public easement to the river at the end of Ray’s Resort Road, which means it must be true. We lived in the little white house (now apparently being refurbished), south of the road, just behind the gas station. Speaking of which, there’s another house between that white house and the highway, diagonally behind the gas station, and in front of that house was (or used to be) an ancient oak that was bent over parallel to the ground. The story we were told, with no idea whether it’s true or not (this was over 40 years ago), was that the Native Americans had done that to trees to mark the direction to a lodge or meeting place or other point of interest. Maybe that was just a story, but at that time (1960s) the tree certainly seemed old enough to go back to the days before the first White settlers arrived in the Valley.
I’m sorry to hear that there’s no longer access to the river there. Second only to Hendy Woods, that was the best spot to enjoy the river. You’d think that a person with that much money would have heard of insurance.
Charles Becker
San Francisco
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ACCESS FOR THE 1%
Editor,
You have pointed out some reasons why the people and community of Anderson Valley should go to this Holy Place and occupy it. It seems that the 1% have no respect for others, just themselves.
Name Withheld
Boston
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VOTE FOR LYNCH
Hi All at AVA,
My wife and I love your postings, musings and support in the 2nd Assembly District race. We are building a foundation for a Fall campaign — albeit with a small beginning. But when we succeed in the new “Top Two” primary I think people will start taking note.
As I travel through our beautiful region; those I meet find our message refreshing and this support strengthens and sustains me.
Respectfully and with kind regards to all,
Tom Lynch
http://www.tomlynchforassembly.com
Guerneville
PS. Since I joined the fray I’ve raised $3700 with 90% from within the District and Assemblyman Chesbro has raised $51,000 with 95% from 26 donors from outside the District.
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MEMO OF THE WEEK
Subject: Fwd: International Professional Surrogates Assn. Responds to Craig Louis Stehr's Humble Request
From IPSA <info@surrogatetherapy.org >
Craig, thank you for contributing in the way you have been. It's important work. I appreciate what you are doing, and I hope that your contribution is acknowledged in your community as well. Based on your email, I believe you may have a misunderstanding about surrogate partner therapy. One works with a surrogate partner (what you refer to in your email as a sex surrogate) as part of ongoing therapy to correct debilitating social, relational or sexual dysfunctions. Surrogate partner therapy is not intended to give someone the opportunity to have sexual intercourse. Also, a surrogate partner will only have sessions with you if you are also seeing a therapist. I will assume, and correct me if I'm wrong, that surrogate partner therapy is not what you are looking for and wish you all the best in finding an opportunity for sexual expression. Sincerely Andrew Heartman, Secretary International Professional Surrogates Association PS. Since they referred you, I will copy San Francisco Sex Information on this to inform them as well.
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SOLOMON’S STILL THE ONE
Editor,
Several Valley folks have recently expressed their displeasure that the Norman Solomon for Congress Campaign would practice “dirty politics” with their recent mailer about Stacey Lawson.
The piece was not an attack but rather a truth critique about a candidate who touts the “middle class” while paying $6000/month rent for a Marin County mansion, amassing huge amounts of campaign cash (Press Democrat has her almost even with Huffman) from wealthy Silicon Valley and corporate donors, and for not voting in recent elections for which she begs voters’ forgiveness. To point out these facts is not “dirty politics.”
The 2nd Congressional District race appears to be a three-person race. Jared Huffman is out in front with second place to be fought out between Stacey Lawson and Norman Solomon.
So what has Lawson done for society? Created a business in China that manufactured women's handbags and a University of California Berkeley thinktank that touts small business development.
Solomon on the other hand has a long history of fighting for what he believes in: 40 days in jail for antiwar protests, taxing Wall Street speculators to reduce the federal deficit, single-payer healthcare for all, fighting for Social Security, Medicare, women's, gay, and immigrants rights.
The battle for second place is not a game of “Tiddlywinks.” The “truth will out “ And the truth is that Norman Solomon’s credentials for representing our Second District far surpass Stacey Lawson’s. Coming in from third base, a runner attempts to knock the catcher down to jar the ball from his grasp and score the winning run. That’s not “dirty” baseball. It’s how the game is played.
Every politician presently running for election has embraced the new “buzz”-word, The Middle Class. Where does one find this group? Go to the unemployment lines, the homeless shelters, and the factories in China where “middle class” jobs were allowed to be “outsourced” for cheap labor and high profits. We used to be proud of the “made in the USA” label but no more, because these products have been stripped of their red, white, and blue, while the chasm between the rich and the very poor widens every day. The “middle class,” the backbone of American communities is gone!
Now we are faced with wealthy corporations, Superpacs, thousands of corporate lobbyists scurrying the halls of Congress, a Supreme Court that identifies corporations as “persons,” allowing them to donate unlimited and undisclosed amounts of cash to keep the rich in power and have the poor begging for crumbs.
Norman Solomon has deliberately divorced himself from corporate money and has relied on 10,000 volunteers at an average donation of $100. Jesse Unruh, the Guru of California politics, coined the phrase “Money is the mother’s milk of politics.” Mother, today, must be leaking.
At 87 I mourn for my grandchildren who face an America reeking with cash for the wealthy who continue to keep the poor “down.” My hope is that they may join a future social and fiscal revolution to overturn such oppressive powers. Norman Solomon, in my mind, is the change agent we are looking for.
Very sincerely,
Gerald F. Cox
Navarro
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COULDA BEEN EASY
Editor & Pebbles Trippet,
Cannabis is like eveything in life. Too much is not good for you. I assume you stay high 24/7 like Chris’ crazy mother. The battle will never be won with the type of crazy behavior that Rhonda Martin, Sean Gunn, and that fruitcake Sovereignty Lawyer exhibited. Chris’s case would have been a routine probation case if all of the madness had not taken place. So, it is people like you, using a young kid to make your stand against the legislated and established law in Texas, that landed Chris in prison. The law is wrong. But you should not have USED Chris to try and change it. The best track should have been to keep the craziness quiet and the vitriol against Brown County, the Judge, and the DA out of the public forum until Chris walked away with a slap on the wrist probation. The effective battle is be fought everyday in the State Legislature by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
And by the way, I did produce the evidence of intent to sell the hashish to Chris. He did not deny he did it when he saw the photo of his phone. I will be happy to produce it and probably will make it public to defend myself against your unwarranted attacks. You and Rhonda and Sean and Paul should slow down on your cannabis consumption — a little is good, too much makes you stupid.
Rudy Taylor
Brown County, Texas
PS. With the proof of intent to sell the hash in Austin, which does exist, it would have been stupid to give a Brown County, Texas jury the case at trial. It would have been ineffective assistance had I not advised Chris to take the plea. Further, I would have tripled the meager income I made in the case if we had gone to trial. It’s always beneficial for a trial lawyer to go to trial because of the publicity. But, I never try to talk a client into trial when it is not to their benefit. I would never use a client to make a political point as you obviously would.
How much money did you send Chris while in jail Pebbles? I contributed about $80 out of my pocket. Did you contribute to the mother so she could stay here? I allowed them to stay in my home for a portion of the time. You contributed nothing.
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BIG-TIME THANKS
Letter of Thanks…
As many of you folks out there know I lost my precious daughter, Stephanie Joy Edwards to the deadly disease, Systemic Lupus. I knew nothing about this horrible disease and neither did any of the medical people who treated her.
She passed away on March 10, 2011 and the very next day they introduced a drug of some king to combat the disease but not a cure.
That drug was the first in 50 years. Of course it is all discouraging in that we can fly a man to the moon and yet there is no cure for Lupus.
Being the ignorant Mother that I was to this disease After my Stehphie went away I made a vow that I would spread the word about Lupus to as many Mothers (and others) that I could. In addition my family and I decided that we needed to help raise funds for the Lupus Foundation of America, in hopes that one day soon a cure would be forthcoming.
To date we have raised $2030 by selling Indian Tacos in Round Valley, Covelo. Everyone was so generous and have come to know the “purple” Indian Taco Booth. Purple is the chosen color as a representation of Lupus, as pink is for breast cancer. So Bruce, this letter is to thank the many folks who supported us in memory of my daughter by buying an Indian Taco. Also, a number of nice people donated a substantial amount of dollars such as Marian Gray of Oakland, Sharon Rohl, Harold Freeman, Roy of Roy’s Bar-B-Q. These folks are the best that you’ll ever find.
I sure need to mention Mr. Reese Mayfield for letting us use a portion of his store front to hold two of our sales and to the Round Valley High for inviting us to set up our booth at the “Big Time” that they put on last Friday. That sure helped to put us over the $2000 mark.
Please let me mention that every dime collected is sent directly to the Lupus Foundation. You can track us by going to the Lupus Foundation of America, Team KeKe. (FYI it will take about 10 days for our last bundle of money to show on the internet.) You are also welcome to join our team on October 23 as we walk for Lupus at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
In closing we are hoping that our team wins in the fundraising this year. So… should you wish to donate you can do this online under our team name “keKe” or you can make a check payable to the lupus Foundation and send to my address at PO Box 354, Covelo, 95428. Also, Thanks to my favorite newspaper good old AVA for sharing this letter to the world that it covers.
Justice for One, Justice for All.
Sincerely,
Cora Lee Simmons
Covelo
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