Letters (December 23, 2021)

• County Counsel’s Gotta Go
• Residents Close Deal On The Woods
• Mouse Control
• What Happened To Harrah's Sr. Center Thrift Store?
• Respecting The Dead On The South Coast
• Pillsbury Gentry
• The Dingbat Generation
• Doing Ok
• We Don't Have It
• The Long Road To Justice
• Phil Murphy's Covid Skepticism: Mr. Wizard Puts Him Straight

COUNTY COUNSEL’S GOTTA GO

Editor,

The Board of Supervisors is poised to approve a huge pay increase for County Counsel, fixing his base salary at $192,436. With benefits the annual cost to the County will be $327,141. This huge increase is not justified by performance or by adherence to minimal ethical standards.

The primary duty of County Counsel is to avoid legal liability for the County, not create it. But County Counsel Christian Curtis routinely creates liability for the County, resulting in needless legal action and expense. Case in point is the dispute with the Sheriff's Office which is a direct result of County Counsel failing to accurately and ethically advise the Board of Supervisors on the law. County Counsel set the Board on a collision course with the Sheriff when he advised them they could bill the Sheriff for budget overruns. The State Constitution and case law makes it clear that this is not accurate. Especially when the Sheriff's budget is underfunded to begin with. 

County Counsel Curtis, having first created the conflict, next objected to the Sheriff hiring his choice for legal representation, in part because he claimed the Sheriff's proposed attorney would be too expensive. But this dispute has generated dozens of case filings and numerous hearings solely because of County Counsel's objection to the Sheriff's choice of counsel. In the course of these hearings, County Counsel has managed to ignite the ire of the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, who is expected to shortly issue a ruling in the case. At a minimum, the BOS should wait until the Court's opinion is issued before granting the proposed raise.

County Counsel also worked behind the scenes to conceal the involvement of the CEO in the illegal diversion of $464,008 out of the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) budget and into the County General Fund. The CCP is funded by the State with dedicated funding that is not part of the County budget but is allocated according to a budget recommended by the CCP and approved by the BOS. Removing funds from the CCP approved budget, if done legally, would require a recommendation from the CCP and approval by the BOS. In fact, the CCP had no knowledge of the illegal diversion until after the fact when it resulted in a deficit in their approved budget, largely as a result of the illegal transfer of funds. 

Some of you may know that at some point in my last year on the BOS I became persona non grata with the CEO. That point coincided exactly with my refusal to sweep the illegal diversion of CCP funds under the rug. From that point forward the CEO refused to communicate with me, prevented me from having access to my files (in fact had my files randomly boxed up, removing them from their file folders and file headings) and conspired with County Counsel to make false allegations against me, going so far as to pay outside legal counsel to conduct a sham investigation. (Yes, it got ugly.) I have not previously gone public with this level of detail out of loyalty to the County but I cannot sit quietly by while the BOS approves a huge pay raise for the ethically compromised and incompetent County Counsel. 

In addition to conspiring in furtherance of false charges and a phony investigation against me, County Counsel also succeeded in short circuiting the Grand Jury investigation of the CCP funds. I have direct knowledge that the Grand Jury was actively investigating the illegal transfer but at some point the investigation was abruptly dropped. I was later informed by a reliable source with direct knowledge that the investigation was dropped “because it conflicted with the dispute with the Sheriff.” In fact, the two disputes are completely separate. The real conflict of interest is that County Counsel (who created the conflict with the Sheriff and who conspired to smear me and cover up the illegal diversion of CCP funds) is also legal counsel for the Grand Jury. 

Of lesser importance, but still relevant is that County Counsel falls seriously short in routine job performance. The apparent inability of County Counsel to litigate anything beyond the simplest of cases results in the County paying out huge amounts for outside counsel. The bill in one case alone is $600,000 and counting. Keeping the BOS in Brown Act compliance is another responsibility of County Counsel but whether it's out of a misguided willingness to please the board members or a lack of competence, County Counsel frequently falls short in the performance of this duty. While I was in office a common complaint from department heads on down was that the office of County Counsel was a choke point that seriously hampered their ability to serve the public. Routine items that required County Counsel review would sit for many weeks or months with no action taken. These are just a few examples of lapses in performance. But my main issue is County Counsel's apparent lack of any ethical standards.

Instead of rewarding corruption and incompetence by granting a huge pay raise, the Board of Supervisors should issue County Counsel Curtis his walking papers. 

John McCowen

Ukiah

RESIDENTS CLOSE DEAL ON THE WOODS

Editor,

The deal is done!

The 55+ year old residents of Little River’s “The Woods” have closed the deal for the land their homes sit on and will now determine what rents will be and how their park will be run. The sale price is not being released at this time due to a non-disclosure agreement. The purchase will mean rent increases for the residents, who had been paying under $1000 per month for the space rents to the $1200 per month range. A $500,000 fund was set up as part of the purchase to help subsidize residents who can’t afford the increase. About 20 residents are paying the full price of $1222 per month, to help free up money to help others pay the increased rents.

“The Woods Cooperative Association members are ecstatic and grateful to now be the courageous owners of The Woods,” said Sheila Klopper, Secretary of the Woods Cooperative Association.

When the non-profit that owns The Woods in LIttle River announced in March that the park would be sold, the situation looked dire.

In a red hot real estate market, mobile home parks have become the target of speculators, who usually buy the land, then raise space rents, often dramatically. 

Residents of the Woods, ranging in age from 55 to 101, who own their individual homes, formed The Woods Cooperative Association to put in a bid to compete with the hedge funds and large equity firms to buy the 43 acres their homes sit on and the amenities. For example, a master tank provides propane for heating which is piped underground to each home and individually metered.

The Woods was particularly attractive to investors because the homes are upscale modular structures that are designed to be permanent. An owner who hiked rents could have ended up owning the homes too if residents couldn’t afford to pay.

The Woods includes 109 manufactured homes in a park-like setting with towering fir, pine and redwood trees that make it seem like living in a forest. It has a number of amenities, including a clubhouse, indoor pool and spa, and The Lodge, a former assisted living residence. Plans are in the works to turn what was The Lodge into senior living apartments. Currently 98 of the homeowners are part of The Woods Cooperative Association. Residents who don’t join the Association simply pay rent, as they have been doing all along.

Numerous offers came in and residents were worried.

Then came the good news. 

On May 24, 2021, Sara McVey, President and CEO of Sequoia Living, announced that the offer submitted by the Woods Cooperative Association had been accepted with specified conditions. Sequoia Living reportedly took the residents' offer over higher offers from private buyers, so that residents could remain in their homes. All conditions from the seller and lender have been met. The sale closed on December 1, 2021. 

The Woods was designed and developed in the 1970’s by renowned California architect, the late Paul Tay and his wife, Ruth Tay. In 1993, operations were turned over to Northern California Presbyterian Homes, a non-profit organization that provides senior housing and services primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

On March 11, 2021, Sequoia Living, formerly known as Northern California Presbyterian Homes & Services, announced that The Woods would be sold. The Woods resident homeowners decided to take control of their destiny and established The Woods Cooperative Association, Inc. This was accomplished with the assistance of Resident Owned Communities USA(ROC USA) and its California affiliate, California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD). Both will continue offering ongoing technical management assistance for 10 years. ROC USA has led a nationwide movement to allow mobile home park residents to fend off speculators and buy their own parks. The successful effort in Little River gives ROC USA, which is renowned for its work in New England, a stronger foothold in California.

There was a residents’ council in existence at The Woods when the need for a formal board of directors to run the new co-op came to light. Architect James Kachik and other members of that council, including Harvey Chess, Sheila Klopper, Barbara Cohen and Cynthia Johnson became part of the Interim Board of Directors the Co-op, which quickly created a nonprofit legal structure to participate as a cooperative in the bidding process for the entire facility.

There are more than 175 resident-owned mobile home parks in California, a cooperative movement that has been growing since the 1970s. There are an estimated 4500 mobile home parks in California.

Across from The Woods is the Coast’s airport. The community of Little River is isolated in the great forest and perhaps lesser known outside the Coast than communities like Westport and Albion. But Little River is also home to a golf course, historic cemetery, restaurants, grocery store and the Little River Inn, which dates back to 1853.

For additional information contact: 

Sheila Klopper, Secretary, Woods Cooperative Association, Inc. 

43300 Little River Airport Road

Little River, CA, 95456

408.888.1277

MOUSE CONTROL

Editor: 

Having recently retired from the adjacent Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, and having heard a decade of discussions pro and con, I want to correct some statements about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan to remove mice from the Farallon Islands to save native wildlife. 

First, Brodifacoum 25D rodenticide was exempted from the state ban. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency labels it for island ecosystem restoration. This approach has succeeded in nearly 700 island restorations.

Other means have failed. Contraceptives won’t work, are still years away, cannot reach all the mice, and each mouse needs repeat doses. The bait requires years of regular replenishment, repeatedly disrupting seabird and seal rookeries. Who’ll suffer most? Seal pups and chicks.

COP26 has taught us that delay is deadly. We can’t predict when climate change and other stressors might push the endangered ashy storm-petrels, a small endemic seabird, past their tipping point. Between 2007 and 2012, 49% of these birds disappeared. The mice and the owls they attract have helped push them toward extinction, and also prey on other rare species.

Only the Fish and Wildlife Service plan for mouse eradication can restore resilience to help native wildlife survive.

Mary Jane Schramm

Novato

WHAT HAPPENED TO HARRAH'S SR. CENTER THRIFT STORE?

Editor,

Used to be that you could buy a used appliance there in good condition. I still have a good working iron I bought over 20 years ago--not that I iron much anymore.

But recently, I bought a speaker-phone there and was told at checkout that all the appliances were tested. Got it home, it was broken, didn't work. Made a special trip back to return it and asked to speak to the tester guy. While waiting for him, I found another speaker-phone and a wall clock. The appliance guy, Lance, came and told me that the item I returned had no special sticker, so had not been tested, but the 2 items I found had stickers and could be relied on. So I bought them and guess what? Got them home, they BOTH were broken.

So I called Richard Baker, Sr. Center Director, to report the deceit. His response was to tell me about unreliable xmas lights (?) which literally added insult to injury.. Finally, he said he would alert Lance, who met me when I made yet another trip to return the items. Instead of a cash refund, I was given credit--to buy more damaged goods, I suppose.

Since this is a "business" which charges tax on all items and gives a receipt, why can't I get a cash refund like I would at any other business? Mr. Harrah must be turning in his grave

Patricia Kovner 

Laytonville

RESPECTING THE DEAD ON THE SOUTH COAST

Editor,

Obituaries in the early 1900s not uncommonly referenced the final resting place of local pioneer families as “that pretty little cemetery in Gualala,” perched on a scenic ocean bluff with its picket fence, colorful flowers, fine markers of marble, granite, and wood, and plot borders of stone, iron, redwood and decorative finials.

The Gualala Cemetery gradually ceased operations following the adjacent lumber mill siting in the late 1940s. In the decades that followed, despite periodic community cleanup efforts, the site fell victim to natural overgrowth, vandalism, and a general deterioration. 

But a year ago all that changed. Thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers and generous local donations, restoration of this historic resource is now underway.

An appeal is being made to the public for information that will assist in the reconstruction of the original features of the site. This includes historic cemetery photographs and records, and artifacts that may have been removed from the site over the years such as remnants of wooden plot borders and finials, which may serve as templates for the restoration. In addition, many tombstones and other grave markers have gone missing and their return to the site would be welcomed without question. 

An appeal is also being made to the descendents of those buried at the Gualala Cemetery. Our family history project seeks to document the lives and the contributions of these pioneer men and women. If you are a descendent we would like to connect with you.

The success of our work relies on the community involvement and support. If you have information or artifacts to share please contact me at Kay4bioenergy@aol.com. All project labor is voluntary but restoration materials rely solely on donations. Monetary contributions may be made to the Redwood Coast Land Conservation Cemetery Restoration Fund, PO Box 587, Gualala, CA 95445.

Kay Martin

The Sea Ranch

PILLSBURY GENTRY

Editor: 

The Press Democrat continues to publish the ravings and spin of disgruntled lake house owners associated with the Lake Pillsbury Alliance without fact-checking or moderating their claims. The Potter Valley Project and its dams are an enormous liability and certainly not one local water ratepayers should consider taking on. This is exactly why the Two-Basin Partnership’s (now failed) plan to take over the Potter Valley Project included the removal of Scott Dam.

Dams do not last forever, nor are aging dams cheap or efficient to operate. Ratepayers and the public should not be fooled into thinking that spending money on 100-year-old dams is a good investment. There are less expensive solutions that could maintain water supply in the Russian River without taking on the risk. Raising Lake Mendocino, a dam-free diversion, investments in conservation and groundwater recharge are cheaper, more sustainable and more reliable solutions to our water needs.

Don’t be fooled by cries to “save Lake Pillsbury.” These are simply the calls of privileged vacation house owners hoping someone else will pay for a dam that no one can afford and only they want.

Dean Walker

Santa Rosa

THE DINGBAT GENERATION

Editor: 

In the 1940s our nation was attacked by the Axis powers. Our nation asked the people for help and they responded by saying, “Yes, we can!” In the 2020s our nation is being attacked by COVID-19. Our nation asks the people for help and they respond by saying, “You can’t make me!” The World War II generation was called the Greatest Generation. I wonder what history will call this generation.

Don Mitchell

Healdsburg

DOING OK

Dear Editor,

Jayma and Jim Shields and Mickey at the Resource Center in Laytonville are very ethical and fine people. If you referred me to the resource center I completely understand and I say thank you. Elderly distraught women seldom are listened to. A whistleblower in “Canna Country" is silenced for obvious reasons.

The first week after I was referred to them I called and told them I had plenty of goods because of the stimulus money and that I'm fine. Since then I have called the cancer center and received help as well.

After I called the resource center I got a call with a totally different area code. I get a lot of scam calls and it stresses me because we are going through a cancer thing here.

Jayma is a wonderful person. I knew her mother. I read in the AVA about ships in the night and darkness. I have thought about that for many years. You are all brothers and sisters to me in the old Union speech, Solidarity and Lech Walesa. 

I remember the Catholic Workers and the poor from when I was a child. I have learned a lot and I am responsible for the rotten choices I have made. It's hard to feel comfortable anymore. I have been a farmworker, and an AFL-CIO shop steward and I have held many jobs and moonlighted.

I get some strange calls and if I don't feel comfortable I don't pick them up. But I am lucky to be here among the frogs and the foxes and the blue herons and everything on my land. I am not a victim. I am grateful and prayerful and sad.

Thank you for the referral and to all nine people who work there.

My partner has gotten better after weeks of radiation and we are both optimistic and we are both working a little every day for firewood and our house is warm and we have tons of food and the people at the Cancer Resource Center are really great human beings.

I may be too sensitive for my situation. I've been here for 40 years. Sometimes it's too much for people around here who don't use drugs. I think I am a strong old woman and old distraught women don't get paid much attention to. But that's okay. I have help with the Cancer Resource Center.

It's amazing how strong we are for old people. But we have our house and we are doing pretty well.

Ellen Harrington

Laytonville

WE DON'T HAVE IT

Editor: 

E.J. Dionne wrote that “a democracy built on free speech, a free press, freedom of conscience and regular elections requires forms of civic friendship across our lines of disagreement.” 

We don’t have freedom of the press in the U.S. when six mega corporations own 90% of the mainstream media. These corporations are Comcast, Walt Disney, AT&T, ViacomCBS, Sony and Fox. Some of these may have interlocking boards of directors with other major corporations. 

The only alternatives for citizens desiring a wider range of views are independent media and social media like Facebook and Twitter (with huge amounts of disinformation). People with families and both parents working don’t have time to search for alternative viewpoints. They are fed whatever media CEOs want. 

Freedom of speech, thanks to the Supreme Court’s corrupt Citizens United decision, is limited to those with the most money. That isn’t freedom of speech. The U.S. needs to change this before it ever calls itself a democracy. 

Ed Oberweiser

Fort Bragg

THE LONG ROAD TO JUSTICE

Dear Editor,

 For more than a year, the former president, while on the campaign trail, ranted away that the then-upcoming election was “rigged;” that somehow, if he didn’t win, it was “stolen.” And so, when January 6, 2021 rolled around with Joe Biden clearly the winner, for the first time in American history in his final days in office, Mr. Final-days-in-office-president still refused to concede the election loss. As a result, there was a domestic riot at the US Capitol Building, instigated and encouraged in public by Mr. “Final-days.” As the mob continued to assault Capitol Police, a bystander, Robert S. Palmer, pushed to the front. Palmer “hurled a fire extinguisher, a plank, and a long pole at officers.” On Friday, the headline read, “Capitol rioter gets 5-year sentence.” 

A Congressional investigation continues, but it seems clear that “Mr. Final-days” could also someday be charged with a crime.

Frank Baumgardner

Santa Rosa

PHIL MURPHY'S COVID SKEPTICISM: MR. WIZARD PUTS HIM STRAIGHT

Editor,

Several decades ago I spent a fair amount of time pondering the meaning of life and where all this was headed to, and in the course of that journey I also considered what was the biggest threat to human life. It became clear to me that the most likely end of the line for humans here wasn’t a nuclear war or an act of nature, it was the tinkering with the genetics of plants and animals. This belief was what got me to take the Mendocino GMO ban and present it to the Lake County board of supervisors within weeks of it being released, with the word “Mendocino” swapped-out with “Lake County”.

The proposal didn’t get adopted, but it did start a whole chain of events in motion that had a profound effect on Lake County politics for years to come, everything from getting one of our best supervisors ever elected to setting the stage for another GMO ban attempt a few years later. I am extremely proud of the work that came out of that process, we put on the most compelling, comprehensive and professional presentation ever put before the Lake County BOS, and we got the needed three votes only to see it fall apart on the second reading due to one gutless and self-serving supervisor.

Sadly it seems my fears were well-founded, as it appears the entire Covid crisis is a prime example of everything wrong with the “Science” community, who almost certainly brought us this disaster. A very simple and basic rule I have always tried to live by is to NEVER be more impressed with what I knew than what I didn’t know, as only an arrogant fool would do. From what I can tell with my direct experience with these people, is there are an awful lot of arrogant fools in the scientific community, like the guys who built and ran Chernobyl and Fukushima.

Back in September I wrote a piece for my daughter the immunologist that you ran called “Blind Faith”, it was my warning to her not to fall into the cult that surrounded her in the scientific community that THAT I KNEW was willing to take ANY risk in the name of research. I constantly challenge her on the subject and have scored some minor wins, but feel as though in the long run I’m doomed to fail changing either her mind or public opinion. Twice I have very nearly been killed by doctors, once by trying to cure my appendicitis with an enema and once by insisting I continue taking a drug that I was showing obvious signs of a severe adverse reaction to. 

The result of my appendix issue was the doctor at Kaiser in Sacramento burst my appendix and sent me home after telling me not to come back for 24 hours-advice that would have killed me within hours for certain if I had followed it. As it was I got peritonitis, spent four days in the ICU and the next 14 months recovering, and have had a damaged immune and thyroid system ever since. The pain during the event was so severe I had an out-of-body experience, I was above the table looking down on myself and saying “It’s OK, he’s down there where the pain is, but I’m up here where its safe”.

The drug reaction was almost as bad, I visited hell for three whole days. I had a fever of 104, my entire body was covered with itchy red bumps including inside my mouth, I was projectile vomiting and dry-heaved for two entire days. I had extreme vertigo and could only barely crawl on my hands and knees, and also had extreme diarrhea. But none of that was even CLOSE to the pain in my brain, which felt like a red-hot steel rod had been shoved through my skull and was being moved around inside it. This was after I had begged the doctor not to use that drug and to give me another medication I had safely used before-but what did I know, I was just an uneducated peasant.

I don’t even want to go into what doctors have done to my family members, its too painful and far to long, suffice to say that between my father being a drunk and my mother’s doctors being grossly incompetent pricks they managed to kill her, and thats just one example. 

So when I saw that you had done something I felt was out of character and inexplicable I became concerned, as I have for some time looked to you for your guidance on matters of substance and had always respected if not agreed with your viewpoints. But this year I saw what I thought was an odd perspective on the Covid epidemic, as your usually nuanced view was replaced with a full-on assault on the unvaccinated. As I have mentioned before I have had both my shots and for almost two full years I played by their rules, but now I’m done with it. I have never encouraged anyone not to get the shot, and have tried hard to get some at risk persons I know and care about to get vaccinated, so when people try to put me in one of the two boxes (vaccines cause autism or “I believe everything Pfizer tells me”), I find it more than annoying as I don’t buy either storyline.

Thats why I sent you the email, to attempt to nudge you back into your normally robust and well-measured level of healthy skepticism. As I have stated before its hard to find any heroes in all this, take for instance Fauci. He tells us masks don’t work and then says you MUST wear them-then says he lied to us because we were so dense that we would buy all the N-95 and surgical masks so none would be available for medical workers, a “noble” lie. He then tells us herd immunity would develop when 60% were vaccinated, then said it might be 70%, 80%, or 90%+ before that happened, right now Ireland has a 95%+ vaccination rate and they are having a major outbreak-as are MANY other highly vaccinated nations. Fauci AGAIN told us we were too dumb to understand the truth and we needed to be bullshitted on the subject to get us to take the jab-and don’t even get me started on his outright lies about funding gain-of-function research in China, no sane person should be defending that obviously self-serving bullshit.

It turns out that vaccines only have brief period where they can slow the transmission, this appears to be one area where natural immunity is far superior-but the NIH isn’t even studying it and neither is the FDA, which is largely funded by drug company fees. About 50 million Americans are confirmed to have had Covid, though the actual number is more likely around three times that, AND EVEN FAUCI HAS NO EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THEY NEED TO BE VACCINATED as he ADMITTED on CNN. Fauci has done an excellent job of making my point about the science cult thats never wrong and never admits mistakes while they arrogantly tell you if you doubt anything they say you are an imbecile.

The same goes for kids, show me ONE study that shows children are at higher risk from Covid than the regular flu-so why is your governor telling kids they need the jab right away and then says it can wait until next autumn? Thats ‘science”?

That’s what concerned me about your response, I asked in that email chain many legitimate questions, not because I am pushing an anti-vaccination narrative but because no one is addressing them even with bullshit answers. Instead of discussing the points I brought up you went on a weird straw man tangent which ignored them all, it surprised, startled and saddened me.

I just want some answers, holy shit-is it too much to ask that someone explain why it is 2 years into this the countries with the best hospitals and most vaccines are doing FAR worse than in Africa where a TINY amount of people are vaccinated or have decent medical care?The disparity is so huge the age differences and lack of fat people don’t even come close to explaining it-and the scientific community is stone silent on it. 

Why do we HAVE to trust ALL the words of the same people who brought us this plague? Where is the accountability? Why does “science” only matter when huge profits for the drug companies are on the line? Why do people who reliably question the government and special interest groups just fall into line and accept everything at face value from know liars and thieves? Remember that last year 100,000 died here from an opioid epidemic that was fired-up by the same people who have made tens of billions in the last year from Covid-THESE are people to have blind faith in? Count me out, I don’t want to play the game anymore, and don’t accept the box people are trying to put me in thats as idiotic as the partisan bullshit this entire debate has devolved into. 

Look at Europe to see where we’re headed, riots in multiple countries every single day over covid restrictions with no end in sight, all of which our MSM ignores because they don’t want any here to get any ideas-their job is to placate, not educate. Even at 100% vaccinated this disease will still be with us-but remember how they told us “take the shot and life will return to normal”? Apparently “normal” means getting boosters twice a year and carrying a vaccination card with you everywhere or one of Bill Gates digital vaccination files that he’s been pushing for years because he knows it will make him rich(er). Fuck that, this crisis has turned into the biggest enrichment opportunity in history for the billionaire class already, which gets ignored as does the huge mental and physical health (obesity) issues the crises has spawned AND NONE OF THIS HAD TO HAPPEN!

I wish you would join me on the middle ground where facts, an open mind and reason still matter and the partisan taint hasn’t poisoned everything, or at a minimum just avoided the subject as much as possible-thats my Christmas wish!

Have a merry Christmas and a great new year,

Regards, 

Phil Murphy

Grants Pass, Oregon

ED REPLY: I disagree with everything you've stated or implied, but I'm printing your letter and responding to you because we go back a ways.

1. The meaning of life. If we're doomed as a species, as seems more and more likely, it will be from a combination of catastrophes already underway, including the unwillingness of millions of the un- and under-informed to vaccinate against this, or later, viruses.

2. You have a smart daughter. You should listen to her, especially if she's a working immunologist.

3. Your unfortunate experiences with the medical profession are, obviously, the exception, not the rule. I had a near death experience myself ten years ago; it was doctors who saved me. (When I woke up in the ICU at St. Mary's there was a gaggle of nuns passing by, and I wondered why the Catholics had allowed me into purgatory.)

4. I'm flattered you appreciate my occasionally “nuanced” views on this or that while I'm simultaneously surprised at your retro covid views. If I had the authority I would make vaccination mandatory and sequester persons who refused. I'm old enough to remember a kid in my neighborhood imprisoned in an iron lung by polio. Americans — the whole world — celebrated when the great Dr. Salk came up with the antidote (and never made a penny from it). America has since lost its way, but people then had the sense to trust science and trust the medical profession. What happened? (The internet, primarily. I loved that New Yorker cartoon of a guy sitting on the commode with his laptop as he shouts to his wife, “Honey? Guess what I just found out about covid!”)

5. Dr. Fauci, despite being vilified and having his life constantly threatened, has done the best he can in combating a complex, shape-shifting virus. Reasonable people understand the evolving circumstances he's had to function in — beginning with suffering the Orange Idiot as his boss — and admire him for his courage in carrying on. I admire him without reservation. 

6. The anti-vaxx riots in Europe? That entire continent is presently reeling from covid's latest incarnation; the rioters are the more energetic soul bros of the same fools who oppose vaccination here. In Europe, though, the anti-vaxxers are a smaller minority than they are here because Europeans are better educated than Americans, generally speaking of course.

Merry Christmas and happy new year to you, Phil. Here's hoping you come to your senses in 2022.