- No Koolaid Here
- Think Of The Birds
- Sheriff Kendall’s New Year’s Message
- How To Wreck An Industry
- What Kind Of Elliptic Drama Fraud…
- Scurrilous Accusations
- Weather Perspectives
- League Stays Neutral
- Hospice Of Ukiah Serves Us Locally
- Meanwhile, In The Apartheid State Of…
- As The Crow Goes Off
- Heroic Efforts
- Note From Buenos Aires
- Farther & Farther…
NO KOOLAID HERE
Dear residents of Anderson Valley and parts unknown,
I’m writing to definitively lay to rest any ugly and incredibly misguided rumors that I am attempting to start a cult here in our beloved valley. What I AM doing is trying to gather a group of individuals, regardless of ethnicity, age, theology, political affiliation, sexuality, gender identification, social standing, wealth, lack there of, or any of the endless slew of nonsense that has created the ever widening division that has overtaken this once great melting pot.
(Well, “great” may be too strong a word, particularly to our indigenous brothers and sisters, but that is another matter altogether.)
My end game is simply one of love, fellowship, gratitude, compassion, and service to other, less fortunate members of society, both here in AV, and in our surrounding areas.
My mistake was in utilizing antisocial media as a way to spread my message! While I have had a number of positive responses, the majority of comments have taken on a cynical tone. As I have found, imbeciles are in no short supply in Mendocino County—a number of “Good ol’ boys” elected to flat out accuse me of starting a cult! They further amused themselves by bantering around the question of what flavor of Kool Aid I’d be serving, and in what volume.
A guy can only take so much. Even a guy who is making every attempt to do positive things for his community. Thus, I was forced to reply to their jabs that the Kool Aid would likely taste like my genitals, should they be interested in giving it a try. Maybe not such a compassionate response, but as stated, a guy can only stand so much!
I think George Carlin is smiling over that one.
In any event, should any of you out there reading this have the desire to become part of a movement to share happiness and help those in need, please contact me at (707)489-2915, via text or phone. I can also be reached via email at robbiekinglaneii@gmail.com.
Two together are strong. Three are nearly unbreakble. We can do good things for our fellow men, women, and children if we act as one. As I have come to know, it is in giving that we receive.
And “no,” that is not an attempt at securing charitable financial contributions!
I look forward with good faith that some of you out there will see this for what it really is: A purely altruistic attempt to create bonds among a society that has outgrown the tight-knit community that chose myself and my family to settle into and become active members of, nearly 20 years ago.
And there will be no Kool Aid, of any flavor, ever. I promise!!
As always, very sincerely,
Robbie Lane
Philo
THINK OF THE BIRDS
Editor:
People may not realize it, but when they cover their yard with plastic and top it with mulch or rocks, they are getting rid of birds, and they will still get weeds. Birds cannot eat through plastic, rocks, fake grass, pavers, etc. It is recommended to have just 5 feet of noncombustible material next to one’s house. So, if one wants to have birds in their yard and neighborhood, as well as having soil that is rich and fertile, cover the ground with mulch. Areas of lightly watered grass also works for birds. Both are good alternatives to covering over nature.
Lynn Hoyle
Santa Rosa
SHERIFF KENDALL’S NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE
Editor,
Here we are in 2023 and we are working our way into the new plans for the year. We are working to continue programs that are working well in our communities, while making new plans to deal with the problems which continue to exist.
The recent slaying of Riverside County Deputy Isaiah Cordero was a terrible and senseless tragedy. I am afraid we are seeing these events much too frequently. My mind immediately went back to the kidnap and attempted murder we saw in 2020 in which our deputies were nearly ambushed by well-armed suspects.
The reason we were able to take all three suspects into custody with no loss of life was because of our multi agency SWAT team. This team is continuing to train and keep their skills sharp. We can’t control what is presented to us, however we can control our responses. The proper tools and training allow us to have a measured response, which is what our communities demand and deserve from those serving.
We have had some good impacts made into the illegal marijuana cultivations and we will continue to investigate these crimes with the same focus and enforcement goals as we have had for the past several years. As we saw a downturn in illegal cultivation sites, we saw a downturn in violence. This will continue to be an uphill battle until such time we truly get our arms around the problem and the voices in our rural counties are heard at the state and federal levels. Once we get this issue sorted out I am afraid we will still have several years of cleanup to complete and I am uncertain who will be carrying that load.
We are hiring personnel as Sheriff’s Services Technicians to assist in several aspects mostly data entry and completing some of the newly mandated reporting which is taking our deputies off patrol for a good portion of their shifts. This should allow more patrol time in the areas which we serve.
We are continuing to see a rise in the dumping of trash, household furnishings, appliances etc. along our county roads. We can’t have this continue. Mendocino County is one of the most beautiful places on earth and we can’t allow it to be trashed.
Mail theft, theft of packages delivered to homes and crimes which affect our quality of life are also continuing to rise. We are working on solutions as we have in the past with the high intensity surveillance of problem areas. I am certain we will see results and reductions in these crimes.
Fentanyl is plaguing the United States and we are no exception. We will continue to battle this with the limited tools which have been left for us to use. We will have to take a stand and tell our state representatives the recent legislation is killing people. We have to stand together on this or our voices will not be heard.
I am not only the Sheriff, but also the Coroner for Mendocino County. Therefore I see the Coroner’s Investigations and I have become increasingly concerned about the issues we are facing with mental health and drug addictions. Suicide and overdose are preventable, and we must start working further upstream to stop these problems.
The dual response team has been a great help with mental health, however the issues surrounding addictions are continuing. Currently the approach to drug usage has been the issuing and administering of NARCAN. Narcan is a bandage and doesn’t stop the problem, only the symptoms. We have to come back to a realistic approach combining education with enforcement. Personal responsibility will be the only thing which causes this problem to end. Education and enforcement have been the only things we see that help create personal responsibility.
With the support of our communities I am confident that we will make headway on many of the issues that we are currently facing. Thank you for continuing to support the men and women serving all of us at the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Matt Kendall
Ukiah
HOW TO WRECK AN INDUSTRY
Editor,
Since the passage of the Adult Use Of Marijuana act in 2015 all the big news outlets have put a consistently negative spin on pot! The government has purposely set up many restrictive roadblocks for all the farmers and the newspapers have mostly ignored the issue. (Hot tamales!)
Until last Sunday and Monday, in the Press Democrap. Front page news with pictures of those ex-outlaws who laundered mucho bucks into legalized grows. I have no compassion for these cheap meretrix who jumped into bed with the corrupt government regulators! You got exactly what you didn’t want. An out of control hyper-regulatory regime! Made up of a bunch of bureau-terrorists! Now do you believe me?
I have watched people at the supervisors meeting be ignored and could see the government hacks looking at the clock to see when the dirty long-haired hippie’s 1 minute was up! Turn off the microphone, next, and make it quick! When the government admitted that they could not stop the people from doing what they wanted, they simply changed gears. Don't trust the government! Little bit late for that!
The smart growers stayed out of sight and continued to grow. Out in Covelo, there are five times as many “unregulated” grows compared to the “Permitted.” Anyone who says legalization is going ok is a complete moron, not paying attention, or a total liar. Almost all of the “legal” growers are pushing weed out the back door to make ends meet. The government has done its best to put the growers out of business. Former Mendo and Sonoma County Ag Commissioner Tony Linegar said, “They could not have come up with a better plan to shut down the small growers.” He “retired” very shortly after he said that to state Reps McGuire and Woods. The best AG commissioners can’t be honest or else!
I'll bet you a dollar that the wine industry has made all sorts of dirty deals with the government to keep weed out of wine country! How much money have these super rich winos funneled into these lowlifes pockets? The rich keep on getting richer! Now all the small players are out, I'll bet you another dollar the winos jump right in (official gap filler).
I used to help out at a cultivators group in a weekly meeting about how to grow a good pot plant, and who shows up? None other than a manager from Korbel winery! He was writing and asking questions galore and maybe planting some plants on the back 40. Another wino asked me to show him how to grow. He is just west of Healdsburg on Dry Creek. Winos suck water, lots of it and other things too! The Winos don't want any pot because then they will have to be required to obey all the environmental laws including riparian setback, fertilizers, and pesticide use that the pot growers are made to follow.
Try running five tractors down River Road at 8:00 in the morning — you better be wine related. Try putting 50 migrant workers out in a field with 20 bright lights at 10 or 11 at night — you better be a wino!
In 2015 the Press Democrat sent a reporter to my house to talk about pot and a current court case that I was subjected to. The reporter came to my court case and I was talking to her. Keith Faulder (my attorney) and my wife were sitting on a bench outside the courtroom and the prosecutor in my case went over to them and told them that I had to stop talking to the press. WTF! The public forum keeps them honest!
I plead guilty To cultivation of over and out so my parents would not have to keep coming to court again and again! Out of all my cases I've never seen a jury! It has never gone that far because the government does not want everyone to know what they are really about. (Shame on them)!
I have to ask, why was there no article in the Press Democrap? Only the mighty AVA has the balls to put it all out there! Bruce Anderson thought I was full of shit until I showed him my patients. I would like to ask Gary and Ladonna Haga how much money they made off of pot before they made the mistake of shacking up with the government. The growers are stuck where they put themselves. No refunds and you will never see the money that is owed to you! If I had not listened to Eddie Lepp’s really bad advice and just stayed on the mountain I would be a multi-millionaire, but I would not have helped to change the laws. Twenty-plus felonies dismissed over 20 years. I have put up the good fight for a really long time now, and I'm hoping that others will step in with me to help fight for our civil liberties.
Fred Gardner said that the big players only fought for legalization because they could make bank! Shame on you! Steven DeAngelo is a low life because he used the patients for his financial benefit. Where are the patients now Steve?
Sometimes I wish I had not fought for legalization because it went from criminal to corrupt very quickly. To anyone wanting to play the legal grow game, I would question your sanity and business sense. The growers will never make it until the regulators allow vertical integration (be allowed to sell what you grow)!
There are many many reasons that growers will fail! Hard work is fine and commendable, but today's growers have to be hardcore assholes to outwit, outmaneuver, and take advantage of everyone else in the game! Distributors should be shuttered because they are worthless assholes with an angle so they can walk off with the persimmons (walking off with the prize)!
Not only did Gary and Ladonna make the mistake of trusting the government but they put a shit ton of weed into a “guy with a suit’s” hands! Go ahead, take my weed and I’ll see you later. As Judge Judy says, “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” After he ripped you and a bunch of other growers, or should I say “ex moonlighting outlaws,” he ran for a government position. Imagine that! You should have taken the money and crawled back into your hole before you dealt with the snakes! You were blinded by the dollar signs!
The Press Democrap Sun-Mon Dec 11 and 12, 2022 front page says in bold letters: “Struggling to get paid.” I have a better heading. It should say: “Screwed hard by the government and their cronies.”
And now I would like to voice my humble opinion about the Press Democrap. This is the same paper that has devoted a whole section of their print to wine. All things wine. Wine, wine, wine! How can you ignore the horrible car wrecks, all the drunks on the road, medical costs for alcohol-related illnesses etc. The CHP and Sheriffs are spending huge money to get drunk yuppie scum off the highways before the thoughtless assholes kill your family. Around wine country most people's weapon of choice is wine. Oh okay, I'll only have one.
BS. Who has one glass of wine? I personally have seen a drunk come out of a liquor store with more wine and drive away drunk. Fuck you winos.
The Press Democrap is the biggest self serving, narcissistic, lobbyist, for the wine juggernaut. With this huge, two-part cannabis series they have accomplished what they set out to do! Undercut the growers and put even more doubt in the minds of possible cultivators. You are not telling anyone anything they don’t already know! Just stirring up the shit! Please stop!
Now a few words to reporter Andrew Graham! You completely missed the whole story you clueless fuck, what is wrong with you?! You should have interviewed some black market people and you would have gotten some straight answers. All the blackmarket people are laughing at the government and the legal growers and shaking their heads in disbelief. It is not the blackmarket grower, they are but a small cog in the machine. If the government hacks had come up with a fair game they would've had a whole lot better results. I place the blame mostly on the back of the clueless rule writers. These government regulators don’t know the first thing about the cannabiz and they are definitely against pot and have been for about 75 years! Andrew please stop being poetic. My friend Jonah Raskin spent years and years living in the marijuana world! After reading this dribble, it is very clear that you don’t know jack shit about pot or the people in it. Leave it to the pros like Raskin!
All a person can do is to try to keep doing what you can do, but now there is nothing to do for all the real growers except to do something else you might be able to do to keep you and yours going! Got it! Damn I sound like one of them! I guess what I'm trying to say is: Growers, find something else. I have watched too many people become slaves to the mighty dollar (myself included).
It is disgusting to me to watch these wealthy winos and their all white friends throw crumbs to the needy people with their fake, non-caring, elaborate fundraisers. If you have a stained breast (burdened by guilt) when you lay down at the end of the day — then!
People tell me I’m a player and it used to feed my ego. Back in 2015 I had a whole lot of plants and I got busted. Cops with automatics and even a tank. (No shit!) I saw the pigs pointing their guns at my wife and kids and all I could think about was how dangerous a position I had put my loved ones in. That was that, no more big grows. Safety first, money after that. I’m honestly happier now than I’ve been in a long time!
Well it’s been pretty quiet on the western front and I’m almost insulted that the man has stopped doing their stupid flyovers, over my house.
Sooooo I went to the Supes meeting in Santa Rosa for a while and I’m deaf so I’m watching these overpaid hacks talk and talk and talk but all I’m hearing is blah blah blah. And it just kept getting more and more ludicrous. So the Supes beat the growers to a bloody pulp with the help of NIMBYs! Mercilessly stomped on them until they quit. Fuck you! Twice! Just flat out lied to their constituents about everything from start to finish. It is the government's fault for this shitshow! Gobbledygook at its best!
Back to the Press Democrap, specifically Andrew Graham. Namby pamby writing. Look up “The Dunciad.” Your bosses are out to lunch! Turn off the Press and get a spine!
To Chris Coulombe” You fucked em good, you sure did!
To Gary and LaDonna Haga” You’re not the lone ranger!
To the government” you are as crooked as Lombard St in SF. Fuck you back! Twice! I think I’ll go walk my dogs in Armstrong Woods with my son! I walked away from pot and I feel good, much better now!
Oaky Joe Munson
Monte Rio
PS. You don’t have to pay the government to give away pot now! Sooo, what do you think, maybe?
Peace out!
PPS. Derek is the last true hippie.
WHAT KIND OF ELLIPTIC DRAMA FRAUD…
Editor,
If you sincerely believe in me I will forgive all your sins and grant you eternal life in the very lap of God. Plus my buddy Allah will add 97 virgins to frolic with in paradise and I'll throw in endless cases of top shelf cognac.
However, Lao Tzu (with a Z, as in Zorro) will never forgive you for burying his wisdom in a tiny paid advertisement on the back page and absolutely blowing it away with a full-color, two-page centerfold extolling the various salvations and redemptions of Christianity, as well as offering birthday salutations to baby Jesus, lest we forget Christmas is a holy day celebrating his birth in a humble manger with lambs baaIning as opposed to a consumer orgy with Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays and a further 10% tithe/tax on Christian church Sundays. God was impelled to send his immaculately conceived son out into the world so he could relate to his creation better. Not just walk among us, but suffer like us; authoritarian fathers seemed to enjoy seeing their precious sons pissing down their naked legs while being nailed to a cross. It may be that Jesus was sent forth to preach because when God spoke in his own voice — listen to the Voice from the Whirlwind in the Book of Job or Moses packing the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments — nobody seemed to hear or see him, perhaps figuring they had scored some exceptional hallucinogen, like last week's super marijuana string, God Speaks, which tested at 47% THC with terpenes out the ass.
What kind of editor are you to subvert a paid advertisement citing the central work of Taoism by inserting a two-page centerfold of your own beliefs in full color? Because I am always willing to award the benefit of doubt, I thought maybe you had succumbed to the recent influx of dark Christian money and sold out to the highest bidder, but since neither page of the centerfold has even the slightest hint that they are advertisements, a reader has to assume they are editorial content, an assumption bolstered by the fact that the only indication of the source — on both pages — Anderson Valley Advertiser, Boonville, CA 95415 along with the page numbers and date, December 21 — which happens to be the winter solstice, truly a thumb to the bum of all practicing pagans, as well as Lao Tzu Taoists, since Taoism, before it was corrupted into a religion, drew its principles from the natural world (a.k.a. "physical reality"), the animating source for most pagan coteries as well. Wow. Fanning the flames of discontent indeed.
I'm fairly certain the editor wasn't responsible for writing the text. Both pages contain what is called an "elliptical plause" ("and you… will be very, very glad" and, after three other instances, "and… that's a fact, friend") a tawdry punctuation device that writers beyond the fourth grade are loathe to employ for the false drama created. Actually, if I had to place a modest bet, I'd wager the second page, which wishes Jesus a happy birthday, was written by third-graders. And if I read correctly, Bruce Anderson just won the PEN Lifetime Achievement Award which isn't given to kids or illiterates, whatever their vested interests.
I don't object to any faith tradition pimping for itself in the solstice centerfold. May salvation spare all us hunting humans. But I'd sure like to know if some entity, even a shell company of some hedge fund, paid to have it inserted as an advertisement or celebration or a call to worship. As I recall, this issue has arisen before in a boxed claim among legal notices that "hydrogen peroxide kills the covid virus." In rhetoric, this is what is called an "undocumented assertion," and some reader wrote a few months ago wondering what the hell was going on with such a claim, and who was making it. The editor explained that it was an ad from a friend, and while it should have been noted that it was an ad, probably no harm done, since AVA readers were generally intelligent and wouldn't start drinking hydrogen peroxide any more then preaching Jesus Saves would prompt them to convert to Christianity. So maybe this is an experiment to prove his point. Or perhaps the PEN Lifetime Achievement award led to a revelation that God loved him and he felt beholden to spread His Word.
In this social media world of fake news, half-truths, lies, and other attempts to manipulate opinion for whatever nefarious or glorious ends, all I'm asking is a clear delineation between what are editorial positions and what are advertisements. It should be simple: if somebody pays you to print something, label it an advertisement. If you print it without payment, it is editorial content. The excerpt from the Tao The Ching on the back page is clearly marked as an advertisement even if the intent isn't clear. The source is cited down do the translation. The full-color Christian centerfold has none of that. We assume the editor has decided the USA is a Christian nation and no explanation should be needed, given the divine imprimatur, and that surely it will rain peace on our cottages by cleansing our sin-larded hearts. Lord knows it isn't easy being a gatekeeper for the fortress of truth, but lately it seems the gatekeeper has gone swimming in the moat, floating merrily on his back, beyond earthly concerns.
Truly yours,
Chegal Saldt
Arcata
PS. This is late because the AVA is so damn late getting delivered here. A friend says his issue is always at least five days late from the issue date and he lives in Garberville. I picked up the 12/21 issue two days after xmas when it arrived at an Arcata market. See what you can achieve with USPS which is slowly becoming PG&E.
SCURRILOUS ACCUSATIONS
Editor:
A few people, mostly not residents of Point Arena, have been tirelessly attacking Point Arena entrepreneur and new city council member Jeff Hansen.
These attacks have continued for the past couple of years in spite of Mr. Hansen's efforts to improve the state of commercial and residential properties in Point Arena. The rebuilding of the old motel in the south of town into the Wildflower Boutique Motel, and creation of the Izakaya Gama restaurant next door speak to the care and pride he puts into his creations.
For years, many commercial buildings on Main Street have been for sale with no takers. When Jeff and his wife Laura came to town from Salt Lake City, they saw an opportunity to invest and live their dreams. It is no surprise that some locals took offense, but most have come to appreciate his efforts.
One must note that in a similar way, these hateful lies have spawned unhinged actions similar to the ex-President's participation in the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. In this case, untrue and exaggerated charges against Mr. Hansen have apparently encouraged an anonymous sick person to post leaflets around town calling Mr. Hansen a "violent white supremacist slumlord" and calling for his removal from the city council.
Similarly, the owners of the Gama restaurant, next to the Wildflower on property owned by Mr. Hansen, had been attacked in the flyers, charging that the restaurant is "owned and operated by white supremacist supporters and violent cultural appropriators." This being said of hard-working community champions who for years ran the Harbor House restaurant in Elk, lived and studied Japanese culinary skills in Japan, and now grace one of the finest restaurants on our coast.
The coward, or cowards, who created these lies took no credit in the flyers, but that is the fingerprint of such people. We members of our extended community, must stand up as such ugly affronts to our humanity.
Richie Wasserman
Point Arena
WEATHER PERSPECTIVES
Editor,
We’ve been without electricity in Mendocino County for more than 24 hours now. We have no heat either, so we’re huddling indoors with layers of clothes, scarves and knit hats. Our only communication is cellphone service with low bars. Cooking and food prep has become challenging. We are lucky to have a couple of Goal Zero batteries to recharge cellphones and keep our fridge running, and I will check on an 89-year-old neighbor today.
Robin Applegarth
Gualala
ED NOTE: Now imagine missiles raining down on your head and you have an idea of what the Ukranians are suffering in a much colder climate.
LEAGUE STAYS NEUTRAL
Editor:
The League of Women Voters of Mendocino County, like its parent organization, the national League of Women Voters, is a nonpartisan organization with a mission to encourage informed and active participation in government. The League is nonpartisan at all levels, including our local League, and never supports candidates.
Unfortunately, an article in the December 22, 2022, Advocate-News gave the impression that LWV of Mendocino County had supported a candidate for Fort Bragg City Council. This is a big deal to us because our ability to provide a trusted source of objective political information depends on our 100-year-old reputation for neutrality.
While the League encourages its individual members to be fully involved in politics, including running for office and working on campaigns, our only involvement as an organization in the City Council race was to organize a candidate forum for all the candidates at Town Hall.
Dorine Real and Paula Cohen, co-presidents League of Women Voters of Mendocino County
HOSPICE OF UKIAH SERVES US LOCALLY
To the Editor:
Why are you waiting?
Maybe your doctor has told you Mom can’t have Hospice until she gives up cancer treatment. Maybe you are in denial about the seriousness of her condition. Maybe your culture dictates that the family takes care of their own. Maybe no one has even suggested Hospice could help relieve mom’s pain and your distress.
On Friday, before the New Year Weekend, Hospice of Ukiah took three referrals from desperate families asking for Hospice right away. Nancy (not her real name) tearfully told me that her mom had finished cancer treatment and was dying — her doctor had told her she was now eligible for Hospice. With only one nurse on duty over a major holiday, 17 people on our waiting list and a number more cases pending, this was bound to lead to a very stressful weekend for the family. We triage our referrals and try to get to the most critical first, but there is only so much we can humanly do. Nancy’s was not the only desperate call that Friday.
It is true that Medicare rules require that people give up life extending treatment and have a six month prognosis of death to be eligible. However, this is not true of Hospice of Ukiah.
The truth is that, if Hospice is involved earlier, we can do a lot to alleviate the pain and stress of both patient and caregivers. When things become critical, we are already part of the medical team and on the scene as caring friends. Hospice of Ukiah is not about helping a person to die — it’s about helping them make the most of the life they have.
When there is a life threatening, serious illness in the family, we hope that people turn to us for help. Hospice of Ukiah is here, without bureaucratic barriers, for everyone in our community.
Janet M. Denninger, Administrator
Hospice of Ukiah
MEANWHILE, IN THE APARTHEID STATE OF…
Editor:
The new government in Israel poses a serious threat to Israel’s liberal democracy because it appointed people to critical governmental posts whose reputations for bigotry illuminate the political landscape.
For instance, the New York Times reported that one member of the new government had on his wall for many years a picture of a Jewish settler who murdered, in Hebron, 29 Palestinians in 1994 while they were praying. Yet he will be put in charge of national security, which includes the police.
Another example of a bigoted appointment is a person who wants to segregate — as the New York Times reports — Arabs from Jews in maternity wards and prevent Jewish property developers from selling to Arabs. He will be in charge of some aspects of the occupation on the West Bank.
A liberal democratic state rejects bigotry of all kinds. But in the current Israeli case, bigotry is given a prominent place within life and politics.
The U.S. government must condemn Israel for these appointments and make clear that continued U.S. backing for Israel is contingent on Israel doing so as well, posthaste.
Steven M. DeLue
Petaluma
AS THE CROW GOES OFF
Editor,
Not as the crow flies, as the crow lies…
It would be a bit comical if it wasn't also a little terrorizing, but I'm getting the sense it is a waste of time writing to rectify the lies Alan Crow keeps spreading about me in the AVA. It just makes me wonder two things: Has crime and his punishment finally driven Mr. Crow insane? Or is Mr. Crow working with some others to try to get me killed?
A few weeks ago I was stabbed on a prison yard. I did not know the assailant. Then I remembered Mr. Crow threatening me once in the County jail. He said he could get somebody to kill me in the joint. Then it happened, kind of quirky. This is from a guy I only really know from Mendocino County Jail and for over 20 years he professed to be my good friend. I have never done any harm to Alan Crow. I don't really have any knowledge of him out on the streets and have never met any of his family. Why he obsesses on me, kind of defies reason.
Also I've never in any way ever harmed Keith Faulder or David Eyster. I've been very critical of all three of these dudes in a few AVA letters, but they have constantly filed false felony charges against me. Recently with villainlous lawyer (basically appointed by this team of Faulder and Eyster) succeeded in getting me an 18 year to life prison sentence. I will win this case on appeal, but it's taking a long time in jail and I'm back in solitary confinement after the stabbing.
So the only people I can guess that want me dead are Faulder, Eyster and Alan Crow. Since they are practically playing out this whole scene in front of both me and Bruce Anderson, could they at least send a letter letting all the AVA readers know why they want me dead? Of course, you boys don't have to sign your letter, mail it under "anonymous" or name withheld.
If you all think you are brave enough to hire prison "hit men," at least let us know why.
Sincerely,
David Detective Youngcault Giusti
Vacaville
PS. If you want proof that Allan Crow is lying about my case, try getting the truth from the Ukiah police. The alleged victim, and I repeat a notorious woman-beater named William Barry, was never in a prone position at my homeless camp as Mr. Crow claims. Crow also claims I hit this guy 40 times with an axe handle. How could he know? He wasn't there. He was in Lake County Jail on March 17, 2020, the night of my arrest. Also check police evidence. There was no axe handle found in my possession or anywhere on or near the bogus crime scene.
Crow also claimed Mr. Barry was nearly dead and that doctors miraculously brought him back to life again. Not the truth. Again, read the Ukiah police crime report. The Ukiah police state that when they first saw Barry after I had walked passed him that Barry stated, "Leave me alone, I will get Giusti on my own. I'll get revenge on Giusti." It really doesn't sound nearly dead as Mr. Crow claims. Later that night Barry requested to leave the hospital. There was no life-saving emergency surgery performed on him. Also check with Ukiah police and you will discover he is 57 years old. Where Mr. Crow comes up with these lies that Barry is 79 and lying half dead somewhere in the Bay Area is really a mystery. All I can surmise out of all this is that the prison officials have put Alan Crow where he belongs. Crow is currently housed at the California Medical Facility at Vacaville. That is the prison sanctuary for the certified criminally insane!
Hopefully a miracle from God will change Mr. Crow's lifestyle.
HEROIC EFFORTS
Editor:
We do not need to like PG&E very much to recognize that the line repair folks are heroes. I live in Sebastopol. My power went out twice Wednesday night, and both times it was back on in about an hour. Working in a cherry-picker with big electricity in the dark and the rain — that is heroic! Big thanks.
Marian McDonald
Sebastopol
NOTE FROM BUENOS AIRES
To the Editor,
Thanks for the backbone and integrity you've displayed by publishing my response to your Dec. 7 encomium to San Francisco's most distinguished neo-conservative Alice Cooper impersonator, the former Steve Schwartz. Schwartz is currently operating under the handle Lulu, and next week probably under a different moniker still. In response you write: “I haven't made Schwartz Studies my life's work, as you apparently have. I defer to your superior scholarship, but still think, given his age and obvious mental illness, ordinary sympathy isn't too much to ask.” Writing stuff like this isn't my life's work. So far my two novels and six short stories have been my life's work. Yes, I have expended more keystrokes on Schwartz that Schwartz merits. To me Steve Schwartz/Lulu Schwartz has been something to write about. What can I say -- writers write. I believe that this is why they are called “writers.” And while I don't consider myself to be a journalist I do try to find out what I'm talking about before I voice an opinion, let alone writing and publishing one that's more than 1200 words long.
As far as giving the Ronald Reagan, Nicaraguan Contra and Islam Karimov paid propagandist Schwartz a free pass based on Schwartz's apparent current problems, I'm sure that Julius Streicher was way-hella-bummed out after late April 1945, but that wouldn't have obligated me, if I'd been around in those days, to offer the poor suffering soul a neck rub, a foot massage and a box of hankies. My milk of human kindness is all tapped out on the victims of United States foreign policy crimes, not by brown-nosing an enthusiastic career salaried apologist for these crimes.
Along with this here's my disgust and contempt for your aspersions against Attorney Dennis Cunningham, which you spewed with your predictable tact and good taste on the occasion of his death from cancer. Dennis was a fine man and he had more courage and integrity in a set of his fingernail clippings than you've ever displayed at the Andersonville Advertiser. In 2001, Dennis and another San Francisco attorney went to bat for me in a lawsuit against the San Francisco Police Department, for exceeding the scope of a search warrant that the cops executed on my and my girlfriend's apartment in the context of anti-gentrification efforts that I'd been trying to stir in San Francisco's Mission District in the late 1990s. That this lawsuit settled rapidly for an amount far in excess of my most optimistic expectations was a measure of Dennis Cunningham's legal skills. He was a kind and decent human being and he is missed by many.
Kevin Keating Buenos Aires, Argentina.
ED REPLY: Doubt you're much for making distinctions as your inane remark about Cunningham suggests, but I objected to him politically, not as a person. I didn't know (or care) that he got you off for keying up-market vehicles as your one-man yuppie eradication project. The ruling class trembles! Buenas Aires? Well, doubt that Lulu and her flying squad of transvestites will find you there. Stay safe, big boy.
FARTHER & FARTHER…
Editor:
Israel has lurched dangerously to the right and is under the control of nationalistic and religious hard-liners. Business owners (and soon, perhaps, doctors) may refuse to serve LGBTQ+, non-Jews and anyone who upsets their religious sensibilities. After a change in their constitution, Itamar Ben-Gvir, convicted of “inciting racism,” is minister of national security. A settler leader who heads an ultraright religious party now oversees the West Bank.
What will happen to the over 3 million Palestinians there? With more illegal settlements planned on privately owned Palestinian land, can we all finally admit the two-state solution is dead? Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot or lying, and that includes our president. History has shown that nothing good comes when nationalism and religious fundamentalism go hand in hand. It’s Manifest Destiny Israeli-style, and what happened to Native Americans may well happen to Palestinians.
Yes, China, Iran and Russia are bad too, but we’re not sending them $10 million of our tax dollars a day. Jewish Voice for Peace writes that they’re “guided by
justice, equality and freedom for all people. We unequivocally oppose Zionism because it is counter to those ideals.” The new Israeli government makes that abundantly clear.
Laura Gonzalez
Santa Rosa
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