Mendocino County Today: Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023

Cool Day | Brooktrails Lake | Motorcycle Fatality | Boozefighters | Poisonous Skunk | Salmon | Suzanne Rush | Alley Flowers | Housing Problems | Wishy Washy | Rainy Sky | Another Hospital | Pet Wiley | Ed Notes | RCS Clarification | Lowell Felkins | Elder Survey | Yesterday's Catch | Ready George | Vacation Donation | Weed Hi | Marco Radio | McCovey Cove | Zombie Apocalypse | Working Poor | Real Politics | Jimmy Buffett | Your Diary | Little Maria | Mystical Nature | Air Puppet | Female Anxiety | Giants Avenue | Trail Runner | Grief | Amplified Voice | Brothelwear | Me? | McCarthy Attacks | MacKerricher Biker

EXPECT A RATHER COOL DAY with more showers and perhaps some thunderstorms, mainly over parts of Trinity and Del Norte Counties. Temperatures trend toward normal into mid-week. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A cloudy 59F with .04" of rainfall collected this Sunday morning on the coast. That was not much of a rain maker, we have another slight chance for a shower today. Then back to the morning fog - clearing routine next week.

VEHICLE COLLISION RESULTS IN DEATH OF MOTORCYCLIST 

On September 2, 2023 at approximately 10:15 AM, FBPD officers were dispatched to the intersection of S Main St (SR1) and Cypress St on the report of a motorcycle versus vehicle collision with the rider on the ground and the motorcycle on fire. 

Officers arrived and found an adult male in the middle of the intersection with obvious major injuries. The male had no pulse and bystanders had already started CPR. A State Parks Lifeguard, who was passing by, and an FBPD officer took over CPR. A second FBPD officer arrived on scene with an AED and deployed it. CPR continued until Adventist Health EMS and Fort Bragg Fire Department arrived on scene to take over. Despite all lifesaving efforts, the motorcyclist was pronounced deceased. A bystander with a fire extinguisher successfully controlled and put out the fire on the motorcycle. 

There were dozens of witnesses to the collision and its aftermath as well as surveillance video nearby. Preliminary investigation leads officers to believe the motorcyclist was splitting lanes northbound on South Main Street, approaching a stale red light at Cypress St. Shortly before arriving at the light, the motorcyclist sideswiped two vehicles, stopped for the red light, and continued into the intersection against a stale red light, colliding with westbound traffic. 

Heavy traffic had to be detoured onto side streets, causing delays and backups throughout the city. 

Chief Neil Cervenka said, “Labor Day Weekend in Fort Bragg is one of our heaviest traffic times and this tragic collision occurred in of the busiest traffic areas. Thank you to our public safety partners – CHP, MCSO, State Parks, FBFD, and Adventist Health for their rapid response and assistance on this scene. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the motorcyclist.” 

Drug and alcohol influence is unknown at this time. 

Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to contact Ofc Baker of the Fort Bragg Police Department at (707)961-2800 ext 226. 

This information is being released by Chief Neil Cervenka. All media inquiries should contact him at ncervenka@fortbragg.com. 

THE SKUNK’S CONTAMINATION OF PUDDING CREEK

Glyphosate, a potent herbicide that was once widely used in agriculture prior to its dangerous effects being known, has been detected in our Pudding Creek Estuary water supply, posing severe health and environmental risks.

The Skunk train, under the direction of Robert Jason Pinoli, Christopher & Michael Hart, and Efstathios Pappas began spraying glyphosate along their railway line in the Pudding Creek flood zone this year and there are detectable levels in the water AS WE SPEAK. We plan to present our preliminary findings to the Environmental Protection Agency this week.

Glyphosate exposure is linked to cancer, developmental issues, and irreversible harm to aquatic ecosystems.

Take action now:

Conserve water: Limit usage until the issue is resolved.

Contact authorities: Demand swift action from local officials to investigate and rectify the contamination.

Share information: Spread the word to raise awareness within our community.

Water filtration: Consider using a certified filter to safeguard your drinking water. Glyphosate has been shown to leach into groundwater and wells.

We cannot ignore this grave threat to our health and environment. We must act urgently to protect our water supply from glyphosate contamination!

Please reach out to me if you would like to join the Friend’s of Pudding Creek’s efforts to preserve our precious water supply and present our findings to the elected officials whose job it is to protect our environment.

Susan Strang, Fort Bragg

* * *

Skunk Train Owner Chris Hart:

Given everything going on with Paul Bunyan days I have not had much time to check into this with my colleagues at the Skunk Train. This is not my area of expertise, but my initial finding is that the use of such herbicides and pesticides are appropriate and legal. Nevertheless, I am reaching out the appropriate people to discuss this further. I would welcome whatever test information you have. You can reach me atchristopher@sierrarailroad.com

In the future, I would encourage you to contact us directly since often this will lead to the quickest action, when needed.

* * *

Susan Strang:

"Appropriate and legal" is what I'd expect from these miscreant criminal minds. Are they aware there has already been one rather large lawsuit regarding glyphosates that the plaintiff won? To the tune of millions? Ya gettin' tired of corporate malfeasance yet? Wait till someone living near their fake railroad tracks gets cancer. That would be so "appropriate and legal", wouldn't it?

SUZANNE ‘SUSAN’ RUSH

Suzanne Zinkann Rush died Aug. 8, 2023, at home at the age of 76 in Irish Beach. Suzanne Loise was born on Sept. 12, 1946, to Paul and Lillian (Schupolsky) Zinkann. She was the third eldest of seven children and “a loving wife and mother,” according to her daughters Richelle Ryan and Kristina Espensnip.

She grew up with her siblings in Silver Lake, Ohio. She spent most of her adolescence among friends, ice skating on the lake and reading, which continued to be a passion throughout her life.

As an adult, Suzanne took some courses at Kent State and pursued her education in secretarial school, which she then applied to her work as a medical transcriptionist. Her expertise led her to a significant role as the office manager for the leading orthopedic surgeon in the United States, whose practice was located in Columbus, Ohio.

“In Columbus, she met her first husband and lovingly raised her two daughters, imparting upon us her values of determination and compassion,” said Richelle and Kristina.

“In the tapestry of her life, Suzanne’s story took another beautiful turn, they recounted.

“She rekindled a cherished connection with her high school sweetheart, which blossomed into a heartwarming romance. On the memorable day of July 3, 1999, in Green, Ohio, Suzanne exchanged vows with her beloved Walter Rush, embracing a new chapter of love, companionship, and happiness that would bring them great joy to last many lifetimes.”

They later moved to California, drawn by the allure of the beach and the opportunity to be closer to her daughters.

“Suzanne’s vibrancy extended beyond her story’s pages,” her daughters added. “As a remarkable woman, her spirit resonated with all who knew her. Beyond her love for horses, travel, books, Las Vegas shows, and movies, Suzanne played an essential role in her husband’s jewelry business, infusing dedication and creativity into its success. Her resolute commitment testified to her ability to foster enduring relationships with colleagues and clients alike.

“Suzanne’s faith illuminated her path as a devoted member of the local Catholic Church, embodying values of compassion and kindness,” her daughters added. “Her support reached those in need within Point Arena’s community.

“Suzanne’s legacy, an enduring treasure, remains enshrined in the hearts of family, friends, and all touched by her presence. Her memory bequeaths a trail of inspiring and uplifting moments, forever guiding those who were fortunate to share in her remarkable journey,” they said.

Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Cecelia. Suzanne is survived by her husband, Walt Rush; daughters Kristina (Neil) Espenship and Richelle (Andrew) Ryan of Sonoma County; three grandchildren: Jake, Joe, and Olivia Ryan; and a large extended family including her brother and four sisters, as well as a stepsister and stepmother, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

On Friday, Sept. 15, a Rosary will be held at 7 p.m. at St. Aloysius Catholic Church. Following that, on Saturday, Sept. 16, a Mass is scheduled at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, at 10 a.m. Directly after the Mass, a celebration of life will take place at the Manchester Fire Hall until 1:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to KGUA radio, or the Point Arena Theater. “The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of Suzanne’s friends and family who have been a vital part of her life,” said Richelle and Kristina.

* * *

MARK SCARAMELLA NOTES: Susan Rush was also a regular contributor to the AVA for about five years from 2007 to 2012. She was laser focused on the questionable and incompetent Point Arena and Manchester school boards and administration, at one point bringing a well prepared slam-dunk of a 12-point Brown Act Complaint which was at first summarily ignored by the Point Arena School Board (of course). She then filed the complaint with then-District Attorney Keith Faulder (now a Superior Court judge) who proceeded to formalize the complaint to the School Board/District and demanded that various actions be taken or re-taken. The District paid their expensive Santa Rosa attorney for a half-baked response to deny the obvious violations. By that time, Faulder, who was running for DA against Meredith Lintott, had been unappointed by the Board of Supervisors on contorted grounds that being the appointed DA gave him an electoral advantage. His temporary replacement, Ms. Norman, re-filed the complaint. But when Lintott was elected she dropped it without explanation. It was the first and only time a Mendocino DA had filed a Brown Act complaint originated by a citizen — an amazing accomplishment. Ms. Rush was also a staunch defender of unfairly treated Point Arena Elementary principal Matt Murray who was stabbed in the back and fired by his Superintendent, Mark Iacuaniello, when teachers complained that he was pushing them too hard — the horror! — after Iacuaniello had promised to stand behind Murray when Murray was hired. The case went to Mendo Superior court and Susan Rush attended every day of the four-week trial-farce, driving to Ukiah from the south coast every trial day to watch “justice” play out for Murray, an idealistic Harvard English professor and a true professional who had decided he could make more of a difference by giving up his cush professorship and going into elementary school administration. Murray was ultimately unsuccessful in his wrongful termination suit against the District and Iacuaniello because the Court ruled that 1) Murray couldn’t sue the District/Board for firing him (in illegal closed session) because they were “immune,” and 2) he couldn’t prove “actual malice” on the part of Iacuaniello because Iacuaniello was just too stupid and bumbling to generate any kind of provable “malice.” Ms. Rush was a major contributor to our coverage of that terrible case (which can be found on our website’s special series section). Coincidentally, Keith Faulder was Murray’s attorney, having returned to private practice after narrowly losing to Lintott who won by playing the “woman card” despite having almost no experience in serious criminal matters. Seeing that the school and the judicial system was rigged in support of incompetence and malice, Ms. Rush finally gave up and stopped submitting her detailed monthly take-downs of PA Unified and its minions. We couldn’t blame her. She was one sharp cookie and Mendo and the Point Arena schools are the worse for her passing. Too bad there aren’t more like her.

Here’s one of Ms. Rush’s last letters to the AVA (which was rejected by the Gualala-based Independent Coast Observer for being “too long.”) Mrs. Rush had applied to be appointed to an open slot on the Point Arena School Board.

* * *

THE SUPERINTENDENT’S PROTOCOL

To ICO Reporter Chris McManus:

It is unfortunate you didn't attend the board meeting in Manchester in May for my interview process. So, I will give you a brief summary of what took place that day. Prior to the meeting, I informed County Superintendent of School Mr. Paul Tichinin I would be a few minutes late because I was working. However, when I arrived at the meeting Leah (the contracted principal at the time) came running out, introduced herself and said to me, “Great you’re here, we are just getting to your interview.” 

The board then interviewed me and questions were asked. Since Mr. Tichinin was in attendance I asked if he had any questions. He replied, “I am only here to make sure protocol is followed.” After the interview nothing was said. So, I asked if they were going into closed session and was informed they were. Mr. Tichinin told me he would call me later that night (which he did not) to let me know the board’s decision. 

You see, I believed the decision was made in closed session. But I found out the following day, through Tichinin, that the decision is made, “according to protocol in open session,” following the interview process. Yet, this was not done and I was not informed it would be discussed later that night nor was I told that prior to my arrival the item on the agenda (my school board candidate interview) had been changed to later that evening. The board, with Tichinin in attendance to oversee protocol, had my interview as it was originally on the agenda. I would have returned to the meeting if I had known all this went on prior to my arrival. Thus, Tichinin who was only there to “make sure protocol is followed” did not, and let me be interviewed without the decision rendered at that time.

I regret you did not contact me (I asked you to, if you had any questions) to find out what had happened in May which made me decide to make a statement at the meeting. 

During my interview Virgil Knoche, president of the board, was the only board member to ask me about my involvement in Point Arena. However, because of the agenda being rather significant I did not elaborate on it which in hindsight may have been a mistake. I did tell him it would take me some time to discuss my involvement and how it began, but I would be happy to share it at some point in time. He stated he would like to hear it but approved of my answer regarding my involvement as a community advocate for our students which, as I told him, I believe there should be more like me in the community coming to board meetings. He agreed.

Later I was informed that Trustee Susan Levenson-Palmer was the member whom did not believe I should sit on the board because of what I have put in the paper. Since Palmer has only lived fulltime on the coast for a short period of time, I thought she needed (along with Virgil) to know exactly how my advocacy started in Point Arena. Therefore, I approached Trustee Vasquez and asked if she would have Superintendent Gonzalez add me to the next agenda which she stated she would. Thus, the statement I presented at the board meeting. It was the proper time because there was only one item on the agenda.

I regret the statement lasted “several minutes,” but I actually did cut a lot out. However, unless you attend board meetings on a regular basis it is impossible to give an accurate picture of what transpires which in the ICO you did not. There are times things are stated at board meetings that are not reported at all. We have a failing elementary school and now a failing high school. At a board meeting when principal Paula Patterson was going over the failing student benchmarks, she turned and looked at the high school principal, Warren Galletti, and commented, “Yep, that’s what you’re getting next year — good luck with that.” 

However, was this ever reported? No. I am aware it is not entirely the fault of teachers, it starts with the leaders — the board, the superintendent, the principal and trickles down. 

You were at the meeting and, yet, I am wondering if you really were. First, I NEVER EVER objected to not having further discussions after my statement. So, I am not sure why you reported it. Also, Virgil Knoche (a gentleman) would have let the discussion go forth if Tichinin had not vehemently told Trustee Vasquez, “THIS IS NOT A DISCUSSION ITEM!” and one time turned around to me and stated, “AND THIS IS IN BROWN ACT LAW, IS IT NOT?” Which, in my email to Tichinin copied to the ICO, you know this statement was incorrect and Trustee Vasquez had every right according to Brown Act Law to ask a question and/or make a statement. 

Yet, this was never reported in your article. This was also the only time I made a statement (since he posed the question to me) and said, “You are here tonight to assure protocol is being followed but why didn’t you at the May meeting?” As you know, he did not answer my question because he couldn’t.

Mr. Tichinin is the county superintendent who should be a model to ALL district superintendents. As county superintendent, he should know (not me) the “complexities of California’s enormous Education Code” along with Brown Act Law and State Board Bylaws but he does not or he wouldn’t have legal counsel on speed dial to answer a question which seems Trustee Vasquez already knew the answer to. 

Also, you reported my “displeasure with the Manchester School” Board which was, again, not factual. My displeasure was only directed to Tichinin because he tried to humiliate a board trustee and I found it to be offensive especially since he was wrong and had no right to do so. Yet, is this reported in your article? No, it is not!

Another item not factual in your article is the part that states, “and her inquiry as to how many applied for the Manchester Board vacancy.” I specifically gave you a copy of my statement and NOWHERE does it state this. So, why did you? You should have taken the time to read the statement because that is why I gave it to you.

What your article did was make Tichinin out to be more than he is for not following or knowing protocol, the Education Code or the Brown Act Law; and vilify me. I’m not sure why, but it is fine. If he did know protocol in the first place, none of this would have happened. But let’s not put any responsibility on the right person who failed to do a job we pay him to do. 

The ICO needs to lift the blinders and stop painting the picture to the public that everything is wonderful in Emerald City when it isn't. The children in our community desperately need more advocates on their side to truthfully report the injustices of what is happening in our schools. I just don’t understand why the ICO isn't being more accountable to the public as to what is really happening in our failing schools. After all, the taxpayers pay a major portion of how our students are being educated.

I stated in my letter to the editor, that ICO Editor Steve McLaughlin never sent his children to the Point Arena Elementary School. So I am not sure why he doesn’t want to see change happen so community members, like him, don’t have to drive all the way to Mendocino or so that they could feel proud about sending them to Arena Elementary instead of the Charter School. Why he is so afraid to have me sitting on a board when I only want to help bring change that is so drastically needed to a district to help our students achieve their goals?

Again, please feel free to call me with any questions regarding what I have emailed you.

Susan Rush

Manchester

* * *

PS from Mark Scaramella: Funny, the ICO made no mention of Mrs. Rush’s long-time dedication to and dogged advocacy for their local School District’s improvement elsewhere in the paper where the above obituary first appeared.

SUPERVISOR MULHEREN comments on the problems at the Orr Creek Commons housing complex:

I’ve been trying to meet with anyone I can from the City, MCSO, County to try and come up with some solutions. Just with MCSO calls alone there were over 260 calls in six months at this location and that doesn’t count the calls by fire and medical (Ukiah Valley Fire Authority and Medstar) or Ukiah Police Department which is daily trying to clear people out of the creek behind the apartments. These units housed many people and that’s a great thing but they went in without the wraparound support they need and RCHDC needs to be accountable for the management of the property. I would love to hear from people some types of solutions that have worked. I know the apartments on Laws Avenue (at least from the outside) seem to be doing well. How are the apartments on Observatory? Is management doing a good job? Before Covid I was trying to get started a “good tenant” program where experts would teach tenants basic care and maintenance. Live Oak (the former Best Western) offers security and heavy case management but it was a built in business plan. How do we go back and improve projects like Orr Creek Commons now that we have what we have, and how do we make sure we don’t continue to make the same mistakes?

MOST MENDOCINO COUNTY newspapers are duplicative and wishy-washy.

— Joe Scaramella, former Fifth District Supervisor, 1997

THE ADVENTIST UKIAH MONOPOLY…

To the Editor,

A while back the Ukiah City Council was quoted in the Ukiah Daily Journal saying that they were meeting to discuss the general plan for Ukiah.

I wrote to the City Council with my input to the plan, which was to bring another hospital to Ukiah. I received a nice letter back in which they said that they have no jurisdiction over health care in Ukiah.

A friend suggested I might write to you to see if you know someone in high places who could help to bring another hospital to Ukiah, which would offer more choices of doctors, lab and x-rays, and maybe even physical therapy.

My thought was that maybe Kaiser would be a good one.

Something to think about.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Donna Van Wyhe

Ukiah

OK—WILEY IS BEYOND HANDSOME! 

This dapper dog walks politely on-leash and definitely enjoys his walkies! Wiley has good indoor manners and has had some training—he knows sit and down. For the Husky breed, Wiley is pretty mellow. Mr. W spent some time at the wonderful foster home, Casa de Laura, so we have information about how he did amongst all the resident dogs. Check it out at mendoanimalshelter.com/dogblog/wiley

Wiley is a Husky X, 2 years old and 50 delightful pounds.

For more, head to mendoanimalshelter.com. For information about adoptions, call 707-467-6453. Check out our Facebook page and share our posts! If you're thinking about adding a puppy to your pack, we've got 'em! Check out all our adorables at mendoanimalshelter.com

ED NOTES

NOTICE OUT OF COVELO says that Judge Ron Combest has died. Judge Combest was a long-time Superior Court judge whose home was in Covelo.

LOTS OF PEOPLE say they don’t vote because the system is so corrupt that voting only validates the rottenness. Do the math! At the state and national level, in the present context, your vote, in too many cases, does indeed reaffirm the two party oobleck. But a properly-aimed ballot at the purely local level can do some good, but even at ground floor Mendo, unless dissidents manage to put a slate of the like-minded together for a run at, say, the Board of Supervisors, a worthy single individual just gets swallowed up by the unworthy. 

OVER THE YEARS, I think the more conservative supervisors have been the most conscientious, the most fiscally responsible. I can't imagine Johnny Pinches or Jim Eddie allowing $385,000 in public money to be spent on that preposterous “safety” apparatus in the Supe's chamber separating their majesties from the rabble.

PINCHES not only read the county budget, he annotated it, underlining every dubious expenditure. The old cowboy lugged that sucker around with him. Ask him a spending question and, like Mr. Wizard, he'd straight away flip open the budget and come up with the answer. 

IT'S A HOARY CLICHE, but it used to prevail: elected people were assumed to spend public money as carefully as they spent their own. 

SPOTTED in Mendocino, this bumpersticker: “MultiDimensional And Loving It.” 

THE BUMPER messages that annoy me most are the pious ones that say, “There’s no excuse for domestic violence.” Lots of cop cars used to display them, as did the vehicles of many of the county’s “helping professionals.” In fact, there are lots of excuses for domestic violence, as least as many as there are provocations, but that’s no justification for actually committing it, of course. 

I'M ALWAYS suspicious of the arrests of women for domestic violence. I know, I know, There are violent women out there, but in many of the cases I have direct knowledge of, the woman was sorely provoked, and these days, days of male wuss-wamps, a “man” will call 911 because a woman hit him. If she charges at you with a machete, well, your call for cops is justified. But a slap, a couple of punches?

A FEMALE FRIEND of mine was arrested for slapping her boyfriend a couple of times after the couple, who'd been drinking, had forgotten what the slaps were about and had gone to bed, but not before the man had called for deputies to restrain his sig other. The couple was asleep when the cops arrived a couple of hours after the 911 call to haul the woman over the hill on a charge of domestic violence! Which was dismissed as the bogus charge it was.

THE WORST DOMESTIC VI ever reported in the county involved a guy rigged up in full traction, totally immobilized in a hospital bed after a motorcycle accident with a full leg cast. The pregnant love of his life arrives for a visit. They argue. She tells him that his best friend got her pregnant. He gets upset and starts to yell at her. She grabs his crutches from the wall and starts banging on his cast. Then she grabs his bed pan and dumps it on him.

THIS HEADLINE was everywhere this morning (Saturday): “DeSantis won't meet Biden when he visits Florida to see Idalia damage.” Giving mean man DeSantis, conqueror of Mickey Mouse, the benefit of the doubt, the governor may have been too busy coordinating the clean-up to meet with Biden for the usual disaster stroll photo-op. Then again, it's more likely that DeSantis, an apparently doomed candidate for president as the big fascist money moves away from him and back to Maga Man, like all the Republicans these days, doesn't want any association with Democrats, even in the context of bipartisan hurricanes, especially no photo ops with Biden, whose cynical handlers keep shoving him out there as if he were wholly functioning.

SURELY BIDEN'S HANDLERS could have rigged up a studio with palm trees and wind machines right there in the White House to give the illusion that the old grifter was in the very eye of the storm. The lib media would pretend not to notice, just as they manage not to notice the president's obvious senility.

WET AND MUDDY. More than 70,000 Burning Man attendees in the Nevada desert are now stuck with nobody allowed to leave or enter the site following torrential rainstorms, more of which are expected on Sunday. The storms have transformed the event grounds into a muddy quagmire bringing the final weekend of the high-energy festival to an abrupt halt.

THE SCHRAEDERS CLARIFY…

Redwood Community Services is issuing this statement to clarify our Crisis Response process and legal obligations. Recently, there have been comments in social media and news outlets regarding our services that warrant explanation and clarification. 

Our top priorities are providing empathetic, compassionate care for those in crisis, and ensuring the safety of our clients, staff, and the community. When someone contacts us experiencing a mental health crisis, our crisis workers immediately respond. We thoroughly evaluate for risk of harm to self or others, and determine appropriate next steps which may include: 

- Voluntary referral to emergency services or hospitalization: If the individual is deemed an imminent danger to themselves or others, we may refer them to emergency services or hospitalization. This is an absolute last resort.

- Safety planning: Working with the individual to develop coping strategies and a plan to stay safe until the crisis has passed. We provide follow up to ensure the safety plan is effective. 

- Counseling and support: For those not at immediate risk of harm, we provide counseling and support over the phone. We help de-escalate the crisis, process feelings, and connect people with additional resources. 

- Referral to outpatient services: For ongoing support, we refer individuals to mental health and social services in the community. 

RCS follows all laws, regulations, and policies set forth by the California Department of Health and Human Services and Mendocino County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. This includes strict requirements around involuntary holds, known as 5150, which allow a person to be temporarily detained against their will if they are a danger to themselves or others due to a mental health condition. Involuntary holds can only be enacted by licensed professionals, require initial and ongoing assessments, and have maximum time limits set by law.

RCS aims to provide compassionate, ethical, and responsible crisis care. Our crisis responders are highly trained professionals focused on de-escalating crises, evaluating risks, and connecting individuals to appropriate resources. Safety, confidentiality, and building trust are top priorities. RCS cannot provide details on specific cases, to any individual or entity not included in a Release of Information, due to privacy laws but strives for collaboration to ensure Indvidual and public safety when applicable. In 2022, 8,968 Crisis services were provided totaling 14,233 hours of service. 

RCS continues advocating for improved mental health resources and crisis response across Mendocino County. Through community partnerships, education, and a 24-hour crisis hotline, RCS works to strengthen the local crisis response system and build a more supportive community for those facing mental health challenges. 

If you have a loved one or someone close to you accessing Crisis Response Services, this video will walk you through what these services look like and how you can be a support: https://tinyurl.com/h2bcks9z 

For a safe & judgment-free place to talk in Mendocino County, call our 24/7 Crisis Line 855-838-0404 

COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT SURVEY FOR OLDER ADULTS

Hello, Please fill this out. ~1-5 min survey. Expires on 09/04/2023

Are you aged 55 or older and living in California? CDA launched the first-ever statewide needs assessment, tailor-made for Californians like you. The Community Assessment Survey for Older Adults (CASOA) is not just another survey; it's your chance to shape the future. Designed by experts and backed by solid statistical validity, CASOA empowers you to voice your needs and preferences. Act now –€“ the survey closes on September 4, 2023: aging.ca.gov/Community_Assessment_Survey_For_Older_Adults/

Community Assessment Survey for Older Adults: polco.us/n/res/vote/state-of-california-department/community-assessment-survey-3?pn-method=open

(Anderson Valley Village)

CATCH OF THE DAY, Friday, September 1, 2023

ROGELIO AGUILAR, Ukiah. Pot for sale, controlled substance for sale.

ASHLEIGH ESTES, Garberville/Ukiah. Under influence, controlled substace, probation revocation.

AMANDA FIGHOBLYN, Willits. Domestic abuse.

MANDY GRINSELL, Ukiah. Disobeying court order. 

ENRIQUE GUZMAN, San Mateo/Ukiah. DUI, stolen property, loaded firearm in public, unspecified offense.

LAURIE HAYES, Covelo. Under influence, probation revocation.

GABRIELE JASYTE, Fort Bragg. Trespassing-taking wood on another’s land, vandalism, resisting.

JAKE LEWISKOOY, Ukiah. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, probation revocation. (Frequent flyer.)

PATIENCE LURAN, Fort Bragg. DUI.

KODA NIELSEN, Laytonville. DUI.

KRAIG NOWLIN, Ukiah. Failure to appear.

ROY TURNER, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol&drugs.

MAUI VACATION DONATION

Dear Editor,

Yesterday a party of Asian-American volunteer professional Bay Area firefighters returned after spending their annual vacation time in Maui helping victims.

They gave their time their time to help feed and assist those who have suffered so much. It was their vacation time they contributed.

Several of them briefly spoke to a KRON reporter: “Rebuilding Maui will not be a sprint; it will be more of a marathon.” And in finishing they pledged to return to help again in the future. There is no doubt that they will follow through on their promise.

Frank H. Baumgardner, III

Santa Rosa

MEMO OF THE AIR: 20 popular labor movement yodels.

Here's the recording of last night's (2023-09-01) eight-hour-long Memo of the Air: Good Night Radio show on 107.7fm KNYO-LP Fort Bragg (CA) and KNYO.org: https://tinyurl.com/KNYO-MOTA-0556

The Show: Deaths, births, plays, yard sales, tragedies, triumphs, Stalin, rats, covid advice, mental health, Tommy’s secret, alien abduction, laundry, a breakup, a bottomless pit, a family accommodation, another chihuahua-related brouhaha in the Mission, a terrier-husky (Laika) in space, R.A. Lafferty’s The Ugly Sea botched but effective (missing a page), and Richard Burton (the golden-voice alcoholic actor, not the 19th century polyglot explorer who sneaked into Mecca in brownface) intoning his favorite poetry in rumbly vocal fry. Also, more.

I’m happy to read your writing on the radio, not like Richard Burton but the best I can. Just email it to me and that's all you have to do.

Besides all that, at https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com you'll find a fresh batch of dozens of links to worthwhile items I set aside for you while gathering the show together, such as:

Devil Girl From Mars (76 min.) (1954). From the play by John C. Mather and James Eastwood. Featuring Hugh McDermott, Hazel Court, Peter Reynolds, Adrienne Corri, Joseph Tomelty, Sophie Stewart, John Laurie, and Patricia Laffan as supercilious overconfident would-be world conqueror and aptly named Nyah. “Fill your eyes, Earthman. See such sights as you never dreamed existed.” Nyah might have been on the mind of the producers of Blake’s Seven when they cast Servalan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXMm8TclN6Y

Fire Maidens of Outer Space. (101 min.) (1956) (Skip ahead to 1:03:30 for their chant ritual, where one of them, I forget her name, expresses herself in interpretive dance and caresses the statuary. If you’re into that. And why wouldn’t you be?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwWgyKdtIE

And Rocketship X-M. “Thrill as you get a Moon’s-eye view of Earth! Streak through a barrage of hidden dangers! Gasp at the daring courage of four men and a girl as they thunder between planets on a runaway rocket!” (80 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6XoeiTcKsM

Marco McClean, memo@mcn.org, https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

SATURDAY IN FRISCO, a reader's impressions:

The Zombie Apocalypse And San Francisco Saturday Noon

I nearly long for the Zombie Apocalypse; it would be preferable to the #38 Bus: Miscreants, the distraught, the addled and ravaged. Addle and Ravage! Aren’t they a downtown law firm? When the sun burns thru the haze even a bit, brightening the sky, a wave of sapping humidity raises.

ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

It’s not the illegals that’ll getcha, it’s the rich legals who hide in plain sight, who’s evil doings are shrouded in secrecy and financial chicanery. The illegals? They’re just poor shlubs like the rest of us trying to get by. The working poor – formerly the “middle class” – will always be their own worst enemy.

A LOT OF PEOPLE wrongly ignore all politics because they rightly perceive the system is rigged. The answer isn’t to ignore all politics, it’s to ignore the fake partisan puppet show and pay attention to the real political game taking place behind it. Capitalism. Imperialism. Militarism. Authoritarian control. Narrative management. Oligarchy. Corruption. Oppression. Exploitation. Extraction. The stuff both parties in the fake political charade of official politics actively facilitate while pretending to advance human interests.

Participating in politics is a moral imperative; you’re only serving your own oppressors by ignoring it, because they sure as shit aren’t ignoring it. They want you to be a passive witness to their domination of society. The answer isn’t to ignore politics, it’s to pay rigorous attention to the real kind while aggressively attacking the fake kind.

— Caitlin Johnstone

ALL MY PRETTY ONES

Father, this year's jinx rides us apart where you followed our mother to her cold slumber; a second shock boiling its stone to your heart, leaving me here to shuffle and disencumber you from the residence you could not afford: a gold key, your half of a woolen mill, twenty suits from Dunne's, an English Ford, the love and legal verbiage of another will, boxes of pictures of people I do not know. I touch their cardboard faces. They must go. But the eyes, as thick as wood in this album, hold me. I stop here, where a small boy waits in a ruffled dress for someone to come… for this soldier who holds his bugle like a toy or for this velvet lady who cannot smile.

Is this your father's father, this Commodore in a mailman suit? My father, time meanwhile has made it unimportant who you are looking for. I'll never know what these faces are all about. I lock them into their book and throw them out. This is the yellow scrapbook that you began the year I was born; as crackling now and wrinkly as tobacco leaves: clippings where Hoover outran the Democrats, wiggling his dry finger at me and Prohibition; news where the Hindenburg went down and recent years where you went flush on war. This year, solvent but sick, you meant to marry that pretty widow in a one-month rush. But before you had that second chance, I cried on your fat shoulder. Three days later you died. These are the snapshots of marriage, stopped in places. Side by side at the rail toward Nassau now; here, with the winner's cup at the speedboat races, here, in tails at the Cotillion, you take a bow, here, by our kennel of dogs with their pink eyes, running like show-bred pigs in their chain-link pen; here, at the horseshow where my sister wins a prize; Now I fold you down, my drunkard, my navigator, my first lost keeper, to love or look at later.

I hold a five-year diary that my mother kept for three years, telling all she does not say of your alcoholic tendency. You overslept, she writes. My God, father, each Christmas Day with your blood, will I drink down your glass of wine? The diary of your hurly-burly years goes to my shelf to wait for my age to pass. Only in this hoarded span will love persevere. Whether you are pretty or not, I outlive you, bend down my strange face to yours and forgive you. 

— Anne Sexton

A NEW ASPECT of the professor’s character was thus revealed. My acquaintance with him until that day was limited to half a dozen more or less casual encounters at the various parties and shows. I had found him full of agreeably ironical criticism of our companions, very punctilious, and very enthusiastic about things which seemed to me unexceptional. “Look,” he would say with purest Boston intonation, “look at the exquisite grace of the basket that woman is carrying. There is the whole character of the people in that plaited straw. Ah, why do we waste our time looking at crowns and canons? I could study that basket all day.” And a wistful, faraway look would come into his eyes as he spoke.

Remarks of that kind went down very well with some people, and I regarded them as being, perhaps, one of the normal manifestations of American scholarship. They were compensated for by such sound maxims as “Never carry binoculars; you only have to hand them over to some wretched woman as soon as there is anything worth seeing.” But this worldly good sense was a mere mask over the essentially mystical nature of the professor’s mind; one touch of church furniture, and he became suddenly transfused with reverence and an almost neurotic eagerness to do all that could be expected of him, with an impulsive and demonstrative devotion that added a great deal to the glamor of our expedition together. 

— Evelyn Waugh

ANXIETY IN THE AGE OF BARBIE

by Maureen Dowd

It was “the summer of girl power,” a tour de force by a glittering troika. With pink dream houses, songs and sequins, Barbie, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé buoyed the economy and sent women’s confidence soaring.

So I felt sad, talking to friends dropping daughters at college, to hear of rampant anxiety, campuses awash in S.S.R.I.s — serotonin boosters found in drugs like Prozac and Lexapro — and long waits for therapy.

It is a major topic among moms: daughters struggling with anxiety or the effects of anti-anxiety medications, which can include weight gain and loss of libido. Many young college women are ping-ponging between anxiety, without pills, and numbness and body insecurity, with them.

These young women seem to have everything, yet they are unable to fully enjoy a stretch in their life that should be sizzling with adventure and promise.

“Back-to-school was always a time of excitement about where the future was headed — new notebooks, fresh supplies,” mused a friend, the mother of a teenage daughter. “But it feels like people are disappearing into sadness. Everybody’s looking for a shrink instead of a sharpened pencil.”

Billie Eilish’s song in the “Barbie” movie, “What Was I Made For?,” became the anthem of anxious and depressed young women, partly because Eilish has been open about her struggles between the ages of 12 and 16, her suicidal thoughts, self-harming and body dysmorphia.

On the surface, the lyrics are about a doll morphing into a human, but Eilish, 21, says they also reflect her own agonizing journey.

I used to float, now I just fall down

I used to know but I’m not sure now

What I was made for. …?

I don’t know how to feel

But someday, I might. …

When did it end? All the enjoyment

I’m sad again, don’t tell my boyfriend

It’s not what he’s made for.

Adolescent despair has been copiously analyzed in recent years: the harm from social media, microtargeting algorithms that inflame envy and conflict and divisive politics, unending school shootings, Covid sequestration, a planet devoured by flames and floods, a “never enough” achievement and consumer culture, anxious adults creating a jittery atmosphere, a digitally connected yet emotionally disjointed and spiritually unmoored society.

“Young people are taking in a lot of alarming information, and due to digital devices, they — like many of us — are taking the information in all day, every day,” Lisa Damour, the author of “The Emotional Lives of Teenagers,” told me.

It goes beyond the young. The Wall Street Journal ran a front-page story on “The Booming Business of American Anxiety” that began: “A search for ‘anxiety relief’ on Google pulls up links for supplements in the form of pills, patches, gummies and mouth sprays. There are vibrating devices that hang around your neck and ‘tone your vagus nerve,’ weighted stuffed animals, bead-filled stress balls and coloring books that claim to bring calm.”

The cover of Newsweek tells “a generation gripped by climate anxiety,” “Don’t Lose Hope.” The Calm app added meditations and lectures on anxiety, including “Felt Piano for Anxiety,” in which the pianist adds felt between the hammers and strings for a more soothing sound.

Even romantic comedy is affected. In a preview for “What Happens Later” with Meg Ryan and David Duchovny, Duchovny’s character shares, “I was diagnosed with anticipatory anxiety.”

Laurence Steinberg, the author of “You and Your Adult Child,” said that anxiety rises sharply among women in the first half of their 20s, when the brain is still plastic.

He said young women and men are distraught about the cost of housing, climate change, racism and prejudice, and young women are also affected by threats to their reproductive health. (The historian Adam Tooze says the world is in “a polycrisis.”)

“A lot of my friends with adult children have themselves had to get into therapy because they are so stressed out because of their kids’ problems,” Steinberg noted.

He said that coping mechanisms must be taught. “I don’t think that we should just be handing out pills and thinking that that’s going to take care of it,” he said.

Perhaps women get hit harder because they are more intricately wired on emotions, and more focused on conversation, relationships, intimacy, nurturing and feminine community, as we see from hunter-gatherer times to Jane Austen novels to “Real Housewives.”

A friend’s 19-year-old daughter, who was on Prozac for a time, explained: “Covid happened just as we were entering the world and first starting to see each other as sexual beings, as your own person, your own woman. All we were able to do was obsess over TikTok, which is full of misinformation. The world was apocalyptic outside, while at home our world was also a little apocalyptic because we were losing a sense of ourselves.” 

But, as she texted her mom Friday: “We will be OK. Women tend to make it.”

(NY Times)

‘PUSHING YOUR LIMITS AND SUFFERING’: What It Takes To Hike The Pacific Crest Trail In Record Time

by Gregory Thomas

Since shattering the speed record on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail last weekend, Karel Sabbe has been taking it easy: flip flops, family time, lots of sleep, burgers and Mexican food.

“My body is still in full recovery mode,” Sabbe told the Chronicle on Friday morning from Seattle, where he has been staying the past week.

The 33-year-old Belgian dentist set out on the trail from the Mexican border on July 10 and trekked for nearly 47 consecutive days — pushing through extreme desert heat in Southern California, then the perilous melting Sierra snowpack, and finally a string of wildfires in the Northwest that closed portions of the trail and forced Sabbe and other thru-hikers to reroute. By the end, he had averaged about 58 miles per day.

“My legs have been randomly cramping up and they feel really tired when I have to take staircases,” Sabbe said. “It feels like it’s getting worse every day. … For sure, I haven’t been able to think about running again.”

Sabbe is an accomplished ultrarunner known for going hard in gnarly landscapes. He holds the supported speed record on the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail (finishing in 41 days) and completed a traverse of the Alps (through eight countries) in the fastest known time of 30 days. He’s one of just a handful of people to finish the notorious 100-mile Barkley Marathon in Tennessee.

“You have to have a certain level of crazy to do these things. But Karel is not excitable. He’s very calculated and straightforward. He doesn’t get overwhelmed,” said Joe McConaughy, an endurance athlete in Seattle who had set the PCT speed record in 2014.

It was Sabbe’s second time setting the PCT record. The first came in 2016, when he finished in 52 days. Then two years ago, world-class ultrarunner Timothy Olson shaved a day off of Sabbe’s time, finishing in 51 days.

Sabbe returned this year to reclaim the record. On Aug. 26, when he reached the northern terminus, he had smashed Olson’s record by more than five days. Both runners were supported along their journeys by crews who made camp along the route and tended to them daily.

To learn what it takes to accomplish such a feat, the Chronicle sent Sabbe a list of questions, which he replied to via voice memos. The following transcription of that correspondence is lightly edited for length and clarity.

Q: Why do you do these extreme, long-distance trail runs? What is the appeal of chasing speed records?

A: At first, back in 2016, when I ran the PCT for the first time I didn’t know the exact appeal of an FKT (fastest known time) attempt like that. I just wanted to hike the PCT but I didn’t have the time to take 4-to-6 months off work — but 2 months was possible, so I decided to run the trail. 

In hindsight, I realized there was a lot of beauty in running a trial like that. There was the scenic beauty, but by pushing your limits, your emotions are stronger and the things you experience are stronger and more valuable — like the interaction with people around you, your friends and family who are supporting you. You learn a ton about yourself when you’re pushing your limits and suffering. I always return from these FKT attempts as a stronger and more optimistic person. They always influence me in a good way.

Q: How did you feel after your first record run in 2016? After finishing, did you feel like you could have done it faster?

A: The first PCT run was a very special experience because it was the first thing I did when it came to ultrarunning. I learned a lot but I also suffered a lot. Then over the years, while setting the record on the Appalachian Trail and the traverse of the Alps, I learned a lot more and I knew the PCT record could be a lot faster. So it felt natural to go back to this unique trail and to be able to run it — physically and mentally pushing hard but without running in so much pain and without so much sleep deprivation. It was really nice to go back in different circumstances now.

Q: In 2021, when you saw Timothy Olson break your record, did you immediately know you’d go back to try to reclaim it?

A: When I saw he only broke it by 16 hours I knew, with my knowledge, I could do better. I think even without him breaking my record I wanted to go back anyway to do it properly. It helped that my record was broken but mainly it was just waiting for a good time.

Q: What did you learn from your first PCT run that informed your approach this time?

A: With this one, we had everything much more dialed in. In 2016, it was just me and my brother-in-law, but this year I had a 4-person crew. (During the first run) I had so much pain in my feet — blisters and extreme pain — that it was so hard to think about something else other than the fact that I was suffering. So this time I was always cleaning my feet. In the evening I took a salt bath, had creams and things to take care of my feet so I successfully treated them. I didn’t have any blisters during the entire PCT which helps so much if you’re not running in pain. 

Q: Why did you attempt the record this year? Obviously, it’s a very challenging year with the Sierra snow.

A: The snow in the Sierra was definitely challenging and it worried me for a few months. From all over the world I got messages like, “Karel don’t do it, it’s not possible this year.” But things were in motion already with my friends who were going to support me and with my sponsor. So we postponed it for a month from the 10th of June to 10th of July.

By the time we got to the High Sierra, it was still very much snow covered but it was doable. Three of us went in together with proper backpacks because there was so much snow, and the river crossings were so dangerous, that I didn’t dare to go in there alone. There were some flooded rivers that were difficult to cross but with three of us as a team we managed to go through the High Sierra.

Once we passed that we realized, OK, the record attempt is on and we felt very motivated to continue with the rest of the trail.

Q: Mentally, how do you stay sharp out there for so long? What do you think about on the trail?

A: The PCT is my favorite trail in the world so I was always feeling at home in the world. Sometimes your mind is racing a bit about worries you have or something, and (in those moments) it would help to listen to music. But mostly I was just happy to be out on the trail and I was trying to feel like a thru-hiker and not think about the fact that it was for a record. The moment you’re in the flow and not thinking about anything, that’s the best moment to be in. Then I also had Henri and Kobe … so we could run together and talk. But the scenery was most important to me. It’s a beautiful trail. It’s very diverse and changes a lot, so that’s enough to keep me going.

Q: How important is having the PCT speed record? If someone breaks your record, do you think you’ll give it one more go?

A: I don’t think I’d be able to do it faster and I’m sure I won’t be going back. I’m just proud of what we’ve accomplished. The chapter of the FKT is done (for me). The only reason I’d go back is to hike it with my family. It’s a beautiful trail and I’d like to do it in five or six months, taking all the time I want. For one part of me, it means a lot to me to have the record. But now that I have it and I know I did my personal best, I’m happy that somebody will go after it and it’ll be broken in the future.

PEOPLE who have recently lost someone have a certain look, recognizable maybe only to those who have seen that look on their own faces. 

I have noticed it on my face and I notice it now on others. The look is one of extreme vulnerability, nakedness, openness. It is the look of someone who walks from the ophthalmologist's office into the bright daylight with dilated eyes, or of someone who wears glasses and is suddenly made to take them off. These people who have lost someone look naked because they think themselves invisible. I myself felt invisible for a period of time, incorporeal. I seemed to have crossed one of those legendary rivers that divide the living from the dead, entered a place in which I could be seen only by those who were themselves recently bereaved. I understood for the first time the power in the image of the rivers, the Styx, the Lethe, the cloaked ferryman with his pole. I understood for the first time the meaning in the practice of suttee. Widows did not throw themselves on the burning raft out of grief. The burning raft was instead an accurate representation of the place to which their grief (not their families, not the community, not custom, their grief) had taken them. 

— Joan Didion

THE FACT that your voice is amplified to the degree where it reaches from one end of the country to the other does not confer upon you greater wisdom or understanding than you possessed when your voice reached only from one end of the bar to the other.

— Edward R. Murrow

I HAVE NO OBJECTION to a nice bra, still less to being invited to remove one. But brothelwear of the kind sold at Frederick’s of Hollywood or Victoria’s Secret seems to me scarcely less hokey than a SuperBowl half-time show. What I feel when I hear that the mainstream actually buys this stuff is the same garden-variety alienation I feel on learning that Hootie & the Blowfish sold 13 million copies of their first record, or that the American male’s dream date is Cindy Crawford.

— Jonathan Franzen

THE REAL MCCARTHYISM

by Roger Morris

On a cold Washington evening, scarcely a week after his swearing in as the new junior senator from California, Richard Nixon was attending a holiday party in the second-floor ballroom of the Capital's posh Sulgrave Club on Massachusetts Avenue. It was December 12, 1950, destined to be a memorable night in Washington social history.

Among the other celebrities were two protagonists fresh from the fall campaign, columnist Drew Pearson and the increasingly controversial Wisconsin senator, Joseph McCarthy. Once an ingratiating source for Pearson as for other journalists, McCarthy had come under increasing criticism by the columnist after the Wheeling West Virginia speech and now saw his Red-baiting ricochet in Pearson's attacks on the senator's own tax dodging and “quickie divorces.” While McCarthy deplored “homosexuals” in the State Department, Pearson even turned up what was said to be an authentic “sexual pervert” on the senator’s personal staff. He had not decided, McCarthy told friends a few days before, “whether to kill Pearson or just to maim him.”

A prankish Washington hostess seated them at the same table that night at the Sulgrave. After bourbon, the main course, and an exchange of insults, Senator McCarthy lunged across to grab and gouge Pearson at the back of the neck, yelling, “You come out; we’ll settle this.” Innocently sitting between them, Congressman Charles Bennett rose to stop the assault. But the Florida politician, partially crippled by childhood polio, was upended in the scuffle and fell helplessly and heavily to the ballroom floor. As McCarthy turned to pick up the crumpled Bennett, an obviously shaken Pearson quickly walked away. The incident seemed over…

But then the other guests, including Nixon, watched with fascination as McCarthy strode out after Pearson, catching the older, smaller man in the cloakroom. “Well, Drew,” the senator said, clapping him roughly on the back, “a pleasant evening, wasn’t it?” The journalist nervously thrust into his jacket for the coat check. “Don’t you reach into your pocket like that!” McCarthy said dramatically, grabbing Pearson’s arms and kneeing him twice in the groin. (An old Indian once told him that “if you kneed a guy hard enough, blood would come out of his eyes,” the senator would say later, and in the Pearson fight “I would have found out if that was true.”) Now, as the columnist bent over in pain, he gasped, “When are they going to put you in the booby hatch?” At that, McCarthy slapped him back and forth, “movie-villain fashion,” said one account. He was slapping Pearson again, full palm, both hands, again, knocking him to the floor, when Senator Nixon came into the cloakroom.

“That one was for you, Dick,” McCarthy said.

“Let a Quaker stop this fight,” Nixon announced loudly, and then more softly to the attacker, trying to pull him away. “Let’s go, Joe.” Like a triumphant fighter dancing the ring, McCarthy refused to leave. “I won’t turn my back on that son of a bitch,” he said excitedly. “He’s got to go first.”

Afterward, when Pearson had hobbled away, Nixon walked McCarthy out of the Sulgrave. They spent a half hour trying to find the parking place Joe was seemingly too drunk or agitated to remember. Joe would not forget later the same night, however, to call friendly reporters with a vivid description of his exploit. He had just kicked old Drew Pearson “in the nuts,” he boasted, and lifted him “three feet in the air.” For his part, somber and discreet, Richard Nixon declined public comment on the incident, except to observe that “such foolishness should not be bandied about in times like these.” Retelling the story in private, he marveled that he had never seen anyone slapped so hard. “If I hadn’t pulled McCarthy away,” Nixon would say, “he might have killed Pearson.”

Three days after the Sulgrave, McCarthy went to the Senate floor to denounce Pearson as “the voice of international communism,” a “Moscow-directed character assassin,” a “twisted perverted mentality.” McCarthy then advocated a patriotic boycott of the Adam Hat Company for sponsoring Pearson’s radio show, and the manufacturer presently announced its withdrawal. To many, the senator’s power seemed all the more fierce and formidable — though congressional colleagues knew, too, that McCarthy had learned of the advertiser’s plans to cancel their sponsorship well before the fight and the denunciation. They also knew that Joe had walked out of the Senate chamber after the speech blithely wearing his own Adam hat, a gift from Pearson himself in happier days when they were mutually useful source and reporter.