Letters (February 5, 2024)

• Put The Vets Office Back Where It Belongs
• Detroit’s Amazing Mascots
• Repurpose Juvie
• The Lacuna
• Wrong Adjective
• Cloud Storage
• Addicted To ‘Growth’
• Remembering Covelo
• AT&T Is Attempting To Stop Maintaining Our Landlines
• Libs: MLK, Yes, But… 
• Global Leader v Global Terrorist

PUT THE VETS OFFICE BACK WHERE IT BELONGS

Editor,

I was at the Supervisors meeting on Jan 9th when the Veterans Office Relocation was protested. The Board of Supervisors are a disgrace. “Mo” seems to have no regard for the Veterans of our county. It was her district that she allowed this to happen in. Haschak is the same. He acts as if he is mediating but there is no compromise. He admits “mistakes” were done but there is no accountability for those who blatantly made them. Are only the lower ranks held accountable? It would have only taken one of the supes to put a hold on this horrible decision. Not one would stand up and do the right thing. Dan Gjerde, who is not running for reelection, had nothing to lose. He could have gone out of office knowing he had done right. He sat there with his eyes downcast. It’s time to move the Veterans back to their office.

Do the right thing.

Carl Stenberg

Ukiah

DETROIT’S AMAZING MASCOTS

AVA,

I know I know, you guys are die hard 49ers fans. However, I thought you might enjoy these amazing photos being shared of the Detroit Lions' former mascots: Roary and Roary's sidekick Cub. Not only are the costumes amazing, but the mascots were brought to life by a woman who apparently worked for the Lions from 1938-1977!

Native Detroiter,

Lisa Charboneau

Pacifica

REPURPOSE JUVIE

To the Editor: 

I seem to remember that at one time there was a Board of Supervisors discussion about closing Juvenile Hall and paying another jurisdiction for juvenile detention services. If the Juvenile Hall youth detention services were contracted out, could the Juvenile Hall facility be used as a mental health facility for those unfortunates that are homeless and need mental health and substance abuse treatment? I believe this worthy budget cost saving idea should be seriously considered. 

Scott Ward

Redwood Valley

THE LACUNA

Editor,

I just read your squib in the AVA this week in which you mention the Bonus Marchers. We are almost finished reading ‘The Lacuna’ by Barbara Kingsolver, in which they play a small but significant part, along with this country's love of Stalin in the 30s which evolved into the communist scare in the 40s and all the nastiness surrounding it. The protagonist is half American and half Mexican and the story takes place in both countries. Frida and Diego Reviera play an important role. Kingsolver is a master at writing historical fiction, much of it connecting to our surreal present. 

Nikki Auschnitt

Boonville

PS If you ever are in need of free books, we give them away when folks stop to shop at the farm. We'd love to see you and give you a box full! 

WRONG ADJECTIVE

Letter to the Editor:

I always appreciate your coverage of the life and death of Jim Cummings, but defining him as “ruthless” only presents a fragmented picture of the man. I can understand him being called “ruthless” to those who thought he ought to help finance their lifestyles and ignore the debts they owed him. He was not one of the good old boys of the self-styled Fort Bragg elitists, many of whom envied his accomplishments, but would rather sit around drinking and patting each other on the back rather than working day and night as did Jim. 

He would work during the day with his crew, personally running heavy equipment developing his Noyo Harbor properties and then return after showering to commandeer his Wharf restaurant until it closed, often not until after midnight. 

I often wondered if he ever slept more than a few hours a night. 

The Wharf, where I worked for 25 years, was by far, the largest and most successful restaurant in the county. It was where I learned and refined my public relations and business skills watching and being tutored by him as he took care of his many and diverse customers, community members and businesses. 

One of the indelible lessons that I learned from him was not to take advantage of your patrons, but to facilitate them reasonably so that they would return to him over and over again (and again). I saw that the “average” people respected him while it was the elitists who labeled him “ruthless” because they weren't able to outdo him or achieve his level of monetary success. 

Jim was a man who knew how to take care of his crew. If you worked for him, he would be sure you had housing, a job you could depend on, and a vehicle or financial support if you needed it. Although one always knew he was the boss, rare was any employee who didn't respect or appreciate him. 

True, he also had skeletons in his closet as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, but calling him “ruthless” I feel has to be more clearly defined. Although he could be as tough as they come, he also could be the ultimate gentleman. He was as down to Earth as the pioneer family he came from, yet also a complex man who would make for an interesting biography of his extraordinary life. He was truly an Irish Godfather who didn't let pretense tarnish his image.

Don Fosse

Mendocino

CLOUD STORAGE

Editor,

We should prepare ourselves for the advent of a technology that will preserve sublime cloud formations — in three dimensions, full-size, palpably and not “virtually” — for it will present an international crisis over where to store them. 

I invite you to meditate on the other ramifications.

Malgré tout,

Volt-Voort

Rome, New York

ADDICTED TO ‘GROWTH’

Editor,

The economic turmoil we find in Mendocino both political and social is not unique to us alone, but global and its about time, finally, to come to a head. Even astute minds, I suppose subconsciously, want to treat the self-interest economic growth paradigm that has been imposed as if it is God and deserving of constant, morning-to-night obeisance. The only way to look at it is: we are addicted. As I approach the back door I find myself questioning the least costly execution of remains — not just for me but for my family.

Marbut, the great $50 to $70 thou homeless consultant, pronounced the root causes of homelessness as mental health, drug addiction, and domestic violence, ignoring that the root causes of probably every existential established crisis can be found in the hands of the pervasive economic platform bundled with human greed.

What spurs this rant from me today is is the top article head in ‘The Post Most’ just delivered to my email that states, “Falling inflation, rising growth give U.S. the world’s best recovery.” Ha! What recovery? The U.S. simply possesses some of the best hucksters in the world. Constant growth is a cancer. Life in all its myriad forms requires balance — equilibrium and homeostasis — constant growth is killing us. Yes, that the world is off balance is quite evident right here in beautiful Mendocino County and we are in no way “in recovery.” Might I suggest a 12 step program for rehabilitation from our addiction? With a higher power that includes Mother Nature?

David Severn

Philo

REMEMBERING COVELO

Editor,

What a terrific account of your trip to Covelo and the Eel River Canyon. Years ago my sister lived near Longvale on the road to Covelo and I saw the Eel River Canyon many times and the railroad tracks. It was quite beautiful out there and I even considered going in with some other folks to buy some property in Covelo (for a few minutes). Before long my sister and her family moved away from their “back to the land” spot to Willits where they could find jobs. I’m so glad to have gotten back to Anderson Valley but enjoyed reading about and remembering the Eel River Canyon and Covelo area.

Kathy Mac

Anderson Valley

AT&T IS ATTEMPTING TO STOP MAINTAINING OUR LANDLINES

To All Concerned Community Members:

I received a letter from ATT /California Public Utilities Commission referring to: ”application number 23-03-003 regarding the application of ATT California for relief of its carrier of last resort obligation.”

I googled “application number 23-03-003 regarding the application of “ATT California for relief of its carrier of last resort obligation” and found that AT&T is attempting to stop maintaining our landlines (A2303003, ATT relief from its carrier of last resort obligation).

I don’t know if you received the letter from AT&T/ California Public Utilities Commission regarding AT&T’s submittal of this application, BUT ATT is attempting to stop offering services which would support our landlines.

If you did receive the letter, then you know that we need to start a campaign to write, call, go online and go to the Ukiah meetings at the Board of Supervisors on February 22. I have also reached out to Ed O’Brien, Michael Rees and the Fort Bragg fire department chief because this is a very serious matter, a SAFETY matter.

As you know, many of us continue to have a landline because our cell phones do not have appropriate broadband connections for voice calls. Also, we live rurally! To not have a landline is a huge SAFETY issue for elders, those with disabilities, families that don’t have broadband at home, and those with poor cell phone capability, which is most of us. Our community and the communities around us would be in danger. For example, if one of us no longer had our landline and a fire started, how are we supposed to call 911? The fire could spread because the fire department could not be called. Or, if a child comes home from school early and the parents are still working and there’s a problem, how is this child supposed to get a hold of the parents? Or, if a person is elderly or disabled, and the phone is one of the only ways this person can reach out, what do they do if they do not have their phone? This could be a situation for great depression or suicide. Or what about a medical emergency? And what about when the power goes out?

The California Public Utilities Commission will make the final decision and writing the CPUC or going online and completing the online survey is essential if you cannot get to Ukiah for the in-person meeting on Feb 22. I wrote a letter because the online survey seemed unnecessarily complicated.

I hope we will join together to build a community action to protect our landlines which offer safety to our citizens. I will continue to reach out to different groups and get the ball rolling. I contacted Jared Huffman and Ted Williams. You can contact them, too!

There are two public hearings on February 22 in Ukiah. The first is 2:00 PM and the other is 6:00 PM at the Board of Supervisor’s Chambers.

You can also remotely participate on March 19 at 2:00 PM or 6:00 PM.

Toll-free phone number 1-800-857-1917 code 6032788#

4. You can write a letter (that’s what I did): CPUC Public Advisor’s Office 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102 Phone: 1.866.849.8390 or 1.415.703.2074

For the safety of our communities, we must ALL get involved.

Thank you very much, 

Melissa Hays

Albion

LIBS: MLK, YES, BUT… 

Editor. 

I’m just reading your take on MLK and yes certain things have always bothered me too ALL the libs love him as long as he preaches racial harmony but when he questions capitalism and the military that defends and expands its agenda, the rats start jumping ship; to this day plenty of libs will tear up on MLK Day, yet still vote for war mongers like Hilary Clinton and Genocide Joe.

It troubles me. 

Chris Skyhawk 

Fort Bragg 

GLOBAL LEADER V GLOBAL TERRORIST

Editor,

President Biden said recently we are the world’s global leader. Global terrorist is more like it. Our government exists to serve a small elite.

War is profitable. That is the reason the US has been at war since WWII. For our multinational investors, winning or losing is immaterial. It is the income from the manufacture of war materiel and related activities that prevails. Our Congress people have defense contractors in their districts who provide employment opportunities for their voters. Since the products are destroyed – bullets, tanks, planes – and must be re-manufactured, the profits continue. 

The death and mutilation of innocent civilians is of no concern to the military/industrial/Congressional/elite. In my lifetime, I have seen America's failed intervention in Vietnam's civil war which revealed our government's lies. The Gulf of Tonkin incident was just what Johnson needed to ‘protect’ the oil and gas resources in Southeast Asia from the Communists. At least a million people were killed, many more injured, and land was ruined. Our deficit grew, and our military and defense contractors prospered. The men and women who went into combat did not. As with our many bank bailouts, it was a case of privatized profits and socialized losses. Those who profit from war gain; those who pay for the war via their taxes, lives and limbs lose. I have seen mutilated Cambodian musicians, playing the instruments they can with the body parts remaining, as testaments to Nixon's illegal bombings. I have seen ruined vets begging on the streets of San Francisco. Afghanistan was just a stepping stone to the Middle East. It is in worse shape than ever, thanks to our 'democracy building' efforts. The women our leaders said must be freed of restricting burkas are now six feet under.

US Middle East attacks did benefit companies, e.g., Halliburton and Blackwater. Iraq was a war based on lies for oil. Another million murdered, many more injured, and more land ruined. Oil-rich Libya is now a failed state thanks to America’s (think Hillary Clinton) 'humanitarian intervention.' Our government does not care for Iraqi women or Ukrainians or Palestinians or Israelis. It cares for dominance and money. This chatter about democracy and rules based order is BS, and only trotted out when it serves US interests. 

Transnational capitalists such as BlackRock, Vanguard Group, JP Morgan Chase, Allianz, UBS, and Bank of America are intertwined. They own stock in each other. And they have learned that perpetual war generates consistent profits. Since investors seek safe and constant returns, these enormous firms provide that via the profits that come through endless war. Efforts for world dominance have only made us hated – note 9/11. Note also the recent votes at the UN regarding affairs in Israel/Palestine. The world is against us. We have a permanent war economy – we kill and destroy in the world with impunity to enrich a tiny elite. 

News agencies are owned by big business, and the news we receive is slanted to suit imperialists. Intelligence agencies (a misnomer, again note 9/11, and J6) are corrupt. Our military (certainly the world's most expensive) has lost the majority of the wars it has entered since WWII – perhaps because the actual goal is not to win, but to generate income for global investors. Our schools are deplorable, 13 million children are “food insecure’, poverty is increasing, housing is unaffordable, mass shootings are soaring, prison populations are overflowing, drug addiction is escalating, infrastructure is in tatters, suicide is rampant, criminal behavior in Congress and SCOTUS and the Executive Branch is the norm. It is the profits that come from war desired by and caused by the elite that diverts discretionary funds from purposes that could benefit all Americans. 

Our government, controlled by the wealthy elite, cares only for themselves. Do not be fooled. They don't care much about us, but they need us to consume, work, pay taxes and fight their profitable wars. They will continue to use us as long as we permit it. As Smedley Butler said in 1935: "war is a racket for business interests." Because we are creatures with compassion, we must be tricked into going to war with humanitarian appeals (remember the Kuwaiti Ambassador’s daughter and the incubators?).

Trump had a slogan: ’take our country back.' He was pointing us to the wrong group as the enemy. Take our country back from the Pentagon (failed their 6^th audit last year), from defense contractors, from unbridled big business, from war profiteers, from profit gougers, from ‘bought’ officials, from those who spout hatred and fear of others. We will not get it back with continued attacks on other countries. Fight for controls on business, for increased wages, for the decency we surrendered to our politicians and global capitalist investors. Reform the electoral college; it is more than a century out of date. Call and write your Congresspeople. Vote for people who actually want to do good in our government. Support organizations that push for real democracy. Protest the system that makes us mass murderers for war profits. Direct your spending and investments to constructive purposes that benefit all Americans, rather than massacring innocents and overturning other countries' elected leaders. Take to the streets as the Yellow Vests did in France. Masses of people demonstrated every weekend for a year and had some success. Wake up people! Things are not good in our country. It is up to us to change it.

Joan Vivaldo

San Francisco