Mendocino County Today: Thursday 6/27/24

Tarwater Hill | Cooler | Local Events | Tesla Crash | Rose Memorial | Martin Hafley | MCHCD Sick | Blossom Bug | Smell Test | Philo Horsewoman | Molinari Departure | Extremely Disappointed | Tree Echium | Groundwater Management | Train Engine | Water Questions | Strokiversary | Coyote Cowboys | Minus Tide | Firefighters BBQ | Ed Notes | Sand Mandala | Samsara Quagmire | Yesterday's Catch | Debate Game | Summer BBQ | PG&E Reduction | Drinkers Good | Sunfish Scare | Fire! | Rainbow Eviction | Independent Cat | Tub Time | Secret Budget | Tree Revenge | Costco Housing | Mom | Love Song | Best People | NYT Stories | Smaller World | Good Journalism | Supremes Punt | Nationalism | Other Side | Pablo Ferryhawk | Spiderbabe | Anything Possible | Fu King

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AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE will produce marine stratus, patchy coastal drizzle, and relatively cooler temperatures today. Lower daytime RHs [relative humidity] and slightly elevated winds expected in interior Trinity, Mendocino and Lake County. Warming and drying trend returns Friday, potentially becoming more intense next week. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): Mostly clear skies with a cooler 47F this Thursday morning on the coast. The skies cleared out nicely yesterday. Some moderate winds today & Friday are forecast along with mostly clear skies.

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LOCAL EVENTS (through this weekend)

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FIERY TESLA CRASH NEAR PHILO

In the early hours of the morning, a white Tesla collided with a tree on Highway 128 at mile marker 22.7, resulting in a significant fire. Anderson Valley Fire Chief Andres Avila provided details on the incident, noting that the initial dispatch came in at 4:54 a.m. “Upon arrival, we found a Tesla fully involved in flames, with the driver already outside the vehicle,” said Avila. The driver, who sustained leg and back injuries, was given medical care and flown to a nearby trauma center.

The fire posed unique challenges to the Anderson Valley firefighters due to the nature of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. “The batteries are very difficult to extinguish because of the way they break down and the challenges in cooling them,” Avila explained.…

mendofever.com/2024/06/26/fiery-tesla-crash-poses-unique-challenges-for-firefighters-near-anderson-valley

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THERE WILL BE A VALLEY-WIDE MEMORIAL gathering for Geraldine Rose ("everybody's lawyer in AV") this coming Saturday, 1 to 4 PM at the Grange. We hope to see a large turnout of folks who will bring their memories (and a potluck dish) to share with others who knew and loved and relied on this wonderful woman. (Jill Hannum)

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MARTIN HAFLEY HAS DIED

On behalf of the Hafley family we wanted to let people who knew Martin Hafley that he passed away in his sleep last week. No services are planned at this time. Rest in peace, Martin.

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“MENDOCINO COAST HEALTH CARE DISTRICT: Sick, but Returning to Health” is now available to the public on the Mendocino County Grand Jury website at: https://www.mendocinocounty.gov/government/grand-jury

Additionally, the Foreperson's “Letter to the Judge” is also posted.

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FORMER COUNTY TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR SHARI SCHAPMIRE:

“Ms. [Sara] Pierce [Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector] told the Board that the County has lost about $22 million in tax defaulted properties that have gone uncollected for years and thus written off because of the delays in collecting overdue taxes. Only about $1.7 million in taxes, penalties and interest can be recouped through potential tax lien auction sales.”

As the Retired Treasurer-Tax Collector, the above statement by the Acting ACTTC does not pass the smell test! Other than the Harwood property, low-value Brooktrails parcels, and various few other parcels, the public auctions were up to date until 2020 when auctions were paused due to COVID. Secured property taxes are almost never written off and can be collected for up to 30 years.

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ANN SIRI OF PHILO, HORSEWOMAN

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ANOTHER COUNTY EXEC MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARS WITHOUT EXPLANATION, but with plenty of Mendoblather.

“Following the departure of the Animal Care Services Director [Rich Molinari], the Executive Office has initiated a comprehensive review of the services currently offered by Animal Care Services. This effort aims to ensure that all provided services are fully compliant with state-mandated requirements. The review process involves evaluating existing programs, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing changes to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Animal Care Services in accordance with state regulations.”

(CEO Darcy Antle)

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HILARY JAMES, An Enraged Mendocino County Woman:

I am writing to express my disappointment with the Ukiah Police Department and the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office. 

In March of 2023 my friend was brutally attacked in front of her home by a friend of a friend who offered to walk her home after a night out. She ended up in the emergency room with a broken nose and multiple lacerations to her face. She has scars that won't go away. After a year of going to court dates and retelling her story to numerous entities she was told today that all charges against her attacker are being dropped. This is a big fail. My friend feels like they didn't even try. 

Evidence that was readily available was not obtained. No witnesses were contacted. Video available from the local business where her attacker offered to walk her home was not gathered. Her attacker has a history of domestic violence. When is violence against women going to be taken seriously? 

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MENDOCINO LOCAL INFO (Coast Chatline)

‘Truman’ wrote:

If the town wants to address it's groundwater concerns, it should probably look at the severe demand for water, mostly due to having a primarily tourism-based economy.

Without another model, resources here will be used primarily to maintain business, (i.e. promoting the continuation of said reliance on tourism), causing a depleted water table, thus adding a major contributing factor to "advanced erosion" in and around the town.

Imagine how much water those that work in hospitality, and the companies they work for use in order to operate on a daily basis.

This is not including the inns, air bnbs, and otherwise, turning over rooms every other day to customers that likely respectfully consume about 4x less than what some locals/businesses mindlessly use on a regular basis.

Don't scapegoat the water authority for not being able to solve the obvious. They cant tell anyone to change their policies, but you can.

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Tom Tetzlaff:

If you are interested in what is happening with the Mendocino City Community Services District’s (MCCSD) Ground Water Management (GWM) program, its legal troubles, the failure of GWM to solve any of the water shortage problems it was intended to solve and other issues related to that, this link is for you.

Please add your comments and questions as you see fit at the site while you are there.

https://mendoadvisory.com

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Marco McClean:

But it is the same "water authority" that started out by throwing a wrench in sensible plans to pipe adequate water from up the river, back when Mendocino had a laundromat. It's not scapegoating them to recount history. Maybe the new state money can start that process again. The five million dollars will probably vanish into consultancies and legal squabbles and glossy brochures about nothing, and public meetings with elderly people on all five sides of the issue screeching at each other, but in a sane world it could dig a ditch and put a pipe in it and actually solve everything, with money left over for drinking fountains on corners and a fern dell in the park next to the post office.

In Other News: Thanks to the listserv I'm fully microwaved again. I've been cooking on a hotplate, which works, but I just like the microwave oven for many things better. A can of hot chili with half a red onion cut up into it, and put soda crackers on top afterward so they're still crunchy, for example.

Also, I might have forgotten to say it for years, but Harvest in Mendocino, that used to be Mendosa's, still has reasonable produce prices, and I appreciate it.

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WHO BENEFITS?

Editor:

A June 14 article in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat gave a heartening image of the Eel River’s future post-dam-removal. The article mentions that tribes, downstream communities in Humboldt County, fisheries groups and environmentalists are looking forward to the benefits dam removal will bring to the river’s health.

Of concern is the implication that Sonoma Water needs a continued diversion to meet the needs of its 600,000 municipal customers. No one has substantiated what proportion of our municipal supply is from the relatively small amount of water that comes from the Eel vs. the much-larger Lake Sonoma. And, unsurprisingly, no one has bothered to report on how much Eel River water is used for wine grapes in the upper basin before it can even reach Sonoma Water’s intakes.

The article also suggests that municipal ratepayers will pay the cost of a diversion and its maintenance. Will ag interests pay for their use as well? What about the Potter Valley Irrigation District, which uses a portion of the water before it reaches Lake Mendocino? Before our water rates are raised, the public needs to know what the costs will be and who will benefit.

Theresa Ryan

Healdsburg

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CHRIS SKYHAWK

Today is the 6 year anniversary of my ”event,” my visit to the spirit world aka NDE. Medically it is called a “stroke.” But I’m really glad to still be here with you all, and I’m really proud of myself for making it back. I did not know quite how I did it; I just know that I did. And although I can't say I’d recommend the experience, but it's very cool to have had a full experience of the non-physical realms and still be alive in the material one. It's strange, but the day I almost died is sorta like my birthday, too! I look forward to many good things in the years ahead, especially watching my twins grow into the beautiful young women they are destined to be. I do think maybe Bruce Cockburn wrote the ‘Tried and Tested’ for me; but I’m certainly willing to own it!

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THE AV HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD is hosting an afternoon of music and history at the Little Red School House Museum on Sunday, July 14 at 2pm. Bring your toe tapping boots (or dancing shoes) as The Coyote Cowboys will be serenading us with their wonderful music AND in the spirit of Anderson Valley history, they will be sharing how their long time Anderson Valley music playing began and some of the highlights of their many years of valley entertainment. All Welcome; Refreshments served. (Sheri Hansen)

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MINUS TIDE WINES is a love letter to Mendocino County

Even without a tasting room, their brand regularly sells out of its wines and just launched a wine club.

by Sarah Doyle

Growing up in the small, wind-swept town of Mendocino, Brad Jonas spent much of his childhood diving off the coast for abalone, a delicacy of the sea.

While a typical dive took him 20 feet below the surface to reach the jeweled mollusks, a minus tide — an ultralow tide caused by the moon’s gravitational pull — exposed the abalone much closer to shore.

“A minus tide really exposes the bounty of the sea. Sometimes you don’t even have to go into the water to find the abalone — they might be in a tide pool with mussels and sea urchin,” said Jonas. “Minus Tide felt like the perfect name for our winery. We want to expose the hidden gems of the vineyard while evoking the feeling of the Mendocino Coast.”

Founded in 2017, Minus Tide Wines is a partnership between Jonas, his wife, Miriam, and their friend Kyle Jeffrey, who all met as students at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Brad Jonas and Jeffrey, who met during freshman orientation at Cal Poly, share winemaking duties, while Miriam Jonas, an account director at J.A.M. Public Relations, leads the PR and marketing charge.

At a time when the future of the wine industry remains uncertain, the owners of Minus Tide have purposely placed their eggs in multiple income baskets. Jonas is the winemaker at Toulouse Vineyards in Philo, while Jeffrey makes wine for Woods Beer & Wine Co. in San Francisco.

“If Minus Tide were our only source of income, I think it would be a lot more stressful and some of the joy and excitement would go away,” said Jonas. “We all have day jobs, so it takes all three of us to make it work. We’re all involved in every aspect of the business, but not in an overwhelming way. It’s just right.”

A love letter to Mendocino

Producing about 600-700 cases of wine per year, Minus Tide is a love letter to Mendocino County — a region Jonas believes “doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.”

“We made a conscious decision to make Mendocino County a key part of our identity to help build the Mendocino brand,” said Jonas. “A lot of the region’s premium fruit gets trucked down to Sonoma County. We want to keep it local and showcase all Mendocino County can do.”

Currently, Minus Tide sources fruit from six different vineyards, including Syrah from Perli Vineyard in Mendocino Ridge, Carignan from Hopland’s more than 100-year-old Feliz Creek Vineyard, and high-elevation Pinot Noir from Manchester Ridge.

Admittedly, their agreed-upon favorite is the Syrah from Valenti Vineyard ($42) in Mendocino Ridge, a cool, high-elevation appellation nicknamed “Islands in the Sky.”

Located six miles from the coast, the wind-whipped location is among the last to ripen in the appellation, resulting in deeply complex wines that are both alive and balanced.

“It’s an incredible site that produces Syrah with tons of black pepper and this meaty, spicy flavor we just love,” said Jonas. “But it also has this elegant, restrained power to it. It’s one of our favorites.”

Among Minus Tide’s most thought-provoking wines is its cool-climate study of Cabernet Sauvignon ($60), with fruit sourced from Vine View Ranch in the Yorkville Highlands. Resting at 1,500 feet in elevation, the site produces a remarkably bright expression of the Bordeaux varietal, which is grounded by healthy tannins and notes of plum and garrigue (dried herbs).

Another standout is Minus Tide’s 2023 Chenin Blanc ($32) from Sterling Ranch — a boon for dry, aromatic white wine lovers (like myself) — with loads of pear, Golden Delicious apple, bright quince and mouthwatering acidity.

The value of staying small

Despite the challenges affecting some areas of the wine industry, Minus Tide has found a way to thrive. Even without a tasting room, the brand regularly sells out of its wines and just launched a wine club.

“We’re small enough and nimble enough to easily pivot if an area of the market isn’t working,” said Jonas. “We feel really comfortable at this size, so for now, we’re not planning on getting enormous anytime soon.”

Wine Dinner with Minus Tide Wines

On Saturday, July 13, Minus Tide Wines will be highlighted in a wine dinner at the Sacred Rock Inn’s Greenwood Restaurant in the town of Elk, Mendocino County.

Greenwood Restaurant chef Ryan Seal will prepare the five-course dinner, which will feature local seafood and organic produce.

Seats are limited.

(pressdemocrat.com)

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ED NOTES

WOULDN'T MISS IT for a double tracheostomy. Miss what? Biden's big win over Trump in Thursday night's “debate.”

HOW do you know Biden will win? The setting, the format, the cutting edge amphetamine that Team Biden shoots the president up with before his important appearances, the moderators — the entire arrangement is the work of Team Biden, not that Trump has objected.

THE TWO CNN moderators, a man, the insufferable Jake Tapper, and a woman (of course), the equally insufferable Dana Bash, both of whom are on record comparing Trump to Hitler, so there goes even the pretense of fairness from them.

A BIG EMPTY HALL except for the candidates, the two Hitler scholars as moderators, and the camera crews, with Biden's doctors nearby to catch him if he wanders off or totally checks out mentally. All-in-all an appropriately surreal event for surreal times.

THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES were privatized long ago. The show is commercially sponsored, a money maker for its stakeholders. The League of Women Voters disassociated themselves from the quadrennial farce, rightly pointing out that it was no longer a defensibly neutral format.

AS PER CUSTOM in Duopoly Land, no other candidates are allowed to debate the pre-selected Democrat and Republican, although RFK Jr. is polling ahead of Biden and the dual left candidates, the Green's Jill Stein, and the fervid Cornel West, formerly a Green but running as an independent, represent perhaps as much as a third of the electorate.

THEY'VE got to be excluded because they're smart and articulate. Kennedy is especially dangerous to the Duopoly because his patrimony and rhetorical skill represent a threat to both official candidates. There's that and the fact that Kennedy speaks to and for the traditional Democrat base of working people, millions of whom have gone over to Trump on the false assumption that a billionaire is their great defender, a conceptual error natural in a country that pretends social class has nothing to do with anything. Yeah, but isn't Kennedy a crank? Irrelevant consideration in the country that believes in astrology.

(JR'S got major crank tendencies for sure, but when's the last time you met someone completely free of non-scheduled notions? Here he is on Trump: “I would predict that Trump will win because I really, I think Donald Trump is, he could win a prize for the greatest debater in modern American history, probably since Lincoln-Douglas.”

UH, Lincoln-Douglas? Well, like I said the guy has crank tendencies.

THE JAKE TAPPERS of television punditry are all saying that if Biden can repeat his “masterful” performance at the State of the Union he'll trounce Trump.

BIDEN will trounce Trump anyway for lockstep Democrats so long as he can stay awake and not fumble his lines off his teleprompter. But I don't think I'm alone in assessing Biden's State of the Union performance as simply weird, a speed rap that reminded me of this old Boonville guy who'd trap me at the post office and bark a monologue of lib-lab cliches gleaned from the New York Times. “And another thing, Anderson, you cynical prick, the Democrats stand for labor! And for peace!”

I COULD SWEAR this Boonville Biden lay in wait to unload his barrage of delusional bullshit on me. Got so bad I'd cruise downtown to see if he was around so I could avoid him. If America could cruise past the two clowns foisted off on us as presidents there might be some hope for US, but in this time of rolling, unaddressed catastrophes this is what we get, a choice between two more catastrophes.

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KALI & SATYA!

Warmest spiritual greetings,

As another stupid American presidential debate is nigh, and we understand the insanity of militarism and the fact that the planet earth is fast becoming environmentally uninhabitable, let us all fully realize that as the dark phase of Kali Yuga continues to segue into the Satya Yuga (the age of truth and light), there is no other rational direction to go than to participate in a global spiritual revolution.  Not just a revolution of the spirit, but of the mental and physical as well.  The forces that continue to create a planetary hell and the demonic responsible need to be destroyed.  Your participation in this necessary avataric global intercession is appreciated.  It is either this, or die rotting in the quagmire of samsara.

Craig Louis Stehr

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CATCH OF THE DAY, Wednesday, June 26, 2024

BRYAN GONZALES, Reno/Ukiah. Robbery, conspiracy, probation revocation.

MARCOS VEGA-GARCIA, Ukiah. Domestic battery.

BRIAN WILLIAMS, Ukiah. Paraphernalia, parole violation.

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MATT TAIBBI:

As for the “substance” of the debate, I’d like to tell you there will be informative interplay on issues ranging from Ukraine to Israel to inflation to abortion to yesterday’s Supreme Court decision to the conditions attached to the release of Julian Assange. There might very well be. It feels far more likely, however, that the candidates will shout keywords at each other over and over. In fact, Racket is going to try to keep a couple of clickers, and score a parlay. I’m taking felon + insurrection over rigged + hoax, although I’m setting the over/under for either pair at 25. “Felon” by itself I’m setting at 15. I wish I could take action, but those are just recreational parameters.

As for the rules, you’ve all played booze games before. Because some of the above terms are going to be very high frequency entrants, I’m urging caution, and I mean it when I say sips only for this first lot:

DRINKING GAME. TAKE A SIP ONLY WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD/WORDS:

1. Felon.
2. Insurrection.
3. “Christians.” Double for “Persecuted Christians.”
4. Any of: Rigged, Crooked, Marxist, “Religions Freedom,” “Weaponizing,” “World war.”
5. Any of: Existential, Threat, “Our Democracy,” “At Stake,” or “Soul of a Nation.”
6. Any of: “C’mon, man,” MAGA, “Not a Joke,” “We’re the United States of America,” “President Obama and I.”

As for the rest: look, this game is not going to be for the faint of heart. I’m not doing shots for this (I’ll be going with a beverage, man, i.e. a pitcher of White Russians) and strongly recommend everyone stick to beer or even weed, because if you actually play by these rules, you’ll get into a medical situation quickly. “Felon” alone is a hospital rule. So, watch responsibly.

One evergreen rule is that YOU MUST DRINK EVERY TIME A CANDIDATE LIES. Beyond that, DRINK EVERY TIME:

7. Either CNN host brings up January 6th. If they use the word “insurrection,” you don’t have to drink twice.
8. Trump says he won in 2020 or warns that 2024 will not be honest, e.g. “If I knew there would be no corruption, I’d stop campaigning now.”
9. Biden says something unintelligible, turns his back on the camera, begins undressing, or generally does anything suggesting he’s forgotten where he is.
10. Trump accuses Biden of being on performance-enhancing drugs. Double shot if he sniffles while doing it.
11. Trump brings up Hunter.
12. Biden says, in response, “I love my son.” Double if he non-answers the actual question about Hunter.
13. Trump compares himself to a great president or unassailable historical figure: Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, Joan of Arc, etc. A double if it’s Jesus, or a long-incarcerated political prisoner like Mandela, Sakharov, or Solzhenitsyn.
14. On the ropes, Biden evokes Beau.
15. Trump mentions “Al Capone” or someone who is “my friend.”
16. “You’re fired, Joe.”
17. Biden evokes “Detention camps.”
18. Biden pulls a J.J. Redick and drops a quasi-profanity in there, e.g. “We got to remember who the hell we are.”
19. Trump brings up someone who was killed by “Biden migrant crime.”
20. If the debate has to be halted for medical reasons, FINISH YOUR BEVERAGE.

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PG&E BILLS TO DROP IN JULY. BUT IT PROBABLY WON’T LAST.

by Julie Johnson

In a year of soaring energy costs, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers will receive utility bill reductions starting in July that could cut monthly energy costs $20 for typical residential customers.

PG&E on Wednesday said the company will stop collecting temporary charges tied to emergency response from prior storms and other specific projects that are now complete.

As a result, PG&E is reducing electricity rates by 9% for bundled customers — those that receive both energy generation and delivery services from PG&E.

PG&E customers only receiving energy delivery services from the company — which include those enrolled in clean energy generation programs like Clean Power SF and AVA Community Energy in the East Bay — will receive rate reductions of about 7% for the company’s electricity delivery services.

Bills could rise again if the California Public Utilities Commission approves pending proposals from PG&E to increase energy bills to cover expenses the company already incurred for wildfire prevention and additional emergency response for recent storms.

PG&E spokesperson Lynsey Paulo said the commission hadn’t yet set a date for those decisions. If approved, rates would return to current levels.

PG&E rates increased dramatically this year after regulators voted to allow PG&E to charge dramatically higher electricity rates from customers to help the company pay for modernizing and safeguarding its electric and gas systems.

Paulo said the rate reductions announced Wednesday will bring greater relief for customers who use more energy.

Utility bills for typical residential customers — defined as using about 500 kilowatt hours per month — will decrease by an estimated $20.

Paulo said a typical customer in hot inland areas uses far more electricity — between 900 to 950 kilowatt hours per month — and they could see reductions of about $40.

In San Francisco, with cool summer weather, customers typically use less electricity. The company estimated that customers using about 370 kilowatt hours per month will see bill reductions of about $15.

(SF Chronicle)

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“Son, never trust a man who doesn’t drink because he’s probably a self-righteous sort, a man who thinks he knows right from wrong all the time. Some of them are good men, but in the name of goodness, they cause most of the suffering in the world. They’re the judges, the meddlers. And, son, never trust a man who drinks but refuses to get drunk. They’re usually afraid of something deep down inside, either that they’re a coward or a fool or mean and violent. You can’t trust a man who’s afraid of himself. But sometimes, son, you can trust a man who occasionally kneels before a toilet. The chances are that he is learning something about humility and his natural human foolishness, about how to survive himself. It’s damned hard for a man to take himself too seriously when he’s heaving his guts into a dirty toilet bowl.”

― James Crumley

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A GIANT, MYSTERIOUS FISH RATTLES SURFERS AT BUSY SANTA CRUZ BEACH

by Ashley Harrell

Surfers at Santa Cruz’s Cowell Beach are used to sharing the ocean with wildlife. On occasion, they’ve been chased by aggressive otters, and white shark numbers are on the rise in an adjacent cove. On the morning of June 24, though, a far more enigmatic and elusive creature made an appearance, and gave the surfers a bit of a scare.

In a photo captured by Santa Cruz resident Eric Mendelson from a nearby bluff, the creature’s dorsal fin is sticking out of the water, looking decidedly shark-like. But in another remarkable photo, Mendelson captured the animal’s bizarrely shaped head and Muppet-like eyeball.

There is just one thing in the sea that looks this odd: a sunfish.

Sunfish are the world’s largest bony fishes, with the largest species weighing more than 6,000 pounds and stretching more than 10 feet long. They resemble a drawing of a fish that a 5-year-old might do, with oversized heads and flat bodies that are as long as they are wide. The disproportionately large fins protrude from the top and bottom of the fish, bending from one side to the other as they swim, which makes them seem drunk.

To find out more about what might have brought a sunfish to Cowell Beach, which is part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, SFGATE contacted one of the world’s foremost sunfish experts, Tierney Thys.

Thys is a marine biologist, filmmaker and research associate at the California Academy of Sciences. Colleagues sometimes refer to her as “Mrs. Sunfish.”

When Thys saw Mendelson’s photos, she was struck by how big the sea creature was. “That looks like a very, very large sunfish — most likely a mola mola, the most common species that occurs there in Santa Cruz,” Thys wrote.

Mendelson’s photos also drew an enthusiastic response on social media, with many users expressing surprise and awe. Mendelson, a retired financial manager and photographer, has lived in Santa Cruz on and off since 1980, but this was his first sunfish sighting.

According to Thys, though, the Mola mola is actually common in the area, and scientists conducting aerial surveys have noticed them with increasing frequency. Part of the reason, she said, could be that California’s drift gill net fishery — which ensnares thousands of sunfish as bycatch — is being phased out.

It’s unclear whether warming ocean temperatures due to climate change are a factor, she said, but one thing is for sure: “Ocean sunfish play a vital role in the ocean food web, particularly when they get over one meter in length,” Thys wrote.

Surfers at Cowell Beach needn’t have worried, of course. While Mola mola might appear strange and intimidating, they are docile and primarily forage for jellyfish.

For those interested in spotting a Mola mola, the peak time to see them off the California coast is between October and November, Thys wrote. And because of a vast submarine canyon and plenty of nutrient upwelling just offshore in Monterey Bay, the Mola mola (and plenty of other interesting creatures) tend to congregate there.

“How lucky are we here in Monterey Bay to be able to jump on a surfboard, a paddle board, or a kayak — or just grab a set of fins and snorkel any day of the year — and enter this teeming world of mysterious giants?” Thys wrote. “[The Mola mola] is one of those magnificent megafauna that takes your breath away.”

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RAINBOW FAMILY ORDERED TO LEAVE PLUMAS NATIONAL FOREST WITHIN 48 HOURS OR FACE FINES

by Jordan Parker

The U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday ordered hundreds of individuals to clear out of Plumas National Forest within 48 hours — or face fines and jail time, saying the unsanctioned camp known as the Rainbow Family gathering threatens public health and safety.

More than 500 members of the Rainbow Family, dubbed the “largest non-organization of non-members in the world,” have settled into an area about 5 miles north of Antelope Lake Recreation Area in Plumas County over the past several days, forest service officials said. “The Rainbow Family of Living Light is a loose-knit group of people who gather annually on a national forest,” according to a forest service website. “They describe themselves as having no leaders and no organization.”

According to the forest service, they also have no permit to use the public grounds.

An order issued by the agency Wednesday to force campers to leave said that individuals who violate the order face up to $5,000 in fines or up to six months in jail. The action appeared to be the first time that campers have been ordered to end their gathering.

The family holds an annual gathering each year on a national forest, which usually takes place during the first week of July, peaking on the Fourth. The family’s first gathering took place in 1972 near Strawberry Lake on Arapaho National Forest in Denver, the forest service said. Officials said they expected about 10,000 attendees at this year’s gathering in Plumas National Forest.

“The forest is concerned about the 500 plus individuals already dispersed camping in a concentrated area,” said a statement from Chris Carlton, supervisor for Plumas National Forest. “We are always willing to work with any organization or group interested in recreating on the national forest. There are existing and projected impacts on natural and cultural resources and other authorized uses. Our priority is maintaining public health and safety and the appropriate stewardship of public lands and natural resources.”

Forest service officials said the order was issued to protect natural, tribal and cultural resources, in addition to concerns about fire safety and public health.

“We have the order in place — we are planning to enforce that order,” said Hilary Markin, a spokesperson for the forest service. Markin said any new family members that arrived in the closed area would be subject to fines. She said if members haven’t left by the end of the 48-hour deadline, law enforcement officials would evaluate further actions.

In a statement Wednesday, Lassen County Supervisor Jason Ingram, a strong critic of the gathering, praised the forest service’s action.

“I believe this is the first rainbow gathering event to be shut down, and you all had a hand in that,” Ingram said.

“As I’ve said from the beginning, my concerns with this gathering were always the illegality aspect, the increased fire risk this would have created, the environmental impact, and the blatant disrespect shown to our local tribes,” Ingram said. “Events are fine, but not events that blatantly disregard the law and endanger our land and community fire safety.”

(SF Chronicle)

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“That's the way with a cat, you know — any cat; they don't give a damn for discipline. And they can't help it, they're made so. But it ain't really insubordination, when you come to look at it right and fair — it's a word that don't apply to a cat. A cat ain't ever anybody’s slave or serf or servant, and can't be — it ain't in him to be. And so, he don't have to obey anybody. He is the only creature in heaven or earth or anywhere that don't have to obey somebody or other, including the angels. It sets him above the whole ruck, it puts him in a class by himself. He is independent. You understand the size of it? He is the only independent person there is. In heaven or anywhere else. There's always somebody a king has to obey — a trollop, or a priest, or a ring, or a nation, or a deity or what not — but it ain't so with a cat. A cat ain't servant nor slave to anybody at all. He's got all the independence there is, in Heaven or anywhere else, there ain't any left over for anybody else. He's your friend, if you like, but that's the limit — equal terms, too, be you king or be you cobbler; you can't play any I'm-better-than-you on a cat — no, sir! Yes, he's your friend, if you like, but you got to treat him like a gentleman, there ain't any other terms. The minute you don’t, he pulls freight.”

—Mark Twain, ‘The Refuge of the Derelicts’

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CALIFORNIA’S BUDGET PROCESS HAS ONCE AGAIN BECOME SECRETIVE AND NEEDS REFORM

by Dan Walters

A minor miracle occurred in the California Capitol 50 years ago this month when a bipartisan majority of state senators refused to accept a pork-laden budget that was drafted in secret by two powerful legislators.

It’s a tale worth retelling because the current budget is also being written in secrecy. The process needs another shakeup.

In those days, the accepted practice was for the chairmen of the Legislature’s two budget committees to write the final state budget, taking into account what the governor and individual legislators wanted included. Accordingly, two Democratic chairmen, Sen. Randolph Collier of the Senate Finance Committee and Assemblyman Willie Brown of Assembly Ways and Means, drafted a $10.3 billion budget for 1974-75.

When Collier presented the budget to the full Senate, however, it drew sharp criticism because it was loaded with state park projects for the North Coast district where Collier was seeking reelection in 1976. It was much different than his traditional political base in the northeastern corner of the state thanks to a redistricting plan adopted by the state Supreme Court.

It was dubbed “park barrel” by Collier’s critics, particularly liberal Democrats from urban areas who had long felt slighted by the Senate’s dominant coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats.

They accused Collier of feathering his newly created political nest, rather than serving the whole state.

“Urban areas, such as I live in, never get any pork in the barrel,” Watts Democrat Mervyn Dymally complained.

Collier was stripped of his Finance Committee chairmanship and replaced by Sen. Anthony Beilenson, a Democrat from West Los Angeles. A new budget was drafted, and the entire process was made more transparent with public, item-by-item discussions by a budget conference committee including members from both houses.

Collier also lost his reelection bid.

The transformed system wasn’t perfect, but allowing interest groups, the public and reporters to see what was being considered was a big step forward. One of the most interesting features was compelling legislators to make their requests for specific items in public, rather than whisper them to the two legislators writing the budget.

Alas, budget transparency faded over time, beginning when a Democrat-dominated Legislature had to contend with Republican governors George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson in the 1980s and 1990s.

The public processes gave way to private negotiations by the so-called “Big 5” — the governor, two Democratic legislative leaders and two Republicans. The latter had to be included because at least a few GOP votes were needed to achieve the required two-thirds margin.

Since the process involved both parties, it was difficult to sneak questionable items into the budget.

The budget process regressed further after voters in 2010 endorsed a Democratic ballot measure, Proposition 25, that dropped the budget vote to a simple majority. Democrats then won the governorship and achieved supermajorities in both legislative houses.

Ever since, the Democratic leaders of both houses and Democratic governors have written the final budget behind closed doors.

Thanks to Prop. 25, transparency suffered yet another blow with the proliferation of budget “trailer bills” that are passed with simple majority votes, take effect immediately upon being signed, and are shielded from challenge via referendum.

Governors and legislative leaders use trailer bills to enact major changes in state policy that have little or no real connection to the budget with little or no public exposure or input.

The Big 3 negotiations are now underway, and dozens of trailer bills are being drafted. We won’t really know what the budget package contains until it’s been whisked through the Legislature with little or no real discussion — no small thing given the state’s massive budget deficit.

(CalMatters.org)

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COSTCO'S BOLD NEW PLAN FOR THE CALIFORNIA HOUSING CRISIS

by Farley Elliott

Costco, the international bulk grocery chain known for its warehouse looks and difficult-to-beat deals, is hard at work on what could be considered its biggest new product launch in years: affordable housing.

An approved upcoming Costco location in South Los Angeles (the Baldwin Village/Crenshaw area specifically) is slated to open in the coming years, and it combines the company’s more-is-more brand with a novel new approach to residential construction. The project, to be built by developer Thrive Living and architects AO, was first announced early last year in a press release that revealed renderings of a mixed-use model with multiple floors, open courtyard spaces and other amenities. All told, the build would encompass not only the Costco store (and necessary parking) but a whopping 800 residential units, including 184 set aside specifically for low-income tenants.

What the renderings don’t show, though, is the complicated — and ingenious — way that Thrive Living is actually putting the Costco development together.

According to real estate analysts CoStar, this entirely new mixed-use model isn’t just something novel for Los Angeles, it “may have national retail implications for Costco.” That could mean smaller footprints, more transit-oriented openings, or Costco itself getting even further into the housing market.

Needless to say, everyone is paying attention.

A Different Look

Deep in California’s Central Valley, Fresno’s newest Costco was approved in April with a whopping 219,000 square feet of sales floor and storage, plus an appropriately sized parking lot (and 32-pump gas station) to accommodate all that shopping. In LA, developers have to be more creative.

The city’s upcoming South LA Costco, slated for 5035 Coliseum St. at the intersection with La Brea, is building up on a vacant five-acre lot that was formerly a hospital. The redone site will not only encompass the store and 800 individual apartments, it will also include a fitness area, multi-use community space, multiple courtyards and landscaped paths, a rooftop pool, and other amenities like gardens. Oh, and lots of parking too, of course.

So how, exactly, is everything going to fit together on this relatively compact lot, particularly when layers of bureaucracy, local input, unique design and state-level lawmaking are added to the cement mix?

“The planning and land use system in California and in LA is a Rube Goldberg machine,” housing activist Joe Cohen tells SFGate, “and this project is seeing that machine laid bare.”

In a long post on X earlier this month, Cohen described the complex construction hurdles faced by Thrive Living, AO and Costco in detail, ticking off state Assembly bills and union rules for construction projects of this size. The result of all that regulatory navigation is an unconventional building with a less-than-usual look, something Cohen inelegantly dubbed the “Costco Prison.”

“I think the comparison to a prison wasn’t perfect,” Cohen candidly admits of his post, which X says has been viewed nearly 3 million times. “Living inside it won’t be like living in a prison, obviously. But it is a bunch of small units along these long hallways, with a massive recreation center as an amenity space. From a plan view, it looks like an old school prison design.”

The overhead view of the project does indeed show a density of narrow apartments pushed into several large rings, with open courtyards at the centers — consider it a small-scale Barcelona, instead.

The design, Cohen says, comes from a confluence of factors. First, to comply with some necessary state-level criteria that would trigger construction incentives (that is to say: to make it easier, faster, and cheaper to build), housing must comprise at least two-thirds of the total square footage of the mixed-use development. With a 185,000-square-foot Costco at street level, that adds up to a lot of residential space to fill. Second, to keep labor costs low, Thrive Living will rely on pre-fabricated apartment “modules” that can be quickly loaded from trucks. The pre-fab apartments need to be easily transportable from factory to site, so they can’t be so large that they won’t fit under bridges or on the backs of trucks. The small footprint for each ready-built apartment means more total units.

So yes, 800 small apartments can fit on top of a Costco in the middle of Los Angeles, with 23% of those units reserved for low-income residents and all units eligible for Section 8 vouchers. And if done right and embraced by locals, developers, big box retailers and public officials, the project could be a novel model for future build-outs statewide.

“I am definitely in support of this project,” says Cohen, whose senior thesis project at USC was on the LA housing crisis. “LA needs a lot more housing, and we need it everywhere we can get it and in every way we can get it.”

A New Kind Of Costco Experience

For Costco shoppers who never set foot inside the residential buildings, the South LA store is still likely to feel rather unique. For starters, most of the development’s parking will be held in a multi-floor underground garage; the project is actually digging down almost as far as it is building up. Much of the parking will be reserved specifically for Costco shoppers, but if above-ground Costco lots are any indication, it could still be somewhat chaotic down there.

The site is also transit-friendly (a win for residents and customers), though it’s hard to imagine doing the full scope of one’s bulk shopping at this new site and then hopping on a local bus. Thankfully, hundreds of the retailer’s own customers will live just a short elevator ride away.

Costco also may be looking to streamline its product selection a bit for this new location, building out a “state-of-the-art store” with lots of fresh produce, according to the Los Angeles Times. The site will also include a pharmacy, an optical station and other daily necessities beyond the bulk water pallets and 20-packs of toothpaste. It’s not confirmed yet whether this new store will also offer a food court.

As with the housing above, Costco’s ultimate design may be reliant on navigating several on-the-ground hurdles, particularly as construction gets underway. It’s entirely possible that the project, which has received city approval and is in the permitting stages, will continue to morph slightly over the next 18 to 36 months as construction ramps up. Still, based on the developer’s plans and existing renderings, this South LA project is something that Costco — and all of LA — is eager to see in practice. Thrive Living did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

“The vast majority of people commenting on my post are very in favor of this project,” Cohen says. “It surprised me to see it being viewed so favorably.”

Certainly, other high-density projects like UC Santa Barbara’s ill-fated “megadorm,” proposed as an alleviating option for the Central Coast city’s own housing shortfall, have faced enormous pushback online.

“I think a big part of that is the trust that people have in the Costco brand,” Cohen says. “Like, if they’re doing it, it must be a good thing.”

(SFgate)

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LOVE SONG

My own dear love, he is strong and bold
And he cares not what comes after.
His words ring sweet as a chime of gold,
And his eyes are lit with laughter.
He is jubilant as a flag unfurled—
Oh, a girl, she’d not forget him.
My own dear love, he is all my world,—
And I wish I’d never met him.

My love, he’s mad, and my love, he’s fleet,
And a wild young wood-thing bore him!
The ways are fair to his roaming feet,
And the skies are sunlit for him.
As sharply sweet to my heart he seems
As the fragrance of acacia.
My own dear love, he is all my dreams,—
And I wish he were in Asia.

My love runs by like a day in June,
And he makes no friends of sorrows.
He’ll tread his galloping rigadoon
In the pathway of the morrows.
He’ll live his days where the sunbeams start,
Nor could storm or wind uproot him.
My own dear love, he is all my heart,—
And I wish somebody’d shoot him.

— Dorothy Parker

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THE BEST PEOPLE possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.

— Ernest Hemingway

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TODAY'S LEAD STORIES FROM THE NYT

• What to Watch at the First Trump-Biden Debate
• Trump’s V.P. Parade Nears Its End, With Vance, Burgum and Rubio in Front
• The Major Supreme Court Cases of 2024
• Kenyan President Rejects Bill That Led to Deadly Protests
• For American Brands Worried About China, Is India the Future?

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ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

It’s a smaller world where one can be in Europe one day, America the next and Africa a day later. To circumnavigate the globe in George Washington's life took months not a day and the possibility of dying in the process was pretty high. News doesn’t take weeks or months to arrive; it is almost instant. We now live in an age where one rogue country can roast the citizenry of another with a touch of a button. Having interconnected mutual aid treaties makes sense after two horrible world wars.

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The real horror, to me, lies in the fact that there is absolutely no vehicle in American journalism for the kind of “sensitive” and “intellectual” and essentially moral/merciless reporting that we all understand is necessary–not only for the survival of good journalism in this country, but for the dying idea that you can walk up to a newsstand and find something that will tell you what is really happening.

— Hunter S. Thompson

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THE SUPREME COURT PUNTS ON CENSORSHIP

Standing and the related "traceability" issue doom Murthy v. Missouri, as the Supreme Court votes 6-3 to kick the Internet censorship can down the road

by Matt Taibbi

The Supreme Court Wednesday punted on Internet censorship, sending free speech advocates back to the drawing board while Joe Biden’s White House celebrated.

“The Supreme Court’s decision,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “helps ensure the Biden administration can continue our important work with technology companies to protect the safety and security of the American people.”

That “important work,” of course, includes White House officials sending emails to companies like Facebook, with notes saying things like “Wanted to flag the below tweet and am wondering if we can get moving on having it removed ASAP.” The Supreme Court sidestepped ruling on the constitutionality of this kind of behavior in the Murthy v. Missouri case with one blunt sentence: “Neither the individual nor the state plaintiffs have established Article III standing to seek an injunction against any defendant.”

The great War on Terror cop-out, standing — which killed cases like Clapper v. Amnesty International and ACLU v. NSA — reared its head again. In the last two decades we’ve gotten used to the problem of legal challenges to new government programs being shot down precisely because their secret nature makes collecting evidence or showing standing or injury difficult, and Murthy proved no different.

I’m not going to lie. It’s a bummer. For plaintiffs like Drs. Jay Bhattacharya and Aaron Kheriaty, for their lawyers and the Attorneys General of Louisiana and Missouri who brought the case, and for those of us who worked on the related Twitter Files stories, this is certainly a disappointment. Given that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security reportedly resumed contact with Internet platforms after oral arguments in this case in March led them to expect a favorable ruling, it’s logical to assume the Big Brothering will now resume in earnest.…

racket.news/p/the-supreme-court-punts-on-censorship

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“…By ‘nationalism’ I mean first of all the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labelled ‘good’ or ‘bad’. But secondly – and this is much more important – I mean the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests. Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Both words are normally used in so vague a way that any definition is liable to be challenged, but one must draw a distinction between them, since two different and even opposing ideas are involved. By ‘patriotism’ I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people. Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality…"

— George Orwell: "Notes of Nationalism" (1945)

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‘YOU’RE LOSING MONEY TO PLAY HERE’: WHY PABLO SANDOVAL IS A KUNG-FU PANDA AMONG FERRYHAWKS

by Hannah Keyser

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — In the more than two years since he last played in a major league game, Pablo Sandoval has periodically pulled up highlights from his 14-year career.

His kids like to see clips of dad in his heyday, but there’s plenty in it for Sandoval himself: the chance to remember when real life was just like the dream he had as a baseball-loving boy back in Venezuela.

Most of all, Sandoval watches video from the 2012 World Series Game 1 — when at the age of 26 he hit three home runs to power the San Francisco Giants to an early lead in the series that would end in a sweep and the second of three championships in five years. His next favorite is the final out of the 2014 World Series. In a tight Game 7 with the title on the line, Madison Bumgarner induced a weak popup that Sandoval caught in foul territory, falling to the ground in jubilation after the ball landed in his glove.

A decade later, he remembers what that felt like.

“Relief,” he said recently. “Like, wow we finished. And now it’s time to get relaxed and get a vacation.”

But not all finishes feel quite so triumphant. There is such a thing as too much relaxation, too much vacation.

Which is why Sandoval — now 37 and the owner of four World Series rings that he keeps stashed in a safe — is living in an apartment on Staten Island in New York, making a pittance playing for the Ferryhawks in the Atlantic League.

Why that’s the case is quite simple. About a month after catching the final out of the 2014 Series, Sandoval signed a five-year, $90 million contract with the Red Sox -- a deal that turned out badly for Boston. He appeared in just 161 games spread across parts of three seasons before the Red Sox released him. He went back to San Francisco for a stint and signed a couple minor-league contracts with the Atlanta Braves, for whom he earned his fourth ring. But all told, after making the All-Star team twice before his 26th birthday with the Giants, Sandoval struggled after signing his big free-agent deal.

Baseball had tried to tell Sandoval it was time to retire, but he quickly decided retirement “sucks,” he says. “This is the only thing that I know, that I’ve been doing for all my life. It’s one of those things, when you’re out of the game you miss it more.”

How he came to be a Ferryhawk is a much more winding tale that starts in Oregon in 2005. That year, the Giants drafted a college junior named Mark Minicozzi, who joined their Low-A affiliate where an 18-year-old Sandoval was raking at the plate. Minicozzi had a car, an interest in learning Spanish and a natural inclination to help out the younger guys. Once, when Minicozzi was struggling, he offered Sandoval a pair of custom Nike cleats.

“I felt I didn’t have any hits left in them. So I was like, ‘Hey, maybe you have hits in them.’ So I gave them to him,” Minicozzi said. They played together for three seasons, with Minicozzi aiding Sandoval with his English and life in America. “Not really realizing that had an impact on him early in his career.”

Minicozzi never made the majors. But he stuck around in baseball and stayed in contact with the Giants organization. Earlier this year, he went to a Giants spring training game and saw Sandoval, looking relatively lithe and gunning for a comeback.

Ultimately, that failed. And when Sandoval’s attempts to rejoin the team whose fans consider him a folk hero turned into an inadvertent farewell tour complete with a ceremonial send-off back in San Francisco, Minicozzi reached out.

Newly named the manager of the Ferryhawks, Minicozzi sent Sandoval an Instagram DM explaining that if he was looking for a place to play in the States — after a stint in the Mexican League and Abu Dhabi — he should consider coming to Staten Island.

“Obviously, you’re losing money to play here, not making money,” he told Sandoval, “but if that’s something you would love to do, I’d love to have you here.”

Minicozzi said Atlantic League player salaries top out at $3,000 a month. Sandoval declined to specify how much he’s making, but confirmed that the offer he received recently to return to the Mexican League was for more money than he’s making now.

“A lot more money,” said Sandoval, who prioritized staying a short flight away from his family in Miami. “I don’t play for the money; I play to have fun and for love of the game.”

Well, that and a chance to make it back to the majors.

Sandoval said he relishes the chance to mentor his young teammates. Minicozzi calls him “the perfect role model” and praises his punctuality and preparation.

“When his career as a player is over he definitely has a passion and a knack for being a coach,” Minicozzi said of Sandoval, who said he is open to such an opportunity — should it come along at the right time. Sandoval has talked to clubs about coaching roles — the Giants, the Braves and the Texas Rangers, where former Giants manager Bruce Bochy returned to glory last season after his own brief retirement.

But Sandoval is not ready for that yet; he doesn’t think his playing days are done.

“Some people think you go to independent ball and the dream is over,” said Minicozzi. “The dream is not over.”

Sandoval entered Wednesday slashing .270/.361/.374 while primarily playing third base. It’s fine, but probably not enough to get noticed. So over the next few weeks he plans to add defensive versatility to his profile by returning to his roots.

“We’re gonna get him back behind the plate,” Minicozzi said.

Sandoval came up as a catcher, but he hasn’t caught in a game since 2009, his first full season with the Giants.

“He wants to do it to help the team first initially. But also, man, it might open doors to other teams and opportunities with major-league teams,” Minicozzi said. “I’m happy to have him, and I’d love to see him get out of here and get another shot in the big leagues.”

The Ferryhawks’ stadium might have the best view at any level of baseball. Built on the edge of the island, the outfield abuts the water — as at Oracle Park, people can literally ferry to the game — across which lies lower Manhattan. On a clear day, the view includes the skyline and the Statue of Liberty.

Sandoval is relentlessly upbeat about his life in New York. Early in the season when the weather was cold and dreary, he compared it to San Francisco. “You don’t get tired, your body feels good,” Sandoval said of playing baseball in unsummery temps. He’s enjoying the local food. “The pizza here is so good, I love it,” he said. Next month, his kids will come up from Miami to watch him play.

He even has a positive spin on the more limited resources playing at this level involves. The lack of advanced scouting reports is a chance to get back in touch with in-game adjustments.

“The ballparks, they are different, the baseballs are different, a lot of things are different,” Sandoval said. “But baseball is baseball no matter where you play. If you love the game, you’re going to have fun.”

Before a recent Sunday afternoon game, Sandoval wore a Giants athletic undershirt and two chunky diamond-laden chains as he prepared to DH.

“When I was 24, I could go straight out, no stretch, but now I have to get (here) early, do my routine, exercise, treatment, get ready for the game,” he said.

While Sandoval hit in the cage, across the country a different baseball fairy tale unfolded: The Giants called up pitcher Spencer Bivens to make his MLB debut. Two years ago, Bivens was toiling in the Atlantic League. That’s what everyone here wants, from the 22-year-olds who have never been drafted to a former World Series MVP.

(SF Chronicle)

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HELL, MAYBE ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

by Caitlin Johnstone

The thing that stands out for me the most when watching the deeply moving footage of Julian Assange arriving home to Australia is how impossible this all felt until it happened. 

If you’ve been following this case for a while, you know what I’m talking about. This was the moment you’d dream of in your quiet, private moments, but could never fully allow yourself to believe would actually happen.

It was very easy to imagine Assange dying in a prison cell, either in the near future at Belmarsh or further along the timeline in some US hellhole. It was possible to imagine him getting out many years from now, his children fully grown and half his life stolen away from him. It was even possible to imagine him getting out one day on some legal technicality or whatever and living out the rest of his life in a nation that has an oppositional relationship with Washington like Edward Snowden, maybe. But coming home, to Australia?? No chance.

And yet there he is. It happened.

It’s easy to get so lost in all the emotion and controversy and discussion about the details of Assange’s case and his plea bargain that you forget to appreciate the fact that an impossible thing just happened. That this was a historic event which very few of us believed was ever going to occur — until it did.

And I don’t know about you but I personally find this all rather humbling. I never voiced my dark pessimism about the future of Assange’s plight publicly because it’s important to push hard for victory even when the odds appear stacked against you, but I honestly did not believe what just happened was going to happen. And I was completely wrong.

Which makes me wonder, what else have I been doing that with? What other battles that feel almost futile right now will one day make a fool of me by yielding an unexpected victory? 

Hell, maybe anything is possible. Maybe what just happened with Assange can happen with any of the other injustices and abuses we see in our world today. Maybe it can happen with Palestine. Or with the build-up to war with Russia and China. Or with the corruption, opacity and malfeasance of our own governments. Or with the empire itself. Or with capitalism entirely.

Maybe we really do win this thing. Maybe that’s not a pipe dream after all. As with the Assange case it might not happen in the most grand and egoically satisfying way we’d want it to, but what does? This isn’t a Hollywood movie, it’s real life. Real life doesn’t move the way Hollywood conditions us to expect it to. Real life produces anticlimactic victories and mundane miracles. And it moves in ways that the ego cannot anticipate.

It’s comfortable to be jaded and pessimistic. You feel less vulnerable. You look cooler. You don’t have to deal with the emotional work of disappointment. And admittedly, you are very often proven right. That is, until you’re not. 

And maybe that’s not the most authentic way to come at this thing. Maybe it’s better to throw ourselves into this fight not just believing we might win, but knowing that we will. Maybe all that pessimism and reservedness is holding us back from really swinging for the fences and leaving it all in the ring. And maybe it’s based on completely false assumptions about what we’re actually capable of anyway.

Assange has been freed. Maybe all of humanity can be.

(caitlinjohnstone.com.au)

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