Mendocino County Today: Tuesday 3/11/2025

Mostly Sunny | Warrior's Plume | Drunken Gunplay | Firewood Lottery | Tax Increases | Trillium Spider | Unfair Characterization | Donkey Basketball | Unfortunate History | Sideways Stump | Preservation Magazine | Water Trough | AVLT Accreditation | Bark Ribbon | Ed Notes | Local Events | Eclipse Circle | Latin Jazz | Hot Springs | Yesterday's Catch | Alfredo Man | Stupidity | HHS Decisions | Bassists Loaded | Don't Take | Free Agency | Hackman Interview | Sassy Cassius | Lead Stories | Mighty Speeches | Get Tough | Stupid Decisions | Gaslight Glow | Sacramento River | Both Parties | Roller Coaster | Mindless Sheep | Go Back | Squalid System | Bathtub Bears

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GUSTY south winds are expected late tonight into Wednesday afternoon. Heavy rain and heavy mountain snow is forecast late on Wednesday. Additional bouts of rain and mountain snow expected to follow late week into the weekend. Snow levels are forecast to fall below 2000 feet Wednesday night and Thursday as rain showers persist. Small hail Wednesday night into Thursday could create icy and hazardous road conditions. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): 38F under some high clouds this Tuesday morning on the coast. Get that firewood brought in today, things are about to get wet by tomorrow morning. It looks like rain into Monday morning ish then again later next week? BASTA!

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SHOOTS SELF

On Saturday, March 8, 2025 at approximately 04:05 A.M., Deputies with the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office were dispatch to the 3400 block of Ruddick Cunningham Road in Ukiah, for a report of an accidental shooting. Sheriff’s Office Deputies arrived on scene and began rendering medical aid to an adult male who suffered a gunshot wound injury and was identified as Lucio Romero-Ortiz, 31, of Ukiah. Medical personnel with the Ukiah Valley Fire Authority arrived on scene a short time later and began advanced medical treatment.

Deputies began an investigation into the shooting and learned the gunshot wound to Romero-Ortiz was self-inflicted and unintentional. MCSO Deputies continued their investigation and discovered evidence that Romero-Ortiz was intoxicated and discharged a firearm several times in close proximity to another residence where small children were present. Romero-Ortiz then entered a residence while still in possession of the firearm and an adult female was inside the residence with her 2-year-old child. Romero-Ortiz unintentionally discharged the firearm within feet of the female and her young child. When the firearm was discharged, the projectile struck Romero-Ortiz in the leg causing him to need immediate medical treatment and he was ultimately transported to an out-of-county hospital.

Based on information, observations, and statements obtained during the investigation, Sheriff’s Deputies believed key pieces of evidence were being concealed from them hindering their investigation. The property was secured in anticipation of a search warrant, which was obtained and served. Additional evidence was located to include suspected controlled substances. During the investigation, Deputies developed probable cause to charge Romero-Ortiz with Child abuse, Negligent discharge of a firearm, and Possession of a controlled substance while armed with a loaded firearm.

This is an ongoing investigation that will be forwarded to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office for review once the investigation has been completed. Anyone with information pertaining to this investigation is asked to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office at 707-463-4086 (option 1). Information can also be provided anonymously by calling the non-emergency tip line at 707-234-2100.

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FORT BRAGG SALES TAX AND TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX RATE INCREASES

The City of Fort Bragg is reminding residents, businesses, and visitors that effective April 1, 2025, the local Sales Tax rate will increase to 9.25%, and the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) rate will increase to 14%. These changes were approved by Fort Bragg voters in November 2024 through the successful passage of Measure T (Sales Tax) and Measure U (Transient Occupancy Tax). 

The new Sales Tax rate of 9.25% reflects a 0.38% increase from the previous rate and applies to most retail sales of goods and merchandise within the City of Fort Bragg. 

The TOT increase—from 12% to 14%—applies to stays at local hotels, motels, vacation rentals, and other short-term lodging accommodations within city limits. 

“These voter-approved revenue measures are a direct investment in the future of our community,” said Fort Bragg City Manager Isaac Whippy. “They will help strengthen and keep up with rising essential city services costs, support economic development and housing initiatives, improve infrastructure, and ensure a sustainable financial future for Fort Bragg.” 

Revenue generated from these increases will help fund key priorities identified in the City’s Strategic Plan, including: 

• Housing and community development efforts
• Supporting the rising costs of public safety
• Street and sidewalk maintenance
• Economic development initiatives
• Tourism infrastructure improvements

The City is committed to transparency and accountability in the use of these funds. Annual reporting and oversight measures will ensure that revenue generated from the new tax rates is used as intended and benefits the entire Fort Bragg community.

For more information about the Sales Tax and TOT increases, please visit https://www.city.fortbragg.com/departments/finance-utility-billing or contact the City of Fort Bragg Finance Department at (707) 961-2825.

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MIKE GENIELLA WRITES: Characterizing Judge Moorman’s verbal statement as rambling and incoherent was, in my opinion, unfair. Moorman could have retreated to her chambers, and wrote a carefully crafted  opinion sometime later. Many judges might have. Moorman choose not to. It was clear after days of sketchy testimony she was in no mood to prolong the obvious. She spoke forcibly. It was not hard to follow. Moorman’s message was clear.

MARK SCARAMELLA REPLIES: OK, maybe so. I wasn’t in the courtroom. Maybe that was too harsh. I agree that important parts of the judge’s ruling were refreshingly forceful and pointed. Perhaps I over-reacted to paragraphs in the transcript like this one:

Moorman: “But the disclosure of the evidence in the last couple of days, including what is on Court Exhibit 1, which is the summary of -- of material, is that while the pay-type reports are accessible because they are generated from the SQL system, the emails are not.· The emails are not. ·And I refuse to engage in some inference that these emails that attached these pay-type reports were simply perfunctory, sent to a distribution list that included not Ms. Cubbison, not Ms. Kennedy.· Yes to Mr. Weer, every two weeks.· Yes to Ms. Johnson, who, at some or all of the time period involved in this case was either employed by the CEO's office or HR, claims she knew nothing about pay code 470 until this case -- this criminal case emerged, which I now find to be a completely false statement.· And others, anybody from the HR, all of those emails preceding June of 2020 have been lost in this -- this archive corruption.· That is not an intentional act by anybody.”

We’ve all been worn out by this drawn-out farce under piles and piles of dithering on the part of County officials. It’s not surprising that the Judge was drawn into some of the verbal quicksand that County officials routinely operate in.

PS. It would have been even more forceful if Moorman had mentioned the DA’s abuse of discretion in filing charges against Cubbison based on the lousy investigation the judge justifiably criticized. Cubbison’s attorney, the formidable Chris Andrian from Sonoma County, has said specifically that DA Eyster will be deposed. So hopefully, some of that will come out in the civil case.

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THE LAST TIME AN ELECTED MENDOCINO OFFICIAL WAS ACCUSED OF MISAPPROPRIATION

by Mark Scaramella

The Mendocino County Grand Jury first accused Fourth District Supervisor Kendall Smith of misappropriating public funds in 2007 saying:

“A review of the Supervisors’ travel claims revealed persistent abuse of the Travel Policy from January 2005 through November 2006 and questionable weekend travel reimbursement claims by Supervisor David Colfax and policy misinterpretation and a paucity of claim documentation that was readily acknowledged by Supervisor John Pinches; and that the First and Second District Supervisors [former Supervisors Delbar and Wattenburger] have routinely submitted clear and properly documented travel expense claims.”

Smith didn’t deny that she took the money, about 3,100 in bogus travel claims for non-existent travel that the Grand Jury could solidly document. But, she went on local public radio KZYX and made a series of demonstrably false assertions — i.e., perjury — implying that she was entitled to the money and everybody but her was wrong in saying otherwise:

Smith claimed that:

• The Grand Jury had "ignored" the Clerk of Board memo on the subject of her overcharges.

(The Clerk of the Board's letter concerning her boss's travel claims was posted on the Grand Jury's website and was specifically disagreed with in the Grand Jury report.)

• The Grand Jury "ignored" the District Attorney's decision not to file criminal charges.

(The DA's — Meredith Lintott at the time — contorted refusal to not file charges was also posted on the Grand Jury's website and was also specifically disagreed with in the report. Additionally, the Grand Jury included a quote from the state Penal Code which specifically states: “…the grand jury may order the District Attorney of the county to institute suit to recover any money that, in the judgment of the grand jury, may from any cause be due the county.” District Attorney Lintott refused the order from the Grand Jury saying she didn’t think she could prove criminal intent.

• The report contained nothing new.

(Of course it did — Ms. Smith hadn't paid back the money, for example.)

• The Grand Jury is not neutral, not balanced.

(In the opinion of the accused.)

• It's not “appropriate” for the Grand Jury to look into these things because they don't have the technical expertise or support staff.

(They are required by law to look into such things.)

• It was all political because Grand Jurors are self-selected and Smith was up for re-election.

(There were more jurors from Smith's District on the Grand Jury than ever before and three different prior Grand Juries came to the same conclusion.)

A few months after that Smith grudgingly agreed to pay the money back. But then, reconsidering, she decided no, she’d keep it. She deserved it. Her unique “interpretation” of the County’s travel policy allowed her to keep it.

When Smith reneged on that promise to pay the $3,100 back, the Grand Jury referred the case to the District Attorney.

Then District Attorney Lintott said she had the lawful discretion not to pursue the case because Lintott didn't think she could prove “intent” to defraud to a jury. Lintott blandly added that if the Grand Jury wanted to get the money back the Grand Jury could file a claim in Small Claims Court.

When the Grand Jury did do that, the AVA tried taking the case to small claims court but got tricked by Judge John Behnke into acknowledging that the claim was for “fraud” and therefore the AVA hadn’t gone through the correct procedures for fraud allegations and that small claims court wasn’t the place for fraud allegations (even though DA Lintott had said the Grand Jury should take the case to small claims court).

At one point in that laughable case then-District Attorney Lintott ordered then-Auditor-Controller Meredith Ford to dock Smith's pay for the $3,100, noting that Ford herself calculated that Smith owed that amount. Ford replied that she calculated the amount at the grand jury's request, and then (months later) asked for a legal opinion from then County Counsel Jeanine Nadel [now one of our nine Superior Court Judges] before she would dock Smith's pay. After more months, Nadel forwarded the matter to the Sonoma County Counsel's Office, citing a conflict of interest. Months later that office opined that the payment couldn't be deducted from Smith's payroll checks without a court order, bringing defrauded taxpayers back to square-one.

At no time during the four painful years after the Grand Jury’s initial report, confirmed by three subsequent Grand Juries, did the Board of Supervisors complain, censure or denounce Smith for her false travel claims.

Finally, in 2010, when David Eyster was elected DA, he immediately investigated and threatened to file charges against Smith if she didn’t return the illegally received money. This was the right thing to do, albeit four years after the fact. Finally, ironically on April 1, 2011, Smith forked over a check to the County for the $3,100 in false travel reimbursements she had been accused of taking. (It was probably a lot more than that, but the Grand Jury couldn’t document any more than that.)

The point?

When the elected official was Kendall Smith the DA chose to write a polite letter to Smith telling her he would file charges if the money wasn’t returned.

But when the elected official was Auditor Chamise Cubbison, who was (falsely) accused of somehow approving payments to Someone Else, did the DA demand that the money be returned? Did he demand that the Supervisors do something about the situation? No. He rushed to investigate and file unsubstantiated felony misappropriation charges against Payroll manager Paula Kennedy and County Auditor Chamise Cubbison. And the Supervisors immediately cooked up an invalid government code section they said allowed them to suspend Cubbison without pay simply on the grounds that charges had been filed and without even giving Cubbison an opportunity to defend herself.

What’s the difference?

Kendall Smith never questioned the DA’s spending and reimbursement claims.

And the rest is terribly unfortunate history.

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MIKE GENIELLA:

I received this email (below) today.

One never knows, but it is hard to imagine Preservation Magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation plans to publish a piece praising the city of Ukiah, Jitu Ishwar, Matt Talbert, and Michael Derry, the Guidiville Rancheria consultant, for their run at bulldozing the Palace at public expense. Carolyn Kiernat, a principal at Page & Turnbull in San Francisco, alerted the Trust. Kiernat is the noted preservation architect statewide who, in 2022, assisted Minal Shankar in developing a Palace restoration plan before Jitu bolted in favor of being “made whole” by the Guidiville group.

The email:

Hi Mike,

I hope this message finds you well!

Thank you so much for speaking with our fact checker, Zoe Morgan, for our upcoming article about the Palace Hotel. We’d like to send you a free copy of the magazine when it publishes, if you’d like one.

If so, let me know the best mailing address for you.

Thanks so much,

Malea Martin (she/her) 

Assistant Editor, Preservation Magazine

Email: [email protected]

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BILL KIMBERLIN

When my mother drove my brother and me up to Boonville we would often stop in Petaluma and pick up large orders of eggs and butter which we would deliver to Ray’s Resort, my aunt and uncle’s place at the end of “Rays” road out of Philo. This road is named after them. These supplies were to feed the guests staying there, as there were no restaurants open in the Valley for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

We also often stopped at this water trough a few miles up the Cloverdale/Boonville road. My mother drove a 1951 Baby Blue Cadillac that she bought off of Bill Harrah the casino magnate after he dropped the girlfriend he intended to give it to. 

The intense heat of mid summer could cause a “vapor lock” on this vintage of cars, so we stopped it and ourselves off at this oasis. I am happy to say that it is still there although the water is not safe to drink anymore.

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LOCAL LAND TRUST SEEKS ACCREDITATION

The land trust accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. Anderson Valley Land Trust (AVLT) is pleased to announce it is applying for accreditation. A public comment period is now open.

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, conducts an extensive review of each applicant’s policies and programs. 

Accreditation affirms our deep commitment to protecting the lands and waters of Anderson Valley for the future. It strengthens our credibility and ensures that we uphold the highest standards in conservation and stewardship. For AVLT, accreditation is a promise to our landowners, partners, and community that the landscapes we safeguard today will remain protected forever.

The Commission invites public input and accepts signed, written comments on pending applications. Comments must relate to how Anderson Valley Land Trust complies with national quality standards. These standards address the ethical and technical operation of a land trust. For the full list of standards see http://www.landtrustaccreditation.org/help-and-resources/indicator-practices.

To learn more about the accreditation program and to submit a comment, visit www.landtrustaccreditation.org, or email your comment to [email protected]. Comments may also be mailed to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, Attn: Public Comments, 36 Phila Street, Suite 2, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.

Comments on Anderson Valley Land Trust’s application will be most useful by June 14, 2025.

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ED NOTES

SELMA. THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY of the famous march and ensuing cop riot was celebrated last weekend. In ‘65 I was deep in a Borneo jungle with the Peace Corps, but darned if my FBI file didn’t have me down as a Selma marcher. Flattered at the error and doubly proud  that the feds were aware of my feeble liberalism — I belonged to Bay Area CORE as a kid — at a time of police red squads, when CORE, along with Martin Luther King, was considered a com-op, and leftwing ““activism” was still small enough for Big Bro to keep track of the participants.

“Poland PM fires off blistering attack on Europe’s ‘cowardice’ as he seeks nuclear weapons to stare down Putin.” One of many recent headlines indicating an inexorable march to catastrophe.

ANOTHER signs-of-the-times headline: “California Democrats see a spike in constituent calls urging them to ‘fight back’.”

THEY CAN’T and, from their comfortable principle-free sinecures, they wouldn’t know how, generally speaking of course, and excepting Bernie and the Black Congressional Caucus. Our congressman? He might go to the wall for new office furniture, or an exciting lunch with Chuck and Nancy, but he didn’t land where he is by getting in political fights.

“MOSTLY DRY weather today although conditions are changing synoptically as the ridge breaks down and the cutoff low continues south and offshore of SoCal.” Like our reader Chuck Dunbar, “synoptically” sent me scurrying for my dictionary where I learned the fifty cent term dropped on us this morning by the National Weather Service translates as “complete,” in this context a complete change from False Spring to wintery wind and rain.

A READER DEMANDS, “What happened to War on the palaces, Peace to the cottages on your masthead? You giving up?” As a family values kinda dude, and seeing as how my dear nephew owns a palace, several of them in fact, it began to feel hypocritical of me to keep on making the recommendation while parenthetically exempting him, as in, War on the palaces, peace to the cottages, except my nephew’s palaces. 

PROHIBITION, the one we didn’t learn from, lasted in this country from 1920 until 1933. It was stoutly but narrowly resisted by the incorporated and coastal areas of Mendocino County but prevailed in the County at large, as a majority of Mendo citizens, all 25,000 of them, went for temperance by a small margin. Ukiah, for instance, voted to remain wet by a mere 16 votes while Point Arena was so frightened at the mere prospect of no booze it incorporated itself before the election, confident that its electorate would vote to go on drinking. Point Arena’s been drunk ever since. And Fort Bragg voted to remain wet, although the vote there was also close. One doesn’t need to be particularly imaginative to understand the sentiment against drink. With no social welfare beyond a few private charities, and male breadwinners in large national numbers cashing their meager weekly pay at the corner gin mill, women and children were at the mercy of the bottle.

INTERESTING story in an old SF Chronicle described the efforts of an “ethnobotanist” named Jolie Egert to promote the acorn as a sustainable food source. Which it was for ten thousand years among Native Americans. “A mature oak tree can produce 300 to 500 pounds of acorns per season,” Ms. Egert says, and the 20 species of that hardy tree grow in every part of the state.

EASILY THE MOST ANNOYING and constantly recurring are cloying versions of wine stories called something like “Anderson Valley Grows Up,” a two-page provocation that once ran in the Chron, complete with color photos of a portly sybarite called Burt Williams, a wine bigwig relocated from Sonoma County to Boontling country. Another pair of newcomer Sybs, Peter Knez and Anton Filiberti, were also pictured, as was an almost wholly obscured Mexican toting a load of grapes, the last visual saying all you need to know about the industry. The thing rambled on for a thousand clunking words haphazardly strung together by Jon Bonné, accent mark over the ‘e’ of course, and was all about how these really cool wine people having arrived in Anderson Valley to grow us up. Bonné writes, “Ever more vineyards are being sold to those who live afar.” Afar? Blonk clonk gronk. “Anderson Valley was once California’s little secret, a remote Mendocino nook protected from the sea but still drawing in the coastal chill.” Nook? Cronk stronk fronk. Not a word anywhere in all this bushwah that so much as hints at how a clear majority Valley residents really feel about the wine invaders which, I daresay, ranges from skepticism to outspoken hostility. Forty tasting rooms and counting? Vineyards on precipitous runoff hillsides? Industrial scale application of dangerous chemicals? Wholesale raids on the finite waters of The Valley’s battered streams? Importation and exploitation of immigrants to do all the field work? Is there something to celebrate in all this, this, this….. disproportion?

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LOCAL EVENTS (this weekend)

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SHAKE YER SHAKRAS AT SHALA

Full Moon Eclipse Circle & Sound bath at the Shala Mendocino

Join us for a transformative evening of Sound Bath, Powerful Breathwork, Gentle Yoga, and Vedic Astrology with Justine Lemos, PhD, as we align with the potent Full Moon & Eclipse energies on Thursday, March 13, at 5:30 PM at The Shala.

This Full Moon takes place in Uttara Phalguni Nakshatra, a lunar mansion associated with healing, dharma (life purpose), and soul-aligned partnerships. The presence of the eclipse magnifies its effects, making this an ideal time for clearing karmic patterns, deep inner healing, and stepping into divine alignment.

Themes of this Full Moon & Eclipse: Releasing old karmic cycles and stepping into new beginnings Strengthening heart-centered relationships and soul connections Aligning with your dharma (true purpose) Healing through generosity, self-inquiry, and inner wisdom

To harness the energy of this celestial event, we will engage in deep, transformative breathwork to clear energetic blockages and activate higher states of consciousness. Combined with gentle yoga and a vibrational sound bath, this practice will allow you to release, realign, and restore balance on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level.

Event Details:

Date: Thursday, March 13

Time: 5:30pm

Location: The Shala

Led by: Justine Lemos, PhD

Reserve Your Spot Now: https://app.arketa.co/theshala/checkout/YWnrcs9VmuRagjhlawai

Spaces are limited for this intimate gathering. Sign up at the link to reserve your space.

We look forward to sharing this powerful evening of cosmic alignment, deep healing, and renewal with you.

Justine Lemos, [email protected]

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OMAR SOSA & QUARTETO AMERICANOS

Featuring Josh Jones, Sheldon Brown, and Ernesto Mazar Kindelán

At 2:00PM on Sunday, April 6, at the Mendocino College Center Theatre, we have the privilege of presenting one of the most popular and accomplished Latin Jazz artists of our time, Cuban composer and pianist Omar Sosa.

To quote Hot House Jazz Magazine, he is “as dazzling a pianist and idea-maker as there is in Latin Jazz today. Omar Sosa is an immense talent and never ceases to amaze.”

Omar Sosa is one of the most versatile jazz artists on the scene today. He fuses a wide range of jazz, world music, and electronic elements with his native Afro-Cuban roots to create a fresh and original urban sound – all with a Latin jazz heart. 

In 2003, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Smithsonian Associates in Washington, DC for his contribution to the development of Latin Jazz in the United States. Over the years, Omar has been nominated six times for a GRAMMY and twice for the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards. He received the Afro-Caribbean Jazz Album of the Year Award from the Jazz Journalists Association in NYC for his recording Sentir; and a nomination from the Jazz Journalists Association for Latin Jazz Album of the Year for his recording Mulatos, featuring Paquito D’Rivera. 

Tickets for non-season subscribers are $35 in advance and $40 at the door, if not sold out Advance tickets are available on the UCCA website and at Mendocino Book Company in Ukiah and Mazahar in Willits. 

As part of our on-going Educational Outreach Program, free tickets are available to youth 17 and under when accompanied by an adult, and to full-time (12 units) college students. Free tickets must be reserved in advance by calling 707-463-2738 with name, phone number and email address. 

Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support: Arts Council of Mendocino, KZYX&Z, KWINE, Ukiah Daily Journal, Black Oak Coffee, Schat’s Bakery, Lost in the Cellar, Graziano Family of Wines, Cesar Toxqui Cellars, W/E Flowers, Mendocino College Foundation and Mendocino College Recording Arts & Technology Program.

For more information, please contact the UCCA at 707-463-2738 or email us at [email protected]

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FROM E-BAY, ANOTHER OLD POSTCARD OF SEMI-LOCAL INTEREST (via Marshall Newman)

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CATCH OF THE DAY, Monday, March 10, 2025

LINDA ALMOND, 66, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

SAMUEL CHANDLER-REED, 30, Sebastopol/Ukiah. DUI causing bodily injury.

JASON HARLAN, 32, Willits. Under influence, paraphernalia, cruelty to child-infliction of injury, county parole violation.

NOAH LURANHATT, 34, Ukiah. Fighting on school grounds, parole violation.

ANGEL STANEK, 26, Willits. Failure to appear.

STEVEN ZIMMERMAN, 34, Covelo. Controlled substance, DUI-drugs, more than an ounce of pot, under influence, evasion, county parole violation.

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CRIMINAL OF THE WEEK

Man allegedly locked his girlfriend and her daughter in a room because the girl ate his Alfredo sauce.

Michael Lisk allegedly prevented his girlfriend from leaving the hotel room because he reportedly wanted to “talk about the food her daughter stole from him.”

(TrueCrimeNews.com)

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STUPIDITY

Here is an interesting take on “stupidity” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer that expands on what we normally think stupidity is.  It is a state of “disinformation” that affects all of us, regardless of IQ or education. See what you think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53ZaXpIn2fg

(via Carol Mattessich, Fort Bragg)

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HERE COMES MEASLES

Editor:

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. paused a multimillion-dollar project to create a new COVID-19 vaccine in pill form and canceled a Food and Drug Administration meeting to discuss strains that would be included in next season’s flu shot. Being in a vulnerable group of people that are most at risk, I can’t understand how any of these decisions are in the best interests of the citizens of this country.

Beyond this, he seems to be discounting the recent outbreak of measles in Texas and New Mexico. This is malpractice in the extreme. What has become of our country when science has become the enemy of our government and a large segment of our populace? It’s a disgrace.

Chris Carpenter

Petaluma

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NOT GOING GENTLE

Mama don’t take my Kodachrome
Mama don’t take my memory
Mama don’t take my agency
Away yay yay yay yay

— Jim Luther

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HOW TO SURVIVE NFL FREE AGENCY

A fan's guide to enjoying a national pastime without going on a tri-state killing spree

by Matt Taibbi

There are lots of important things happening in the world today. I’m not paying attention to any of them. Today is a holiday for me, and many other American sports addicts.

NFL free agency technically begins today at 4 p.m. ET, but deals can be struck as early as noon. That’s when junkies like me will be on Twitter. For most sports fans it’s the third or fourth most important day of the year, behind Christmas and the draft but ahead of relatives’ birthdays and Thanksgiving. Thanks to rank corruption and volume lying, it’s fast become one of the funnier metaphors for the American experience.

NFL teams have always been prohibited from contacting players still under contract, but about fifteen years ago the league began to be embarrassed by the phenomenon of $50 million deals being magically completed minutes into the new league year. Teams and agents weren’t just ignoring rules and talking before it was allowed, they were being dickish and showy about it. In response, the NFL in 2012 instituted what I believe is the first permitted cheating mechanism in pro sports history, a thing called the “legal tampering period,” sanctioning the illegal chatter.

Thirteen years later, deals are now somehow completed at the start of the tampering period, which means the league will soon have to create a second legal cheating window, then maybe a third, and so on. I predict we’ll eventually have a “legal tortious interference” period that begins somewhere around week 9 of the regular season.

The NFL markets its product in the offseason by encouraging hurricanes of rumors and innuendo about player movement, roughly 2095% of which will turn out to be bull. There are two species of NFL lies: those told by teams, and those told by agents. Learning to distinguish these is central to the fan experience on free agency day. A quick field guide for enjoying the NFL’s annual festival of Fake News and Agentensprache, or “Agent-Speak”…

https://www.racket.news/p/how-to-survive-nfl-free-agency

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GENE HACKMAN sat across from the interviewer, his expression unreadable but his words sharp. “I don’t do the parties, I don’t do the glad-handing,” he said. It was the 1990s, and Hollywood’s social scene was a maze of power plays and unspoken rules. For most actors, playing along was the cost of success. Hackman, however, had no interest in the game.

At the time, he was one of the most respected actors in the industry, known for films like “The French Connection,” “Mississippi Burning,” and “Unforgiven.” His performances carried a raw, unpolished energy that mirrored his off-screen personality. While many actors cultivated images as charming, industry-savvy players, Hackman had no patience for such pretenses. “I never liked the idea that you had to kiss up to get ahead,” he admitted.

When asked about Hollywood’s political climate, he did not mince words. “It’s not about talent half the time. It’s about knowing the right people, saying the right things, and keeping the wrong opinions to yourself,” he said. His bluntness startled the interviewer, who was accustomed to carefully measured answers from stars protecting their careers. Hackman, however, had no fear of being blacklisted or ostracized. He had built a career on ability, not alliances.

He revealed that he avoided industry events whenever possible. “Those parties? Useless. Everyone’s pretending they like each other. They pretend they’re listening to you, but they’re looking for the next person to impress.” This attitude made him an outlier. In an industry where deals were often sealed over cocktails and handshakes at exclusive gatherings, Hackman’s refusal to engage was almost unheard of. Even those who disliked the system accepted it as a necessity.

The interviewer pressed him further, asking if his views had ever cost him roles. He shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. I only took jobs that interested me. If someone didn’t want me because I wouldn’t play their game, so be it.” His filmography reflected this approach. He took on roles that challenged him rather than those that maximized his visibility or wealth. Whether playing a corrupt sheriff in “Unforgiven” or a retired thief in “Heist,” he gravitated toward characters with depth rather than those designed to endear him to audiences.

His disdain for Hollywood’s artificiality extended beyond social networking. He criticized the culture of insincerity that pervaded the industry. “You listen to award speeches, and it’s all the same. ‘I love my team, I love my co-stars, this was the best experience of my life.’ It’s nonsense. Some of these people can’t stand each other off-camera.” He acknowledged that actors sometimes formed genuine friendships, but he saw most public interactions as calculated. “There are people in this town who’d sell their own mother for an Oscar.”

The interview took a sharper turn when he was asked about actors using their platforms for political activism. He hesitated before answering. “I don’t have a problem with people having opinions, but this town has a habit of punishing those with the ‘wrong’ ones. That’s not freedom of speech. That’s a club where you better say the right thing, or you’re out.” His words carried weight, especially in an era when Hollywood was becoming increasingly vocal on social and political issues.

Despite his criticisms, Hackman clarified that his frustration was not with acting itself. “I love the work. I always have. That’s why I stuck around as long as I did. But the rest of it? The politics, the egos, the nonsense? That part, I could live without.” This philosophy defined his career. Even as he remained a sought-after star, he lived away from the Hollywood bubble, preferring a quieter life.

Hackman eventually stepped away from acting, his final role being in “Welcome to Mooseport” in 2004. Unlike many of his peers, he did not seek a grand farewell tour or sentimental tributes. He simply left, content with what he had accomplished. His unfiltered words in that 1990s interview were not a publicity stunt or an act of rebellion they were a rare glimpse into an actor who valued authenticity above all else.

Paul Navamani

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“I GUESS I’ve taught a thousand boys to box, or at least tried to teach them. Cassius Clay, when he first began coming around, looked no better or worse than the majority.

If boxers were paid bonuses on their potential like ball players are, I don’t know if he would have received one. He was just ordinary, and I doubt any scout would have thought much of him in his first year.

About a year later though, you could see that the little smart aleck - I mean, he’s always been sassy - had a lot of potential. He stood out because, I guess he had more dedication than most boys, and he had the speed to get him someplace.

He was a kid willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve something worthwhile in sports. I realised it was almost impossible to discourage him.

He was easily the hardest worker of any kid I ever taught.”

— Joe Martin On Working With A Young Muhammad Ali

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LEAD STORIES, TUESDAY'S NYT

15 Lessons Scientists Learned About Us When the World Stopped

House Republicans Unveil Spending Bill to Avert Shutdown at Week’s End

Trump, With More Honey Than Vinegar, Cements an Iron Grip on Republicans

Trump Promised Americans Booming Wealth. Now He’s Changing His Tune

Justice Dept. Official Says She Was Fired After Opposing Restoring Mel Gibson’s Gun Rights

Ukraine Bombards Russia, Forcing Moscow Airports to Close

Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine Ex-President, Is Arrested on I.C.C. Warrant

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DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADERS: GET TOUGH!

by Ralph Nader

Enough already with the Democrats’ confused disarray in responding to Tyrant Trump’s vicious, illegal destruction of critical federal programs for all Americans so as to favor the insatiable greed and power of the Super-rich and giant corporations. The plutocrats are demanding more tax escapes, corporate welfare, and green lights for lawlessness.

No more excuses for the failing Democratic Party and its contracting out of electoral campaigns to profiteering corporate-conflicted political/media consulting firms

Progressive Congressional Democrats like Al Green, Elizabeth Warren, and Independent Bernie Sanders know exactly what needs to be done to Stop Dangerous Donald and Marauding Musk from their lawless, fascistic overthrow of our government and our Constitution.

First and foremost, House and Senate Democrats can hold UNOFFICIAL public hearings on Capitol Hill, highlighting an all-time winning agenda supported by the citizenry and opposed by the Trumpsters. These are the long-overdue, immensely needed, and widely popular programs abandoned by the corporate Democrats who allowed the disastrous loss last November to the most corrupt, cruel, bigoted, and greedy GOP since its founding in 1854.

To see what I and Mark Green and two dozen civic leaders urged the Democrats to AUTHENTICALLY adopt in 2022 and 2024 (see winningamerica.net and my 2024 book titled Let’s Start the Revolution and The Inflection Election by Mark Green). The following are the election winners:

*Raise the frozen $7.25 federal minimum wage to at least $15 per hour. (Twenty-five million workers would get a long-earned raise.)

*Raise Social Security benefits, frozen for nearly 50 years for over 65 million retirees. Pay for this by lifting the income cap on the social security tax for the rich and super-rich (now at just $176,100).

*Restore the child tax credit by sending $300 a month to over 60 million children, cutting child poverty nearly in half.

*Pay for this and other necessities by raising taxes on the severely undertaxed rich, super-rich, and giant corporations (over half of which pay no federal income taxes). Eighty-five percent of Americans support this tax fairness reform.

*Crack down on corporate crooks and swindlers eating away at the income of hard-pressed workers. We are talking big money stolen from consumers and workers. The polling support for this LAW AND ORDER reform is huge.

There are many more pro-people reforms shelved by the Democrats and their mendacious for-profit consultants. But these initiatives are the “Big Five” that draw overwhelming support from liberal and conservative voters, from Red and Blue States. An unstoppable coalition of political power over their legislators. (See my 2015 book, Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State.)

The second parallel wave of UNOFFICIAL hearings could strongly rebut and reject dictator Trump’s cruel and mostly illegal Executive Order Dictates. In her largely feeble and dull response to Trump’s lengthy lying, deceptive, and distracting propaganda show before the U.S. Congress, Senator Elissa Slotkin used the weak words “reckless” and “chaotic” to describe Trump’s lying boasts. She should have called Trump “criminally insane” and “knowingly homicidal.” Trump’s vicious actions are harming many Americans and desperately poor people abroad.

The Trump/Musk Axis of Evil is knowingly leaving Americans defenseless by strip-mining programs dealing with pandemics, climate violence, toxic pollutants, unsafe air and surface transportation, and contaminated food, water, and air here at home. Abroad, cutting the lifelines of AIDS medicines, food supplements to near-starving children, and other emergency American help, long supported by previous Republican and Democratic Presidents, brings arrogant glee to these GOP gangsters. One new, obsolete aircraft carrier costs taxpayers more than the vital work of dismantled federal agencies.

Senator Schumer’s choice of Senator Slotkin (D-MI) to present the Party’s response shows that he has not learned anything from his self-inflicted losses to the GOP. It would have been far more popular and persuasive to have Senator Sanders or Senator Warren make the specific, devastating case against the vengeful, scapegoating, egomaniacal, delusional Trump.

Slotkin, a former CIA employee, used her 10 minutes of fame to be self-promoting and repeated the vague affirmations behind “the middle class” (of course, no mention of the vast poor), “national security,” and “economic security.” Like so many of the Democratic politicians, she just couldn’t get herself to be specific, as with the aforementioned Big Five, which, after all, are just updates of the successful New Deal policies under Roosevelt and Truman.

Letters decrying another lost opportunity for the Democrats to unmask the Trump Dump rising in Washington, DC poured into the newspapers. The Washington Post published many of them. One writer wanted this to be said: “Resign, Mr. President, Resign and you’ll hear a thunderous ovation.” A long-time Republican, Grant Grissom, took this a broader step forward by paying for a full-page ad in the New York Times on March 2, 2025, titled “A PLEA FOR DONALD TRUMP TO RESIGN” and presented cogent reasons for not waiting for Impeachment. (Grant Grissom: [email protected]).

To conclude where I began: Democrats hold regular UNOFFICIAL hearings, which will get good mass media coverage and reach millions of registered voters who are increasingly indignant over what is being taken from them. If the Democrats stand with the fast-growing resistance by the people, they can stop the Trump madness and save what is left of our democracy.

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THE GLOW OF THE GASLIGHT

by James Kunstler

CBS 60-Minutes’ Gaslighter-in-Chief Scott Pelley was at it again Sunday night trying to put over the story that Donald Trump had unfairly cashiered a broad swathe of federal agency Inspectors General — whose job it is to investigate crime, mischief, and administrative malfeasance. In the spotlight sat one Hampton Dellinger, Special Counsel to the independent Office of Special Counsel, who just resigned after a court battle over his firing weeks ago.

Do you have any idea what a laugh riot that is? Dellinger’s job was to protect whistleblowers and enforce the Hatch Act (against public employees engaging in partisan political activities). Would you say he did a great job protecting FBI whistleblowers who testified before Congress last year — say, FBI agents Marcus Allen, Garret O’Boyle, and Steve Friend? They were suspended without pay, not allowed to seek other employment, lost homes, were financially wrecked, and hung out to dry by then-FBI boss Christopher Wray. Was Hampton Dellinger heard to make a peep about that? (Nope.) So much for protecting whistleblowers.

You can state categorically that thousands of federal employees have been engaged in what they call “the Resistance” since the first Trump administration. They openly advertise themselves as the Resistance. The Resistance is simply and purely Democratic Party activism. How is that not a violation of the Hatch Act? Hampton Dellinger did not notice any of it. Maybe that’s why he got fired, ya think?

About those many Inspectors General fired from the various agencies. . . considering what is now known about the fantastic racketeering operations run during the Biden years — e.g., the USAID money laundry, the gazillion dollars flushed through the EPA to grifters such as Stacey Abrams under the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate change provisions, the vast royalties paid to NIH employees by Pharma companies for aiding in their product development — do you think the Inspectors General have done a bang-up job of protecting the US public against waste, fraud, and crime? (Maybe not so much, ya think.)

Of all the IGs, Michael Horowitz of the DOJ has been in place since 2012 and mysteriously remains on the job. He was on-the-scene through the entirety of RussiaGate, including the Crossfire Hurricane flimflam, the immense mischief perpetrated in the FISA Court, the whole run of the deceitful Mueller Special Counsel op, the 2020 election fraud, the FBI-sponsored J-6 riot (and the DNC / RNC pipe bomb caper), the Hunter Biden laptop shenanigans (and Biden Family bribery scheme), the feckless Durham investigation (on the origin of RussiaGate), and the matrix of lawfare cases launched by Merrick Garland against Mr. Trump in the 2024 election year. Seems like Mr. Horowitz missed a few things. How would you rate his Inspector General-ship? And why is he still in that office?

By now, you might have grokked that there is another side to the story presented by Scott Pelley, whose mission is to get the deranged half of the American public to go boo-hoo over ersatz threats to Our Democracy. Which might lead you to ask: how and why, exactly, is CBS so deeply invested in protecting the Administrative State (let’s call it) from allegations of corruption? Answer: CBS is the servant of the US Intel Community and its blob tentacles. They are captured. They do as they are told for their masters.

As it happens, Mr. Trump launched a $20-billion lawsuit against CBS last October for fiddling with the interview that candidate Kamala Harris did on 60-Minutes in such a way that it presented a false record of her answers in order to boost her floundering election campaign. So, let’s suppose we have been seeing CBS play a game of hardball against Mr. Trump, consistently painting the once-again president as a villain in case presiding U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk in the Northern District of Texas happens to have nothing better to do on Sunday evenings than watch 60-Minutes, out of sheer habit, like so many Americans.

Notice that you haven’t heard a whole lot for two weeks from AG Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. They have had their hands full attempting to clean up big messes in the Southern District of NY’s DOJ office and its companion, the Manhattan FBI office, where many lawyers and agents have been fired in recent days. Among other things, the FBI office in New York supposedly sat on reams of evidence in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Much flappery has been made over that. But, considering Mr. Epstein’s service to the Intel blob, and its political servants especially, is it really plausible that any truly significant evidence remains?

The FBI raided Epstein”s Manhattan townhouse in July, 2019. They found CDs and hard drives galore and lots of photos of underage girls. None of the videos ever managed to leak out. Do you find that suspicious, considering how sensationally incriminating they would have been? Would you guess that is because they were destroyed? Personally, I wouldn’t expect much now. But I do expect Ms. Bondi and Mr. Patel to develop a great many cases out of the aforesaid far-ranging corruption — overlooked by all those Inspectors General — that occurred throughout government at least since 2016, and probably involving a whole lot of well-know names, including Presidents Obama and Biden. It takes a lot of time and care to construct cases worth bringing to grand juries. Also consider that Dan Bongino will not take up his duties as FBI Deputy Director until March 15. As it happens, Mr. Bongino wrote several books about RussiaGate and its spin-offs. He will have a pretty good idea of exactly where to look and who to talk to, and he will be in-charge of making that happen. Be patient.

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SACRAMENTO RIVER, 1935

Will Rogers came to Sacramento in 1935 to film John Ford’s “Steamboat Round the Bend,” a movie about a high-stakes steamboat race in Louisiana. The Sacramento River stood in for the Mississippi River during filming. In this shot, the “Pride of Paducah” riverboat, skippered by Irvin S. Cobb, has the lead, with Will Rogers’ “Claremore Queen” just behind. The pair are followed by cargo boats “Pride of the River” and “Cherokee.” The men in the foreground are unidentified. The film was released a month after Rogers died in an airplane crash on August 15, 1935.

(Sacramento Bee Collection)

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ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Like our problem is the “Dem” sock puppet, as “opposed” to the “Repub” sock puppet (who championed the Iraqi $8 trillion, War of Aggression, 1 million civilian deaths.) So now the multi-decade Bi-partisan Looting operation tries to sell the risible notion that the problem is some irrelevant split, Dems v. Repubs (like these are actual choices), or Liberals v. Conservatives (like these words haven’t been long stripped of meaningful definitions)…anything to distract from the Mob that perpetuates it all. Let’s you & him fight! I’m suppose to care about the comic opera of Musk’s tax-payer money saving operation…which hasn’t touched the Pentagon, the biggest Money-Laundering operation in history, who regularly starts & loses 20 year wars with no consequences? That maintains, at some expense I imagine, a hundred TIMES more overseas bases than China & Russia together? It’s THEATER! I’m being encouraged to give a sh-t despite the clear fact that every cent saved will be used, along with Medicare & SS to finance tax breaks for the Billionaires who make up this government (& did under the previous Sock Puppet). Hannah Arendt observed, propaganda is NOT designed to convince you of a point of view. It’s to wear you out, discourage you from thinking or caring about the issue. Please watch, w/your thinking cap on, the absurd 33 second AI video of Trump Gaza and still believe its point isn’t to make evil banal, acceptable, mainstream. (PS: Bondi will never expose Epstein’s operation since Israel is behind it, with again, “BOTH” parties)

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PEOPLE WHO DEFEND TRUMP’S ASSAULT ON FREE SPEECH ARE MINDLESS SHEEP

by Caitlin Johnstone

President Trump has taken to social media to boast about his administration’s arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil for leading Columbia University campus demonstrations against Israel’s genocidal atrocities in Gaza, proclaiming that “This is the first arrest of many to come.”

“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” Trump said.

And judging from what I’m seeing online, and the responses I’ve been getting to my criticisms of these abuses, most Trump supporters seem perfectly fine with these measures. Many are actively defending them.

Words can’t express how disgusted I am with Trump supporters who defend their president stomping out speech rights for Israel after spending years wailing about the loss of free speech in America. It’s beyond mere political differences. I don’t respect them as people.

Of all the pathetic, groveling, bootlicking positions anyone could possibly espouse, it’s hard to imagine one more egregious than twisting yourself into cognitive knots trying to find ways to excuse a president crushing free speech in your country to advance the interests of a foreign state after spending years yelling “America First” and whining about freedom of speech, just because that President happens to be a Republican.

If you are doing this, you’re just admitting that you don’t stand for anything, and you’re just drifting along with the herd and supporting whatever the man in charge tells you to support. You’re unthinking human livestock. A mindless, useless, pointless NPC. You have wasted all of your time on this planet, because you did not use that time to mature into a sovereign adult with basic intellectual agency and integrity.…

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/03/11/people-who-defend-trumps-assault-on-free-speech-are-mindless-sheep/

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BIG FARMS BREED BIG FLU: End the Cage Age for a Healthier, Affordable Path to Food Security

The industry’s reliance on mass culling, vaccines and “biosecurity measures” fails to address the root cause of so many food safety and food security crises: an unnatural, high-stress, squalid system.

by Elizabeth Kucinich

The foundation of good health is simple: Wholesome food, fresh air, physical movement and low stress. Yet, these fundamental principles are absent in modern food production.

Animal factories—industrial-scale factory farm livestock operations—create ideal conditions for the emergence and rapid spread of disease, including avian flu.

High-density confinement, genetic uniformity, and poor air quality weaken birds’ immune systems and enable viruses to mutate and transmit quickly.

Unlike in natural settings, where biodiversity and space act as buffers against disease, factory farms concentrate thousands or even millions of animals in close quarters, amplifying viral loads and increasing the risk of spillover to wild birds and even humans.

The industry’s reliance on mass culling, vaccines, and “biosecurity measures” fails to address the root cause of so many food safety and food security crises: an unnatural, high-stress system that prioritizes profit over resilience.

Nowhere is this more evident than in today’s egg crisis, resulting in soaring prices, plummeting availability, and over 120 million chickens killed due to avian flu scares.

Under current protocols, if just one bird in a 100,000-strong confined flock (yes, that’s how many can be in one building!) is suspected of infection, the entire flock is exterminated.

Farm animals have zero legal protections under the Animal Welfare Act. That may not concern some people, but the next time you bite into chicken, consider the following:

The vast majority of animals raised for food in the U.S. are crammed into overcrowded, high-stress confinement, jacked up on pharmaceuticals so they can endure squalid conditions without fresh air or room to move. This is not healthy for them, and not healthy for those who consume food produced under such circumstances.…

https://kucinichreport.substack.com/p/big-farms-breed-big-flu-end-the-cage

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