Mendocino County Today: Sunday 6/29/2025

Hot | FB Protesting | Suspect Arrested | Senior Calendar | Annexation Redo | Tower Discussion | Pet Mavis | Tweaker Visit | CORE Unrealistic | Wine Tasting | My Strategy | Ed Note | Pride Parade | AV Events | Road Tripping | Cemetery Talk | Mendo Matters | Masonite Sign | Parks Pass | Amazon Bell | 1890 Fourth | Yesterday's Catch | Crow Caucus | Fundamental Threat | Act Up | Marco Radio | Giants Lose | Shasta Mysteries | Hearst Mugshot | Mamdani Win | AI Creature | Born Again | Book-Club Bouncer | Lead Stories | Birthright Ruling | Faith Restored | The Supremes | Untruthful Hyperbole | Sliced Tomato | Clocking In

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HOT AND DRY weather will peak Sunday with highs near 100 for the interior. Warm and Sunny weather will even approach the coast by Sunday. There is a chance for scattered thunderstorms over the interior Monday and Tuesday. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A clear 50F at 5am this Sunday morning on the coast. Another sunny day is forecast then the fog moves back in some for the new week. The NWS says we have a 20% chance of a shower Tuesday afternoon, you don't say? 6am UPDATE : it's foggy now, wondering how much sun we'll see today now?

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JUNE 28th FORT BRAGG PROTEST

photos by Bob Dominy

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mendoevents/albums/72177720327182030/

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GOT HIM!

Arrest Made in Fort Bragg Sexual Assault

On Saturday, June 28, 2025, at approximately 8:00 AM, officers from the Fort Bragg Police Department served two search warrants in the 100 block of S. McPherson Street in relation to an ongoing investigation into a sexual assault that occurred on Saturday, June 21, 2025.

Upon arrival, Officers made entry into the residence and contacted multiple people inside, including the suspect who was detained and interviewed by the investigating officer.

A search of the residence was also conducted during which officers located and seized several items linking the suspect to this sexual assault investigation, and other cold cases of burglary and prowling currently being investigated by the department.

Based on statements from the suspect, as well as evidence obtained on scene, Cayden Craig, 23 of Fort Bragg, was arrested for Rape, Burglary, and False Imprisonment. Craig was booked and transported to the Mendocino County Jail. A bail enhancement was granted, and his bail is currently set at $1,000,000.

Officers will continue to follow up on any additional information as this investigation moves forward. If you need to report a crime, or would like to speak with an officer, please contact us at (707) 964-0200 or 911 for emergencies.

Chief Neil Cervenka said, "I am incredibly proud of the dedication and tenacity of our officers on this investigation. While they started with only a brief video of a masked subject, over the course of one week they chased every lead, conducted surveillance, obtained search warrants, located direct evidence to several crimes, and made an arrest of the person suspected of a violent crime. Demonstrating they are committed to the safety of our community.”

The community portal related to this investigation will remain open. The community is asked to continue to submit information they feel is relevant to the investigation.

To utilize the portal, please visit the link below. The portal will send a link by either text or email for the reporting party to upload the evidence and allow the person submitting to provide a brief statement about when and where the activity occurred. The portal also accepts anonymous submissions. Simply uncheck “provide my information” and your submission will remain anonymous. Submissions to the portal will be uploaded directly to evidence.com where officers can review them.

https://fortbraggpdca.evidence.com/axon/communityrequest/public/sexualassaultsuspecttipline

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Officer Farris with the Fort Bragg Police Department at (707)964-2800 ext. 225 or email [email protected].

This information is being released by Fort Bragg Police Sergeant Jonathan McLaughlin. All media inquiries should contact him at [email protected].

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UKIAH ANNEXATION - TAX-SHARING AGREEMENT SURVIVES

by Justine Frederiksen

After multiple city of Ukiah representatives — including one who called a controversial annexation map a “big f—k up” — assured Mendocino County representatives they were reevaluating their ambitious Ukiah Valley Reorganization plan, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted not to rescind a Master Tax-Sharing Agreement with the county’s four cities to allow for more information to be collected on, and possible modifications made to, Ukiah’s decidedly unpopular plan for significantly expanding its borders.

“When I saw the map, I was basically horrified,” Ukiah Mayor Doug Crane told the board, describing the proposed annexation map as being based on the consolidation of Ukiah Valley water agencies who then requested to be annexed by the city, “and that map came forward based on the idea of doing that re-organization annexation. In hindsight, that was a big f—k up. Just to put it frankly.

“But the matter before us today is the tax-sharing agreement,” Crane continued. “It is a good tool that we all should respect, cherish and modify, over time, if that is needed. We’re in a community, we gotta work together — we have to call somebody out if they’re not doing the right thing, and make suggestions on how they could make it better.”

Fifth District Supervisor Ted Williams, who sponsored the item being considered, thanked Crane for addressing the board in-person, and said he “would like to see the city, and the county, and the people work on a plan that’s a win in all directions, and I think that’s possible.”

“Big decisions require input and engagement, and we’re clearly engaged,” said City Manager Sage Sangiacomo. “And where we are today, is a commitment from the city of Ukiah to engage with the community, engage with stakeholders and engage with the county, and engage with (the Local Agency Formation Commission), to see if there’s something here.”

“Are you suggesting that the city is in a position to withdraw the current plan and come back with a new proposal?” Williams asked Sangiacomo, who responded that the city had not yet submitted a plan, only a pre-application, and that the City Council had not approved a plan or even a map, describing the unpopular map in the draft proposal as “starting this discussion, in a very awkward way. We all recognize that, (but) sometimes starting these discussions is not easy to do.”

“The problem I have is, people are calling me, irate,” Williams said. “I would have expected the city to pull back and say, ‘We’re not doing that plan. We hear the public, we will do something different.’ If you could make that statement, I think that would de-escalate the situation. Because now, people feel they have no voice. They’re going to city meetings, and they hear a presentation, but they don’t feel that there is an opportunity to be part of the discussion and actually steer it.

“And secondly, if you could make the commitment that the county won’t be in a financial position where we’re unable to provide the mandated public protection,” Williams said. “Whatever the end result is, as long as (Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall) isn’t telling us that he’s cutting resident deputies, I can live with it. But right now, that’s not the case.”

“The data is not even there to know the impacts, and to make a commitment that the county is not going to have financial issues, is irresponsible,” Sangiacomo said. “We need strong cities and we need a strong county — we are linked together, whether we like it or not. Our financial futures are linked together, and it’s incumbent upon us not to let the services that are important to our communities fail, (so the ultimate goal) is to get to a proposal that benefits all parties related to services that are being provided.”

As to Williams’ first request, Sangiacomo said that city officials had already announced their intent to “go through a meaningful, collaborative process to collect public input and to work with stakeholders… to define whether or not we even have a proposal to move forward with. At this point, there is not a proposal to withdraw, because we don’t have one yet to submit.”

“I think you’ve got an amazing opportunity right now to tell the public that you’re willing to step back and start over, and I’m not hearing you take that opportunity,” said 4th District Supervisor Bernie Norvell. “Because what you put to the community is a proposal, it’s what you initiated. It’s not a proposal to LAFCo, it’s not the final, but it is a proposal.”

“I think it’s irresponsible to start completely over with input, because there’s valuable input that’s been gathered,” Sangiacomo said. “Does the proposal that’s on the table meet the needs of the community and the county and others? I don’t think so. But from this point moving forward, I think all of those things that you talked about, need to occur, 100 percent. And the map will change.”

“We’ve heard from the city that they are stepping back (and) I think we at least owe this an opportunity before we blow this thing up,” said Norvell, suggesting that instead of negating the tax-sharing agreement now, county representatives “sit down with the city and see where they’re at. But if they’re not going to budge, or the financial data comes back that this is a raw deal (for the county), I’m 100 percent with rescinding (the agreement).”

Williams suggested tabling the item and allowing the board’s ad-hoc committee, made up of Norvell and 1st District Supervisor Madeline Cline, to meet with city representatives and gather more information regarding the annexation proposal and how it will affect the county’s finances, but stressed that he wanted to keep the public updated on the process.

“I’m comfortable saying that the ad-hoc will provide regular updates, and I think even once a month is more than acceptable,” said Cline, after which Williams moved to table the item until the ad-hoc could collect financial data, while providing monthly updates. The motion was passed unanimously.

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THE DISPUTED TOWER

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LEE EDMUNDSON:

Regarding Ms. Raymond’s offer to deconstruct the Main Street historic water tower and relocate its elements to another site: If you’re willing to spend that much money to underwrite such a proposed project — the cost of which would be considerable, I have no doubt — why not simply spend that money to repair, rehabilitate and restore the tower in its current location?

Doing so would avoid any Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, rehabilitate this historic iconic landmark, while satisfying both your needs as a property owner and the Mendocino community’s desire to preserve the tower in its current location.

Or are you just blowing smoke?

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KATHY BAILEY:

Lee, they explained that. To reconstruct and use it for the restaurant entrance, it would have to be ADA compliant, which means an elevator or some such that just can’t be worked into it. Now that we realize the water tower is not even in its original location, the offer of giving it away is reasonable. Heck of a climbing structure for a park?

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SUPERVISORS VOTE 4-1 (Williams dissenting) to overturn the Mendocino Historical Review Board and let the Mendocino Tower owners take down the Tower/stairs, May 20, 2025 (Video of the Tower item starts at around 3:37… Concluding Board discussion is around 4:38: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrRqnK_Sp5I

Agenda Item 4g and extensive background information and attachments can be found at: https://mendocino.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7402274&GUID=5F87009E-6AC2-42C6-B4A4-8461C5B6D6BA&Options=&Search=

(Mark Scaramella)

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UKIAH SHELTER PET OF THE WEEK

Mavis is a sweet little lady-dog looking for a quiet home where she can settle down. Mavis is shy at first, but warms up to people once she gets to know them. Mavis is what we call a "fun-size" dog and has the cutest squatty body! She’s mellow indoors and likes to entertain herself playing with toys. She can be a bit wary of new people, and would do best in a home with older kids only. Mavis is uncertain about other dog, and will need to have a slow introduction to new k9 friends. Mavis knows SIT, and overall she’s well-mannered. If you're looking for a sweet tank of a dog, Mavis may be the girl for you! Mavis is a Pittie mix, 3 years old and 63 pounds.

For information about all of our adoptable dogs and cats, and our services, programs, and events, visit: mendoanimalshelter.com.

Join us the first Saturday of every month for the Meet The Dogs Adoption Event at the shelter.

For information about adoptions please call 707-467-6453.

Making a difference for homeless pets in Mendocino County, one day at a time!

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ADAM GASKA (Redwood Valley):

Woke up to my dog barking at two guys with flashlights creeping around my neighborhood. Bel Arbres area. They jumped in a white Kia and creeped around the neighborhood. I went out to confront them and they took off so I called the sheriff and followed them in my car. We went on a cruise down Central Avenue, jumped on the freeway and came back, I followed them to Flow Kana, they turned back around. Sheriff came up while we cruised down Bel Arbres. Sheriff’s deputies pulled them over to shake them down. I left and went home. We get some tweakers doing the same shit about every 6-8 months. Homey don't play that shit. If you live in the Lennix, Bel Arbres area, check your things. If anything is missing, report it.

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MAZIE MALONE: I forgot to add earlier the CORE program uses a tier system to supposedly determine levels of care but if you look at the actual chart, it sets up expectations that people in deep crisis simply can’t meet. Folks dealing with serious mental illness or co-occurring issues aren’t going to be able to follow these steps on their own. They need consistent, hands-on support and encouragement something the system doesn’t typically provide. The criteria end up being so rigid and difficult, it reminds me of the way the Assisted Outpatient Treatment program is structured—on paper it looks like help, in reality it is another ballgame that these individuals will not win.

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MENDOCINO WINEGROWERS TASTE MENDOCINO 2025 on Saturday, June 28, at Wyndham Garden Redwood Valley at Coyote Valley Reservation.

Photos/Caption by Karen Rifkin

(Who says young people, especially women, aren’t drinking wine anymore?)

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A MENDO CITIZEN: "If I was in the local government my strategy would be to spend a couple million dollars to sit around and talk about increasing regulations and taxes. That’ll definitely get the economy booming… And if all else failed, I would just give myself another raise.”

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ED NOTE:

Never made it to the state or federal level pen, but been in a lotta county jails, including this one in Mendo. Most were in-and-outters during protests and demos when I was young, but the Mendo jailings occurred when I was old enough to know better but. … But one was a totally unjust contempt beef where I did about two weeks in an ISO cell, which was kinda vacation-like until I ran outta books. I will never forget the kindness of a C.O. who led me down the hall to a room with a big pile of battered paperbacks in which I found a collection of John O’Hara’s short stories that lasted me during what turned out to be my last day inside. Without that C.O. doing me that huge O’Hara favor I would have had a hard time just sitting there. I also did 35 days way back for a scuffle with the County Superintendent of Schools, although the actual conviction was for a misdemeanor disturbing the peace charges DA Massini could lay on me. I believe at the time it was a state record. Incidentally, present DA Eyster prosecuted me on that one. It was great fun, actually, and a great show for the Point Arena Justice County, nutball Vince Lechowick presiding. I got to meet a lot of miscreants inside who remain friends to this day. If I were faced with years inside I’m sure I wouldn’t be so blithe about the jail experience.

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FORT BRAGG HOSTS ITS FIRST PRIDE PARADE SATURDAY, celebrating the LGBTQI+ community

by Mary Rose Kaczorowski

FORT BRAGG, CA., 6/24/25 — Fort Bragg made history this June as the city hosted its first Pride parade through the downtown on Saturday. Franklin and Laurel streets and Redwood Avenue were adorned with vibrant Pride flags — a powerful symbol of visibility and solidarity. 

Spectators lined the sidewalks, cheering and waving as marchers made their way to the Larry Spring Commons, where live music, dancing and community festivities awaited. 

Mayor Jason Godeke marked the occasion by reading the city’s official proclamation recognizing June as LGBTQI+ Pride Month.…

https://mendovoice.com/2025/06/fort-bragg-hosts-its-first-pride-parade-saturday-celebrating-the-lgbtqi-community/

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ANDERSON VALLEY VILLAGE List of Events

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WILLITS COUPLE DRIVES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ‘WHILE WE STILL CAN’

by Justine Frederiksen

Many people hope to travel after retirement, often dreaming about driving across the United States. And the Oslunds of Willits were just one local couple who shared that dream.

Shared, that is, because this year they made that vision a reality, hitching their 18-foot teardrop trailer to the back of their pickup truck in March and driving from Mendocino County to North Carolina, completing an epic trip of 10,833 miles, 14 National Parks and three presidential libraries in about 10 weeks.

“We wanted to see the country, but not sleep in a different bed every night,” said Karen Oslund, describing both herself and her husband Gordon as not only wanting to see new places, but also while they were still able to fully enjoy them. Which to the Oslunds, both 60, meant being able to bring their own bed and kitchen to wherever they wanted to stop.

“And the trailer makes it so comfortable and easy,” said Karen, noting that they bought the trailer from another local couple who stopped using it when the husband’s eyesight starting failing, another fact of life that definitely helped spur them to begin their adventures as soon as possible once Gordon retired in 2023 (as principal of Ukiah High School), a year after she retired.

“We wanted to do the trip while we still can,” said Karen, explaining that they not only wanted to be able to still tow a trailer to wherever they wanted to sleep, but also able to chop wood for that night’s fire, then spend the morning climbing that cool mountain nearby.

And hiking was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for Karen, who pointed to one tough-but-rewarding climb in Utah’s Arches National Park as one of her favorite experiences.

“And seeing a Road Runner in New Mexico!” she added, explaining that so much of the Southwest was a revelation, as she had never been to either New Mexico or Texas.

But perhaps her favorite moments of the trip were spent on, and getting to, Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which they couldn’t drive their trailer to, but they could take it onto a ferry for a “drive” on the Atlantic Ocean.

When asked what she would have done differently, Karen said she might not have insisted they drive to Kentucky so she could see the American Quilter’s Society Show in Paducah.

“I’m a quilter, so I really wanted to see that show, and to go to the Quilt Museum in Hamilton, Missouri,” she said, explaining that the stop in Kentucky required a lengthy detour that in hindsight might not have been the best choice, though that side quest did lead them to discover “the world’s biggest superman (statue) in Metropolis, Illinois,” located just across the Ohio River from Paducah.

When asked what the couple learned about each other after more than two months on the road in a trailer together, Karen said, “Well, we’ve been married for 38 years now, so there isn’t much we didn’t already know about each other. But I will say that you need to be very compatible to share such a tight space!”

Though her sister-in-law joked “who will fly home first?!” before the Oslunds left, Karen said they ended up enjoying this last trip so much that they have already begun planning their next, which she said will be a return to New Mexico. Not only because of the places they saw and loved there, like White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns, but because of the places they didn’t get to see, since “the UFO Museum in Roswell was closed when we got there!”

And for those who are still just dreaming of making such a drive across the country, Karen shared some well-earned advice, starting with, “Take it slow, since you can’t drive 500 miles a day if you’re towing a trailer, so plan on more like 300 a day. Not only because you can’t drive as fast, definitely no more than 60 miles an hour, but because it is more tiring to tow a trailer than to just drive a vehicle.”

To keep both that vehicle and trailer operating safely on the road, Karen also recommends that at least one of you knows how all your equipment operates and is skilled in basic repairs, or at the very least is willing and able to learn on the fly.

And while you should definitely keep track of any storms or highway closures affecting your route, Karen pointed out there are some drawbacks to keeping too abreast of current events while trying to soak in a road trip. For example, learning that a Florida woman was killed by an alligator while canoeing with her husband just as your husband is trying to convince you to kayak with him in South Carolina.

“So I definitely decided not to go with him,” said Karen with a laugh, adding that Gordon ended up kayaking by himself in both the bald cypress swamp near Congaree National Park in South Carolina and in Bayou Segnette near New Orleans. And while he did see alligators, the possibility of encountering them was not going to keep him from doing an activity that he wanted to experience.

Which leads to perhaps the best piece of advice for any couple contemplating a drive across the country: You don’t have to do all the same things on your trip, but you do need to start driving, while you still can.

Read more about the Oslunds’ journey here: https://karenoslund.substack.com/

(Ukiah Daily Journal)

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MENDO MATTERS: EMPLOYERS COUNCIL RELAUNCHES

Employers Council of Mendocino County, now doing business as Mendo Matters, recently announced its revitalization and expanded mission to support businesses, employees and engaged citizens across the region.

Originally founded in 1996 and serving until 2018, the organization has returned — stronger, broader, and more inclusive than ever.

With a renewed vision and leadership, Mendo Matters is now open not just to business owners and employees, but also to individual community members who want to shape the policies and priorities of local government. Membership is subject to board approval. The organization aims to create a unified voice for those who believe in practical, business-friendly solutions that promote long-term prosperity and community well-being.

Your voice. Your business. Your community.

“We believe that when local businesses thrive, the entire community benefits,” Kerri Vau, Chair of Mendo Matters explains. “Our mission is to create a constructive dialogue between the private sector and government so we can work together toward a stronger Mendocino County.”

Mission statement

Mendo Matters advocates for reasonable, balanced public policies that allow private enterprise to flourish. The organization is committed to ensuring that entrepreneurs, small business owners, and working individuals have a seat at the table — and a say in the decisions that impact their livelihoods. By promoting a stable, predictable, and business-friendly environment, Mendo Matters helps drive job creation, economic development, and community resilience.

Purpose

Mendo Matters serves as the unified voice of its members in local government, while keeping them informed and empowered on the policies, regulations, and issues that affect their businesses and everyday lives.

Organizational objectives

• Monitor and report on local government actions that may increase regulatory or financial burdens.
• Influence decision-making through ongoing member feedback.
• Collaborate with aligned community organizations and advocacy groups.
• Promote and protect private property rights.
• Support efficient, transparent governance while opposing redundancy and waste.
• Core values and policy positions
• Efficiency & Innovation: Encourage modern, cost-effective government practices.
• Fair Taxation: Advocate against unfair, fee-based revenue models.
• Accountability: Insist that government represents its citizens — not bureaucracy.
• Transparency: Demand clear, streamlined governance.
• Local First: Support using local vendors in public procurement when cost-effective.

Meet the 2025-2026 Board of Directors

Membership benefits

Annual membership in Mendo Matters will be paid quarterly and give members exclusive access to a variety of programs and services:

• Quarterly networking luncheons in Ukiah (3x/year) and Fort Bragg (1x/year)
• Business owner “Quick Pitches” at general meetings
• “Tip of the Day” cost-saving ideas for individuals and businesses
• Expert guest speakers on legal, financial, and regulatory topics
• Key reward savings program with discounts at local businesses (coming soon)
• One-on-one consultations on issues related to local government policies with Executive Officer and/or Board

Let’s make Mendocino stronger — together

In a time of economic uncertainty and increasing regulation, Mendo Matters invites you to join a proactive, solutions-driven movement. Whether you own a business, work for one, or simply care about the future of Mendocino County, your voice matters. Mendo Matters is here to amplify it.

To learn more and become a member, email us: [email protected]. To keep up with Mendo Matters, follow on Instagram (@mendo_matters) and Facebook (Mendo Matters).

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BRADLEY JAMES (Ukiah Way Back When): While out treasure hunting today I found this sign for sale.

I imagine everyone in the group over the age of 50 ignored these signs and found your way onto some portion of Masonite property for a kegger, swim and maybe a few of you even deer hunting throughout the years. Second piece of history is if you look closely at the bottom you can see these signs were made by the famous “sanky” of sanky signs. I think every sign in town has his mark. I imagine a few are left in the wild.

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CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY PARKS PASS FUNDING RESTORED

Funding for the California State Library Parks Pass has been restored in the state budget!

This is a big win for park access across California.

Earlier this month, the program — which allows Californians to check out free vehicle day-use passes to over 200 state parks — was at risk of being cut. Thousands of people across the state showed support, and it worked. The Governor and Legislature heard the call, and they acted to keep this vital program alive.

When our community shows up, real change happens.

The full update: https://click.everyaction.com/k/110397103/554249241/1915489487

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RE CRUMB, A READER NOTES:

One of the first people we met in Ukiah when Michael Miller and I arrived here was Susan Bell. At the time, she was installed in what now is the BBQ joint on Perkins Street where she was heading the formation of the first Ukiah Community Center in an old, decrepit, dark and beer-smelling bar. She was, in my mind a fabulous Amazon — tall, and made taller by wearing heeled boots. I remember looking at a photo of her carrying a man in her arms — said man being R. Crumb. She was friendly with Crumb and his then wife, Dana. There’s no way any guy would have been carried around by Susan unless she was in on the joke. So, maybe Crumb is being truthful in his letter to the editor.

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FOURTH OF JULY, 1890. (McKee Collection, Kelley House Photographs)

A Mendocino Fourth of July celebration, taking place in an open field known then as Bank Square, now Heider Field. A festive crowd has gathered to mark Independence Day, with Dr. James W. Milliken standing on a raised platform, reading the Declaration of Independence to the assembled townspeople.

A horse-drawn wagon, filled with people and decorated with flags, adds to the celebratory scene, while trees brought in as decorations line the field, creating a makeshift festive setting. In the background, two homes can be seen: the C. O. Packard house on the left and the Henry Jarvis house on the right. Each home has a large water tower topped with a windmill.

The hill rising behind the houses is still bare in this image, but just a few years later, in 1893, it will become the site of the first Mendocino High School.

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CATCH OF THE DAY, Saturday, June 28, 2025

GUSTAVO AGUILERA-ORTIZ, 37, Ukiah. Domestic battery.

LEONARD CAMPBELL JR,, 53, Hopland. Disorderly conduct-solicitation of lewd act, probation revocation.

JENNIFER COOK JR. 56, Fort Bragg. Petty theft with priors, controlled substance.

CAYDEN CRAIG, 23, Fort Bragg. Rape by force, violence duress, menace or fear of bodily injury, burglary, false imprisonment with violence.

BACARDI GADDY, 31, Lexington, Illinois/Ukiah. Under influence.

LIMO GUTIERREZ-CRUZ, 39, Ukiah. DUI, no license.

ELOY LOPEZ JR., 25, Ukiah. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

AMADO REAL IV, 36, Willits. Battery, parole violation.

JAKE SCHULER, 37, Willits. Burglary, stalking, tampering with vehicle, suspended license for DUI, paraphernalia, disrupting police communications, tear gas, ammo possession by prohibited person, controlled substance, domestic violence court order violation.

NEIL WALDRON, 56, Ukiah. Disobeying court order, paraphernalia, failure to appear, resisting.

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DEFENSE EVIDENCE

I once looked up the origins of the word "caucus" in the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology:

Isn't it obvious that the Algonkins were acknowledging the wisdom of crows? Today, in English, the collective noun is “a murder of crows.” It’s a slander, probably applied to these intelligent Corvids by some celebrated wit at the Algonquin round table. Yes, crows can screech and they will eat small animals. But mostly they eat fruit, grains, nuts, and seeds. Their typical sound is "caw-caw". Anyone who has heard them gathering in the evening in a tall tree will agree, I’m sure, that the proper term for the assemblage would be "a caucus of crows." (Given the intelligence of most of our politicians, it would still be a slander.)

— Fred Gardner

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SCARY CONSEQUENCES

Editor:

Most Americans, including members of Congress, haven’t read the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” but they should — because beyond its headline promises lies a fundamental threat to our constitutional balance. Modeled in part on the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, this bill shifts unprecedented power to the executive branch, effectively sidelining Congress and the courts.

It would allow the president to remove civil servants at will, overhaul federal agencies without oversight and control how laws are interpreted and enforced. This would undermine the vital separation of powers that protect our democracy from authoritarian drift.

Such consolidation of power risks more than politics. It jeopardizes Social Security, Medicaid and health care access by gutting Affordable Care Act protections. It threatens environmental conservation by stripping regulations. And it could cripple scientific research by replacing expertise with ideology.

This isn’t just another partisan tax bill — it’s a framework to permanently reshape our government’s structure and mission. Before it becomes law, we owe it to ourselves and future generations to at least read a condensed version and think critically about its consequences.

Bill Mashek

Forestville

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MEMO OF THE AIR: You're not expected to understand this.

Marco here. Here's the recording of last night's (9pm PDT, 2025-06-27) 8-hour-long Memo of the Air: Good Night Radio show on 107.7fm KNYO-LP Fort Bragg (CA) and also, for the first three hours, on KAKX Mendocino, ready for you to re-enjoy in whole or in part: https://tinyurl.com/KNYO-MOTA-0650

Coming shows can feature your own story or dream or poem or essay or kvetch or announcement. Just email it to me. Or send me a link to your writing project and I'll take it from there and read it on the air.

Besides all that, at https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com you'll find a fresh batch of dozens of links to not-necessarily radio-useful but worthwhile items I set aside for you while gathering the show together, such as:

Death of a fantastic machine. https://kottke.org/25/06/death-of-a-fantastic-machine

A weblog entirely about computer interfaces in science fiction movies. (via Kottke) https://scifiinterfaces.com

And the face of a 10,000 year old woman. Cute. Puckish. From out Belgium-way. https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/2070440/face-10000-woman-revealed-scientists

Marco McClean, [email protected], https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

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GIANTS SQUANDER ROBBIE RAY’S SOLID START in 1-0 loss to White Sox

by Shayna Rubin

CHICAGO — Applying pressure on the bases was an early season objective for a San Francisco Giants team light on thump offensively. Those plans have taken a turn for the ugly midway through the year.

They’ve made 29 outs on the bases and only four other teams in baseball — the Tampa Bay Rays, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers — have had more. The 29th base-running gaffe, thus far, cost the Giants big in a 1-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday afternoon.

It happened in the sixth inning. Back-to-back hits by Brett Wisely and Christian Koss put runners in scoring position against White Sox starter Adrian Houser for the first time to bring up Rafael Devers, the recently added thump they’d lacked.

Devers was swinging for the fences and Wisely, at third following a balk, was ready to bolt home on contact. On Devers’ strike-three swing, Chicago catcher Edgar Quero caught Wisely too heavy footed down the line and backpicked Wisely off third base for a double play. Heliot Ramos lined out — in what would have been a precious sacrifice fly had Wisely stayed safe — to end their best threat and shift momentum Chicago’s way.

“I was on contact on a ground ball, there’s something on the ground I’m going for it,” Wisely said. “So I saw Rafi’s swing, too heavy on the front foot and he made a really good throw. I should have come back standing up and let the ball hit me instead of slide, but a really good play there.”

The White Sox needed just one swing to bury San Francisco. Andrew Benintendi hit a solo home run in the bottom of the frame off a four-seam fastball starter Robbie Ray hoped he’d get a little more up and in rather than down. One mistake by inches — the second homer Ray allowed to a lefty all year — sullied an otherwise strong game for Ray, who navigated a two-on, no-out jam in the third inning and finished six innings with six strikeouts, four hits, two walks and the one run that earned him his third loss of the year.

“Typically a solo homer isn’t going to beat you,” Ray said. “But their guy was a little bit better today.”

Houser is no slouch, toting a 2.27 ERA in seven starts coming into Saturday’s game, but the Giants managed just four hits — all singles — off the righty.

Statcast estimates that San Francisco has scored negative-1.9 base running runs above average, which means their base running hasn’t been doing them any favors. Though the Giants’ formed an identity around playing tight games, often decided by one run without relying on the extra-base hits, the base-running blunders are a direct result of the pressure this team is putting on itself to make the most of opportunities when they seldom occur.

“We’re trying to be aggressive and do some things to score runs and in this case it backfired,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We have to keep working to take that kind of pressure off ourselves offensively. We have to be able to score more runs than we’ve been doing and put more pressure on the starting pitcher. Whether it’s early of the game, middle of the game — granted he had good stuff, really good sinker was down in the zone. Balls on the ground, but we have to put more pressure on because every opportunity that comes and something goes wrong it’s magnified. It comes down to a lack of offense.”

They caught a big break to keep the game at 1-0 with reliever Erik Miller on for the seventh. Michael A. Taylor’s double was just inches from a home run, but bounced off the top of the fence into play. Taylor nearly scored on Josh Rojas’ single the following at-bat, but Taylor’s hand missed the plate and catcher Andrew Knizner tagged him out as he stood up, thinking he’d scored.

It was just the bit of good luck that could swing momentum back the Giants way. Not this time.

“We’re a team that plays one-run ball games and it’s no secret that we feel comfortable in those situations,” Ray said. “Obviously it didn’t happen today, but we have to come back out tomorrow and play Giants baseball. We play more one-run ball games than any team in baseball. We don’t feel uncomfortable in those situations.”

(sfchronicle.com)

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HE CLAIMED THERE WAS A SECRET TUNNEL IN MOUNT SHASTA. THEN HE DISAPPEARED.

by Eric Brooks

In 1934, at the foot of Northern California’s towering Mount Shasta, a geologist named J.C. Brown started telling a captivating story to anyone who would listen.

He spoke of an 11-mile tunnel filled with gold and giant skeletons, and said it led straight to the heart of Mount Shasta, an active volcano. Lots of people believed Brown, and soon, he was organizing an expedition into the tunnel.

But it never happened. Instead, mere days before the expedition was scheduled to depart, Brown mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

His story of the treasure-filled tunnel, however, has endured. Because like any good urban legend, it was just close enough to the truth to make it believable.

A time of discovery

Back in 1934, finding treasure inside a mountain was in style.

British archaeologists had discovered the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun just a decade earlier, setting off a series of similar expeditions. King Tut’s tomb contained chambers filled with chariots, thrones, statues and jewelry, and of course, a golden burial mask. Pictures of the latter were shared across the globe.

Meanwhile in Northern California, a theory of a lost civilization of beings called Lemurians was taking hold.

Several books, including “The Lost Continent of Mu” by James Churchward and “Lemuria: The Lost Continent of the Pacific” by Wishar S. Cerve, popularized the idea that the West Coast of the U.S. was actually the remains of the continent of Lemuria. “Even disbelievers cannot dispute the fact that the mountainous terrain on the west coast is indeed different,” writes Emilie A. Frank, in her 1998 book, “Mt. Shasta: California’s Mystic Mountain.”

Frank told the tale of a “cataclysmic action” that supposedly caused Lemuria to sink.

And although that “action” has never been explained, it apparently prompted North America to rise from Lemuria’s “partially submerged state,” joining the two to form the region we know today. Cerve’s book — “very widely read,” according to Frank — took it a step further, claiming that Mount Shasta was the last refuge for the Lemurians who survived the destruction of their continent.

Cerve even wrote that the Lemurians at one time kept their village hidden on the interior of Mount Shasta and accessed it through a tunnel on the eastern side of the mountain.

People were riveted by the story.

They came from all over the world to find Lemurians at Mount Shasta. Some reported strange lights on the mountain at night. Others even claimed to have met Lemurians. There are still people, to this day, who believe in Lemurians.

“The Lemurians were very tall,” said Jennifer Bryan, a volunteer at the Siskiyou County Historical Society. “They apparently had long arms [and] big heads. No one could ever say they saw them. Supposedly, they came into the communities and traded gold for supplies. Everybody from all over Siskiyou County had heard those stories.”

Separately, Native Americans in the region had long told stories of a giant race of people that once roamed the Earth. Passed down through the Shasta Indian Nation, the Wintu Tribe of Northern California and the Karuk Tribe, some of those stories have included depictions of “mean and fierce” giants known to squeeze people to death. Hoaxes leveraging those beliefs had been perpetrated for years, even at Yosemite National Park.

“People like the mystery of it,” Bryan said. “It’s almost spiritual. They like the feeling that the mountain is spiritual. The Native Americans certainly feel that way.”

A convergence of these discoveries, beliefs and stories was perhaps inevitable.

‘Stories can change’

For Brown, a British geologist seeking his fortune near Shasta, the shoe fit.

When Brown came along in 1934 with a fantastic tale about a tunnel that led him to rooms of copper and gold, statues, hieroglyphics and 27 giant skeletons, ranging from 6 feet, 6 inches to more than 10 feet tall, it quickly gained traction. The geologist claimed he was in the area prospecting for gold at the time of the discovery.

Brown reportedly noticed an unnatural section of rock on a cliff face, which gave way to a cave “that curved downward into the mountain,” Frank wrote. After days of exploring and cataloging, Brown “cleverly concealed the entrance of the tunnel” and left, Frank explained.

“It would be one thing if it was a room full of gold, but the fact that he adds that there were giant Egyptian sarcophagi is another thing,” said filmmaker Michael Flanagan. “That really was believable back then.” That, the location and the presence of giant skeletons were also a dog whistle for anything relating to Lemurians.

Flanagan’s “The Mysteries of Mount Shasta,” based on a book by D.W. Naef, dives into the legends associated with the area, including Brown’s story. But verifying Brown’s claims proved difficult for Flanagan, who found himself relying on old stories, urban myths and scant writings about the alleged tunnel to create a narrative.

“The hard part about old history is that it’s kind of written by the survivors,” Flanagan told SFGATE in a phone interview. “We don’t have a way to ask everyone that was around in 1934. Stories can change over time.”

The weird thing was Brown claimed to have discovered the tunnel in 1904, some three decades before he told the story publicly.

What he did during those 30 years remains up for debate, though most agree he “disappeared here and there” and was mostly off the radar, Flanagan said. He also reportedly told his story to anyone that would listen in bars around Sacramento.

According to Flanagan, it’s believed Brown may have told a few friends and relatives his story, and was thought to visit the tunnel frequently. According to Frank, Brown surfaced in 1934 to advertise a trip to the alleged tunnel and invited more than 80 people from Stockton to tag along.

The group, which met nightly for six weeks to plan the trip, included a museum curator, newspaper editor and a number of scientists, Frank wrote.

“He wasn’t really asking for money,” Flanagan said. “He was telling people that they could have the stuff in two of the rooms, and he basically just wanted what was in one room.” And, after decades of apparently studying Lemurians, Brown also told the group “the antiquities in the cavernous rooms inside Mount Shasta were those of the Lemurians or their descendants,” according to Frank’s research.

The group was scheduled to leave for the tunnel on June 19, 1934.

But that never happened, because Brown never showed. No one from the traveling party ever saw him again. Completely “bewildered,” concerned members of the group even filed a police report, though many still believed there was a tunnel into Mount Shasta, Frank said.

“There are some accusations that some members of the group had something to do with his disappearance,” Flanagan said. “He maybe oversold it or something like that.”

Of course, Brown never revealed the exact location of the tunnel to anyone before his vanishing act.

Years later, researchers would claim Brown’s identity was an alias. Brown — or someone who claimed to be him — is reportedly buried in a Nevada desert, according to Frank’s book. In the decades following his disappearance, there have been a few small expeditions to try and find the tunnel, though “nothing major,” Flanagan said.

Detecting lies

It begs the question: Why?

John Petrocelli has a hunch.

“People are horrible at detecting BS,” he told SFGATE.

The professor of psychology at Wake Forest University is the author of “The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bulls—t,” a book that explores the causes, behavior and understanding of false information and delusional thinking.

“I would imagine the education level of the average individual in the United States in the 1930s was well below what it is today,” he said. “People’s knowledge of basic science and critical thinking, and at minimum their awareness of it, I think would probably go further today.”

People are usually motivated to make up stories to impress or persuade others, or to support some kind of cultural value like politics, Petrocelli added. “Maybe my friends and family and neighbors will vote for something that they wouldn’t otherwise or maybe they’ll join the gang that’s going to go search for this hidden cave,” he said.

It’s also possible that Brown conflated two experiences, Petrocelli said.

There are famous caves in the area that are actually lava tubes formed by eruptions.

But evidence of a hidden village inside Mount Shasta is lacking.

“You can blame it on Indiana Jones,” Flanagan said of the myth’s persistence. “That movie series brought back a good adventure. Everyone likes a treasure hunt. With the advent of the internet and social media and people not fact-checking things, it’s very easy for stuff to get out there like Bigfoot and UFOs.”

Easy, indeed. Particularly if the story is close enough to the truth — or some version of it — to be believable.

(SFGate)

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SAMANTHA STEWART: 45 years ago on Sept 18th 1975. Patty Hearst was arrested in San Francisco. She was charged with bank robbery and other crimes. Her life as a revolutionary in the Symbionese Liberation Army had come to an end.

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ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

I am a long-time resident of New York City. Let me tell you: Mamdani didn't win the election because he backs transgender bathroom rights. He won because of the high cost of living and lack of affordable housing in New York City, issues that establishment Democrats like Cuomo crow about but do little to address. Additionally damaging to Cuomo's campaign was his scandal-ridden resume; the financial support he received from rich Republicans like Michael Bloomberg and Trump's good friend Bill Ackman; and the blatant attempts made to smear Mamdani as antisemitic. Anti-Mamdani TV ads financed by Bloomberg and Ackman that showed Mamdani in Muslim garb and what looked like black thugs terrorizing the subway were borderline racist.

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“OTHERS, Zuckerberg, you know, are talking about: if you’re lonely, we got a machine for you… We got a friend for you on AI and her name is Mary and you can chat with her 20 hours a day, and she really loves you….We are human beings and we’re gonna have to cling to each other to get through this thing. All I would say at this moment is that the answer is not to fall in love with your AI creature out there.”

— Bernie Sanders

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SO I WENT TO NEW YORK CITY to be born again. It was and remains easy for most Americans to go somewhere else and start anew. I wasn’t like my parents. I didn’t have any supposedly sacred piece of land or shoals of friends to leave behind. Nowhere has the number zero been of more philosophical value than in the United States…. and when the [train] plunged into a tunnel under New York City, with its lining of pipes and wires, I was out of the womb and into the birth canal.

– Kurt Vonnegut, Jr, ‘Bluebeard’

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LEAD STORIES, SUNDAY'S NYT

Senate Convenes as Republicans Seek Votes to Pass Revised Policy Bill

Comparing How the House and Senate Bills Deliver on President Trump’s Agenda

Why a G.O.P. Medicaid Requirement Could Set States Up for Failure

Immigration Arrests Are Up Sharply in Every State. Here Are the Numbers.

Concerns Grow Over Dire Conditions in Immigrant Detention

Can Donors Fill the Major Budget Holes That Colleges Face Under Trump?

Canada’s Trump-Fueled Brain Gain

With Supreme Court Ruling, Another Check on President Trump’s Power Fades

Courts Will Have to Grapple With New Limits on Their Power

Chief Justice Urges Political Leaders to Tone Down Rhetoric

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TAIBBI & KIRN

Matt Taibbi: Welcome to America this week. I’m Matt Taibbi.

Walter Kirn: And I’m Walter Kirn.

Matt Taibbi: Walter, how are you doing? You’re back in your own space.

Walter Kirn: I’m back in my own space. I’ve got my apocalyptic painting behind me to remind everyone of what a short time we have on this cursed earth. Doing great. I had a ring that was very important to me, obtained on the Hopi Reservation of Arizona, something that means more to me than any piece of jewelry should to a man. And I lost it at the gym yesterday. I set it down because it was cutting into my finger when I was pulling on the rowing machine, and I set it down in some AstroTurf carpeting. And this morning I woke up and I realized it was gone and where I’d left it. And I ran, ran to the gym thinking, “It’s a thick piece of silver. It just feels valuable the moment you pick it up.” And they had made a sweep. They had found it. I hadn’t even called. They had placed it in the place where you would hope a lost item of value would be placed, and no one had taken it from that place. And I just said a prayer that small town America never changes. So my faith has been restored.

Matt Taibbi: Just reaffirms your faith in the essential decency of the American citizen, doesn’t it?

Walter Kirn: It so much did. So I’m here, completely backing the American experiment, as they call it, the rules-based international order, and everything else that we called here and ready to discuss the New York mayoral race, which is another of our triumphant experiments in democratic self-rule.

Matt Taibbi: Absolutely. Yeah. Just quickly, I had a nearly opposite experience earlier this week. You’ve been to New York recently, right?

Walter Kirn: Yeah, I go all the time.

Matt Taibbi: So I’ve obviously seen the padlocks on all the products in the drugstores and every place else.

Walter Kirn: I don’t go to drugstores in New York City anymore.

Matt Taibbi: Really?

Walter Kirn: I really don’t. No. If I need some antihistamines, or some Benadryl to go to sleep, or something like that, I just do without, because the fandango of obtaining anything that costs over 75 cents in New York is too much.

Matt Taibbi: That’s what I was going to say. I had never seen padlocked soda before, like individual sodas in a chain drugstore, were now padlocked. So I guess we are now at a state where we must take preventive measures to prevent people from shoplifting even things that are essentially valueless. Right?

Walter Kirn: Right.

Matt Taibbi: It’s incredible, but yes.

Walter Kirn: But what happened? You just saw it?

Matt Taibbi: I just saw it. I’m, I’m used to having to ask to unlock, I don’t know, a razor, or I don’t know, a bottle of Listerine, or something like that, but a single can of Coke, that was new for me.

Walter Kirn: How about the time in Washington DC around the inauguration when I needed, I think it was a razor or something like that, and went, stood by the case. Somebody came through, I said, “Could you unlock it? They said, I don’t do that, but I will call the person who unlocks it.” They called the person who unlocks it. They came and unlocked it. I walked to the checkout counter and found out that it wasn’t eligible for self-checkout because it was an item of value. But there were no people at the checkout counter. They were all helping people unlock razors. So it was a, “You can’t get there from here,” catch 22, once again.

Matt Taibbi: This is really funny because I hadn’t made this connection before, but I once wrote an entire article about what you have to do to buy products in Russian grocery stores. They have this incredibly complex system of what they call Kassas, where you can only buy things that are behind counters from certain places, but you can’t buy them at the counter. You have to go to a cashier that’s on the other side of the store, pay, go back with a receipt, get the product, then go to a different part of the store, get a different price, go back to a different cashier. That’s what we’re turning into, apparently. Okay. Well, that’s a good segue to-

Walter Kirn: But this won’t happen in city owned grocery stores if Zohran Mamdani wins.

Matt Taibbi: Zohran. So yeah.

Walter Kirn: Yeah.

Matt Taibbi: Okay. We got to talk about it. I’m already publicly enemy number one, apparently with sort of left leaning commentators because I wrote an unkind column about Zohran yesterday.

Walter Kirn: Based on what? You find him excessively good-looking, or talented, or eloquent, what?

Matt Taibbi: No, I mean, one of the things I said is I think he’s a dynamic political talent who has a huge future in this country. I just think his ideas are ridiculous, and they’re actually a couple of steps beyond Bernie, whom I supported, obviously for a variety of reasons, but we’ll get into that. So for those that don’t know, the New York City mayoral race has suddenly become this enormous story because seemingly out of nowhere, a young politician, a 33-year-old politician, an immigrant from Uganda named Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary against the desiccated, sort of collapsing gorgon, disgraced gorgon, Andrew Cuomo.

Walter Kirn: Allegedly nipple ring wearing, okay?

Matt Taibbi: Allegedly nipple ring wearing gorgon, Andrew Cuomo on Saturday. And because of the extreme unlikelihood, I mean, the Republican candidate is Curtis Sliwa of the Guardian Angels. Have you met him, by the way?

Walter Kirn: Yeah, I’ve met him in the lobby of Fox News.

Matt Taibbi: I met him in the lobby of another green room, but yeah. That’s funny.

Walter Kirn: Yeah, Curtis, I remember his first incarnation as head of the Guardian Angels when they were a going concern, they were red-capped, white T-shirted, crossed between missionaries and vigilantes or something who rode the subways at a time in New York when that was considered dangerous and was in some respect. And they-

Matt Taibbi: That was totally dangerous. What are you talking about?

Walter Kirn: Well, yeah, it was, but once those Guardian Angels cleaned it up ... No.

Matt Taibbi: Yeah.

Walter Kirn: But they did things like help people with their bags and so on, because they weren’t armed or anything. They were just

Matt Taibbi: They just worked out.

Walter Kirn: Yeah. It just worked out. And so Curtis, who was a fresh-faced, young guy from, I don’t know, is he from the Bronx or something? He’s actually from whatever place AOC claims to be, probably. And he had this fame, but that he would become a perennial mayoral candidate is interesting. I mean, it shows that Republicans, the actual Republicans have nothing. Democrats who become Republicans have a chance in New York, but actual law and order Boy Scout dudes don’t.

Matt Taibbi: Yeah. I mean, not since Giuliani, obviously. Right? And he was kind of an aberration brought on by a series of forces. But because the Republicans aren’t really mounting any opposition, there are some talk about independent candidacies, but it’s almost it’s very likely that Mamdani will now be the mayor of New York City, which, if it happens, I think one could argue this is the biggest electoral for a socialist, like an avowed, honest to goodness, real socialist in this country in quite some time, probably a hundred years. I mean-

Walter Kirn: Well, I grew up in the socialist state of Minnesota, which has the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party still to this day, and had the perennial Harold Stassen, who I believe was a socialist candidate often, for president even. I don’t know if he was ever governor, though. But we had near socialists and I’m trying to-

Matt Taibbi: Him and Eugene Debs running for president, right?

Walter Kirn: Right.

Matt Taibbi: Let’s just start with, so the-

Walter Kirn: Let’s just crown him the biggest socialist in a long time to win major office or to threaten to win major office. Okay?

Matt Taibbi: Yeah. And we’ll get into why this is a bigger deal than say, Bernie winning the Senate, even though Bernie endorsed him, even though it’s also the Democratic Socialists of America, he’s a very different character than Bernie Sanders...

https://www.racket.news/p/transcript-america-this-week-june-17d

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OBFUSCATING ON OBLITERATING

by Maureen Dowd

Donald Trump has finally met his match.

The Iranian Supreme Leader lies just as boldly, with just as much bombast, as the American Supreme Leader.

On Thursday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei put out a video hailing Iran’s victory over Israel and the United States.

Trump was shocked, shocked at this blatant lie.

“As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie,” the president marveled on Truth Social.

Then Trump went on to his usual authoritarian etiquette lesson, complaining that the proper response by Khamenei to getting hit with 14 30,000-pound bombs should have been: “THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!”

Trump said that he deserved gratitude because he knew where the ayatollah was hiding and stopped Israeli and U.S. forces from killing him. He said that he made Israel recall a group of planes headed for Tehran that were, perhaps, looking for “the final knockout!”

“I wish the leadership of Iran would realize,” he tut-tutted, “that you often get more with HONEY than you do with VINEGAR. PEACE!!!”

Half an hour later, Mr. Honey put out a typically vinegary post abruptly cutting off “ALL” trade talks with Canada.

Before Trump did it, with an assist from the Supreme Court on Friday, it was Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld who worked to erode checks and balances and hoover all the power into the executive branch.

With the malleable George W. Bush in the Oval, Cheney and Rumsfeld were able to create an alternate universe where they were never wrong — because they conjured up information to prove they were right.

The two malevolent regents had a fever about getting rid of Saddam, so they hyped up intelligence, redirecting Americans’ vengeful emotions about Osama bin Laden and 9/11 into that pet project. Tony Blair scaremongered that it would take only 45 minutes for Saddam to send his W.M.D.s westward.

But there were no W.M.D.s.

When it comes to the Middle East, presidents can’t resist indulging in a gasconade. Unlike Iraq, Iran was actually making progress on its nuclear program. President Trump did not need to warp intelligence to justify his decision. But he did anyway, to satisfy his unquenchable ego.

He bragged that the strikes had “OBLITERATED” Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

“I just don’t think the president was telling the truth,” Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters. He believes Iran still has “significant remaining capability.”

When CNN’s Natasha Bertrand and her colleagues broke the story that a preliminary classified U.S. report suggested that the strikes had set back Iran by only a few months, Trump, Pete Hegseth and Karoline Leavitt smeared her and The Times, which confirmed her scoop, as inaccurate, unpatriotic and disrespectful to our military.

On Friday afternoon, CNN revealed that the military did not even use bunker-buster bombs on one of Iran’s largest nuclear targets because it was too deep.

Though Trump likes to hug the flag — and just raised two huge ones on the White House North and South Lawns — he ignores a basic tenet of patriotism: It is patriotic to tell the public the truth on life-or-death matters, and for the press to challenge power. It is unpatriotic to mislead the public in order to control it and suppress dissent, or as a way of puffing up your own ego.

Although he was dubbed the “Daddy” of NATO in The Hague on Wednesday, Trump clearly has daddy issues. (Pass the tissues!) He did not get the affirmation from his father that could have prevented this vainglorious vamping.

For Trump, it was not enough for the strikes to damage Iran’s nuclear capabilities; they had to “obliterate” them. It could not simply be an impressive mission; it had to be, as Hegseth said, “the most complex and secretive military operation in history.” (Move over, D-Day and crossing the Delaware.)

The president was so eager to magnify the mission that he eerily compared it to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Trump has always believed in “truthful hyperbole,” as he called it in “The Art of the Deal.” But now it’s untruthful hyperbole. He has falsely claimed that an election was stolen and falsely claimed that $1.7 trillion in cuts to the social safety net in his Big, Unpopular Bill “won’t affect anybody; it is just fraud, waste and abuse.”

He’s getting help on his alternate universe from all the new partisan reporters in the White House briefing room who are eager to shill for him.

“So many Americans still have questions about the 2020 election,” a reporter told Trump at the news conference on Friday, wondering if he would appoint someone at D.O.J. to investigate judges “for the political persecution of you, your family and your supporters during the Biden administration?”

Trump beamed. “I love you,” he said to the young woman. “Who are you?”

She was, as it turned out, the reporter for Mike Lindell of “MyPillow” fame, who has his own “news” network.

Talk about fluffing your pillows.

(NY Times)

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CLOCKING IN

At noon the minute and hour hands overlap. How many more times will the two hands overlap to reach midnight? and how much time elapses between each overlap?