Mendocino County Today: Friday 7/11/2025

Hot | Sunflower | Lost/Found | Moonrise | Stupid Evil | Tree Frog | 100% Wrong | Veronica Spicata | Police Training | Blue Meadow | Brock Farms | Filigreen Farm | Garden Cafe | Chiggen Returns | Local Events | Slushie Summer | Boonville Brothel | Those Cows | Devil Whipped | Adaptogenic Herbs | Yesterday's Catch | Living Temple | Hippie Chicks | PG&E Protection | Bobby's House | Undermining CEQA | Immigration Raid | Bailey's Run | Complaint | Lead Stories | War Client | Can't Stop | Commie Libtard | Bolsonaro Documentary | Airplane Luxury | Epstein List | Calamity Jane | Average Sum

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YESTERDAY'S HIGHS: Ukiah 100°, Laytonville 99°, Covelo 98°, Yorkville 96°, Boonville 95°, Mendocino 63°, Point Arena 59°

HIGH PRESSURE is building and generally hot and dry weather is expected for the next week or so. The hottest temperatures will start in the south on Friday and fill in towards the north on Saturday and Sunday. Northeast winds overnight on Thursday and Friday will help to limit the coastal fog/stratus and potentially bring warmer temperatures closer to the coast. (NWS)

STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): Today is looking very warm & lovely! A foggy start with a warm 54F so far. We will continue the fog/sun routine for the near future as warrants this time of year.

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LOST & FOUND in Jackson State Forest

On Sunday, July 6, 2025 at approximately 6:36pm, Deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received a report of possible missing persons in the area of Jackson State Demonstration Forest (JDSF) east of Fort Bragg. The reporting party advised that two adult female mountain bikers had started a ride earlier in the day and were due to return around 2:00 P.M.

The two female bikers, age 40 and 50, from Novato and Oakland, became disoriented when they decided to follow an unknown trail in order to return to their parked vehicle that was left at the Camp 1 (Noyo River) camping and recreation area known by locals as the “Egg Taking Station.” The bikers had managed to send text messages to their spouses to advise that they were disoriented in the forest and needed assistance.

Sheriff’s Office Dispatch was notified of the missing mountain bikers by one of the spouses. Sheriff’s Deputies were able to obtain GPS coordinates for the mountain biker’s location, but the coordinates placed the bikers deep in the forest which was inaccessible by vehicles or ATVs. It was determined that continued search efforts to locate the mountain bikers would have to be conducted on foot. Sheriff’s Deputies requested the assistance of Mendocino County Search and Rescue (SAR) to assume the duties of coordinating a more intensive search of the area.

Sheriff’s Deputies located the mountain bikers’ vehicle at the Camp 1 parking area and conducted initial searches along the roads and trails in that area as dusk approached. Due to the lack of light and resources, continuing search efforts were delayed until daybreak the next day by Search & Rescue liaisons.

At approximately 6:20 A.M. on 07/07/2025, members of the Sheriff’s Office SAR team deployed to an access area and hiked into the location where the two mountain bikers were stranded. Search & Rescue members traversed approximately 2 to 3 miles of steep rugged terrain to reach the two bicyclists, and finally located them at approximately 8:20 A.M. Due to the rugged terrain and thick forest canopy, a CalFire helicopter was not able to extract the mountain bikers or Search & Rescue members from the location.

The rescued mountain bikers and Search & Rescue members hiked out of the location and back to an accessible road. Both mountain bikers were found to be in good health and uninjured. The expert abilities and determination of the Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue personnel were responsible for the quick and safe recovery of the two stranded mountain bikers.

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JULIE BEARDSLEY

All the local Adventist hospitals are running a negative in the category of “patient services margin.”

See: https://ruralhospitals.chqpr.org/Data1.html

Since Adventist has a monopoly in Mendocino County, the potential for closures is extremely troubling. Something like 45% of our population are on Medi-Cal. Cuts proposed by the horrible “Big Beautiful Bill” will throw people off their health care, and this will inevitably increase the number of people showing up in Emergency Departments. This will further exacerbate the financial difficulties Adventist is experiencing, as these visits are very expensive and are not reimbursed adequately.

But, this situation is a great opportunity for California to enact universal healthcare. We can do this. Several bills, proposed and supported by the Nurses Union of California, have provided a road map. Where California goes, so goes the rest of the country, and access to health care is a human right – not just for employed people.

And finally, the playbook of insane and very harmful legislations this administration is enacting should convince Americans that Trump et al has been a terrible mistake. I look forward to a blue wave in the midterms that will sweep these evil and stupid people into the dustbin of history.

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A correction: data from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) indicates that 71% of the population of Mendocino County is Medi-Cal certified!

So let’s break down just one aspect of this stupid, dare I say evil, bill.

There are work/community service requirements for some enrollees, along with a monthly reporting requirement. You may be aware that Mendocino County is in a bit of a “fiscal pickle”. The demand for services, mandated services such as public safety, mental and public health, (not to mention infrastructure like roads), far outstrips the revenue the County is taking in. Implementing a monthly Medi-Cal reporting for thousands of residents would require a massive expansion of the County’s IT system. It would require hiring a lot of new staff to educate the public and review and process the reports, and determine eligibility. The County doesn’t have the money to do any of this. Even if the State offered assistance, there is a reason the BOS implemented a hiring freeze – there are costs connected to every employee and the County simply can’t afford more staff right now. As far as the work/community service requirements, how many jobs are there in this County realistically? And WHO exactly would oversee the community service requirements? As I said, the County can’t afford to hire new staff.

In 2018, Arkansas became the first state to establish a work requirement for adults enrolled through its Medicaid expansion program. Automatic exemptions were granted for parents living with dependent children and certain other groups. The requirement led to the dis-enrollment of more than 18,000 adults over four months before a 2019 federal court ruling halted further implementation. Why? Because people were late sending in their paperwork, didn’t understand the requirements or that they needed to file monthly, were dis-enrolled due to paper-work mistakes, didn’t have child care or transportation to a job, to name a few reasons. Dis-enrollment in Arkansas meant you had to wait until the following year to re-enroll, which meant people went to the local Emergency Department for health care. This placed a huge financial burden on local hospitals. Subsequent studies showed the requirements did not, in fact, lead to greater employment. They found that without health care, people were LESS likely to be employed. New Hampshire implemented similar requirements with similar results. The courts stepped in there also and stopped the program.

So the world is not as simple as it seems through your rose-colored MAGA glasses. And I believe if you talk to the people who run Adventist they will tell you it is the low level of Medi-Cal reimbursement versus the costs of treatment that are causing the financial short-falls. And yes, this applies to all the Adventist hospitals in the County. They are all at risk of closing. Think about that for a minute.

And not to be flogging this poor old horse, but think about what happens when people don’t have health insurance. They don’t go without care, like when your kid falls out of a tree or you’re in a car accident …. you go to the hospital and end up in crippling medical debt. Not what I want to see for my friends and neighbors.

Julie Beardsley, Public Health retiree

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ED NOTE: USEFUL ANALYSIS OF SINGLE PAYER IN CALIFORNIA:

https://sourceonhealthcare.org/the-unfinished-story-of-single-payer-universal-health-care-in-california/

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A READER WRITES

No matter what you think about the Grand Jury report on the City of Willits and its “toxic workplace,” this finding below is 100% wrong,

“F5. The Grand Jury found that the Willits City Council had not conducted annual performance reviews of the Willits City Manager by April 30 of each year.”

Apparently, despite assurances from the foreperson that everything is verified, and there’s evidence for everything in the report, nobody at the Grand Jury bothered to check this finding.

Here’s the links to minutes, agendas, and video that prove the evaluations happened before the deadline as they should’ve every year of Bender’s employment.

February 9, 2022

Agenda link: https://cityofwillits.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02092022-187

Minutes link, minutes for February 9 meeting were presented at the March 9 meeting https://cityofwillits.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03092022-190

Video link: showing Willits City Council going into closed session for Bender evaluation at February 9, 2022 meeting, although the videographer didn’t stick around for the report out, the report out is in the minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIRcAvu7zvid6Q

March 22, 2023

Agenda link: https://cityofwillits.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03222023-225

Minutes link: Minutes for March 22 2023 meeting were presented at the April 12, 2023 meeting: t: https://www.cityofwillits.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04122023-227

Video link, shows Mayor Kanne reporting out after closed session

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnG4Xvqt-3M&t=28s

April 10, 2024

Agenda:link: https://cityofwillits.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04102024-279

Minutes link: Minutes for April 10 meeting were presented at the April 24 meeting:

https://cityofwillits.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04242024-283

Video link for April 10, 2024 meeting, showing Mayor Rodriguez going into closed session for Bender review, and reporting out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85YK95EFvtI

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Mark Scaramella Notes: So they did the annual evaluations and didn’t take any action to address the toxic workplace problem? In a way, this makes the City Council more responsible for the problems.

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MAZIE & MATT TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSES

Mazie Malone:

For Sheriff Kendall,

I am curious what you think about the suggested new education requirements for law enforcement? Also the article stated that the police recruiting crisis is a myth. Do you disagree with that statement?

Also remember a few years back when Riley Hsieh went missing? Right before that happened officials made mandatory training for all County employees to be educated in DEI; it was supposed to be ongoing and tracked and reviewed. Curious if that is happening because I have yet to see any information that it is continuing.

DEI ongoing education would solve some of the issues faced by the public through police interactions.

Law Enforcement may not be Mental Health Workers but you are often the first line of intervention so being aware and knowledgeable is key in discerning proper action to take.

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Sheriff Matt Kendall:

There’s a lot to unpack here.

I have always been a proponent of more training for law enforcement personnel. I just want it to be regarding what law enforcement should be doing. That being said the state can easily extend the hours of police academies to include more in-depth training for various topics.

Many of the changes in law enforcement are largely due to the state wanting law enforcement officers to take on roles which don’t belong to them. Which is in direct conflict with what the courts are saying.

Specifically, a Ninth Circuit ruling has impacted how qualified immunity applies to officers responding to non-criminal mental health calls. The court’s decision suggests that officers won’t have qualified immunity if they use force in these situations, as it might be viewed as outside their scope of duties typically covered by such protections.

This case decision caused some law enforcement agencies to have concerns and they have reconsidered their response policies for mental health calls that don’t involve criminal activity.

For example, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced they would no longer respond to such calls unless a crime had occurred or someone other than the person in crisis was deemed to be in imminent danger

My father was a fireman and before that he was a soldier. He and I had a discussion about roles and duties. When you’re a fireman you put out fires, or train to put out fires or care for the equipment used to put out fires. That makes life much simpler. Many folks will say they have a duty to respond to vehicle accidents and provide basic life support care as well. That is an optional response for firefighters.

Law enforcement is being asked to take on roles which were never intended for law enforcement officers. We aren’t counselors or clinicians or mental health specialists. The court decisions regarding these roles are based on the belief that law enforcement should be investigating crime and enforcing the laws; they have been clear. When we arrive on scene we need stay within our lane which has been set for us. And if the call we receive isn’t criminal, we shouldn’t be going. That’s the direction of several court decisions, but law enforcement has remained the easy button for many things.

I hope that answers some of your questions. Hang in there and I hope you have a great summer!!

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Mazie Malone:

Thanks Sheriff,

I have to be honest, you didn’t actually answer my original questions.

Do you believe the police recruiting crisis is a myth, as mentioned in the article?

Is the DEI training that was implemented before Riley Hsieh’s disappearance still happening? Is it ongoing and being tracked as intended?

I do appreciate the broader context you provided about qualified immunity and the scope of law enforcement roles, but those weren’t the questions I had asked. My concern is about accountability and appropriate interventions.

You said, “We aren’t counselors or clinicians or mental health specialists,” which I understand. But when your agency is the first response when someone is in a serious mental health crisis, training, compassion, and consistency are necessary.

As a side note an interaction, an intervention, a transport to the hospital to have psych eval by no means makes LE the Mental Health Experts in charge.

That narrative has not budged probably never will. Imagine saying we are part of the solution instead of, Nope not our job, not qualified to do it.

I’m asking these questions as someone who has had to live through the disparity in how these situations are handled; this is not just theoretical to me. It’s deeply personal.

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Sheriff Kendall:

Ok Mazie lots to unpack again. And I am not sure exactly what it is you’re asking.

Not certain on the question of DEI but… I have officers scheduled for the CIT [Crisis Intervention Team] international training this year and we complete the MCIT training in Mendocino County as well.

Law enforcement recruitment issues are not a myth. I can tell you when I was young (long time ago, and I know we are the same age but you’re holding up better) we would have 50 qualified applicants for one job opening. Now we have 5 and most won’t pass the background.

The courts have clearly weighed in on “That is not the job of law enforcement” to the point that officers can be personally sued for actions on non-criminal calls. That was a very clear statement from the court of appeals. Therefore, many law enforcement agencies just won’t respond to non-criminal calls, (mental health issues absent a crime) that is simply the outcome of many court decisions which have created case law.

I believe in caring compassionate interventions, but the job is to investigated crime and enforce the law. Our responses to MH are with Mental Health professionals whenever possible, as our job in that case is to protect the mental health professionals and not do their jobs. With the new case law even that is a slippery slope.

Firefighters respond to a lot of calls. At times people perish in fires and that is a sad reality. If a fireman could be jailed or sued and lose their livelihood over a house burning to the ground or a person losing their life to smoke exposure, I’m certain there would be a lot less firefighters applying for jobs in the fire service. Would that cause a recruiting problem for the fire service? I think there’s a good possibility it would.

We are humans and therefore we are flawed imperfect beings, that doesn’t mean we don’t try.

Many times assistance is offered and turned down by those suffering and in need. That SUCKS for everyone, for sure. But it doesn’t make the person offering the service guilty of something, it’s just a crummy situation. Sometimes it leaves us shaking our fist at the Almighty because that’s all we can do and there certainly isn’t much satisfaction in that.

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Mazie:

Oh yes, lots to unpack. I’ve been doing it for five years. Sometimes my brain wants to burst with all these puzzles and conundrums. Seriously though, these issues run deep, and our response to them is deeply flawed for many reasons.

What I was specifically asking, in regards to the article on education for law enforcement, was what you thought of it. You’re right, though — it was a loaded question because I threw DEI into the mix: diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Here’s the thing, I don’t necessarily believe police officers need a college degree to do police work. (Maybe a psych evaluation… but not a degree. Just kidding. Kinda.

But DEI training? That’s different. That’s something that could and should be implemented. It helps officers understand real-world circumstances better, especially when dealing with people in crisis or on the margins.

And I’m going to say what no one else will: I know the only reason the response for missing Riley Hsieh was so swift and profound was because the county had just implemented DEI training a week or so earlier. As much as that’s wonderful, it’s also disgraceful. Why? Because not everyone gets that kind of response.

And here’s the part that gets me: Riley is the exact same age as my son. All I ever heard was: No. We can’t help you.

Now about officers being sued for responding to non-criminal calls: how likely is that, really?

As for the staffing shortages, I hear you. You answered that well.

But for me? It’s not about trying. That’s for the birds. It’s about doing what’s right!

Ahhh yes — the narrative that “We offered, but they refused.” Did they? What was actually offered? And more importantly what was understood about the needs of those people?

If you offer someone food, shelter, or a safe place to rest would they really refuse?

I have a well mind. If you offered me something unnecessary to my immediate survival, I’d probably decline too.

All that said, I am grateful for you. You always step up, and I do appreciate that.

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BLUE MEADOW FARM IS OPEN!

Walla Walla Onions, Lisbon Lemons

Padron & Jalapeno Peppers, First Bell & Corno Peppers

Garlic Scapes, Dill, Lavender, Peppermint, Olive Oil

Open 10-7 Tuesday - Sunday, Closed Monday

3301 Holmes Ranch Road, Philo (707) 895-2071

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BROCK FARMS NOW OPEN!

Brock Farms is open Wed.-Sun., 10-6, closed Mon. and Tues.

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VELMA’S FARM STAND AT FILIGREEN FARM

Now open 3 days a week!

Friday 2-5 pm

Open Saturday & Sunday 11-4pm

This week’s offerings include: blueberries, peaches, plums, tomatoes (limited!), eggplant, carrots, sprouting broccoli, lettuce mix, arugula, scallions, torpedo onions, summer squash, kale, chard, beets, cabbage, garlic, basil, parsley, olive oil, and dried fruit!

Notes from the field: We have a bounty of blueberries this week, so now is the perfect time to stock up if you have been waiting! The first round of stone fruit is coming out of the fields including Santa Rosa plums and peaches. Tomatoes are also starting to ripen, with cherry tomatoes and the first New Girls available. We expect more to ripen in the coming weeks with the warmer weather!

Follow us on Instagram for updates @filigreenfarm or email [email protected] with any questions. All produce is certified biodynamic and organic.

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RHODY’S GARDEN CAFÉ ACHIEVES BLUE ZONES PROJECT APPROVAL IN MENDOCINO COUNTY

Blue Zones Project Mendocino County is thrilled to announce that Rhody’s Garden Café has officially earned the distinction of becoming a Blue Zones Project Approved™ Restaurant—a prestigious recognition awarded to dining establishments that actively support healthier living and foster community well-being.

Located within the scenic Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Rhody’s Garden Café exemplifies the Blue Zones Project’s mission by making it easier for guests to make nutritious, satisfying choices every day.

A Recipe for Longevity and Local Impact

Rhody’s achieved this designation by implementing evidence-based best practices, including:

● Daily Blue Zones-inspired offerings – Wholesome, plant-forward dishes that are as delicious as they are affordable, consistently priced lower than meat-based alternatives.

● Sourcing locally and sustainably – Ingredients are thoughtfully selected from trusted partners including the Fort Bragg and Mendocino farmers markets, Harvest Market, and the Mendo Food Hub—ensuring every bite supports local agriculture and sustainability.

● A naturally nourishing setting – Guests dine surrounded by coastal blooms and sea air, enjoying a seasonal menu featuring house-made soups, fresh organic salads, hearty sandwiches, daily specials, vegan options, and sweet treats like Cowlick’s Ice Cream.

This dedication to wellness is also reflected in the leadership of Café Manager Lynn, whose ongoing volunteerism and community service—such as preparing over 1,500 turkey dinners for fall festivities—makes Rhody’s a true community cornerstone.

Ribbon Cutting Celebration

To celebrate this exciting milestone, Blue Zones Project Mendocino County and Rhody’s Garden Café invite the public to a Ribbon Cutting Celebration:

● Date: Thursday, July 17, 2025

● Time: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

● Location: Rhody’s Garden Café at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

● Details: This free, family-friendly event will feature Friends @ 5, healthy bites from Rhody’s, and fun swag giveaways, and the opportunity to explore the stunning coastal gardens by participating in a Walking Moai demonstration.

Join us in honoring Rhody’s Garden Café’s commitment to healthy eating, local sustainability, and community connection—hallmarks of the Blue Zones Project and essential ingredients for a better, longer life.

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ALL ABOARD THE LEGEND: THE SKUNK TRAIN’S HISTORIC CHIGGEN STEAM ENGINE RETURNS FOR AN EXTENDED SUMMER RUN

This summer, something extraordinary returns to the redwoods. For a limited time, steam will once again rise above the towering trees as the legendary Chiggen steam engine thunders back to life on California’s world-famous Redwood Route. And this year, it’s staying longer than in years past.

From June 28 through September 7, on select weekends only, the Skunk Train invites adventurers, history lovers, and families alike to experience Days of Steam, an immersive journey powered by a living piece of locomotive history.

Built in 1909 and lovingly restored, the Chiggen isn’t just a steam engine — it’s a time machine. With fewer and fewer operational steam locomotives left in the world, this rare opportunity offers a nostalgic escape into a bygone era when iron horses ruled the rails and steam whistles once filled the redwoods with sound.

Departing from the historic Fort Bragg depot, passengers will ride in authentic early 20th-century railcars, including an open-air car, on a 7-mile round trip along the stunning Pudding Creek Estuary, with views of osprey nests, blue herons, and majestic redwood groves. The hour-and-fifteen-minute journey includes a stop at the scenic Glen Blair Junction, where guests can enjoy a walk in the woods or a drink with a game of Corn-hole.

Space is limited, and the experience only runs on select weekends from late June through early September, making this the most extended Chiggen season to date, but still a fleeting summer window.

Tickets and full schedule available now at Days of Steam. Don’t miss your chance to step back in time, because they don’t make them like this anymore.

California Western Railroad / Skunk Train located in the redwood forests of Northern California’s Mendocino County, is a heritage railroad that has been operating both freight and passenger service since 1885. Initially used to move redwood logs to the Mendocino Coast sawmills from the rugged back country, the Skunk Train has become a beloved institution touted as one of the “10 Best Rail Tours in the Country” (USA Today), and a “Top 10 Family Activity in California” (National Geographic Traveler). The Skunk Train journey covers 40 miles of scenic delights and 30 bridges, all while retaining its original charm — minus the historic pungent aroma that once preceded its arrival. Operating year-round, this multi-generational experience welcomes passengers to bring along their families and even their dog, ensuring a memorable and inclusive adventure.

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LOCAL EVENTS (this weekend)

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IT’S THE SUMMER OF THE SLUSHIE IN THE BAY AREA

It was 90 degrees in Anderson Valley, and I salivated as I watched a pale pink slurry of frosé whirl around in a machine.

Jumbo’s Win-Win, an old-timey burger spot that noted bartender Scott Baird opened in the small Mendocino County community of Philo last year, does a brisk frosé business. Behind the counter, next to the soft serve dispenser, is the “Freezies” dispenser, where the restaurant’s frosé resides.

Baird, who co-founded Trick Dog and now oversees the cocktails at Starlite in San Francisco, creates his frosé by combining Navarro rosé wine with local honey, organic strawberry puree, organic peach puree, lemon juice and salt. The honey is his secret weapon, he said: It “creates a soft fluffiness.” Fruity, not too sweet and somehow so much more fun because it is frozen, the drink is heaven on a hot day.

The Jumbo’s frosé is one of the many frozen cocktails that are infiltrating Northern California right now. This summer, slushies are back: tropical tequila drinks, espresso martinis, even a grown-up interpretation of a blue razzmatazz.

Esther Mobley, SF Chronicle

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AN EQUIPMENT OPERATOR for the Oregon company doing the Lambert Lane Bridge replacement project told us on Thursday that in 1968 he and his parents drove up to Boonville from the Bay Area with a realtor because they were interested in buying the Boonville Hotel which was for sale at that time. The operator was six and doesn’t remember much. He said he remembered a friendly, bosomy woman with a frilly frock dress poking her head out of an upstairs window and waving at the prospective buyers. “Oh, this is a brothel,” his father quickly announced to his wife and six year old son. They soon decided they were no longer interested in buying the Hotel. Given how rough a town Boonville was in the 60s and 70s, it’s certainly possible that prostitution was underway at the Boonville Hotel at the time. Some old-timers remember that in the 60s and 70s some of the Boonville Hotel’s upstairs rooms were occupied by permanent residents who had long-term rental agreements. As we understand the sketchy history, the Boonville Hotel was owned by Eddie Carsey when Vernon and Charlene Rollins bought it in the late 1970s and turned it into “The New Boonville Hotel.” The Rollins famously stole away and ran away from their creditors in the late 1980s. Soon after that current owner Johnnie Schmitt’s parents (former operators of famous French Laundry in Yountville) bought it and turned it into the landmark hotel it is today. And the rest is local history, as they say.

(PS. We tried calling Johnnie Schmitt at the Hotel for more background or info, but they wouldn’t give us his cellphone number and our note to the email address they provided was rejected by the hotel’s email server.)

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BILL KIMBERLIN:

The phone rang at the Boonville house, “Are those your cows that got out?” We haven’t had any cows since the two my Aunt had at her Ray’s Resort just down Ray’s Road, outside Philo. She named them, Strawberry and Cream.

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ERNIE PARDINI

I could tell there was quite a crowd that night

As I drove by the Boonville Lodge

I was on my way home from work

In my old beat up half ton Dodge

Well I drove on home and parked my truck

Took care of a couple of chores

Put away a bag of groceries

I’d picked up at the local store

Then I took a shower, put on some clean clothes

And headed straight back to town

I’d swallowed a lot of dust that day

And I needed to wash it down

Well I walked in the Lodge, stepped up to the bar

And ordered a shot and a beer

I threw down the shot and started looking around

To see who all was here

There were always cowboys and loggers

Tonight there were quite a few

There were hillbillies and tourists

A couple of hippies and a dog or two

Well, I strolled to the end of the bar

Found me an empty stool

I threw a handful of quarters up on the table

For a game of eight ball pool

You could have heard a pin drop

When he walked through the door

I turned around to look

It was like nothing I’d seen before

All the skin he had showing

Was a bright crimson red

He had a funny looking pair of little red horns

Poking up out of his head

This had to be the devil

It seemed plain as it could be

He was standing in the doorway smiling

And staring right over at me

Standing right behind him

Was a little old ugly troll

He was carrying a pad and pencil

To keep track of the devil’s souls

Well the devil walked up to the table

Just as I was chalking my cue

He said, “You’re the one I’ve been looking for,

I’ve heard a lot about you.”

He said, “ I’ve heard you’re a sinner,

And I’ve come here to take your soul.”

I said, “If that’s your plan you should have brought more help

Than that little old ugly ass troll"

He said, “But I am the devil

And I reign over the night.”

“If you plan on taking my soul

You’d better know how to fight.”

Then I hit him with a left to the temple

That knocked him back on the floor

But he bounced up blowing smoke from his ears

And let out a mighty roar.

Flames shot out of his fingertips

But I ducked and they bounced off the bar

They burnt the hair off some woman

As she ran screaming out to her car.

Well he was madder than a Mexican fighting bull

His eyes turned a fiery red

I feigned a big right hook

Then hit him with a left instead

He fell to his knees and held himself

His suit was bloody and torn

I picked up an empty Budweiser bottle

And knocked off both of his horns

When he saw those little red horns hit the floor

He threw his head back and began to wail

I got out my old Case pocket knife

Then leaned over and cut off his tail

I said, “Devil, it’s time you were leaving.

You’re not welcome here in our town.

I think you’re washed up as the devil

But I hear the circus is hiring clowns.

What you tried to pull here tonight

Was surely the act of a fool

Everyone knows you don’t come in the Lodge

And interrupt a game of eight ball pool.”

Well the last time I saw the devil

Was in an ad for bar-b-que ribs

His troll was blowing up those long balloons

And making animals for all the kids

Now the rest of this story I haven’t witnessed first hand

So I can’t swear that it’s true

Whether or not you believe it

Will have to be up to you

But if you go to the Lodge these days

You’ll hear a story that they still tell

They say the night that I whipped the devil

The fire burned out in hell.

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CATCH OF THE DAY, Thursday, July 10, 2025

JOSEPH ANDERSEN, 38, Ukiah. Burglary tools, controlled substance with two or more priors, paraphernalia, probation revocation.

JUAN CALVILLO-RIVERA, 53, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol&drugs, possession of driver’s license ID with intention to commit forgery.

DAVID CASTIAUX, 64, Ukiah. Assault with deadly weapon withw great bodily injury, elder abuse.

VICTORIA CLARK, 47, Newell/Ukiah. DUI-any drug, controlled substance, paraphernalia.

JASON GOWER, 34, Willits. Petty theft with two or more priors, false personation of another, resisting.

JAKE LEWIS-KOOY, 29, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-under influence. (Frequent flyer.)

JEROME MCMURPHY, 54, Ukiah, Public urination, parole violation, unspecified offense.

JAZMIN NUNEZ-CHAVEZ, 20, Ukiah. DUI, leaving scene of accident with property damage.

FRANCISCO PEREZ, 60, Boonville. DUI-second offense within ten years.

GREGORY TOCCO, 47, Ukiah. DUI, leaving scene of accident with property damage, reckless driving in parking lot, assault, battery on peace officer, resisting.

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MOVING TEMPLE OF LIGHT (Courtesy Starving Students Moving Co. Inc.)

Centuries ago in South India, wandering ascetic Saivites were considered living temples, with the deity installed in the svarupa (heart chakra). They went from village to village teaching relevant yoga practices and serving the villagers as spiritual counselors.

Today, it is still possible to be a living temple of light. Chanting the mantra appropriate to the deity of your choice, visualize the deity installed as a murti (statue) in the svarupa. Then rest comfortably in your own svarupa, engage the mind in chanting and other sadhana, and perform all external actions. This ensures “sahaja samadhi avastha”, or the continuous superconscious state. Beyond this, there is nothing left to achieve.

Craig Louis Stehr, [email protected]

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PROTECTION FROM PG&E

Editor:

As I read about PG&E recruiting bodyguards, all I could think was, “Who is protecting us from PG&E?” (“PG&E is hiring an executive bodyguard. Combat shooting experience required,” pressdemocrat.com).

We need protection from their criminal negligence in starting wildfires and blowing up neighborhoods. We need protection from their incessant and unjustified rate hikes. But more than anything else, we need protection from their lobbying practices that attempt to block every good idea in the state Legislature for providing cleaner, cheaper and more efficient electricity. They are slowing the shifts needed to give us any hope of stopping the climate change disaster.

We need inoculation from their false arguments that rooftop solar is the reason for higher electricity rates when, in fact, solar saves the utilities over $1 billion each year. In fact, 92% of the utilities’ rate hikes are a direct result of their increased spending on poles and wires, which they would need less of if they prioritized grid-enhancing technologies.

Fortunately, there are groups working to protect us from PG&E. They are grassroots organizations that deserve your support and participation. They include 350 Bay Area (350bayarea.org), the Climate Center (theclimatecenter.org) and the Solar Rights Alliance (solarrights.org).

Cate Steane

Santa Rosa

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MARTAH JACOVONI:

This is a quick and concise childhood story: Growing up in San Francisco during the 1950s was like taking a rocket ship to another planet. Within 10 years almost everything cultural, political and economic had changed. My neighbor Bobby Harnwell lived in a newer home across the street on the corner of Avalon Avenue and Madrid Street. His house had a Madrid Street Address. Our house was 402 Avalon Avenue. Bobby was two weeks younger than me. We attended Monroe Elementary School down the block on Madrid Street. The fifth and six grades we were in the same classes. We played together in the empty lot next to Monroe School. We rode horses in John McLaren Park. His parents took me on a day trip to Clear Lake to picnic and row a boat. My mom took us to Half Moon Bay to play at the beach. Bobby and I swam and ran the track at the YMCA. We rode around San Francisco on busses and trolley cars and we had our most fun at Playland. I envisioned a rocket ship future in Bobby because of his parents’ house. His stucco house was painted white. Our house was weathered wood. All the walls inside his home were painted white. Our walls were bare wood. His house was almost new. Our house was old and haunted. They had new appliances and a freezer in the garage. Our appliances were from the 1930s. We didn’t have a freezer. By 1955 they had a TV and a high antenna on their roof. We had a TV with tiny rabbit ears for an antenna. Bobby’s dad came home from work wearing a suit. My dad came home in a flannel shirt and overalls. A couple of times I ate dinner with them and Bobby’s mom served us Swanson oven-ready chicken and turkey pot pies in aluminum trays. The future was happening in 1955, but you know what, Bobby and I were happy. The new stuff his parents had and the old stuff my parents had didn’t concern us. We were best buddies growing up in the wonderful city of San Francisco, a city full of surprises, a city resplendent, a rocket ship city.

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NEWSOM, DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS UNITE TO PASS BILLS UNDERMINING LANDMARK ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

by Dan Bacher

As expected, California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has cozied up to the likes of far right-wing influencers like Charlie Kirk, Steven Bannon and Michael Savage in his podcasts, on June 30 signed legislation that will weaken a landmark environmental law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Under intense pressure from Newsom, the California legislature passed two trailer bills, AB/SB 131 and 130, that will undermine the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and halt cost-saving energy code updates statewide, according to Sierra Club California.

Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and other legislative leaders joined Newsom at the State Capitol as Newsom signed the legislation.…

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/1/2331130/-Newsom-Corporate-Dems-and-MAGA-Republicans-Unite-to-Pass-Bill-Gutting-Landmark-Environmental-Law

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THREE TAKEN TO HOSPITALS AS ICE AGENTS RAID MASSIVE CALIFORNIA CANNABIS FARM

by Lester Black

Federal law enforcement officials fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters Thursday during a large immigration raid in Ventura County at one of California’s largest and most notable cannabis farms, according to a local mayor at the scene.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid occurred in the town of Camarillo at Glass House Farms’ greenhouse facility, which is one of the largest cannabis cultivation facilities in the state.

Federal officers created a barricade on Laguna Road, a few miles south of Camarillo Airport, Thursday morning and blocked access to the site as protesters gathered at the scene, according to Oxnard Mayor Luis McArthur, who told SFGATE in a phone call that more than 500 protesters were at the scene. He said federal agents eventually fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd.

The Ventura Fire Department took three people to area hospitals and currently has units stationed at the scene to provide assistance, according to Andrew Dowd, a spokesperson for the department.

“That number may change as this incident progresses,” Dowd told SFGATE by phone. “We’ve set up medical receiving points at the incident so that patients can be treated and transported as needed.”

Dowd said he did not know if the injured people were workers at the cannabis farm or protesters, but said the department is committed to providing support to any injured person.

“Immigration status is never a factor in the care we provide patients,” Dowd said. “We don’t ask for nor report any of that information.”

ICE did not return an SFGATE request for comment.

Glass House confirmed that it was visited by ICE officials Thursday and “fully complied with agent search warrants” in a post to X. The company did not return an SFGATE request for further comment. ICE officials had previously tried to raid the farm in June but the farm’s owners denied the agents access to their private property, according to the Los Angeles Times.

ICE has increased its armed raids across California’s coastal and agricultural communities in recent months as part of President Donald Trump’s pledge to conduct mass deportations of undocumented people. Sarah Saldaña, a former ICE director, told the New York Times that the agency is likely making mistakes that are “very concerning” as they conduct the massive raids. Republicans in Congress recently gave an additional $175 billion in funding for immigration enforcement including $75 billion in extra funding for ICE, making it the most well-funded federal law enforcement agency, according to CBS News.

McArthur said that ICE raids have been terrorizing his community and breaking up families by suddenly deporting people without any due process, including people who have been in the country for decades.

“Families are being broken up,” McArthur said. “The breadwinner has been deported expeditiously and when this administration is calling that a win, the burden of having to support the family falls upon a mother or a teen who is forced to be that breadwinner. That’s causing trauma.”

(SFGate.com)

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HOW BAILEY’S HOME RUN FOR THE GIANTS UNFOLDED

by Jenny Kwon, Erin Caughey, Alex K. Fong

In the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday, Giants catcher Patrick Bailey rounded the bases in 16.59 seconds to complete an improbable inside-the-park walk-off home run that propelled the Giants to a wild 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Bailey, who has struggled at the plate this season with a sub-.200 batting average, is among the slowest runners on the Giants according to Statcast data, though he is the fastest catcher on San Francisco’s roster. He is also below average in measured foot speed when compared to other catchers in the majors.

Nevertheless, Bailey’s game-winning inside-the-park homer would be the first such play for MLB since 2016, the first for the Giants since 2013 and the first for a catcher since as far back as 1926, when the Washington Senators’ Bennie Tate accomplished the feat. Bailey is just the third catcher in history to do it.

This is how Bailey’s unforgettable, instant-classic play unfolded. Some timings are approximate.

00:00

The Phillies lead 3-1 when Bailey steps up to the plate with second baseman Casey Schmitt and pinch-runner Brett Wisely on base at the corners. Schmitt had led off the inning with a double before pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores singled up the middle.

Bailey makes contact with a first-pitch fastball from Phillies reliever Jordan Romano.

“Off the bat, I just knew I got it well,” Bailey said. “And then, obviously, I saw it was towards Triples Alley.”

The sold-out crowd of 40,212 roars.

00:02 approximately

Bailey begins sprinting toward first base after a delay of at least a second and a half.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to go. I’ve got to at least get to third here,’” Bailey said.

Wisely is already hurtling toward second while Schmitt remains at third to tag in case the ball is caught.

Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh — in an initial position slightly favoring left field — and right fielder Nick Castellanos run toward Triples Alley.

00:05 approximately

Castellanos, already in Triples Alley, watches helplessly as the ball soars high and out of reach.

The 414-foot shot caroms off the brick wall at 103.4 mph. According to MLB data, it would have been a home run at any other ballpark in the major leagues.

00:06 approximately

Marsh has overshot into right center field as the ball ricochets away from him, onto the center field warning track.

“Once it shot the other way, everyone was thinking inside-the-park,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said.

Bailey rounds first as Wisely sprints toward third. Schmitt has just begun the trot home from third.

When Bailey reaches second, he sees third base coach Matt Williams furiously waving him on.

“I picked (Williams) up, but I had a feeling I was going,” Bailey said. “I saw he was waving and I just thought, ‘Don’t fall over, don’t fall over.’”

00:11 approximately

Marsh secures the ball at the center field fence and throws to Phillies infielder Edmundo Sosa, the cutoff man.

Schmitt has scored to reduce the Phillies' lead to one run as Wisely nears home to tie the game.

Bailey is about to reach third.

00:16.59

As Sosa throws wildly toward home, Bailey has rounded third and crossed the plate and the Giants' bench storms the field well before the ball reaches Philadelphia catcher Rafael Marchan.

Bailey was nearly 3 seconds slower than the fastest inside-the-park home run baserunning speed set by the Minnesota Twins' lightning-fast Byron Buxton in 2017. But with an average sprint speed of 27.4 feet per second, he rounded the bases quicker than most expected — and beat out his 2025 seasonal average of 25.5.

“I think that was the fastest he’s ever run,” Schmitt said. “I think he runs pretty decently well, especially for a catcher. He was absolutely moving.”

(sfchronicle.com)

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COMPLAINT

by William Carlos Williams

They call me and I go.
It is a frozen road
past midnight, a dust
of snow caught
in the rigid wheeltracks.
The door opens.
I smile, enter and
shake off the cold.
Here is a great woman
on her side in the bed.
She is sick,
perhaps vomiting,
perhaps laboring
to give birth to
a tenth child. Joy! Joy!
Night is a room
darkened for lovers,
through the jalousies the sun
has sent one golden needle!
I pick the hair from her eyes
and watch her misery
with compassion.

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LEAD STORIES, FRIDAY'S NYT

How Netanyahu Prolonged the War in Gaza to Stay in Power

Federal Agents Clash With Protesters During Immigration Raid at California Farm

Lawmakers in Liberal States Want ICE Agents to Show Their Faces

The F.B.I. Is Using Polygraphs to Test Officials’ Loyalty

Justice Dept. Demands Patient Details From Trans Medicine Providers

Justice Jackson Says ‘the State of Our Democracy’ Keeps Her Up at Night

Nvidia Becomes First Public Company Worth $4 Trillion

These Toads Have Psychedelic Powers, but They’d Prefer to Keep It Quiet

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BRENNAN, MSNBC CAN’T STOP LYING ABOUT TRUMP AND RUSSIA

by Matt Taibbi

Last evening, former CIA director John Brennan made his first public comments since news broke that the FBI under Kash Patel has opened a criminal investigation into his conduct in the Trump-Russia investigation. He was interviewed on MSNBC, where he is a paid contributor. The one piece of salient information host and former Bush administration spokesperson Nicolle Wallace didn’t leave out is that Brennan is a “Senior national security and intelligence analyst right here at MSNBC.”

This was after Wallace interviewed former Hillary Clinton lawyer Marc Elias, who in 2016 was the point man responsible for hiring the “research” firm Fusion-GPS, which in turned former British spy Christopher Steele to compile reports on Donald Trump. Elias in other words paid the firm that shopped bogus reports to virtually every news agency in America, along with the FBI and politicians like John McCain, in an effort to kick-start a political investigation of a political rival. What did Elias have to say about investigations into Brennan and Comey? Abandoning all self-respect, humorously hoping no one would remember his entire political raison d’être has been leveraging iffy information into legal trouble for antagonists, he said, “Like honestly, I’m just imploring the media, do NOT report” the news of the investigations. Priceless:

The amusing Elias video means people like the former Clinton lawyer are worried that not only conservatives, but friendly audiences at places like MSNBC might begin exploring what actually happened in 2016-2019. If those audiences put even minimal effort into learning the basics of these cases, it’s possible mainstream public opinion will finally turn — not on Trump, but on the concocted Trump-Russia mania of those years, which deserves a place in history next to or even above the WMD scandal as the biggest intelligence fiasco of our time.

The Wallace interview with Brennan was similarly comic. A summary of the segment is included for those who believe he’s innocent. This article isn’t paywalled, so Racket readers can circulate it to anyone who they feel may still be holdouts on Trump-Russia island. If that describes you, the MSNBC segment below is a small, jewel-like example of how you’ve been lied to by media and by officials like Brennan:

Note that Wallace early on says “exactly what conduct is being investigated is not clear.” That’s not strictly true. It’s been reported in multiple places (including here) that the FBI is looking at perjury and conspiracy charges. Wallace does say investigations are in connection with Brennan’s handling of a January 6th, 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, but she doesn’t tell you why this is important.

Nor does the New York Times, whose headline read, “Administration Takes Steps to Target 2 Officials Who Investigated Trump,” as if the gravestone modifiers for Comey or Brennan might be, THEY INVESTIGATED TRUMP. The Times, like Elias, is going with a “misuse, abuse, [and] authoritarian takeover” theme, insisting these investigations signal only that “Trump’s appointees intend to follow through on his campaign to exact retribution against his perceived enemies.” The Washington Post used the same construction, highlighting Trump’s campaign-trail promise to “exact retribution against many of his political enemies.”

It’s probably true Trump is anxious for payback — he denounced Comey and Brennan as “very dishonest people” in the wake of the investigation news and suggested there may be a “price to pay” — but that doesn’t mean these goofs have no real exposure. Mainstream press audiences just haven’t been told what both men did, and specifically how both benefited from an illegal leak of material from their January 2017 Intelligence Assessment, material that was both bogus and classified.

In early 2017, it wasn’t inevitable that President-Elect Donald Trump was going to face years of exhaustive Russia investigations. Contrary to popular legend, as of January 6th, 2017, neither the FBI nor the CIA had developed intelligence supporting a conclusion that Vladimir Putin “aspired” to interfere with our presidential election specifically to help Trump. In fact, there was evidence in the opposite direction, suggesting Russia and Putin were less than thrilled by the prospect of a White House run by the “unreliable” Trump, and may have seen Clinton as “manageable and reflecting continuity.” However, the Democratic Party by the end of 2016 already committed publicly to the idea that Putin aided Trump’s win. On December 16, 2016, for instsance, Hillary Clinton blamed her loss on Putin’s “personal grudge” against her.

There was no reason government officials had to co-sign this conclusion in the Intelligence Assessment Barack Obama commissioned, but they did. To get there, they had to use material from Steele, who had already been dismissed as a source by the FBI on November 1st, 2016, after he leaked reports for a Mother Jones]story by David Corn.

Without Steele material, there would have been no pre-inauguration report saying “Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton.” In order to keep that storyline, the FBI had to take seriously Steele’s assertions about the existence of a “well-developed conspiracy of cooperation” between him and Russia. With Trump about to enter the White House and FBI investigations into Carter Page, Michael Flynn, and Trump stalling, this “Assessment” was the whole ballgame, the last chance to keep Trump-Russia going. Two actions were crucial: the controversial internal decision to include the Steele stuff report, and the near-immediate leak of the report’s classified contents to the public before Trump was sworn in.

“But the report or the Note doesn’t dispute the conclusion of the intelligence community. And that conclusion is that Russia interfered.” This is a silly mischaracterization of John Ratcliffe’s “Note,” which didn’t even look at the question of whether or not Russia “interfered.” Ratcliffe and the CIA instead “focused particular attention on the ICA’s most debated judgment— that Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘aspired’ to help then-candidate Donald Trump win the election.” Ratcliffe did “dispute” that conclusion, repeatedly. The CIA chief said that “placing a reference to the [Steele] material” as a “supporting bullet for the judgment that Putin ‘aspired’ to help Trump… elevated unsubstantiated claims to the status of credible supporting evidence.”

He also noted the CIA and FBI should not have said they had “high” confidence in the notion that Russia aspired to help Trump, given that multiple quality sources are required for “high” confidence, and they didn’t have those. As reported last year, the ICA authors — like the authors of the original WMD report — also suppressed “credibly sourced reporting” that “suggested Putin was more ambivalent about which candidate won the election.”

“In fact, a report authored in part by Donald Trump’s current secretary of state and current national security advisor, then-Acting Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Marco Rubio, actually did look into the process of how the intelligence community came to this conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. And that report… says this: “Every witness interviewed by the committee stated that he or she saw no attempt, no attempt to pressure or politicize the findings.”

Wallace is describing a five-part Senate Intelligence Committee Report on the 2016 election. She’s right that it’s odd Marco Rubio took part in a report concluding Russia engaged in an “extensive” campaign to meddle for Trump. What Wallace didn’t mention is that the Senate relied on different evidence than the CIA/FBI’s 2017 Assessment to come to the same conclusion, a transparent indictment of the 2017 report. If Brennan and Comey got it right in 2017, why was a second report with all-new evidence necessary? The Senate report was a repair job, designed to replace Comey and Brennan’s car-wreck of a 2017 paper with a Senate product whose chief assertions — particularly around former Paul Manafort aide Konstantin Kilimnik, whose tie to Trump they said posed a “grave” intelligence threat — were not even reviewable, since lines like “Konstantin Kilimnik is a Russian intelligence officer” were not backed by visible evidence.

“But you’re supposed to be interviewing the people involved in this to try to get a better understanding of the context for a lot of the actions that were taken.”

Brennan’s unintentionally hilarious complaint is that John Ratcliffe didn’t bother interviewing him for the 8-page note released last week. This is the same Brennan who included an explosive “annex” of classified material from ex-spy Christopher Steele that upended American politics for years without interviewing Steele, his “Primary Sub-Source” Igor Danchenko of the Brookings Institute, or any of the Russian sources who ostensibly provided the pillars of Steele’s reports: tales of Trump “employing a number of prostitutes to perform a ‘golden showers’ (urination) show,” the “well-developed conspiracy” between Trump and Russia, and the notion that “Russian authorities had been cultivating and supporting… Donald Trump, for at least five years.”

When Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz put out his review of these issues in 2019, he pointed out that nobody interviewed Steele’s “Primary Sub-Source” until January of 2017, i.e. after the Assessment was released. When the FBI finally did talk to Steele’s sources, they disavowed almost every key point of Steele’s: the prostitute romps (“rumor and speculation,” the sub-source said), the “well-developed conspiracy” (there was “nothing bad” in communications between the Kremlin and Trump, per the source), and the notion that Trump and Page had been offered “the brokerage of up to a 19 percent (privatized) stake in Rosneft” in exchange for lifting sanctions (the sub-source “never stated that [Rosneft] had offered a brokerage interest”). Beyond that, no American official during this entire process ever picked up the phone to call key players/suspects like Julian Assange or Konstantin Kilimnik. It’s rich for Brennan complain no one interviewed him. John Brennan (10:40).

“That’s why we went to extraordinary lengths to protect the sensitive intelligence that really undergirded the assessment that was extensively footnoted in the assessment. But also, as I said, to protect individuals involved, including Donald Trump. To make sure that none of this intelligence that could have been seen as inflammatory and as something that was, you know, very damning, would get out. And so that’s why we wanted to make sure it was done in a very appropriate and meticulous and diligent manner…”

In a wounded tone, Brennan notes that he and James Comey went to extraordinary lengths to “protect the sensitive intelligence that really undergirded the assessessment” and “also… to protect individuals involved, including Donald Trump.”

The timeline on this: Brennan, Comey, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and NSA chief Michael Rogers decided to present a 2-page summary of the classified Steele material to Trump on January 6th, 2017. It was decided Comey would tell Trump the bad news that “Russians allegedly had tapes of him and prostitutes” at the Ritz-Carlton in 2013. “I said media like CNN had them and were looking for a news hook,” Comey explained. “I said it was important not to give them an excuse to say the FBI has the material or [redacted] and that we were keeping it very close-hold.”

Four of the nation’s most senior intelligence chiefs gave a briefing of classified information to the President-Elect of the United States on January 6th, 2017. One might expect that experienced intelligence officials handling classified information might be able to keep a lid on for at least a week.

No luck. The whole story was on every front page and every TV station within four days. Here’s the CNN headline from January 10: The lede of the CNN piece contained details only someone with advanced knowledge of the meeting would know. “Classified documents presented last week,” the four CNN writers said, included “allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump” and that “there was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government.” Material was presented in “a two-page synopsis that was appended to a report on Russian interference in the 2016 election,” and “came, in part, from memos compiled by a former British intelligence operative.”

That’s what Brennan means by going to “extraordinary lengths” to protect information. The CNN story in one swoop outed classified intelligence, blew its source (all of Washington knew which “former British intelligence operative” CNN meant, which is why Buzzfeed could publish Steele’s dossier within hours) and betrayed the target, Trump. That’s a rare trifecta of incompetence. A coked-up Tourette’s patient would have done a better job guarding information. Are there really people left who believe these people?

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‘APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS’ IS THE DEMOCRACY DOCUMENTARY TRUMP DOESN’T WANT YOU TO SEE

by G. Allen Johnson

Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, is facing trial for his role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2022 election that removed him from power.

On Monday, July 7, United States President Donald Trump, who disputed the results of the 2020 election that temporarily removed him from power, came to his defense.

“Brazil is doing a terrible thing on their treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE. … LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!”

So, yeah, Petra Costa’s documentary “Apocalypse in the Tropics“ — which not only details Bolsonaro’s rise and fall but how democracies can be subverted and dismantled — is pretty timely.

It also provides a blueprint for reclaiming and strengthening democratic systems, which might be the main value for American viewers of the film, which opens Friday, July 11, at Landmark’s Opera Plaza Cinema in San Francisco and streams on Netflix beginning Monday, July 14.

Costa, who explored the threat to democracy in Brazil in her 2019 documentary “The Edge of Democracy,” also on Netflix, doesn’t shy away from drawing parallels between Bolsonarism and Trumpism.

Bolsonaro moved hard to the right and was embraced by Brazil’s Evangelical Christian movement on his way to ascending to the presidency in 2018. When he got to power, he set about remaking the government by weakening its institutions, including Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Costa also accuses the president of bungling the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a contentious reelection campaign in 2022 in which he squared off against rival and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

But Costa also delves into the history of democratic and socialist movements in Latin and South America that hoped to narrow socioeconomic gaps. Key players include former U.S. President Richard Nixon and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, as well as none other than Evangelical Christian leader Billy Graham, who spoke at a massive rally in Brazil in 1974 while the country was under a military dictatorship.

“What is certain is that Brazil became a laboratory for a brutal form of capitalism and vertiginous social inequality where millions of people began to seek the hope they needed in the Evangelical faith,” Costa narrates in the film.

In the last four decades, Costa reports, the percentage of Brazilians who identify as Evangelical Christian has risen from 5% to 30%, significantly boosting Bolsonaro’s political appeal. In his 2022 campaign against Bolsonaro, da Silva embraced Evangelical social issues, noting in one campaign speech that abortion and all-gender restrooms “came straight out of Satan’s mind.”

At the heart of “Apocalypse in the Tropics,” though, isn’t so much current events but a longing to return to old ideals. A consistent thread is the conception of Brazil’s capital of Brasilia as a utopian seat of government, architecturally embracing the three branches of government — executive, legislative and judicial — as separate but equal checks and balances.

There’s a lot of old footage from the 1950s of Brasilia being designed and built, which reveal this detail: Original plans had a church at the center of the design, as nearly all Brazilian cities and towns have. But it was removed to establish the idea of a separation of church and state.

Old ideas, indeed.

(SF Chronicle)

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EPSTEIN’S LIST? WHAT EPSTEIN LIST? YOU DON’T NEED NO STINKING LIST!

by Jack Ohman

If you’re worried that the Jeffrey Epstein files may potentially expose the convicted sex offender’s former friend, President Donald Trump, to, um, legal unpleasantness, don’t worry.

They now no longer exist. Magic, really.

Never mind that Trump once said, “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

Yeah. A lot of fun.

According to the Daily Beast, “Epstein’s infamous leaked address books had Trump’s own phone number as well as Melania’s, while Trump’s name appeared seven times in the passenger logs of Epstein’s planes.”

None of that apparently matters. The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation now assert that the guest list wasn’t compiled, anyway. Oh, and Epstein’s 2019 death inside his jail cell at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was being held on sex trafficking charges? Yeah, he killed himself. Case closed.

Look! Over there! It’s Hunter Biden’s laptop!

You may be confused by these stunning revelations, considering that when Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked in February by Fox News whether DOJ planned to release a ”list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients,” she said the list was sitting on her desk.

The New York Times reported that for months, Bondi ”promised the release of documents on the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that could reveal damaging details, drumming up anticipation over the files, long a source of speculation and conspiracy theories.”

But upon further review, apparently, Trump’s party decided it no longer needed to push the conspiracy narrative.

That may have been news to some of the MAGA faithful.

After all, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino were ginning up the conspiracy theory that Epstein’s suicide was fishy before Trump’s victory in 2024.

For Patel, a former U.S. prosecutor, and Bongino, a former Secret Service agent turned MAGA podcaster, to engage in reckless speculation about the Epstein suicide was just another day at the fever swamp office.

But now they’re running the FBI.

“This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list’,” noted an anticlimactic FBI memo made public this week.

“There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” the memo stated, adding, “No further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”

It must come as a relief that the conspiracy has officially now been quashed, particularly since Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have long said they, along with the likes of Former President Bill Clinton, had visited Epstein’s illicit Caribbean pleasure palace.

Along the way, there were some unsettling moments. In February, for instance, Bondi “released” a trove of unclassified Epstein files that sent amateur sleuths into a frenzy. The MAGA mediasphere rejoiced! Finally! Transparency had arrived!

Except that there was no new there there.

This week’s serving of nothingburgers is just another Al Capone’s-vault-level disappointment for the MAGA world. Even the Trump-friendly Wall Street Journal chided the kook media right for going after Bondi, Patel and Bongino.

It’s ironic that Trump, the same conspiracy theorist who claimed to be blowing the lid off long-hidden secrets by releasing classified John F. Kennedy assassination files, now wants reporters to stop asking questions about his former friend Epstein.

“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years. You’re asking — we have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable,” Trump said Tuesday in response to a reporter’s question to Bondi.

It is indeed unbelievable, especially considering Trump pushed the evidence-free conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was born outside the United States to help fuel his own presidential campaign.

Epstein’s plane was called the “Lolita Express” for those taking notes. “Lolita,” of course, refers to Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel about his protagonist’s obsession with a 12-year-old girl.

The Trump/Bondi disappearing act is nothing new. This is a common Trumpian strategy: Make it disappear if it’s inconvenient. For his entire career, Trump has denied objective reality.

It’s a witch hunt! I’m innocent! She’s not my type! I never met her! I’m not a racist! I didn’t steal from my father! Those NOAA cuts have nothing to do with the lack of warnings about what turned out to be deadly flooding in Texas!

Should we be at all surprised that Trump, who has taken, on the record, seven documented trips on Epstein’s Lolita Express, now wants to make it all go away?

You might also want to check out how he views federal courts and the rule of law.

That’s the next thing Trump wants to make disappear.

(Jack Ohman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist who also writes at https://substack.com/@jackohman)

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CALAMITY JANE

She was a rough-riding frontier woman with a rifle in one hand and a wild story on her lips. Martha Jane Canary—better known as Calamity Jane—roamed the untamed West like a gust of dust through the Badlands. Born in Missouri in 1852, Jane earned her reputation in mining camps and lawless towns from Montana to South Dakota. With buckskins on her back and whiskey in her blood, she was part gunslinger, part nurse, part showwoman—and all legend. Her bond with Wild Bill Hickok, though often exaggerated, became one of the most enduring tales of the Old West. Whether friend, admirer, or something more, Jane’s loyalty to Hickok was never in question.

When smallpox hit Deadwood in 1878, Calamity Jane didn’t ride away—she stayed and nursed the sick. Later, in the 1890s, she took to the stage with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, bringing her rugged persona to fascinated crowds across the country. She was equal parts bravado and grit, a survivor in an era when few women carved out their own path, let alone with such flair. Her stories—some true, many embellished—only added fuel to her growing mythos. Though life wore her down, she remained indelibly tied to the West’s golden age of outlaws and legends.

In 1903, weakened but still proud, Jane returned to Deadwood one final time. When she passed in Terry, South Dakota, that August, her final wish was honored: to be laid to rest beside Wild Bill Hickok. Today, their graves sit side by side on the windswept hilltop of Mount Moriah Cemetery, watched over by pine trees and time. Whether their connection was romantic or rooted in kinship, Calamity Jane made sure her name would forever ride in tandem with his—proof that legends, like people, don’t always need facts to endure.

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(Mark Scaramella notes: The outstanding HBO series ‘Deadwood’ (2004-2006) does a pretty good job re-enacting Calamity Jane’s time in Deadwood, among many other scenes from that era.) Calamity Jane was played by a fine actress named Robin Weigert.

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THE AVERAGE of seven numbers is 12. What is the sum of the numbers?