Mendocino County Today: Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016

• Election Notes
• Little Dog
• Vote Speculations
• Election Office
• Voter Turnout
• Road Tax
• California Propositions
• Legalization Questions
• Yesterday's Catch
• Various Vanities
• Marco Radio
• Cumulative Effect
• Mendo Stands
• Mushroom Workshop
• Hill Nabbed
• F&G Grants
• Protesting Democrats
• Adult Supervision
• Church Work
• Neoliberalism Lost
• Trump Fear
• Fracking Ban

ELECTION NOTES

WOLF BLITZER was completely spun out in CNN's Situation Room. He looked like he'd been hit with a baseball bat. Long after it was clear that Trump had won, Wolfie was still saying stuff like, "It's very close. It's going right down to the wire." Mega-twit Anderson Cooper was stuttering and corpse-white with shock. MSDNC’s Rachel Maddow angrily blamed "All those Bernie people who voted for Johnson." (Huh?)

IT WAS SO GRATIFYING to watch the media hacks suffer, we broke out a bottle of the good stuff, laughing the night away.

HILLARY was the only Democrat who could have lost to Trump, and she did. Are we gloating here at the AVA while grief counselors make house calls to our distraught friends in Mendolib? No.

WE THINK it's clear that the country is so divided in so many ways, and that our ponzo economy is so precarious, that Trump will be presiding over serial catastrophes. And doubling their catastrophe quotient. Ditto for Hillary if she'd won. She already saw nothing wrong with selling weapons to the Saudis in return for contributions to Bill's foundation. Etc. Hey! The best crook won.

ALL POLITICS being local, we're pleased to see the Sheriff's mental health initiative running so strong. It needs a two-thirds vote because it's a tax initiative, albeit one that sunsets in five years. But getting two-thirds approval for eternal life would be tough in these stormy times, and you gotta hand it to Sheriff Allman, it was his personal effort that did it if it goes over the top into law. He was everywhere agitating for it, and here he was in Boonville himself again, picking up the AG signs, which makes him the first guy to clean up campaign litter we've seen in these parts.

BECAUSE we have the slowest election's office in NorCal, and it's the slowest for reasons more opaque with every telling, we won't have our final results for several weeks.

BOONVILLE boasts the only Carson For President bumpersticker in the County, for sure. Maybe the only one in the entire state.

HEARD ON THE STREET:

“You mean, she couldn’t even beat Donald Trump?”

“I heard several Trump voters say they’d probably have voted for Bernie if he’d been the alternative.”

“Trump didn’t win, Hillary lost.”

“I’m not happy Trump won, but I’m glad Hillary lost.”

“She couldn’t even win her ‘home’ state of Arkansas.”

THAT LAST REMARK was true in bigger numbers than we expected. Hillary barely got a third of her “home state” of Arkansas. Of course there are plenty of “deplorables” in Arkansas, but only one-third for Hillary? Trump voters can’t all be deplorable.

Arkansas results (percentages)

Trump: 60.4. Clinton 33.8. Johnson 2.6. McMullin 1.2. Stein 0.9. Others: 1.1

* * *

LOCAL NOTES:

We now await the County Clerk’s announcement that it will be another three weeks, at least, before we know the outcome of:

Measure AG/AH and the Willits City Council.

As of 2am Wednesday they’ve counted about 12,000 of an expected 40,000 or so votes (give or take). (They haven’t even said how many votes they got or how many are left to count.)

We still don’t really know why Measure AH was necessary. Obviously, some voters apparently thought it was a separate vote, not joined at the hip with AG. Meaning, based on early returns, AG has to get about 70% to make sure AH gets more than two-thirds.

"OF COURSE I VOTED. Those pit bulls next door? They're so dumb. They asked me who to vote for. I told them Nixon was their kind of guy. They thanked me and trotted off to the polls at the Boonville Fairgrounds. I don't want to be here when they get back."

LATE IN THE EVENING, when it was clear Trump had won, we turned the sound off Wolf Blitzer, who's even funnier with no audio, and started speculating about which County officials voted for whom.

SUPERVISORS:

Gjerde: Hillary, no questions asked.

Hamburg: Still so distraught a day later he's been sedated and put to bed with two therapy dogs.

Carre Brown: Hmmm. Probably Trump, but maybe one of those conservative women who went secretly for Hillary.

McCowen: Closet Trump voter, Hillary for public consumption.

Woodhouse: Still on injured reserve.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE: Trump top to bottom (except for Beth Norman who would be for Hillary)

PUBLIC DEFENDER: A day later still weeping and gang-locked in a sobbing group hug.

SHERIFF: We guessed Johnson, the Libertarian. Deputies solid for Trump, maybe a couple for Johnson.

DEPARTMENT HEADS & MANAGERS: All Hillary except Public Works where it was all Trump.

LOCAL MEDIA: Hillary across the board except for the AVA (Gloria La Riva and Jill Stein) and Paul McCarthy (We're guessing Trump)

KZYX: Hillary in the extreme, so extreme staff has asked the Public Defender if they can join the PD's group hug for the rest of the week.

COUNTY AM AUDIO: In between the tame rock and roll and cowboy love yawps, Trump.

CITY POLICE DEPARTMENTS & CHP: Trump.

JUDGES: All Hillary except for Mayfield and Henderson, likely Trumpers, although Mayfield possibly a closet Hillery voter.

ELECTION OFFICE QUIET AS COUNT GETS UNDER WAY

by KC Meadows

It seemed unusually quiet at the Mendocino County Elections Office Tuesday night. A few employees were still on hand, half a dozen elections workers were ready and waiting, County Clerk Sue Ranochak and her assistant Katrina Bartolomie got the counting room ready where the voting machines are kept. You wouldn’t think a big presidential election was underway here.

Ranochak said that the daytime was different. She was so busy at the counter taking care of people coming in to get ballots, vote ballots or hand in ballots that she says she never got a chance to do any actual vote counting.

That means that at the beginning of the night the elections office had only counted about 6,000 mail-in ballots cast out of some 22,835 mail-in ballots in the office as of Tuesday night. Not all of those mail-in ballots have even been opened yet. And many more came in Tuesday from the polls.

As I watched poll workers coming in to the elections office carrying their black suitcases (holding poll supplies), their black duffel bags (holding boxes of ballots) and their blue zippered envelopes (holding other supplies) most had large clear plastic garbage size bags of mail-in votes that were handed in at their polls.

None of those mail-in votes are counted at the polls so we won’t know for some time how many got handed in at the polls Tuesday. (Some of those will be “provisional” ballots, ballots handed into the wrong polling place, or ballots given to voters on the spot and possibly also in the wrong polling place. Provisionals are just a fraction of the vote in any election but they take a long time to deal with since the voter’s correct address and precinct has to be tracked down.)

As the night wore on, polling place volunteers rolled in with their ballot boxes. Those boxes of poll ballots went directly into the counting room and were sent through the voting machines. Turns out there’s a law that requires those ballots to be counted election night, while the mail-ins can be set aside and counted any time between now and the official deadline for the count which is around 30 days from now. (You begin to see why Mendocino County elections take so long. If we had everyone voting at polling places, it seems to me, then we’d have almost complete results at the end of the night.)

As of 10:30 pm about 10 polling places had reported in – although Covelo, of all places, was among the first few. The poll workers from Covelo told us the new Willits bypass had made it a snap to get from Covelo to Ukiah. “The bypass cut off so much time! It’s amazing!” one of them said.

The office had gotten the call that Gualala and Point Arena runners (people who go pick up ballots at the polls in far off places) had started their trip at 10pm. Ranochak says she is always delighted if she has the coast ballots by midnight. She is hoping for 80% turnout countywide.

In the end, Ranochak will only count and post the 6,000 mail-ins she started the night with, and whatever votes came in from the polling places (potentially 9,000 but that would be 100% turnout). So of the 41,000 mail-in ballots sent out, she has 22,000 on hand — 6,000 of them counted — and whatever came in Tuesday night. She couldn’t say Tuesday night how many of those left (22,000 minus 6,000) were opened and ready to be counted. No one knows how many came in Tuesday night. I’m thinking it will be awhile this election, again, before we have a final result.

(K.C. Meadows is managing editor of the Ukiah Daily Journal. Courtesy, the Ukiah Daily Journal)

231,556,622 ELIGIBLE VOTERS

46.9% didn't vote

25.6% voted Clinton

25.5% voted Trump

LAKE AND MENDOCINO COUNTIES VOTERS APPROVE ROAD TAXES

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6284905-181/lake-and-mendocino-counties-voters

CALIFORNIA PROPOSITIONS SUMMARY

Proposition 51 · $9 Billion Bond for modernizing K-12, charter, vocational schools and community colleges

54% Yes

Proposition 52 · Extends existing fee on hospitals to fund coverage for Medi-Cal, uninsured patients, and children's health

70% Yes

Proposition 53 · Requires statewide voter approval for bonds over $2 billion ·

51% No

Proposition 54 · Stops the legislature from passing any bill unless it's published on the internet for 72 hours

64% Yes

Proposition 55 · Extends income tax on earnings over $250,000 to fund schools and healthcare

62% Yes

Proposition 56 · Increases taxes on tobacco and e-cigarettes to increase funding for health care for low-income Californians

63% Yes

Proposition 57 · Allows parole consideration for nonviolent felons and allows juvenile court judges to decide whether juveniles will be prosecuted as adults

64% Yes

Proposition 58 · Allows schools to establish non English-only education programs

72% Yes

Proposition 59 · Recommends California propose an amendment to overturn Citizens United decision, which removed some limits for corporate and union campaign spending

52% Yes

Proposition 60 · Requires adult film performers to use condoms when filming, and other health regulations

54% No

Proposition 61 · Prohibits California from buying prescription drugs at a higher price than paid by the US Department of Veterans Affairs

54% No

Proposition 62 · Repeals the death penalty and replaces it with life imprisonment without possibility of parole

54% No

Propostion 63 · Requires background checks for purchasing ammunition and prohibits possession of large capacity magazines

63% Yes

Proposition 64 · Legalizes marijuana for use by adults 21 and over

56% Yes

Propositon 65 · Requires plastic bag fees be directed toward specified environmental projects

55% No

Proposition 66 · Changes procedures governing state court challenges to death sentences · 100% reporting

51% Yes

Proposition 67 · Bans single-use plastic and paper bags · 100% reporting

52% Yes 

DO'S & DON'TS OF POT LEGALIZATION

California voters approved marijuana legalization Proposition 64 Tuesday night, and readers are sending in a lot of questions about the practical application of the new law. Below, we’ve assembled some answers to the most frequently asked questions, in consultation with cannabis researchers Amanda Reiman (PhD, Social Welfare, UC Berkeley, manager of Marijuana Law and Policy at the Drug Policy Alliance and a spokesperson for Yes on 64), as well as Paul Armentano (Deputy Director of California NORML) and links to the leading studies.

“When can I go into a store and buy marijuana?”

If you are not a medical marijuana patient, you can go into a store and buy marijuana some time after Jan. 1, 2018, the deadline for the state to begin issuing licenses.

“How can I get cannabis before then?”

Adults 21 and over can gift other adults up to one ounce of marijuana and can also grow up to 6 plants in their residence or outside in an enclosed structure like a greenhouse.

“What is cannabis? What is one ‘dose’?”

Cannabis is a botanical drug substance that primarily exists as the dried flower buds from unfertilized female plants. One ‘dose’ of cannabis can start at 2.5 milligrams of THC — the main active ingredient in cannabis — for people with no tolerance to the drug. A standard dose in Colorado is measured as 10 mgs. In California, 10 mg of THC will be considered one dose as well. One dose of cannabis can be equivalent to a quick draw and inhalation from a lit cannabis cigarette, followed by a few seconds of holding it in the lungs, followed by exhalation. Onset of effects from smoked cannabis is usually a few seconds.

Cannabis in edible form is much harder to titrate. Medical marijuana edibles are often labeled with the amount of THC in milligrams present in the food item. So for a 50 milligram THC brownie, one dose would be as much as one fifth of the brownie, or as little as one twentieth. Onset of effects from eating cannabis is much longer, and can take as long as two hours for the first effects to be felt. Do not eat more THC while waiting for effects to begin.

“What is the history of marijuana law in California?”

Californians legalized cannabis for adults 21 and over on Tuesday, Nov. 8, ending more than 100 years of the plant’s criminalization.

In 1996, Californians approved of medical defenses against prosecution for certain marijuana crimes. In 2004, lawmakers passed the Medical Marijuana Program Act, which created identification cards for medical pot patients, as well as collective defenses against prosecution that gave rise to dispensaries — legal medical marijuana shops. In 2015, lawmakers moved to regulate medical cannabis from seed to sale with the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, which establishes state-level regulation and licensing for medical cannabis.

“Are pot DUIs going to spike?”

California has had medical cannabis for 20 years and wide availability of marijuana for decades. California also has a mileage death rate than the country as a whole (.91 vs. 1.22). Proposition 64 continues to prohibit driving a vehicle under the influence of THC. In other legalization states, there is no concrete evidence that driving under the influence of marijuana has increased, though there have been increases in funding and establishment of methods for testing drivers’ blood for marijuana. The increases in testing has led to higher numbers of positive tests for marijuana, but the tests cannot determine impairment, and states did not track marijuana DUIs before legalization. A number of studies show very little or no increased crash risk for drivers who have used cannabis. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Safety Administration in a 2015 paper, “carefully controlled studies that actually measured marijuana (THC) use by drivers rather than relying on self-report, and that had more actual control of covariates that could bias the results, generally show reduced risk estimates or no risk associated with marijuana use (Elvik, 2013). ... There was no difference in crash risk for marijuana (THC)-positive drivers who were also positive for alcohol than for marijuana (THC)-positive drivers with no alcohol, beyond the risk attributable to alcohol. ... The results of this study are In line with the previous research on the effects of marijuana on the risk of crash involvement. While a number of previous studies have shown some increased risk associated with marijuana use by drivers, many studies have not found increased risk.”

“Is use going to increase?”

Cannabis is widely available in California, which already reports some of the highest use rates in the nation. Studies of medical marijuana laws’ effects on use show no increases in use after states pass medical marijuana laws. In Colorado, surveyed shows teen use as essentially flat after legalization. This comports with post-legalization data from Washington as well.

“Marijuana health questions: Is it addictive? Does it cause cancer? Can you overdose?”

Researchers estimate that up to one in 11 people who use marijuana will at one some point in their life have trouble stopping using marijuana. Withdrawal symptoms from discontinuing marijuana use are mild and medically benign, unlike alcohol. Cannabis has a lower lifetime dependence risk than caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes and other previously legal substances. “With a lifetime dependence risk of 9% in marijuana users vs 32% for nicotine, 23% for heroin, 17% for cocaine, and 15% for alcohol, the addiction risk with marijuana is not as high as that for other drugs of abuse,” Mayo Clinic researchers stated in 2012.

Well-controlled large studies of marijuana users have found no increase in incidence of lung cancer among long-time smokers. The active ingredients in cannabis have been shown in numerous lab, cell and animal studies to be anti-cancer agents. Overall, lifelong pot users have been shown to be healthy, researchers have concluded.

There is no functional fatal overdose amount for THC, because the drug cannot fatally supress respiratory or heart function like alcohol or opioids do.

“What are marijuana edibles? What are some rules around eating them?”

Marijuana edibles are foods infused with the active ingredients in cannabis, THC and CBD. You should exercise caution when consuming edibles, because they can take far longer until onset of effects are felt, leading to people eating more edibles out of impatience. Wait two hours after eating any marijuana edibles before increasing your dose. If you over-ingest THC, the standard course of treatment is rest and hydration. Symptoms like dizziness, confusion, dysphoria and nausea should subside within a few hours.

“I grew more than an ounce. Is that legal?”

Adults 21 and over can possess up to an ounce and grow up to six plants. Adults 21 and over can keep their harvest in excess of one ounce, so long as it stays on the property, though they can still gift their harvest to other adults 21 and over.

“What’s legal in my city/town/county?”

Cities and counties can ban outdoor recreational cannabis cultivation, and some already have. They cannot ban personal indoor recreational cultivation. Check your local city and county codes for details.

“When do regulations start?”

In the next 45 days, the state of California will spend $5 million on a public education campaign and $30 million to pay for regulators to begin to draft rules for the legal cannabis industry. The first state rulemaking hearings should be announced in early 2017. Local cities and counties will also begin agendizing marijuana regulation related items in the coming weeks.

“How do I keep pot away from my kids? Do you have tips for parents?”

Treat pot like alcohol, prescription drugs, vitamins, ibuprofen and other substances for which you would restrict child access. Keep marijuana, especially edible marijuana, in a locked enclosure, up and away from children, teens, pets or unsuspecting adults. Do not keep edibles unlocked in your refrigerator or freezer or without a label.

Parents needs to have open lines of communication about the mind-altering substances available in society and explain that such substances are not intended for use by children, whose brains are still developing. Two common factors in child use of marijuana is lack of supervision, especially in the afternoon hours after school.

“What if I or someone I care for is accidentally exposed to marijuana?”

In the event of accidental exposure, monitor and provide rest and hydration. Symptoms should subside in a few hours. You can call poison control or go to the emergency room. Patient outcomes from accidental exposure to marijuana are almost always a quick full recovery, unless there was some mitigating factor.

“Can marijuana cause psychosis?”

People with a family or personal history of mental illness should avoid using marijuana, alcohol and other drugs unless instructed to do so by a doctor. Psychosis is defined as loss of contact with external reality, and can be brought on by lack of sleep, too much caffeine, alcohol, stress, trauma and other factors. Cannabis overexposure — like alcohol exposure — can cause transient symptoms associated with psychosis, like alterations in perceptions of space and time, as well as sensory alterations. People with psychotic tendencies are most likely to have their first psychotic break by their late teens or early 20s, a time when cannabis use also tends to peak. This correlation between peak cannabis use and onset of latent mental illness is often misidentified as causation. In reality, cannabis use has significantly increased in the U.S. population over the 20th century with no concurrent rise in rates of psychosis or schizophrenia. A 2013 study published in Schizophrenia Research concluded that “having an increased familial morbid risk for schizophrenia may be the underlying basis for schizophrenia in cannabis users and not cannabis use by itself.”

Synthetic cannabinoids sold over the counter like Spice and K-2 can cause lasting psychosis, however, and should be avoided.

“Can I be fired for on the job or off the job marijuana use?”

Yes. Employers have the right to maintain a drug-free workplace under Prop. 64, meaning they can fire employees for showing up to work high or testing positive for marijuana byproducts in their urine — even if last use of marijuana was off-work hours days or weeks prior to testing.

“What are the penalties for breaking the new laws?”

Smoking in public can be a $100 fine, or $25 for smoking pot where tobacco is banned (near schools, etc.). Rules against e-cigarettes apply to marijuana vaporizers.

“Do rules change for the police at all?”

Yes, the smell of marijuana is no longer probable cause to be stopped or search. You do not have to submit to a search of your person, car or home because of suspected marijuana use.

(David Downs, The San Francisco Chronicle)

CATCH OF THE DAY, November 9, 2016

KELLY ADAMS, Boonville. Criminal threats, court order violation, probation revocation.

BENJAMIN BERRIER, Post Falls, Idaho/Comptche. Pot cultivation, possession for sale.

CHRISTOPHER BETTIS, Pahoa, Hawaii/Comptche. Pot cultivation, possession for sale.

IZIK CABRERA, Fort Bragg. Probation revocation.

MATTHEW CHIDESTER, Ukiah. Probation revocation.

SAMUEL DESJARDINS, Comptche. Pot cultivation, possession for sale.

JUSTIN DRAKE, Spokane/Comptche. Pot cultivation, possession for sale.

ROBIN EDWARDS, Port Hadlock, Washington/Ukiah. Drunk in public.

EDWARD ESQUIVEL JR., Willits. Ignition device override, under influence in possession of weapon, ex-felon with firearm, vehicle driver with concealed weapon, controlled substance, prohibited person with ammo, suspended license, loaded firearm in public, battery on peace officer, probation revocation.

DEVIN KESTER-TYLER, Ukiah. Controlled substance, failure to appear, probation revocation.

LAURA KETCHAM, Hopland/Comptche. Pot cultivation, possession for sale.

JANET KNIGHT, Redwood Valley. Battery, probation revocation.

ROBERT LANDIS, Greely, Colorado/Comptche. Pot cultivation, possession for sale.

MARLEY MARIN, Vista/Comptche. Pot cultivation, possession for sale.

CHARLES MCCULLOUGH, Greely, Colorado/Comptche. Pot cultivation, possession for sale.

MICHAEL MERTLE, Ukiah. Petty theft, burglary tools, probation revocation.

RENEE OLIVER, Covelo. Domestic battery.

GARRETT ROBINSON, Arroyo Grade (CA)/Comptche. Honey oil production, pot cultivation, possession for sale.

JOHN STRAUSS III, Fort Bragg. Under influence, resisting.

VANITY

Jeff Costello

"Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority"

— Ben Debney quoting Schopenhauer in Counterpunch

If Trump and his followers aren't proof that vanity is ugly, I don't know what is. The vanity of nationalism, USA,USA. Vanity of self-aggrandizement, and vanity of attaching one's own identity to that of the most aggrandizing self in the stadium. Glory by association. In a Trump rally video, white men are heard saying "Fuck that nigger" (Obama), and "Fuck those beaners" (Mexicans). Vanity of (supposed) ethnic superiority. Trump couldn't say these things directly, but... he knew perfectly well what they were thinking.

Trump, the brand. Buildings, airplanes, helicopters plastered with his name, various consumer products. Trump, Trump, Trump. Mustn't forget about him for a minute. How can one need so much attention, so much recognition?

The vanity of the hairdo. This looms large with me personally. I know the vanity of one's haircut. When I was in fifth grade, Elvis Presley appeared, and with him a hairstyle that pissed off a lot of adults, including my father. He fumed and spat about Presley's sideburns. Circa 1955 there was an unspoken but rigidly enforced rule concerning boys' haircuts. True enough, most boys didn't care much about their hair or how it looked.

But some of us did. It was vanity, yes, but it was also about rebellion, resistance to the norm. Who gave Elvis permission to have his hair like that? That was it - nobody! Of course the kids with "regular boys'" haircuts made fun of me, but without realizing it, my 60's had begun. I took further interest in haircuts, enough to begin cutting other guys' hair, what Richard Pryor called "bootleg" haircuts. Later on I worked under table for a few years, cutting hair for both sexes. My reputation was established on the waterfront by cutting wads of glue and boat paint out of one man's hair and leaving him presentable. So I know a little about hair vanity in men. When Trump wears the hat, he's either having a "bad hair day" or he's outside in the wind, which badly screws up the 'do despite the amount of gel, and lacquer sprayed all over it. His hairdo requires a great deal of maintenance, and I guarantee that whoever does his hair is not among those he fails to pay, and will be setting up shop in the White House. There aren't many men, especially his age, that go to such lengths: actors for movie parts and French fashion designers mostly.

One might wonder about priorities here, and there's a certain cognitive dissonance with the men who are Trump-ettes or whatever, since they seem too macho - or something like that - to not regard his hair as "swishy" or "faggy."

A LITTLE POST-ELECTION MUSIC

Late Saturday night (10pm - midnight) I went to the KNYO storefront to try to solve the problem of electrical thumping you can hear in the quiet parts of the Memo written-word show I did the night before. The problem resisted duplication, try as I might to make things go wrong again in order to solve it, but before I went home and, while I connected and disconnected things and tried out various configurations of this and that, I played a two-hour set of mostly random music from my music library. It turned out to be about dogs and boats and creepy relationships. (For example: /Sit On My Lap and Call Me Daddy/.) If you'd like to hear that music, let me know and I'll make it available.

And just tonight, after switching out internet services at Juanita's, I tried out the new service by playing a somewhat less random post-election set of music on KNYO from midnight to 1am (technically Wednesday morning). The aircheck of that is available via

http://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

If you'd like to have your own airtime on 107.7fm KNYO Fort Bragg to do whatever sort of show seems most like your thing, contact Bob Young at bobb@poetworld.net and say so. He'll show you how to use the equipment and put you on the schedule. It's that easy.

Anyway, also at http://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com you'll find literally thrillions of links to not necessarily radio-useful but certainly worthwhile things to see and do and learn about, such as:

A 1940s tap-dance routine that includes Eleanor Powell juggle-trading drumsticks with drummer Buddy Rich in a way that might dislocate your jaw from surprise and delight. Prop your thumb under your chin to protect against that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R8InADno6o

A modern-day dance routine. I'm not sure what it's meant to convey, but the dancer is like a broken doll being dragged and flung about and shaken by a giant invisible crazy child.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3PMCD7aMRI

And beset on all sides by an army of determined snakes this baby iguana displays the cool moxie of a much older iguana. /Run, Forrest, run./

http://www.cynical-c.com/2016/11/07/one-of-the-most-intense-nature-scenes/

Marco McClean

memo@mcn.org

http://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

THE PROBLEM

Editor,

Trump is not the problem; he is the symptom of the problems President George Washington said we should avoid having political parties; President Thomas Jefferson said a democracy cannot survive without a well educated citizenry; President Abe Lincoln said that a house divided against itself cannot stand; President Roosevelt said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself; President Eisenhower said beware of the military-industrial complex. We have not followed any of that advice. We are now facing a combination of them, a cumulative effect of all of those. We get the government we deserve. Hillary had the demographics on her side; she had a great ground organization; she spent tens time the money on attack ads.

What Hillary did not have was two things. She did not have any emotional excitement in her campaign; she did not have control of the social media; she did not have an empty baggage cart, and she ran in support of a failed foreign and trade policy. Trump had momentum, he had tens of millions worth of free television exposure. He had covert racism and overt sexism on his side; and the lumpen poured out of their houses to go vote for a demagogue. Why is that a surprise?

Lee Simon

Round Hill Farm, Virginia

MENDONESIANS SHOW THANKSGIVING SPIRIT

On November 6, hundreds of people attended the Mendo Stands with Standing Rock Teach-In, Cultural Ceremony and Fundraiser at the Redwood Valley Community Guild. Neighbors from across the county gathered to hear stories from activists who have been and support others that are going to Standing Rock and to hear about the struggles local tribes face with respect to desecration of sacred sites and disregard for water sources so similar to the issues in North Dakota and many places in the world.

One wall of the hall was stacked with donations of winter gear and medical supplies. Wonderful entrees were shared at a potluck feast. But, most heart warming and why we all cherish living in this blessed bio-region, is that our loving community cares so much that over $9,000 dollars was offered that evening! Our gratitude to Mother Earth, the water defenders and to each other spills over like the great abundance of this wet, fertile year.

Thanks to the people who donated to the raffle and to the Redwood Valley Community Guild for co-sponsoring, helping set up and especially cleaning up and to the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians for their solidarity.

The Mendo Stands with Standing Rock Legal Defense and Emergency Fund is still accepting donations. This fund assists locals with travel costs, legal aid, emergencies, and to help other water defenders they meet in need. Administered by Cloud Forest Institute, PO Box 1435, Ukiah, CA 95482, www.cloudforest.org 100% goes to the fund and is tax deductible. Fund liaisons are Sara Grusky, homesteadingsara@gmail.com and Jen Burnstad, jen@cloudforest.org. Visit Mendo Stands for Standing Rock facebook page for updates.

Our heartfelt thanks to our community for this great outpouring of support.

Jen Burnstad, Boonville

Sara Grusky, Willits

Yolanda Pritam Hari, Ft. Bragg

MUSHROOM ID FOR BEGINNERS

SIGN UP NOW! This class fills up quickly!

This workshop is offered on three Saturdays:

Nov 26, Dec 10, or Dec 17 from 10:00am to 3:30pm

(Lecture 10—1:30pm; Lunch 1:30—2:00pm; Field ID Walk 2:00—3:30pm)

Participants will learn the basic taxonomic identifying features that distinguish mushrooms from each other; where each unique mushroom species can be found; when they can be found; their uses such as: food, medicine, dyes, bioremediation; and the myths associated with them. The workshop consists of a lecture, Powerpoint slideshow, hands-on look of mushrooms collected and displayed for each workshop, and a field walk to find mushrooms associated with the Gardens' native plant communities, with a focus on students using the identification tools provided at the workshop to key mushrooms.

Workshop instructor Mario Abreu is the Gardens' Staff Naturalist and Plant Collections Curator.

Class cost is $25 for members and Master Gardeners; $35 for non-members (includes Gardens admission for the day). Payment is due upon sign-up. Please note, all workshop fees are non-refundable unless the workshop has been canceled or rescheduled by the Gardens.

Sign up by phoning in your payment at 707-964-4352 ext. 16 or reserve your spot in person at The Garden Store at MCBG.

Class size is limited! Each workshop is limited to 20 participants. A waiting list of up to five attendees will be kept in the event of a cancellation. If there is a cancellation by 4:00pm on the Friday before the class, people on the waitlist will be contacted by store staff of the opening.

MICKY HILL CURBED

On Nov. 8, 2016 at approximately 7:10am, deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received information that Mickey Hill, 29, of Willits was at the Sherwood Valley Casino (100 Kawi Pl. in Willits). Deputies had been searching for Hill because he had multiple warrants issued for his arrest. Deputies responded to the area and observed Hill driving a vehicle northbound on Blosser Lane. Hill was slowing as he approached the intersection with Highway 20 and deputies identified him as the driver of the vehicle from prior law enforcement contacts. Deputies attempted to initiate a traffic enforcement stop on Hill. However, he failed to stop when the Deputies activated their emergency lights. Hill then failed to stop at the posted stop sign at Highway 20 and then fled northbound onto Coast Street. Hill also ran the posted stop sign at the intersection of Coast Street and Mill Street. Deputies pursued Hill who continued evading officers northbound on Coast Street As Hill’s vehicle attempted to make a right hand turn onto West Valley Street it struck the curb on the north side of the roadway, drove up the sidewalk and struck a wooden fence line in front of a residence. Hill then left the scene of the accident and continued across Main Street onto East Valley Street. The vehicle then struck the curb at East Valley and Humboldt Streets at which time it became disabled due to a flat tire. Hill exited the vehicle and fled on foot. Following a short foot chase he was apprehended and placed under arrest without incident. Hill was arrested and booked into the Mendocino County jail for Felony Evading, Violation of Formal Probation, Hit and Run - Property Damage, Driving on a Suspended License, felony warrant for probation violations, and a misdemeanor warrant for resisting or obstructing a peace officer. Officers from the Willits Police Department responded and investigated the hit and run committed by Hill resulting in property damage to the fence on West Valley St. Hill was subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he is currently being without bail.

FISH AND GAME PROJECT GRANTS AVAILABLE

The Mendocino County Fish and Game Commission solicits grant applications that comply with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife guidelines and codes and benefit fish and/or game in Mendocino County. The Commission will submit recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for the awarding of grants. In Fiscal Year 2016/17, the available amount for Grant Allocations is twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000) total. Per the County Supervisor’s request, projects leading to wildlife and habitat restoration and rehabilitation will be prioritized.

Granting guidelines, application forms, and additional information are available on the Commission website: http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/dfg/

The deadline for receiving proposals is December 31, 2016.

Proposals must be submitted by email as a PDF, .DOC, .DOCX, .TXT, or ZIP file to the Commission at: mendofishgamecommission@gmail.com. Applicants must also mail or hand-deliver eight double-sided copies to the Commission c/o County Planning & Building Services.

Grant applicants are encouraged to attend the Tuesday, January 17, 2017 meeting of the Commission, location to be announced, at 5:00pm to make a brief (5 minute) presentation regarding their proposal.

Applicants without personal computers or internet access to the Commission website can request assistance from County branch libraries in Ukiah, Ft. Bragg, Willits, Coast Community (Pt. Arena), and Round Valley (Covelo) to download and print the application materials. Note: County library personnel can also assist with scanning and emailing completed proposals.

For additional information, please call Fish and Game Commission at (707) 234-6094, or email the Commission at mendofishgamecommission@gmail.com.

ON LINE FALLOUT AT MCN

John Redding wrote:

Anna Marie,

Good day to work in the garden. I was wondering why you thought you couldn't oppose Obama or Clinton on issues for which you feel strongly...like wars...because he was a Democrat? If that is how you think, well then you can't really criticize people on the right when they support Trump no matter what he does.

Cheers, John

* * *

Eleanor Cooney wrote: When Anna Marie said: "Here's something to think about. Under Obama, we are at war in 7 countries and counting. Our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan is growing everyday. But he is a" democrat" so we couldn't protest to much could we! Same with HRC."

...she was plainly expressing criticism of the spinelessness of the so-called "left" with a bit of mild sarcasm.

She was not declaring that she herself couldn't/wouldn't protest Obama or HRC's policies, and it's disingenuous to imply that she was.

IN ENGLAND:

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT NEEDED AT CHURCH

St Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church in Fort Bragg is now accepting applications for a part-time administrative assistant. Good computer, organizational, and communication skills required as well as team player. Approximately 12 hours per week, preferably Tuesday through Friday mornings. Training provided. Please email slmf95437@comcast.net with your resume and to receive an application form. Thanks.

DON’T MOURN HILLARY’S LOSS

by Joshua Frank

We are all tired. Exhausted from what feels like years of election mania. First the primaries, the hilarious, made-for-TV Republican debates, the Democratic talk shows, the Sanders revolt to the months of boring presidential squabbles between Hillary and The Donald. The FBI. The emails. The groping. It’s finally over. Time to exhale.

Election Day has come and gone and we are now sitting in an ugly new era, stunned that the Trump revolution won, and won big. Hillary Clinton and whatever she actually stood for, lost, and lost bad. Far worse than any polls suggested, even the few that had Trump squeaking out a victory.

There will be plenty of blame flying around in the weeks and months ahead. Yet, no matter what bullshit excuse Democrats come up with for Hillary’s historic embarrassment, they have only themselves to blame. She lost because she deserved to lose. She ran an awful campaign, mired in controversy, and was unable to excite voters to the polls. She believed neoliberalism could carry the day, but she was wrong. The DNC was wrong. The establishment lost because the establishment deserved its fate.

By no means does this imply Trump will overthrow the status quo, it only means the outsider Trump was better able to exploit the boiling rage of middle America. All the workers who were undercut by Bill Clinton’s NAFTA. The hundreds of thousands that never rebounded from the Bush recession. Trump provided an outlet of hope for these lost souls – a fabricated hope no doubt, but hope nonetheless – gift wrapped in rage. His mastery of social media, of vindictive and racist rhetoric, helped him gut the provincial electorate. Against all odds, against allegations of sexual misconduct, against common sense, being anti-Trump wasn’t enough to get Hillary elected.

In many ways, Hillary was her own worst enemy – a poor campaigner, a flat platform and only an ounce more personality than her VP pick Tim Kaine (and that’s not saying much).

With no ground game, far less money than the Democrats, nearly zero endorsements from Hollywood and the media, Trump still prevailed. Somehow he understood a fair portion of the American psyche better than Hillary ever could. It seemed she learned little from the branding genius of Barack Obama or the accessibility of her husband Bill. By night’s end it was clear she gleaned nothing from Bernie Sanders’s movement and cared little about his searing critiques of Wall Street and our corrupt political system that’s left so many behind.

Being against Trump, in the end, couldn’t get the job done. She needed to go further.

The years ahead will be telling. How will Democrats respond to a Trump presidency? Will they view it as an opportunity to reimagine themselves in a progressive light, or will they continue to believe neoliberalism and identity politics are enough to win elections?

Don’t hold your breath.

In the end, progressives shouldn’t be depressed by this election’s outcome (and I’m not talking about legal weed in California and elsewhere, although that might help numb the pain). They should be invigorated. They should be ready for a fight. Where the left failed to oppose the most sordid policies of the Obama administration — from drone strikes to the Libya intervention to fracking to the dreadful Obamacare — perhaps progressives will be awakened under Trump’s reign and fill the streets in disgust at every turn.

One can only hope. Hope and rage against the new machine.

(Joshua Frank is managing editor of CounterPunch. His most recent book is Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion, co-edited with Jeffrey St. Clair and published by AK Press. He can be reached at joshua@counterpunch.org. You can follow him on Twitter @joshua__frank.)

ROB'S SCARED

President Trump: A terrifying development

The only time I was as frightened by a historical event as I am by the election of President Trump was during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. It is now clear that only President Kennedy's steadfast resistance to the military's pressure to attack Cuba prevented a catastrophic escalation of that crisis. There's nothing in his history to allow us to think that a President Trump has that kind of character.

Then there was the assassination of President Kennedy a year after the Cuban missile crisis, a month before my 21st birthday. The world---and my country---was revealed as a dark and scary place, a revelation that has never really left my consciousness.

Growing up in the Bay Area in the 1940s and 1950s, I knew little about this country's awful history of racism, though my parents were decent people from whom I never heard the word "nigger." Racial issues were simply not discussed, though I thought it odd that all the black people in Marin County lived in Marin City.

As I remember the history textbooks of the time, the Civil War was discussed, but Reconstruction was portrayed as a failure because black people weren't ready for freedom. There was little or no discussion of post-Civil War Jim Crow or the violence against black people that continues to this day.

In 1963 reading James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time put the country's history of racism in perspective for me.

A year after the assassination of JFK, President Johnson's escalation of the war in Vietnam began, by which time I was already a draft resister in federal prison.

Donald Trump and his right-wing enablers in the Republican Party represent a unique threat to the country beyond the inevitable tax cuts for the rich, voter suppression, denying people medical care, a right-wing Supreme Court forever, etc. As President Obama pointed out, a man who can't even handle his Twitter account sensibly now has the nuclear codes within reach.

(Rob Anderson, Courtesy, District5Diary)

STUNNING VICTORY: MONTEREY COUNTY BANS FRACKING

by Dan Bacher

The 2016 election results are grim for those who care about water, the environment, the public trust, human rights and the future of this country. But there is one major grassroots environmental victory to celebrate in California — the passage of measure Z to ban fracking in Monterey County, the first major-oil producing county in California to do so.

Passing local measures like Measure Z has become the major strategy that anti-fracking activists have been forced to use to stop fracking in the state. This is due to the refusal by Governor Jerry Brown and legislators to ban fracking in California because of the enormous influence, money and power that the Western States Petroleum Association and Big Oil wield over the Governor’s Office and Legislature.

On Tuesday, voters in Monterey County, the state’s fourth-largest oil-producing county, passed Measure Z to ban fracking and other dangerous extraction techniques. Measure Z also phases out toxic wastewater injection and prohibits new oil wells in the county.

Monterey is the sixth California county to ban fracking. The measure won with almost 56 percent of the vote, despite supporters being outspent 30 to one by oil companies, who spent over $5 million. The No on Z spending came directly from Chevron and Aera, the two biggest companies operating in the San Ardo fields, according to Julie Light of Food & Water Watch.

“We congratulate the people of Monterey County for banning fracking and protecting California’s water, agriculture, and public health,” said Adam Scow, California Director of Food & Water Watch. “This campaign proves that everyday people can defeat Big Oil’s millions, even in a place where it is actively drilling. We look forward to seeing Californians build on this momentum towards winning a statewide ban on fracking.”

Scow said residents put Measure Z on the ballot after county supervisors in 2015 rejected the unanimous recommendation by the planning commission to enact a moratorium on fracking and wastewater injection.

”While oil companies have fracked in Monterey County, current production in the county’s San Ardo oil field relies on cyclic steam injection, a process that uses massive amounts of water containing toxic chemicals and generates significant greenhouse gas pollution. Measure Z bans this environmentally destructive type of extreme extraction,” according to a joint press release from Food & Water Watch and the Center for Biological Diversity.

The groups said many wells in the county re-inject toxin-laden oil wastewater, contaminating the aquifers below. Oil companies have been improperly injecting toxic oil wastewater into local aquifers that were supposed to be protected under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Measure Z will phase out wastewater injection to ensure that such disasters will not be repeated.

"David beat Goliath in Monterey County's stunning victory against oil industry pollution," said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity. "Despite spending millions, oil companies couldn't suppress this grassroots campaign. This triumph against fracking will inspire communities across California and the whole country to stand up to this toxic industry.”

Siegel added, “The grassroots Protect Monterey County coalition built a powerful alliance of businesses, labor, farmers students, Latinos, homeowners and environmental organizations. In the days leading up to the election, coalition members fanned out across the county going door to door to drum up support for the measure.”

During the campaign, Yes Measure Z supporters reported stolen signs and intimidation tactics by the No on Z campaign. (www.montereycountyweekly.com/…)

The Big Oil Astroturf group Monterey County Citizens for Energy Independence opposed this initiative and helped to launch the No on Measure Z campaign. The Monterey County Hospitality Association and Chevron also opposed the proposal.

Sabrina Lockhart, a spokesperson for Monterey County Citizens for Energy Independence, said, "Oil production has been a vital part of the Monterey County economy for more than 60 years. California already has the strictest environmental regulations in place."

The group also argued that oil extraction and fracking industry in Monterey County generate 1,651 jobs, $242.4 million in business revenue, and $136.6 million in state and local taxes.

Robin Fleming, a spokesperson for Chevron, said that the state regulations on fracking established by Senate Bill 4 were enough. Fleming said, “A ballot initiative is a waste of taxpayers’ money for something that is not needed.”

Congratulations to the great coalition of grassroots activists that worked so hard on this campaign during a presidential election that was among the nastiest and most vitriolic in U.S. history!

Failure of Governor and Legislature to ban fracking statewide made county bans necessary

In spite of California’s “green” image, the state is the third largest oil producer in the nation, right behind North Dakota (second) and Texas (first) . The state’s regulatory apparatus has been completely captured by Big Oil, Big Ag and other corporate interests, resulting in the need for grassroots anti-fracking activists to ban fracking on the local level.

The California Oil Lobby remains the biggest spender in the 2015-16 legislative session, spending an amazing $32.4 million so far. "That’s the equivalent of dropping $50,750 EVERY DAY since January 1, 2015," reported Stop Fooling California, stopfoolingca.org

The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) has spent a total of $16,619,272 in the first seven quarters of the 2015-2016 session, the most of any lobbying organization. (cal-access.sos.ca.gov/...)

Jerry Brown is one of the most oil industry-friendly governors in recent California history. In September, the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) opened an investigation into the California Democratic Party in response to a report by a prominent consumer group claiming that the party acted as a “laundry machine” to funnel donations from oil, energy and utility companies to Brown’s 2014 election campaign.

In her letter to the Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog, Galena West, Chief of the FPPC’s Enforcement Division, said the division “will investigate the California Democratic Party for alleged violations of the Political Reform Act’s campaign reporting provisions resulting from information contained in your sworn complaint (Brown’s Dirty Hands Report.)”

Consumer Watchdog released Brown’s Dirty Hands on August 10, 2016, at a time when Brown faces increasing criticism from environmental, consumer and public interest groups regarding administration policies they say favor oil companies, energy companies and utilities over fish, water, people and the environment.

The report tabulated donations totaling $9.8 million dollars to Jerry Brown’s campaigns, causes, and initiatives, and to the California Democratic Party since he ran for Governor from 26 energy companies with business before the state, according to Court. The companies included the state’s three major investor-owned utilities, as well as Occidental, Chevron, and NRG.

The report alleges that energy companies donated $4.4 million to the Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party gave $4.7 million to Brown’s re-election between 2011 and 2014.

To read Brown’s Dirty Hands, go here: www.consumerwatchdog.org/...