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Mendocino County Today: Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017

By AVA News Service on January 26, 2017

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DOROTHY MARIE CAGLE

Dorothy Marie Cagle, known as Nannie by her family, passed away peacefully in her home on December 21, 2016 surrounded by loved ones. Dorothy was born on April 18, 1920 in San Francisco, California and spent her youth in the Bay Area.

She met the love of her life James in San Francisco where he was stationed during World War II. They were married in 1945 and spent 66 wonderful years together until James' passing in 2011.

Dorothy and Jim moved to Ukiah in 1955 when Jim opened a sawmill in Philo. When it burned down a few years later Dorothy and Jim opened a lumberyard in Ukiah where they worked side by side for over 25 years.

She was a woman working in a man’s world where she held her own with her strength, determination, tenacity and business sense. Dorothy was very involved with the Dolphin Swim Club and was instrumental in making the new city pool a reality. She was also a active member of the Soroptimist Club and worked tirelessly for their causes. Dorothy and Jim enjoyed socializing and dancing with their many friends. They also enjoyed traveling, visiting many countries, always interested in people’s cultures and new experiences. Dorothy was always sharp and witty and loved time with her family.

Nannie is survived by her daughter Annette Groenendaal, granddaughters Jessica Groenendaal and Sydney Thrana (Austin) and great grandsons Matteo and Colton. She also left behind her "kids" Rick and Jane Cupples and "surrogate daughter" Pamela Reisfelt Hughes.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Eversole Mortuary.

* * *

LITTLE DOG SAYS, “Can this guy Trump get any worse?”

* * *

IN 'N OUT BURGER opened in Ukiah today. Located on North State where the famous landmark Fjord's stood for many years, fast food gourmets flooded the latest chain restaurant to put down in our chain-heavy County seat.

* * *

MUCH CONSTERNATION at AVA headquarters Wednesday afternoon when our cyber-link was suddenly severed at 3:30 just as we were beginning to assemble the evening's posts. A vaguely accented call center voice soon reached out to the 500 Boonville customers abandoned by AT&T to assure us we would be restored to full global reach within 48 hours. The voice, from somewhere in Missouri, Mumbai, El Salvador, the Philippines or, for all we knew, Philo, commented that he wasn't allowed to "divulge that information" — his location.  A prompt recon of Boonville revealed two tech trucks south of town near Pennyroyal Farms working on an apparently downed line, and by 7:50pm we re-joined the global village and went back to work.

* * *

ALARMING DECREASE IN ALBION SCHOOL STUDENTS PROMPTS MEETING

About 35 concerned residents & educators, as well as Mendocino school board members, met at the Albion School to discuss dropping enrollment.

Last year there were 26 students at the school, there are nine this year and next year it is projected to have just three students.

The audience talked of possibly operating a pre-school - there are many, many pre-schoolers in Albion according to those present.

MUSD Superintendent Jason Morse made it clear the school was NOT closing.

But the message was it may (possibly) be "repurposed."

There was also talk of possibly utilizing the school for an "after-school" program as well as having more community "public" uses for the school.

This initial meeting to discuss possibilities for the school lasted 1.5 hours - and you can bet there will be quite a bit more discussion in the next couple months.

In the near future it is expected there will be a parent survey as well as perhaps a school trustee ad-hoc committee to address this issue.

One curious note, the average age of those in attendance at the meeting, to be kind, was about 55 - there were only a handful of parents with school-age children. And one couple added they were leaving for Oregon.

If the school is to continue in some form, Albion parents will have to more actively involved.

(Courtesy, MendocinoSportsPlus)

* * *

KIMBERLEY, YOU WON'T KNOW ROMANCE UNTIL YOU'VE SPENT A NIGHT IN BOONVILLE!

Subject: Mendocino Named Most Romantic Getaway

Hi Anderson Valley Advertiser Team,

I’m writing to let you know Mendocino was named one of the best places for a romantic getaway in a feature article by Expedia Viewfinder.

This article features cities recommended by couple travel bloggers. According to the experts, cities were chosen for their scenery, romantic activities and tables-for-two to determine the hottest cities for romance.

Full article here: 14 of the most romantic US getaways:

https://viewfinder.expedia.com/features/14-romantic-us-getaways/ )

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner I thought you'd like to write story for your readers and share with your social followers.

Please let me now if you have any questions for your story.

Thanks!

Kimberly Deese

Communications Specialist

http://www.meetpacific.com/

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PRESS DEMOCRAT SUED FOR LIBEL OVER COVERAGE OF CAMPAIGN SPENDING

by Paul Payne

A Santa Rosa businessman and his son-in-law have filed a libel lawsuit against The Press Democrat, alleging they were defamed in a series of stories about unprecedented campaign spending in last year’s Santa Rosa City Council election.

In a lawsuit filed last month in Sonoma County Superior Court, Bill Gallaher, a banker and developer, and his son-in-law, Scott Flater, claim their reputations were harmed by four stories published in October and November detailing $195,000 in independent expenditures reported by Flater to support three council candidates.

The suit alleged the stories contained statements falsely suggesting that Gallaher may have provided the money to Flater. Gallaher denies he was the source of the money.

A lawyer for The Press Democrat said the newspaper stands by its reporting on the record independent expenditures in the City Council race. The paper investigated the origin of the unsolicited money, citing experts, other candidates and a related complaint to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission, attorney Thomas R. Burke said.

“The Press Democrat is being sued for fairly and accurately reporting on the source of $195,000 in political contributions to the City Council election. As a part of its reporting, the newspaper made repeated efforts to interview Mr. Flater and Mr. Gallaher about the source of the contributions, but they repeatedly refused to comment. The Press Democrat will vigorously defend its reporting on this matter of significant public interest,” Burke said.

Gallaher and Flater seek unspecified damages from the newspaper’s owner, Sonoma Media Investments, staff writer Kevin McCallum and David McCuan, a Sonoma State University political science professor who was quoted in the stories.

“Plaintiff William Gallaher has never used anyone, including family members, to make political contributions on his behalf,” the suit said.

Michael Miller, an attorney for Gallaher and Flater, said Monday neither he nor his clients would comment.

The fall race for six council seats was marked by historic spending. More than a quarter-million dollars poured in from outside groups and individuals that spent money independently to influence local races — more money than was raised by all six candidates combined.

Under state law, people or organizations can spend unlimited amounts as long as they report the contributions and don’t work directly with candidates or campaigns.

Flater, who listed his occupation as homemaker in campaign filings, reported spending $195,000 to support Ernesto Olivares and Jack Tibbetts, who won, and Don Taylor, who did not.

Starting in October, the newspaper reported the steep cash outlay for mailers and other materials that drew widespread speculation about Flater’s motives.

One story quoted McCuan, who said Gallaher has a pattern of “sprinkling money around” to family members. A second story reported allegations in a new complaint to the FPPC over the independent expenditures. The FPPC complaint, filed in November by Santa Rosa contractor Chris Grabill, alleges the spending by Flater was financed with money that has been “laundered and bundled” by others. The complaint remains under investigation.

The lawsuit by Gallaher and Flater maintains the allegations are untrue, causing “upset, embarrassment, humiliation and anguish.”

It accused the newspaper of acting with malice in a deliberate and intentional manner to injure the two men. Gallaher, a Santa Rosa developer and chairman of First Community Bank, has built hundreds of homes in Oakmont and Fountaingrove including luxury senior living facilities. He also owns property in east Santa Rosa on Elnoka Lane that he has been trying to develop for more than a decade.

(Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

* * *

CATCH OF THE DAY, January 25, 2017

Esquivel, Fabyunkey, Hoaglin

EDWARD ESQUIVEL, Willits. Ammo possession by prohibited person, controlled substance, paraphernalia, probation revocation.

JESSICA FABYUNKEY, Ukiah. Domestic assault.

GEORGE HOAGLIN SR., Ukiah. Touching intimate parts of another who is medically incapacitated or institutionalized.

Maxfield, Sanderson, Wilson

JUSTIN MAXFIELD, Willits. Failure to appear, probation revocation.

CODY SANDERSON, Laytonville. Probation revocation.

ERICA WILSON, Ukiah. ID theft, failure to appear.

* * *

THE IDEA OF DEMOCRACY (JANUARY 20, 2017)

Dear AVA,

The self absorbed Me Generation of

Capitalistic Consumerism are a perversion

Of Anarchy, in the service of Oligarchy.

All the while, Democracy liberates the

ability of mediocrity to dominate creativity.

Then a Dictatorship of the Intelligentsia

sells War as Peace, Slavery as Freedom,

and Ignorance as Strength.

Finally, the Big Box version of reality becomes

the skid marks of Plutocracy as it hurls us

off the Fiscal Cliff.

Best of Luck!

Ross Dendy, Elk

* * *

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SWEARING-IN was more of a White Lives Matter rally than an inauguration.

There were no lofty words or new thoughts, just a polished and toned-down collection of his catchphrases. What was amazing was that he condemned every lawmaker surrounding him, Republican and Democrat alike.

It wasn’t so much populism as nationalism. His three-point program of put America first, buy American and hire American was delivered without a single smile.

And he was wearing the longest tie I’ve ever seen.

I got a real kick out of all the Democrats boycotting the inauguration. Truth be told, there were probably just as many Republicans who ducked out on the two inaugurations of former President Barack Obama.

They just didn’t brag about it.

I know, because back then I used my contacts to score inaugural tickets from absent Republicans for my Democratic friends who were dying to go. I was the StubHub for Democrats nationwide.

— Willie Brown

* * *

AUDITIONS at the Mendocino Theatre Company...

Auditions for the Mendocino Theatre Company's production of OR,--a neo-Restoration comedy by Liz Duffy Adams--will be held on January 30th and 31st at 6:00pm. Three parts are available: 2 women, 1 man, ages late 20's to late 40's. For more information, please phone director Betty Abramson at 707-671-5493

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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STAFF STEP UP TWITTER CAMPAIGN AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP

by Matthew Daly

WASHINGTON — The National Park Service employees' Twitter campaign against President Donald Trump spread to other parks on Wednesday, with tweets on climate change and a reminder that Japanese Americans were forcibly interned in camps and parks during World War II.

A day after three climate-related tweets sent out by Badlands National Park were deleted, other park accounts have sent out tweets that appear to defy Trump. One, by Redwoods National Park in California, notes that redwood groves are nature's No. 1 carbon sink, which capture greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.

(AP)

* * *

TRUMP IS NUTS

Paul Krugman's tweet:

"An American first: a president who was obviously mentally ill the moment he took office. Thanks, Comey."

After Trump's July 6 speech last year, James Fallows made a similar diagnosis:

The half-hour of Trump’s performance was objectively as alarming, in mental-balance terms, as anything we have seen from a major party candidate in modern history. I can’t find an online video of the whole 30 minutes that has acceptable audio quality. But imagine the mosquito clip extended at full length and you have the idea.

I defy anyone to watch these 30 minutes and feel comfortable with the idea of Donald Trump making the countless judgment calls required of a president. This man is not well. But he is the man the GOP is about to nominate for the presidency.

He may not be clinically insane, but Fallows is both more general and more specific when he says "This man is not well." Trump has been the boss since his father died. Except for his critics in the media, there was no one close to him to tell him he was full of shit. Intellectually he's led a sheltered life. The Truth is whatever the boss says it is.

The day after the election, Jonathan Chait told us what we were in for:

...The Trump years will be a horror...The Republicans will pass massive regressive tax cuts; they will take access to medical care from the poor and sick; they will deregulate the financial industry and fossil-fuel emitters.

And that is just the beginning, the best-case scenario. Trump is an impulsive, egotistical bully, intolerant of criticism and dissent and drawn to the ruthless application of power. Many liberals have been warning that American democracy is far weaker than we believed, and this was before any of us imagined a monster like Trump commanding the Executive branch.

Trump will shake the Republic to its foundations. And the Republicans will shake it with him. If there is a central point I tried to drive home, it is that Trumpism grows out of a decades-long trend toward authoritarianism as the dominant tendency of Republican politics. I don’t know what American government will look like after four years of Trump — or if it will only last four years, or even if it will only last eight...

The "horror" is just beginning. The last time I was really scared about what the federal government was doing was during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. I've learned since that only President Kennedy stood between his military advisers and an all-out attack on Cuba that risked war with the Soviet Union.

(Rob Anderson, District 5 Diary)

* * *

ON LINE COMMENTS OF THE DAY:

Every news article in the UK press with a photo of any of his team has a middle aged man in a suit and tie. They could use ‘stock photo’ of man in suit instead I think they should just put photos of puppies or something nice instead.

* * *

Totally agreed. Photos of the grim-faced Great Man with his phalanx
 of grim-faced serious men moving boldly here and there, signing this edict, going over there to Tweet some serious stuff, or talk to more grim-faced serious men about seriously serious stuff. Wow, these guys are on the ball. You can tell just by looking at them.

* * *

LOBSTER PEOPLE

Editor:

While I was watching the inauguration of television personality Donald Trump today, for some reason I was reminded of a day in my past. I was about three or four years old.

This day sticks in my memory because my mom was working across the street at a polling place in someone's garage. This was 1950s Southern California suburbia.

Bored and cold, I wandered back home to find my dad had returned from work and was eating dinner by himself (which had never happened before). Not only that, to my simultaneous shock and horror he appeared to be eating a giant insect at the family table! It was bright red with big eyes and feelers and those giant wicked looking claws. It was of course a lobster. But I had never seen one.

When I asked what that thing was, he told me and said this was what wealthy people often ate and insisted I try it. I vociferously objected. This did not go well.

At any rate, at some point I overcame my fear and loathing of the display before me and asked my father who he was for in the race (President Eisenhower versus Adlai Stevenson).

My dad, a man of few words, said, "Ahh, they're all a bunch of plutocrats." End of story. Or is it?

Paul Hedges

San Francisco

* * *

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

by Valeria Luiselli.

(Translated by Louis S. Bedrock)

The clandestine civilian network in the southern United States that was organized in the nineteenth century to help slaves escape from the plantations was called The Underground Railroad.  Such a train never existed, but railroad jargon was employed as a secret code  to run the network:  the slaves were “passengers”, for example, and the sanctuaries were “stations”.

I decided to take with me the majestic novel of Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad, to read during the slow bus ride between New York and Washington last Saturday which I realized with other friends to participate in the protest.  Of course I never read even half a line (reality overwhelmed us).  But the novel accompanied me as a sort of a good luck charm.  I carried it through the crowded streets of Washington, among the banners and slogans, among hundreds of thousands of beautiful faces and fully committed bodies.

When the march ended, our feet swollen, our spirits aglow, we boarded a train at a station behind the White House.  As we squeezed together in the carriage, the voice of the operator gave the same instructions as always: move quickly, don’t block the doors, etcetera.  The doors closed and the train resumed its journey.

But later, breaking all protocols, the operator returned to the microphone. She said:

—Ladies, this is train operator Beard speaking.  Yes, beard—the same word that means male facial hair—.  But don’t laugh.  Or go ahead and laugh, because it is ridiculous.  Ladies, today you made history.  And I am very proud to be part of that history.  I want to say:  Thank you very much. The rest you already know.  Behave yourselves, etc. …

We took a few seconds to react to the operator's words.  But little by little the relief of laughter, expressions of gratitude, shouts, embraces, and shrieks of joy erupted.

There are hard years ahead:  years as long, as dark, and as deep as Washington’s subway tunnels.  There will be a lonely and confused cretin shouting in the hallways of the White House.  It is necessary to laugh at him because he is ridiculous.  But it is also necessary to listen.  Because right below will be the operator Beard, the discreet pirate of the counter-current, running her train.  In the obscure bowels of the empire, the soft echoes of the laughter and quiet, powerful voices of thousands will continue to reverberate.  And the operator Beard will be lighting the way for our underground railroads.

* * *

PREA SIGNING CEREMONY

Sen. Kennedy was the co-sponsor in the Senate of the Prison Rape Elimination Act.  I don't remember who the man in the rear is. (Tom Cahill — Right)

* * *

NATURE NOTE

Bears--Woodlands Wildlife

This is the hardest time of year for bears (and all wildlife) to find food, and the bears along the coast do not go into deep hibernation, they are often awake and looking for food this time of year, and if you hadn't eaten in several months, you'd be pretty hungry too.  Bears are omnivore (eat anything) opportunists, and they are usually afraid of people.  If you know there's a bear in your area, carry a noisemaker of some kind--a pot and metal spoon works, a whistle, one of those boat horns you hear at football games.  Don't go wandering around in the woods--stay on roads, if it's close to your house, grab a pot and bang it and yell at the bear--they really are kind of timid.  Will they eat cats and dogs?--yes, if the opportunity arises. Will they chase and kill a small pet?--usually small pets are pretty fast runners and can get away from a bear--unless the dog actually approaches and starts to threaten the bear.  I don't think a bear would actually go out looking for a small dog or cat, and they're noisy enough that a pet would hear them coming. That said, it is very possible the bear, or a mountain lion or bobcat, or a raccoon got the cat.  I keep our trash in a freezer in the garage, until collection day and the local bear hasn't bothered it (yet).  People on the east coast live with bears around them all the time, and unless cornered or threatened, they seem to leave people alone. Trapping and removing?  It is illegal in California to release any animal anywhere but where it was found, therefore trap and release is one of those urban myths we all want to believe.  The local trapper can trap a bear if it can be shown that it's a danger to humans or has killed livestock, but it will be 'dispatched' (agency speak for shot or killed) before it is removed from the trap.

— Ronnie James

* * *

LISTEN UP!

Breaking It Down — Resting comfortably in the fourth dimension directing energy Outward to intervene and otherwise destroy the stupidity and The confusion which authors so much of the political decisions Being made on the earth plane which are imperiling the big blue Pearl and are continuing to alter the global climate mechanism That once regulated but no more and no less of a concern is the Decline of species because without biodiversity the weave's weak And teeming hot overcrowded cultural death zones appear but worse Yet are the exterminations carried out by one's own, subtler than The big madness of war but declared by governments to be just as Necessary to maintain the health of the suburbs needing protection From the invasion of the frantic who are desperate for money and Anything else that keeps them in motion in a lost civilization more Existential than postmodern actually, wholly vacuous and thinner Than ocean mist (minus the beauty of course), now that the panic Button has been pressed and billions of moving shadows in a maze With neon lighting the passageways are frustrated to find no exit The walls are always there, the walls within their minds and walls That form the maze and walls guaranteeing social alienation for all Drugs do nothing and it's kinda impossible for the individual psyche Which is an entangled fishing reel that strains and strains to be Useful in a hopelessly absurd situation making the day wasted and The night even weirder in the ghoulish landscape of urban sprawl Choking the land and the vast oceans are full of consumer trash and Military submarines mingle with the sea life far below the waves Which support surfers and kayakers and happy families water skiing And the volleyball players are on the beach and smiling sun bathers Read books and the cool kids dance on the breakwater and there is Always a lot of beer chillin' in the shade made just for you and me!

Craig Louis Stehr

Email: CraigStehr@inbox.com

PS. This is anti-copyright, so please share freely with the third dimension.

* * *

POETRYMUSIC, “Where Words & Music Meet”

a World-Class Chamber Jazz Duo & Poetry Performance

Saturday, February 4th 3 pm

With Colleen O'Brien - voice / cello

Chris Lee - vibes / percussion

PoetryMusic is a world-class chamber jazz duo dedicated to performing poetry that has been set to music and the poetry is sung.

This multi-media performance includes an accompanying slide presentation with each poem projected on the screen along with photographic images so that the audience can follow the written word with the poem being sung. Following the program, we open the floor up to questions, comments and discussion.

A sample performance may include -

*    Several original compositions set to Japanese and Chinese poems by Li Po, Toshiyuki and others. Four short poems of Emily Dickinson and Rumi's 'Where Everything's Music'

*   Two wonderful settings of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 (My Mistress' Eyes) and Sonnet 60 (Like As The Waves) by Mark Miller and Sonnet 43 (When Most My Eyes Do Wink ) by Rufus Wainright.

*    American poet Robert Creeley has had many of his poems set to music by jazz bassist Steve Swallow. We perform two of these: Echo and She was Young.

*    The amazing young English composer/arranger Jacob Collier's setting of "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.

*    Zen/ Beat poet Gary Snyder provides the inspiration for a voice and percussion improvisation on his poem Wave. Also a beautiful paean to America from Jack Kerouac's last paragraph of On The Road set to music by composer Peter Sommer.

*   Composer/ Pianist Fred Hersch's beautiful setting from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass - 'The Sleepers'.

Other poets include e.e. cummings, Archibald Macleish, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Pablo Neruda, Rainer Maria Rilke, Robert Bly and Paula Sergi.

Light refreshments will be served. For more information * please contact Melissa at the Ukiah Library: 467-6434 or carrm@co.mendocino.ca.us

* * *

‘THE FIDDLE AND THE DRUM’

And so once again

My dear Johnny my dear friend

And so once again you are fightin' us all

And when I ask you why

You raise your sticks and cry, and I fall

Oh, my friend

How did you come

To trade the fiddle for the drum?

You say I have turned

Like the enemies you've earned

But I can remember

All the good things you are

And so I ask you please

Can I help you find the peace and the star?

Oh, my friend

What time is this

To trade the handshake for the fist?

And so once again

Oh, America my friend

And so once again

You are fighting us all

And when we ask you why

You raise your sticks and cry and we fall

Oh, my friend

How did you come

To trade the fiddle for the drum?

You say we have turned

Like the enemies you've earned

But we can remember

All the good things you are

And so we ask you please

Can we help you find the peace and the star?

Oh my friend

We have all come

To fear the beating of your drum.

–Joni Mitchell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6z79WMOPtk

* * *

CHANGEFEST SPEAKERS Rally for Driscoll's Boycott, Against Domestic Violence & for Fracking Ban

by Dan Bacher

A diverse array of Sacramento community groups participated in the "ChangeFest: A Climate Mobilization" rally on the north steps of the Capitol on January 21 from 11 am to 3 pm, as part of a week of anti- Trump street protests in Sacramento centered around the Presidential Inauguration.

Speakers and musicians covered a range of issues, ranging from violence against women, to the Driscoll’s boycott in support of indigenous farmworkers in Mexico, to successful campaigns to ban fracking in San Benito and Monterey Counties, to the No DAPL struggle at Standing Rock, to the successful struggle by the City of Vallejo to stop oil trains from running through the city.

Musicians performing at the rally included Raging Grannies, Veins to Wires, Cresca Band, Steven Payan and Mentes Diferentes, Bicicletas por la Paz, and the Sacramento Labor Chorus.

Fatima Garcia spoke about the Driscoll's Boycott that supports the struggle by indigenous farmworkers in Baja California, in light of the bigger picture of neoliberal policies that are ravaging the world and indigenous communities in particular.

“It’s empowering to see the community take action against neoliberalism, inequality and taking a stand for justice,” said Garcia. “Borders around the world are being militarized and states are turning immigration into scapegoats all for global capitalism. The workers here in the US and workers in Mexico are not to blame for the lost of jobs; it’s greed by the corporations that value profit over people.”

“Immigrant labor is extremely important for transnational corporations economy such as Driscoll’s, the largest distributor of berries in the world,” said Garcia. “Driscoll’s justifies the pay of $6 a day for ten- plus working hours in San Quintin, Baja California, 5 hours from the Mexican border in San Diego California.”

“Agricultural workers are the sector most exploited and forgotten yet one of the most vital for survival around the world,” she explained. “Over 80,000 agricultural workers, a great portion of them women that harvest the fields to put food on our table, went on strike in March 2015 denouncing the inhumane living conditions by transnational corporations like Driscoll’s. Women agricultural workers are being sexually harassed in the field without any legal representation instead retaliation by the employer and threats of losing their jobs when they speak up.”

”In May agricultural workers faced federal and state repression leaving many elderly women injured by rubber bullets and tear gas. The federal and state authorities went into indigenous communities started shooting at children, adolescents, and elders; women, men, boys and girls,” noted Garcia.

She also talked about the devastating impact that NAFTA has had on these communities.

“The massive displacement of farmers in Mexico was unleashed by the North American Free Trade Agreement, also known as NAFTA, which completely ruined the market for small farmers. Before NAFTA small farmers were able to self sustain and survive in their communities; now families are forced to migrate because of the necessity to survive! Many of the agricultural workers in San Quintin, Baja California, are indigenous people of Oaxaca that speak their native language and are forced to leave their communities in search of work. In solidarity with agricultural workers that work the fields from sunrise to sunset and put food on our table!" she concluded.

Board members of Women Take Back the Night — Tina Marie, Maryanne, Dianna, Sunny, and Jen —  spoke on continuing violence against women across the nation that threatens to get only worse under the Trump administration.

The facts and statistics Tina Marie outlined on domestic violence and sexual assault are very alarming.

  • “There are 9 states where medical insurance doesn’t cover domestic violence,” she said.  “The coverage is denied because it is considered a pre-existing condition.”
  • On Indian Reservations, 90%  of sexual assaults reported on native women are committed by white males.
  • According to a report by Amnesty International, 7/8 of the woman farmworkers in the U.S. interviewed reported sexual abuse and/or assault by their employers.
  • In Mississippi the “whore law” provides that if a unmarried woman has a second child by another man, she can be incarcerated for a year, said Tina Marie.

“The United Nations has declared rape as a weapon of war and yet the United States government continues to allow the legal rape of women here in this country,” she explained. “Over half a million women go missing every year in the United States alone. In addition, 700,000 women are illegally sterilized every year without their consent.  Most of them are incarcerated women of color.“

“It’s sickening,” she emphasized. “Nothing has changed here in the U.S. I recently went to Standing Rock to  protect the water from the Dakota Access Pipeline. During the arrests of water defenders by police, women were strip searched, fondled, put in dog kennels naked and not allowed food or water by law enforcement. The government has no accountability.”

She also criticized use of our tax dollars for the “exhorbitant militarization” of local, state and federal law enforcement authorities. “The money is not used to protect women from violence or to prosecute child abuse,” she said.

“With the new administration taking lead in the country, we expect to expect the crimes against women to increase. Trump has openly exhibited misogynist behavior and has no intention of supporting equality for women and instead is retracting the progress that has been made for women over the past several decades,” said Tina Marie.

Saeeda Islam, of Pakistani and Mexican descent, told the crowd he she decided to wear the hijab as “my first feminist declaration when I was 18 years old as an act of liberating myself.”

“I liberated myself from the pressure to conform to the societal norms of beauty,” she said.

Andy Hsia-Coron of San Benito County Rising reported on the successful campaign by local activists to ban fracking in San Benito County in 2014.  He said they won by over 50 percent of the vote, in spite of the oil industry outspending them by 96 to 1, making San Benito the first county to ban fracking in California.

“In November 2016, the voters passed a resolution to ban  fracking, acidization and oil injection in Monterey County, the fourth biggest oil producing county in the state,” he said.

Elizabeth Patterson, the Mayor of Vallejo, discussed the successful campaign to block oil trains carrying Bakken Crude Oil from going through the city, and outlined seven concrete things that people can work for in order to replace fossil fuel with green energy:

  • Support a resolution of sustainability based on science.
  • Set a cap on all refinery and power plant emissions.
  • Support a carbon tax that is fair and progressive for disadvantaged people.
  • Create or join a community choice aggregation to 50 or 10 percent green energy
  • Hold the legislature and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) accountable for their rate policies and benefits.
  • Lobby for and get an initiative to obtain transit funds for operating and maintaining affordable affordable transit.
  • Make campaign contributions over a certain amount a disqualifier for legislative decision makers.

Marge Grow-Eppard, Miwok, began the event with a prayer.

Galeson EagleStar, a member of the Lakota Nation and the American Indian Movement, reported back from Standing Rock after spending 4 months there.

Betsy Reifsnider, the Bishop's Climate Ambassador, Sacramento, discussed the Pope's Encyclical on Climate.

Desiree Rojas, LACLAA, talked about the relationship and connections between women's liberation, anti-racism, and the climate justice justice movement.

Chris Brown, Sacramento Oil Trains Coalition, discussed the campaign to stop Phillips 66 from getting a permit in San Luis Obispo County.

At the end of the event, I briefly spoke about the enormous power that the Western States Petroleum Association and Big Oil wield in California politics. For the transcript of my speech, go here: www.elkgrovenews.net/ …

During the event, Dr. Janice Kirsch of the Climate Mobilization, discussed why activists need to organize rapidly across the board now

The ChangeFest took place concurrently with the Women's March from Southside Park to the Capitol, where over 20,000  participated; a number of people spent time at both events.

On Friday, many of the same activists participating in the ChangeFest protested for several hours opposing the presidency of Donald Trump – including marching from four different locations to converge together at a big Capitol rally.

The ChangeFest was part of the Trump Inauguration week protests held throughout the U.S. – including Sacramento, where the coalition of local community groups held” first-of-a-kind protests and marches of 144 hours (#The144)  surrounding Trump and local issues that already exist and will likely become worse under Trump’s reign,” according to organizers.

"We are challenging not just Donald Trump’s presidency and the reek of fascism that permeates it, but the institutionalized system of supremacy that has enabled and empowered him. This series of events is the first of its kind, and will definitely not be the last," said #The144 coalition in a statement.

The Coalition includes many groups, including Black Lives Matter Sacramento, HELLA (Health Economics Life Liberty for All), Democratic Socialists of America Sacramento, NoDAPL Sacramento, PSL (Party for Socialism and Liberation) Sacramento, Occupy Sacramento and Community Dinner Project.

Original Call for ChangeFest: A Climate Mobilization: 2016 is already predicted to be the warmest year on record, and much warmer than any previous year. A global call has arisen for a mobilization to halt our slide toward irreversible climate catastrophe.

As part of this call, one step is to sign a pledge to help launch a Climate Mobilization similar to the efforts during World War II that completely transformed the US economy in less than four years. Now is the time for such an effort, and we are holding an event at Capitol Park in Sacramento to launch local efforts to get people to pledge to mobilize for our future. A number of local groups focused on climate change have formed the Sacramento Climate Coalition to put on a pre- election event promoting the mobilization.

While California has been a leader in greenhouse gas reductions, we need to do more. Our current state plans show that the rate of future reductions needs to double, and yet as we have seen, such as with Cap n Trade, we are barely meeting 1/2 that rate. There is much that our social and political structures and individuals can do to accelerate our efforts. But it will take a "We're all in this together," attitude and actions to achieve our goals.

Here are links to the pledge, www.theclimatemobilization.org/...,

and to an article explaining the need for a global mobilization: newrepublic.com/…

The event, called ChangeFest: A Climate Mobilization, will include California traditional dancers, music, workshops on living a low carbon lifestyle and being effective in policy forums. We’ll have kid- oriented activities as well as food. In other words this is a family- friendly event.

 

2 Comments

  2. Jim Updegraff January 26, 2017

    Trump isn’t nuts, he is dislusional.

    Reply

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