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Posts tagged as “essays”

Mendo Weed, The Sound of Music, and Money

Many of the articles about cannabis that appear in the AVA are so chock full of bad news that they would depress even Julie Andrews, who plays Maria von Trapp, an eternal optimist, in the…

Screenwriters in the 30s

Given the scary nature of pretty much everything these days (a raging pandemic amidst widespread disbelief in science; a ruling oligarchy dead set on destroying anything worth living for; Attorney General Barr’s “anarchist jurisdictions,” which…

Flashbacks

IN THE DELUGE of unhappy news this week was another airliner crash in Indonesia. The plane was flying from Jakarta to the Borneo city of Pontianak. Pontianak! In the year of living dangerously, 1965, I…

Indian Schools In Mendocino County

Ever heard of Indian Schools in Mendocino County? Why were they needed? Why were there a dozen of them around the County? Investigating this phenomenon from a century ago, please understand all natives were referred…

Oakdale’s Finest

I was fortunate some 50 years ago to be a member of the California Agricultural Leadership Program. I joined 29 other upcoming agriculture leaders for a two-year pro-bono program that included seminars at four agriculture…

Kayo v. Willie (The Main Event)

In November 2000, Al Gore and George W. Bush were running for President, and so was Ralph Nader.  On the Saturday before the election Ross Mirkarimi, Nader's California campaign manager, called me at home to…

The Siqueiros and the Gringo

A recent edition of Jeopardy featured Los Tres Grandes, the three famous muralists who challenged the social order in Mexico in the mid-20th Century. The correct response was Diego Rivera, the best known of the…

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