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MCT: Sunday, June 28, 2020

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A COOLING TREND will continue today across the interior, accompanied by gusty northerly winds in the afternoon and evening. Marine stratus will give way to a cool and windy day along the coast. Inland temperatures will warm heading through the upcoming week, with areas of morning low clouds followed by some sunshine and breezy afternoons at the coast. (NWS)

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UKIAH SHELTER PET OF THE WEEK

If a happy-go-lucky and social dog is what you're looking for—Sister is your girl! Sister loves her stuffy toys and carries them around with her, content in the knowledge she is keeping them safe. Although she came in with an unknown history, we can see that Sister has had some training. This adorable sweetie knows sit, down and shake. Sister does a bit of jumping up, so some fine tuning/training would be good. Sister is an active dog, and an active family would be a perfect fit for her. Sister is 2 years old and weighs a delightful 49 pounds.

To see our canine and feline guests, and for information about our services, programs, events, and updates about the county covid-19 closure and the shelter, visit: mendoanimalshelter.com. We're on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mendoanimalshelter/ For information about adoptions please call 707-467-6453. 

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THE DEATH OF MICKEY

by Bill Kimberlin

Many years ago this summer, I was standing in the Shield's Cemetery at the graveside services for Mickey Bloyd. It wasn't necessary for me to think back to my high school years in Boonville -- they were all around me. 

Mickey was the youngest and largest of the Bloyd brothers. Mickey had died of natural causes in San Quentin. He had been on death row for a domestic murder and happened to be in the first group of prisoners to transfer off the row when the Supreme Court ruled against the death penalty in the 1970s. 

The Bloyds were known as fighters. Some local wag once said that since there was so little to do in Navarro, where they lived, the Bloyds would just go out into a field and fight. You didn't want to fight with Mickey. His older brother Skippy was notorious for cleaning out a barroom full of loggers up at Happy Camp one time, and Skippy was just a shrimp compared to Mickey. 

While all the guys used the high school barbells, our teacher and coach, Dan Gaffney, had to build a special set for Mickey. The regular ones just weren't big enough. Taking two huge buckets and filling them with cement, Mr. Gaffney created a home-made barbell that was Mickey-size. It may still be out behind the high school gym somewhere. There's probably nobody around anymore that can lift it. 

Mickey and all the Bloyds were pretty much Deependers. They came to Boonville to go to school, frequent the Midway Cafe and that was about it. The Valley was very isolating for a teenager without a car then, as it is today I suppose. He was also a year or two younger than I was and that made a big difference in who you hung out with. 

I had visited the Bloyd ranch quite often as a sort of unwelcome guest of my cousin who was a family friend to Mickey's next oldest brother, David, who everyone called Deede. The Bloyds were an old Valley family like the Rawles, but without the money. They were working class, but respectable because they owned land. Unlike the Rawles, the Bloyds had exploits. This was still a time when Valley mischief was seen as more colorful than criminal. 

There were only two places in the Valley where we could buy beer: The Oaks in Yorkville and a tavern in Comptche. Neither of these places were able to tell if the tallest of us was of age or not and they both had long ago decided to err on the side of the sale. 

Mickey, on the other hand, was adept at liberating cases of beer from the then Floodgate Store and no doubt other establishments in or near Navarro with less than adequate security systems. Those of us with hot-rod cars welcomed the opening of this additional supply line. We certainly weren't about to question its heritage, since it would have been hypocritical to decline stolen beer when its intended purpose was to fuel our drunken drag races up and down the Valley. 

Like all Valley delinquents, we looked up to the myths of the delinquents who had come before us. We were still marveling at the legend of a young man by the name of Kenny McKinney who held the nighttime record from Boonville to Cloverdale on the wrong side of the road with his lights off. He had made it in 28 minutes in something called "The Blue Goose". Now that was something to look up to. 

The best we had ever been able to accomplish was for David Bloyd, myself and my cousin Mike, to turn Gary Robertson's '55 Chevy completely upside down in the middle of Highway 128, right at Farrers' turn. All the beer we had stored on the floorboards came crashing down on us as the car rolled over. 

Trapped in an upside-down car on a blind turn where logging trucks were known to barrel along, we somehow managed to extricate ourselves from the car and immediately began to ditch the remaining contraband beer. Fortunately, we didn't have to worry about the empties, as we had spent the evening tossing them out the windows as we sped up and down the Valley in our usual search for amusement. 

Carefully, but regretfully, we tossed the remaining unopened cans as far as we could into the dark. Unfortunately, we were throwing in the wrong direction and the cans were only traveling about three feet in the air before hitting the bank-side of the road, and immediately and incriminating falling to our feet. Once we had successfully corrected our launch coordinates, and ditched the beer, our worst fears were realized with the arrival of the Valley's only professional law enforcement officer, Russel Troxler, CHP. The Valley Sheriff, Carl Passmore, we knew to be safely home in bed... or so we imagined. 

Officer Troxler actually had our undying respect, based on the fact that his Highway Patrol car could actually lay rubber (squeal tires) when it shifted from second to third gear with...get this, a slush box (automatic transmission). It was a continuous wonder to us that this was even possible. However, we had witnessed this phenomena several times as he would apparently receive a radio call and blast out of downtown Boonville leaving verifiable screech marks on the pavement. 

But this night, as luck would have it, Officer Troxler was on an emergency call now, something about, "Hell's Angels in Cloverdale", he shouted as he merely tossed us flares and roared off. Truly, fortune shined on us. It was not yet midnight and no one was dead or even arrested. Gary was terribly worried though. "My father's gonna kill me", he kept saying. This issue was of considerable concern to us all because parents, unlike police, still held some small vestiges of authority over us. 

Years later I always remembered Gary's father with the nickname, "Fuckin Ukiah". This was because of the fact that he couldn't use a sentence in the English language without saying "fuckin". This made for some rather amusing sentence construction, when nearly every noun was proceeded by the word "fuckin". And it wasn't Ukiah, he said, but "YOU-ki-ah". "Fuckin YOU-ki-ah". 

Now this is not to criticize. Gary's father was from Arkansas, like just about half of the working families in the Valley in those days. Their use of language fascinated me, and years later I came to miss their mangled syntax with all of its colorful, "I ain't got no ..." and "Where's he at?" double negative speak. It's almost as interesting as Ebonics and both have the same Southern regional characteristics. After all, its what adds character and keeps our language fresh, even if part of me also reacts with the fingernails on the blackboard response, when I hear it. 

As for the profanity, my aunt always used to say that my Uncle Avon, whose every other word was the somewhat more acceptable, "Goddamn", wasn't really aware of what his language meant to others. It was as natural to him as his bib overalls, which I never saw him out of except when he went to San Francisco to buy a new car -- Buicks and Oldsmobiles for him and Pink Lincolns for my aunt. Or when they went to Europe and he scratched his name on the wall of the Roman Coliseum with his car keys, "Avon Ray, Philo." 

No, I can't fault any of them. In fact, I still hear one old timer at the drive-in whose use of "goddamn" rivals my uncle's. Except he uses a lot more emphasis. As in, "I closed the GODDAMN gate and walked up to the GODDAMN house" etc. He's a master, just as natural as breathing to him. (Hell, Mark Twain had a swearing room built into his Tiffany decorated mansion in Hartford, Connecticut. I'm not about to argue with the guy who wrote "Huck Finn"). 

Anyway, Gary was worried, so we somehow managed to roll the car over and get in. To our surprise it started right up and everything seemed pretty normal except for our having to sit all scrunched down in the seats, due to the fact that the top was crushed down to about where our shoulders would normally be. About this time, someone had the idea to use our feet to try and push the top back up. This actually seemed to work wonderfully, except for the fact that the next morning we could see the real result, which was a crushed roof with a bunch of lumps in it where we had pushed up our feet. 

I can't remember what happened to that car, although I know Gary's father didn't kill him. And my Aunt said what she always said, which was, "If I ever catch the guy who's selling you kids that beer I'm gonna kill him." 

Well, she never did find out and the fact is we pretty much got it ourselves, with a little help from Mickey. 

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RED-SHOULDERED HAWK

(photo by Larry Wagner)

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FAIR PLAY FOR TOMMY

Letter to the Editor

I can’t believe the letters to the Ukiah Daily Journal editor squawking to stop Tom Hine from writing his column in the Journal. Personally, of all of the local writers of columns, the only two I ever read are Tom Hine and Jim Shields who both only appear in the Sunday Journal. The rest of them, I can’t even force myself to get past the first paragraph.

I think most of these oafs complaining about TWK are upset because Tom Hine pokes fun at them and their far left beliefs, and, with their way overinflated egos, just can’t stand being made fun of.

In my opinion, I believe that most of the reasons that they give to get rid of TWK are, to use a very, very overused word, racist. 

Thank you,

David Anderson

Ukiah


FAIR PLAY FOR TOMMY (2)

Editor,

Freedom of Expression in Perilous Times:

I find disturbing the attempts to kick Tommy Wayne Kramer (nee Tom Hine) out of publishing his column in the Ukiah Daily Journal. Some of my liberal friends seem to feel that his screeds are inappropriate and disturbing. I certainly don't agree with most of what he writes but it's a refreshing addition to an otherwise monochromatic opinion arena.

I used to view TWK as satire because it didn't fit the Tom I have known very slightly but over several years. I will never forget the day that our mutual friend and mentor, Buddy Eller, died in a tragic car crash. Tom was obviously as crushed as I was by the loss of a man with whom he apparently had substantial political disagreements but still enjoyed a strong bond and friendship. Somehow I feel that if my liberal friends had sat down with Tom and discussed their concerns… Oh, there you go again, Kathy, singing Kumbaya and whining "Can't we all just get along?!" 

But the fact remains that banning a person from expressing right wing political ideas would be a blemish on our liberal community. It's important to hear the other side and Tommy certainly pushes the envelope like no other local writer I know. Thankfully, editor KC Meadows "gets" that freedom of expression thing and TWK will continue at the Journal. And I hope that his critics continue to express their views and challenge his. Just no more attempts to silence him, please. That's not who we are.

Kathy Brigham

Ukiah

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(photo by Byron Spooner)

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PAUL ANDERSON WRITES: There’s a $1000 fine for littering on Highway 1. Why not a $1000 fine for people refusing to wear masks? It’s absolutely the right thing to do and could be very lucrative for the County this summer with so many out-of-towners flouting the rules. Is there a member of the Board of Supervisors who has the stones to propose that? How to enforce? Take some money out of your pathetic cannabis program and devote it to hiring more code enforcement officers for this specific purpose.

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CALPELLA, 1910

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COVID-19 TESTING IN POINT ARENA 

Monday June 29 

Redwood Coast Medical Services, Mendocino County Public Health and the City of Point Arena have collaborated to provide free surveillance testing for COVID-19 to residents of Point Arena and the South Coast. The drive-thru testing will be conducted on a first come-first serve basis on Monday June 29 starting at 9:30am and is free-of-charge. 

Testing will be limited to residents of Mendocino and Sonoma Counties. There will be approximately 100 tests available.

COVID-19 Surveillance Testing
Monday June 29, 9:30am
WHERE: Point Arena City Hall/Veteran's Building
451 School Street (MAP

For general information about the testing, please contact Point Arena City Hall at 882-2122. Please note that no reservations for testing will be accepted.

NOTE: Public agency, lodging, restaurant, grocery store and other employees with heavy public contact will be able to receive guaranteed testing between 9am and 9:30am. Please contact Point Arena City Hall at 882-2122 by 5pm Friday for more information or email admin@pointarena.ca.gov by 5pm Sunday, June 28.

WHAT TO EXPECT: The specimen collection (nose swabs) will be performed by RCMS staff and volunteers; specimen testing will be managed by the local Health Department. This screening is a first come/first served screening of persons without COVID19 symptoms. The purpose of the screening is to collect a random sample of persons in the community around Point Arena to determine the presence of asymptomatic COVID19 in the area. It provides important data regarding the presence of the virus in our community. 

This will be a drive through test; you will remain in your vehicle and be directed to a testing site by volunteers. (If there is more than one person in your vehicle, we will ask each person being tested to briefly step out of the vehicle.). Expect there may be a line of cars, but this line generally moves swiftly. You will be asked personal information by vetted RCMS volunteers, who are collecting data required for testing by the Health Department; you will have a nasopharyngeal (nose) swab performed by an RCMS nurse/provider; test kits will subsequently be transported to the UCSF laboratory for testing. 

Because this is an outdoor and public event, we will do our best to respect your privacy — but true privacy cannot be guaranteed. The Health Department states that persons testing POSITIVE for COVID19 will receive a call from the Health Department by July 7th. Persons testing NEGATIVE will NOT receive a phone call. Per the Health Department,persons NOT receiving a phone call by July 7th will be considered “Presumptively Negative.” Any person testing positive will be guided by the Health Department on their next steps, including isolation/quarantine and accessing medical care. 

We look forward to helping provide this vital public health service for residents of Point Arena and the South Coast. 

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UKIAH, 1933

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MSP FRIEND BOB SHANNON SHARED A 'COAST STORY'

MSP saw this posted by former Mendocino County resident Bob Shannon Friday:

"I was a key player in the story below....but Nick and ? I decided not to take up a movie offer.

Home Burns but Holiday Is Merry for One Family

FORT BRAGG, Calif., Dec. 25, 1977 (AP)—Their home had burned and their fishing boat had sunk, but it was a joyous Christmas for the Nick Lackey family after two close brushes with death.

Last Wednesday the Coast Guard called Carol Lackey to tell her that her husband's boat had been wrecked and he was missing. The late‐night phone call woke her up in time to detect a fire in the house and rescue her two children, Crystal, 3 years old, and Jade, 2.

When the Coast Guard called again Christmas Eve, it was to tell Mrs. Lackey that her husband had been rescued by a passing freighter off Coos Bay, Ore., after four days without food and water on a life raft in the stormy Pacific Ocean.

The Coast Guard said the search continued today for Mr. Lackey's crewman, Ernie Lopez, who was missing at sea in the wreck of the 38‐foot Blessed Redeemer.

While waiting for word about Mr. Lackey, his family was buoyed by the tiny coastal community 150 miles north of San Francisco. They were given a mobile home on the site of their burned‐out house by Georgia‐Pacific, a logging company. Other people chipped in food, clothing and household goods.

Below is Nick as seen today..."

Nick Lackey

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ED NOTES

THE MILK MONITORS are getting outta hand. This very morning I'm deep in the golden hills above Fairfax, trucking right along, a song in my heart, thinking good thoughts, when I suddenly hear a screeched, "Mask!" And here comes a lycra-babe, a woman of fifty or so. I never got within 25 yards of this person, but jolted out of my purplish reveries all I could come up with in the way of a response was the first line of that Lawrence poem, "I wish I knew a woman…" Then it occurred to me that given the communication's dysfunction plaguing the land that even a lame attempt at irony might be construed as… "Yes, officer. I was on my morning walk when I noticed an unmasked older man with this weird, uh, erotic-like smile on his face, and when I told him to put his mask on he just kind of leered at me and said he wanted to get to know me. There I was, alone in the hills with this pervert! I know men, officer, believe me, and I certainly know carnality when I see it!" 

YES, it's objectively crazy to mask up when you're out for a walk at the crack of dawn in a human-free place, but in every public venue where there are others the mask ought to be mandatory. I agree with Paul Andersen's suggestion to supervisors Williams and Silent Dan Gjerde that the unmasked, wherever distancing is impossible, be fined. A thousand bucks, as Andersen suggests, is unreasonable, but fifty isn't. This plague thing is no joke. No man is an island etc.

TALK about hyper-inflated reputations, the description of John Bolton as "brilliant, courageous, a great statesman" and so on is not only slam-dunk untrue, it's disgusting. But there it is in lock-step, from Wolf Blitzer to the rest of the neon-toothed punditocracy. A draft dodger himself, Bolton has held out for more war as the solution for every foreign policy dilemma. What a nest of snakes there is at the leadership level of this doomed country, and tenth-rate snakes too. 

HOW COME one of these tech geniuses we're always hearing about can't come up with a non-lethal means of subduing the berserkers? The cops have tried bean bags, nets, rubber bullets (crazy dangerous and seemingly ineffective as crowd control), various kinds of disabling gases, and who knows what all? There's gotta be a better way, right Elon? 

UNLESS my ancient ears deceive me, is there only one song anymore? "Baby, baby, baby, uh baby, oh baby...." Where have all the great lyricists gone? 

THE GREAT IRONY of the BLM uprising is that race relations are better than they've ever been, that there are now literal millions of loyal inter-ethnic relationships where, 60 years ago there were few-to-none. The multi-racial demonstrations are living proof that we've come a very long way in a very short time in the race department. Apply the noble principles of democratic socialism to our Hobbsian economy, and a lot of the remaining tensions would be outta here. Won't happen. The Great Slide is too far slid, and a Biden administration won't do anything to arrest it. Trump has only made the obvious, obvious.

THE CONTESTED Lincoln statue, for a certainty, would have been opposed by Honest Abe himself, a modest fellow who would cringe at his latter-day canonization. A genius writer, does anybody think the author of the Gettysburg Address would want to see himself depicted as a God-like figure posed above a grateful freed slave at his feet? This sculpture manages to insult both parties.

WE'RE NUMBER ONE! The US recorded 45,242 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the largest single-day increase of the pandemic so far, with five states, including Florida, Georgia, Utah, Tennessee and Idaho, racking up ominous spikes in reported cases. Florida, just this morning, reported 9,585 new infections in the last 24 hours and 24 additional deaths. The US death toll has surpassed 125,000, the highest in the world, with a total of 2.48 million confirmed cases. 

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(photo by Angela Dewitt)

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COMMUNITY POLICING, AN EXCHANGE

[1] If there were no cops, who would she call? Who would help her? Answer: her community patrol. Since there would be no cops, no arrest, no district attorney, no one to help the victim or the perpetrator, the community patrol, local neighbors helping each other. If we all had our own patrol, we could start to take out the meth freaks, distributors, and the cooks. No cops to protect us, no cops to protect the criminals. We win, there are many more of us, regular good people with more guns and ammo than any police station. In this new day of no cops, those two guys who helped this woman are heroes. 

This guy was beating his sig other until two men intervened.

The real win would be if the wussie were forced right out of the valley. Since we all pay property taxes, and some of the money goes to law enforcement, we deduct the percentage of our taxes that go to law enforcement, and use the money for our own private law enforcement. Private law enforcers do not have to answer to dist attorneys, or governors, they answer directly to us. I would bet that in 6 mos, most criminal elements would be driven out of here. The patrol could get a D4 or D5, and methodically destroy all the illegal unpermitted hoops. Who could stop them? Who would the illegals call? No one, there are no cops.


[2] Somalia does it that way. We’ve already got the Toyotas. We just need the machine guns to mount in back.

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COYOTE VALLEY, NOW LAKE MENDOCINO

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(1) MARIJUANA GROWS: Why is this a waste of resources? These grows are terrible for our community and even for the cause of all things marijuana (which I don’t really care about, but I think you do). I’m an old school outlaw but as I settle down and want to have a normal life here, I have begun to appreciate law enforcement getting the scummy growers out of here. They don’t help anyone but their bosses, and the money doesn’t circulate in the community. Have you noticed the degrading of our towns? If we could all look back 20 years, what has the marijuana industry done but brought money to a few, while the downtowns are filled with empty stores and homeless zombies. Sorry for the rant.

(2) MARIJUANA GROWS: I don’t agree with you that marijuana growing is bad. I have seen it done well by actual caring and humble people who used the profit to build and maintain simple and loving homes. However I do agree with your “The marijuana industry has brought legions of these very types into our communities. And it’s not getting any better despite govt. efforts to legitimize…” I have seen the “legalization” reverse the goodness by rewarding baller mega-growers, government parasites and corporate investors while hurting the same people I referred to in my opening statements… The money and the sensationalism of weed growing pulled many bad people into this area. We became a magnet for sociopaths and greedy posers - many who now have permits and hype their dubious credentials!

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The gorgeous glowing bowl is by the late and very talented Lisa Lebow. The "Moon Maiden" was a delightful birthday surprise from Sue Sellars and Janet Seaforth. — Jan Wax

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SUPERVISOR TED WILLIAMS on KZYX with Karen Ottoboni last Wednesday morning was asked about the budget process this year:

Ottoboni: Did you feel the process was good? You got enough information that you were able to do it, or did you really have to dig?

Williams: No. I don’t think it’s a good process. I hate to be that guy. It’s like we elected the Anderson Valley Advertiser for the Fifth District. But I am critical of the process. I don’t think it’s very good. It’s not a reflection on staff. I think we hire some excellent people who are incredibly hard working. They are talking to me late at night on the weekend. About budgeting. And not as just a one-off but regularly. The employees in this County are highly dedicated.

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SCHOOL STREET, UKIAH, 1885

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DOES THIS SOUND REMOTELY WORKABLE?

According to a recent press release, Ukiah Unified is looking at three different scenarios for fall reopening:

Scenario A: Return to school five days a week with safety measures to provide for as much social distancing as practicable and remote learning for parents who do not feel comfortable sending students to school five days each week. This five-day-a-week model may look different than what our community is used to.

Scenario B: This is a hybrid model where students would be split into two groups, with 50 percent of them in each group. One group would be referred to as A and the other as B. In this model, a student would attend school in person two days a week and be on remote learning three days a week. This hybrid model could work in a variety of ways. One possible example would be the A group attends school in person on Monday and Tuesday, and the B group attends school in person on Thursday and Friday with additional classroom sanitation on Wednesday. Parents who do not want this option could choose remote learning.

Scenario C: Remote learning similar to the 2019-20 school year if the health conditions in our community necessitate it.

(Mark Scaramella)

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CATCH OF THE DAY, June 27, 2020

Brown, Cabada, Freitas, Hietala

BENJAMIN BROWN, Ukiah. DUI-drugs&alcohol.

FRANCISCO CABADA-BELTRAN, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-loitering on private property.

BRANDON FREITAS, Fort Bragg. Assault with deadly weapon not a gun, controlled substance.

JUSTIN HIETALA, Ukiah. Concealed dirk-dagger, probation revocation.

Norton, Noyo, Pearce

ROBERT NORTON, Ukiah. DUI.

SAMANTHA NOYO, Willits. Controlled substance for sale, stolen property.

AMBER PEARCE, Point Arena. Domestic abuse.

Penny, Rabano, White, Young

TANYA PENNY, Sausalito/Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

SEBASTIAN RABANO, Ukiah. Domestic battery, probation revocation.

HAROLD WHITE, Fort Bragg. Fugitive from justice, false personation of another, failure to register as sex offender with priors.

TERRANCE YOUNG, Ukiah. Domestic battery, suspended license, probation revocation.

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HALL OF RECORDS, UKIAH

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WE LOVE OURSELVES

Editor,

To the Editor:

During the shelter in place mandate, our residential care homes, behavioral health services, crisis and homeless programs have all remained open to continue to serve our children, youth, families, and adults with essential healing care. The selfless services and supports RCS employees provide daily is life-changing and value-adding. Further, our organization is made possible by our steadfast administrative teams who provide the backbone for the services RCS is able to make available to the community. Without the brilliance of our administrative employees, we would not have been able to respond to this new environment seamlessly.

RCS is proud to stand in company of such amazing, brilliant, and inspiring change-makers who work tirelessly to create a more loving, just, and healing world. Our employees stepped up and continue to amaze us during these critical times, often working overtime, taking shifts in programs and counties they do not usually work in, spending countless hours ensuring clients’ needs are met – all while being away from their families - and for this and all the other countless ways you contribute, we salute you!

For more information about the services RCS provides – from foster care to our 24-hour youth and adult homes; our 24-hour crisis services, behavioral health services, day resource and night shelter services, and substance use disorder treatment services, please visit our website at www.redwoodcommunityservices.org.

— Victoria Kelly, CEO, Tawny Bailey, COO, Carmen Harris, CPO, Angie Bakker, Marketing & Communications

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UKIAH BASEBALL

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ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Despite the dogmatic devotion to democracy that we’ve all been browbeaten with since Kindergarten, the sad fact is that democracy allocates the 50% of people with an IQ below average the same voting power as the 50 per cent who have greater than average intelligence.

I’ve been amused for years about how the only thing Republicans and Democrats agree upon is how stupid the voters are, depending on the outcome of the last election. People only truly believe in democracy when the votes are going their way. This is most easily observed now by watching the panties-in-a-wad snowflakes spouting off about “burning the system down if we don’t get what we want. Waah.”

Whenever I hear a politician or a pundit preface a statement with, “I think the American People are smart enough to realize that…,” I immediately tune out. They are of course lying, because no politician has the slightest respect for the voters or their putative intelligence. The preface would more accurately be replaced with, “Maybe enough of the American People are stupid enough to believe what I am about to say….”

Democracy guarantees that stupidity reigns most frequently. A Dictatorship or Monarchy may have some good moments, but ultimately evil will reign. They are both lousy systems, mainly because a sizeable chunk of people are just plain baseline stupid, and all people have the capacity for evil.

The demise of civilizations was baked into the cake when it began. The momentary illusion that we somehow had things figured out was fueled, literally, by the discovery of petroleum that transiently has allowed a lot more people to eat and successfully breed. As it winds down, things will return to economies based upon conquest and enslavement of both animals and people. Any World Made by Hand is going to have to contend with the people over the hill that want your village’s potato crop, shovels, horses, oxen, and females. To protect all that the village is going to have to cough up taxes for the local warlord’s protection. Feudalism was the dominant pre-industrial system, and will be the predominant post-industrial system.

Along the way, watch for much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Mark your calendars, it began in earnest in 2020. Or 1973. Or 2008. Or argue about some other date, it doesn’t really matter, does it?

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TRUMP IS NOT just the perfect media product, he’s a brilliant propaganda mechanism. Though most of our problems are systemic, most of our public debates are referendums on personality. Not many people can be neutral on the subject of Trump, so we wave him at you all day long.

Meanwhile, a vast universe of systemic issues is ignored. We’ve been steadily narrowing that field of view for decades, particularly in investigative reporting.

In the years after Manufacturing Consent came out, big corporate conglomerates bought up most major media outlets. The biggest outlets learned there’s no percentage in doing big exposés against large, litigious companies. Not only will they sue, they’re also certain to pull ads as punishment. Why make trouble?

Also, news audiences had by then been trained not to value this kind of work the way they once had. It was easy enough to sell something else instead—better weather graphics, celebrity news, faster delivery, etc. Papers and stations that had their own correspondents abroad or in Washington increasingly shuttered those offices and relied on the wires. Nobody much cared.

The message to reporters working in big corporate news organizations was that long-form investigative reports targeting big commercial interests weren’t forbidden exactly, just not something your boss was likely to gush over.

When media companies aren’t doing the right stories, they start self-sorting for the wrong ones. You could call this the Worthy and Unworthy Targets principle.

Worthy targets are small-time crooks, restaurant owners with rats, actors, athletes, reality stars, and other minor miscreants. In the Nineties, to this list of worthy subjects, we added two more: Either of the two approved political parties.

Fox struck gold with the Lewinsky story and the Clinton impeachment. Roger Ailes, the new CEO, was learning to cash in by terrifying elderly audiences with images of evil hippie power couple Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Hillary denigrated baking cookies while letting her husband run around with his pants around his ankles. Thanks in large part to Lewinsky and the Starr probe—stories that Fox rode to riches as white hat/black hat soap dramas—the network went from launch to top of the cable market in less than six years.

Fox nailed the formula of the modern news story. Forget just doing a cable variety show with conservatives and liberals engaged in ritualized fighting. Why not make the whole news landscape a rooting section?

It would be a while before other networks embraced Fox-style open political slant (and when they did, they did it in a different way). But Ailes quickly had a lot of imitators when it came to the blame game.

—Matt Taibbi

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RETHINKING THE POLICE

Editor: 

I’ve been seeing a lot of talk about defunding the police. I think we need to do the opposite. I think we need to greatly increase salaries for police but also make it mandatory that any applicant have a degree in philosophy, public health or psychology and a minor in police science.

For those already on the job, have a time range for them to get enrolled in these programs or be phased out.

The FBI and some state police departments have these requirements, and their workers aren’t so apt to be racist and commit acts of evil.

You ask, are there great police officers in our midst? Almost everyone says they know great people who are police officers. I do myself. However, all of these great officers need to stand up for the soul of their profession and forcefully oppose the criminal elements in their midst.

Being silent in the face of this persistent racism isn’t great policing but condoning the continuation of the problem. Every right-thinking officer needs to stand up for all the good they do and get rid of the dinosaurs who ooze hatred and prejudice. Then the people and the police can sing the same tune of peace and harmony.

Please stand up.

John Lyhne

Santa Rosa

* * *

* * *

KNOTS, JUST KNOTS

by Denis Rouse

The phone rings. Rarely a good thing. It’s Zuckerman calling, the wannabe auteur of Monte Nido. He has a notion he wants to take a rock climbing lesson and he wants Weinstein to partner up with him.

“C’mon, don’t be chicken shit”, he says, “The first lesson is knots, just knots, no climbing”. 

Weinstein, not yet fully aware that whatever Zuckerman says is pure Hollywood vacuity, agrees to go. It’s a monstrous decision because Weinstein’s fear of heights is redline and he is putting his trust in Zuckerman’s assurance. Just knots, no climbing.

They drive together to the base of a soaring cliff face in the San Gabriel Mountains where they meet up with a group of climbing students, including three attractive girls, and two instructors from the climbing school, a couple of wiry young men whose body fat appears to be about zero.

A half hour is spent upon knots. While Weinstein works assiduously on a half hitch it does not escape his attention that the three girls are more than attractive; they are hot, they are in fact lithe sun-bronzed muscle toned beauties, members of a then burgeoning breed of proto females who frankly intimidate Weinstein down to his socks. It is also becoming clear to Weinstein that Zuckerman’s words were pure crap. A long nylon line is being prepared, a belaying line, and the taut male instructors are issuing instructions that are clear and unambiguous. Use your feet, test your footholds, don’t rely on arm strength. Your feet are the key. We’re only going up a hundred feet or so but remember that a ten foot fall can be just as fatal.

Oh sweet Jesus, Weinstein, can you run and hide? No, you can’t run and hide. The proto femmes aren’t scared. Look at their expressions. The bitches look like they’re going fucking shopping. They’re happy, elevated, energized and you are a quaking two hundred pound piece of shit.

“Zuckerman, you asshole, get me out of this”.

“C’mon Weinstein. It’s nothing. Look at the size of my ass. You’re in much better shape than I am”.

Fear has a color. Fear is purple. Weinstein’s face is magenta but there’s no escape within the bounds of any human dignity here. The line is cinched to Weinstein’s waist and three lead climbers including big ass Zuckerman and two of the khaki clad uber femmes have already begun to make their way up the cliff face. Weinstein is climber four. The line is tugging. Get up there Weinstein. Test your footholds and for God sakes don’t look down. This is no time for an anxiety attack. Remember, the purple is only a message. Think, you schmuck, your father once told you fear can be either your foe or your friend. Make her your friend.

Weinstein is thinking way beyond, “What the fuck am I doing here?” Weinstein is thinking “I can’t believe I’m doing this”. But Weinstein is busy. He’s busy testing footholds and despite the instructors’ admonition he’s also relying on arm strength to keep ascending the cliff face and get this goddamn lesson over with as quickly as possible. Fear has a smell too. Fear smells like wet rock. Think of fear as having a bell curve. Weinstein’s fear hits the top of the bell curve when he reaches a narrow ledge in the cliff that is the terminus of the climb, nothing more than a niche in the cliff, a niche that is ten stories high, a niche that has barely enough room for the climbers to gather together and chat. Everyone chats. Zuckerman chats. The uber chicks chat. Weinstein can’t chat because he can barely breathe; he is in the midst of a deeply personal private crisis, a struggle to control panic that is quickly going from magenta to black. If fear also has a taste Weinstein can’t taste it because his mouth is as dry and desiccated as the Atacama Desert. His foci problem is that he and his fellow climbers have been temporarily disconnected from the security of the belaying line so it can be reconfigured into a rappelling line for the trip back down. Allow panic to overbear you now Weinstein and the coroner will be called to pick you up with a spoon. The instructor is giving a talk about rappelling. Weinstein hears not a word he is saying. He just wants to get buckled again to the security of any fucking line in the house and get back to Mother Earth who he now knows he dearly loves. After interminable minutes, minutes that seem like millennia, Weinstein is rappelling downward, not well, awkwardly, but downward at last, and when his size twelves finally clomp down on terra firma, his body, his mind, his spirit is at once suffused with a kind of relief he has heretofore never known. He believes he has met his worst enemy, he who lives within his own self, and survived to tell the tale.

“Weinstein”, Zuckerman says when the group gathers at the base of the cliff to chat some more, “Let’s sign up for another lesson, a more advanced climb, what do you say?”

“Zuckerman, you know your pal Paparian, your Armenian buddy who carries a loaded Uzi in the trunk of his car in case the Turks show up again, he who drinks Jack Daniels right out of the bottle, he who does pull ups from your ceiling beams? Let’s give him a buzz when we get home, I need a quiet evening”.

* * *

FOUND OBJECT

44 Comments

  1. George Hollister June 28, 2020

    I remember Nick Lackey. What a story. He had land out on Low Gap Road, and would come through Comptche. I did not know him, but many of my neighbors did. The back drop for the tragedy was the 1977 drought. The drought ended with a horrific 80 to 100 mph wind storm, and Nick Lackey was off Cape Mendocino when the storm hit. That is where his boat went down. I had a friend, and next door neighbor who was good friends with crew mate Ernie Lopez. He hired a plane to help in the search.

    As I recall, Nick was a bull, always working, always moving ahead. I never saw him just hanging out. After loosing his boat, he sold the land out on Low Gap, and I never heard his name mentioned again. Few in Comptche today would have any idea who he was. Few remember that wind storm, either. It nocked our power out for about two weeks. Then it rained. The drought was over.

  2. James Marmon June 28, 2020

    RE: BRUCE ANDERSON AND THE ANTI-MASK LEAGUE OF 1919

    The 1918-1920 flu pandemic came in three major waves. After the first wave in the US, the virus subsided, and Americans were restless to have businesses reopened and for social life to resume. There was a growing movement to stop wearing masks, which had become ubiquitous – so much so that The Anti-Mask League of 1919 was formed. These were protests from those who thought the public health ordinance violated their liberty.

    The virus came back with a vengeance in the fall and was much deadlier than the first wave, eventually killing more than 675,000 Americans and killing around 100 million of the 500 million it infected worldwide before it was over. This was before mass vaccination, before the electron microscope; this is the tragedy of herd immunity and stubborn ignorance.

    Viruses aren’t political; they don’t care about your theories or speculations or projections. They’re unthinking parasites only wanting to replicate and use your body as a host. Wear a mask.

    https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10204769338851033&set=pcb.10204769339451048

    James Marmon
    Mask Maker

    ‘be courteous, protect others’

    • Bruce Anderson June 28, 2020

      Huh? I’m FOR masks, and faithfully wear mine in public places. Jeez, James. Be a little more careful, ok?

  3. mr. wendal June 28, 2020

    Re: WE LOVE OURSELVES

    What a bizarre marketing blurb for RCS. They didn’t even bother to let anyone know the name of the organization. You could discover it if you read their promotion until the end where they share their website. That they’re spending their time, energy, and our money on this drivel – especially during these times – is infuriating.

    • James Marmon June 28, 2020

      I was left without any words after reading it Mr. Wendal, thank you for your comment. I’ve noticed that in the last year RCS has been trying to distance themselves from being identified as the “Schraeders” and I believe that is the true intent of this letter to the editor. For instance their signing off as Victoria Kelly, CEO, Tawny Bailey, COO, Carmen Harris, CPO, Angie Bakker, while leaving Camille Schraeder’s (Executive Director) name out.

      RCS does not want to be referred to as the Schraeders anymore. In the old days, Camille’s name would have been the only name on that letter.

      Where’s the money Camille?

      James Marmon MSW
      Former RCS Employee
      Lake County Office

  4. Joe June 28, 2020

    Lincoln statue

    People are ignorant of the fact that emancipated Americans funded the statue of the slave who is not kneeling but rising up from slavery .

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8466537/Reenactor-freed-slave-Charlotte-Scott-defends-Lincoln-Emancipation-statue.html

    People who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it.

    Also watch this video on the same subject and see if you don’t appreciate this man’s views;

    https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1276679557748101121

    • Stephen Rosenthal June 28, 2020

      Re: the Lincoln Statue. You beat me to it Joe. The Cancel Culture vigilantes are not only completely devoid of historical knowledge but too lazy to spend any time gaining said knowledge. Bruce, I’m surprised you didn’t research this a bit more before commenting on it.

      • Bruce Anderson June 28, 2020

        Intent was pure, but looking closely at the thing it still looks like the great white father and a child-like figure subservient to him. And as I said, Lincoln, from everything we know about him, would have cringed at all the post-mortem hagiography.

        • George Hollister June 28, 2020

          My grandfather Hollister’s mother’s family was part of the Abolitionists movement in Leavenworth, Kansas before the Civil War. The name was Norton. They were members of the Congregation Church. My grandfather told me his mother was born in Oberlin, Ohio.

          The expectation at the time was that slaves once freed would embrace freedom and integrate into society. The idea of a slave being subordinate to Lincoln, in a statue, was not their vision, nor Lincoln’s. The big problem with the vision of freedom, is slaves were not allowed to be educated, and were in no position to pursue personal responsibility, or financial independence once freed. There were attempts to bring education to former slaves, but those attempts mostly failed for numerous reasons. Thomas Sowell makes reference to that in his book”Black Rednecks & White Liberals”.

          The result was when chattel slavery ended, most slaves went from being slaves to being serfs. The tradition of denying education continued, and became of culture for many descendants of former slaves. This attitude toward education is part of a culture of the poor in the South, both black and white. For the Southern poor, going to school was either for “whitey” if you are black, or for sissies if you are white.

          • Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

            The expectation of many, if not most, abolitionists was that the freed slaves would be transported to Africa. For a while Lincoln shared that notion. Some freed slaves were in fact so transported, and some of them even built a country there, but overall the whole notion was logistically infeasible (not to mention morally reprehensible). You get two pats on the head and a scratch behind your ears from James if you can name that country.

          • Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

            Also, George, given the tall, unsubstantiated, tale you told a while back about the Canadian health care system, I cannot bring myself to fully swallow your story. It seems to me that you are just trying to wriggle out from the hole you dug for yourself with your prior racist comments.

      • James Marmon June 28, 2020

        The only thing that might save America is “School Choice”. Trump is saving the best for last. A case for “school choice” is gaining momentum by the day, especially in the last two or 3 weeks.

        James

        • Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

          A semi-clever diversion from real problems.

    • Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

      The only opinions on this this matter that are important are those of the descendants of slaves. Whitey’s opinion is irrelevant. Let THEM decide, then live with their decision.

  5. John Sakowicz June 28, 2020

    — Redwood Community Services, Victoria Kelly, CEO, Tawny Bailey, COO, Carmen Harris, CPO, Angie Bakker, Marketing & Communications

    I wonder what their combined salaries are?

    • James Marmon June 28, 2020

      The only thing that matters here is job’s John. Camille is a job’s creator. I believe she is the number one employer in the County, after the County. The Board of Supes have turned her lose because she is good at leveraging state and federal money to get more state and federal money, which grows her empire and creates jobs. That’s why they turn a blind eye towards questioning the effectiveness of her programs and requiring financial accountability. As long as she keeps her hands out of the General Fund, she is free to carry on.

      James Marmon MSW

      • James Marmon June 28, 2020

        The Measure B money is going to complicate things here in the near future, that’s not other people’s money and questions will be asked. Questions lead to more questions.

        James Marmon
        The Prophet

        • Lazarus June 28, 2020

          I hope you’re correct James, but I have great doubt. Who’s going to ask the questions? When the county gets locked down again, it’ll be a free for all to get money from anywhere, just to keep minimal services open.

          Disband the 11 member committee, thank them for their service. Promise to give the money back, wink wink, then abolish the measure.
          Be Swell,
          Laz

    • Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

      Probably money owed to Social Security that was “borrowed” to fight wars, based on lies, against dark-skinned people.

  6. Lazarus June 28, 2020

    FOUND OBJECT

    Vegas Baby, Vegas. Mask up and show up. Vegas Baby, Vegas.

    Be Swell Baby,
    Laz

  7. Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

    “HOW COME one of these tech geniuses we’re always hearing about can’t come up with a non-lethal means of subduing the berserkers?”

    The only “berserkers” are the oafs who support Trump.

  8. Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

    “THE GREAT IRONY of the BLM uprising is that race relations are better than they’ve ever been…”

    Oh, yes, things are so wonderful. You sound like a typical right-wing apologist, of the sort who argued, “…too much, too soon…” with respect to federal civil rights legislation in the 60s.

    • Bruce Anderson June 28, 2020

      Bullshit, Harv. Even in Wyoming….

      • Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

        I stand by what I said, Mendocinian. Too bad it hurts so much. Race relations in this country have sucked from the start. People who peddle BS about how much better things are live in a dream world. Look at the per capita imprisonment difference between blacks and whites. At relative income levels. Things are as bad as they always were, no matter what a pretty picture you conservatives may paint to ease your consciences…

  9. Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

    “Democracy guarantees that stupidity reigns most frequently. A Dictatorship or Monarchy may have some good moments, but ultimately evil will reign. They are both lousy systems, mainly because a sizeable chunk of people are just plain baseline stupid, and all people have the capacity for evil.”

    Typical conservative hogwash. He or she thinks people are stupid because he or she hangs out with moronic conservatives.

    • Bruce Anderson June 28, 2020

      Typical fascist/ Stalinist thinking. People are so stupid and irresponsible they need smart people to run their lives for them. People aren’t stupid. Distracted, but not stupid. More plainly, Would you rather have a trial by a jury of random citizens or take your chances with a single judge?

      • Susie de Castro June 28, 2020

        Question presents an opportunity for discussion.

        U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said back in ’95: “There are some serious problems with how juries are operating, leading some people to wonder if we should just do away with trials decided by a jury,” she said.

        Link below is not the first time, nor the last time, the Justice spoke about this subject.

        https://www.deseret.com/1995/1/31/19156653/o-connor-says-it-s-time-to-revamp-jury-system

      • Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

        The quote was from your ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY. And, I agree, it is typical conservative hogwash. Fascist/Stalinist is about as conservative as it gets. And please save any BS about Stalin being a Communist. He was a conservative dictator, like dictators tend to be.

        • Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

          As far as our corrupt “justice” system goes, I prefer to avoid it entirely. Its motto is “If you’re wealthy, you go free with a slap on the wrist; if you’re not, it’s prison for you, especially if you are dark-skinned; if you’re poor and innocent, we’ll let you plea to a lesser charge, especially if you’re dark-skinned”

          • Bruce Anderson June 28, 2020

            Harv Reading, a nation unto himself!

          • Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

            Got nooze for ya, old fella. There are tens of millions of us. Get used to it.

      • Betsy Cawn June 29, 2020

        Despite the near century of Diagnostic & Statistical Manual interpretation of human behaviors, and thousands of specialized fields of “scientific” studies, I’ve yet to see anyone explain the phenomenon we call “stupid.”

        Simultaneously, I’ve witnessed the devolution of American primary education and extreme conformism to minimally defined social systems — job, college, or military service being your approved choices; harnessing the placidly employed distributors of school “services.”

        A couple of generations that grew up “believing” what they see on TV, bedazzled by ever more intricate machines (cars, motorcycles, electronics, software, entertainment) and usually feeling proud when they “get rewarded” with momentary exhilaration in the hundred-watt spotlight. Aren’t you wonderful . . . NEXT!

        My neighbor and I were just talking about the strange problem we’re seeing in our corner of Lake County (and of course, all over Farcebook, constantly) of citizens who not only reject the grantedly-grappling public health authorities’ (CDC at the top of the groaning pile) data points — always demanding that instant gratification they’re so accustomed to (my internet speed is annoying?) — but express a form of anger toward the more compliant populace that is out of proportion to either the level of effort or to the “odds-making” calculations of “better safe than sorry.”

        People who, I would bet, have never so much as read the U.S. Constitution, wailing about their non-existent “rights” to do what they prefer, and furthermore demean those who do not beg to differ. Vicious, vacuous, glib sentiments of non-compliance “superiority” that smack of the same arrogance at the root of Civil War defeat denial and celebration of heroes whose brutality — whether overseas or the not-at-all sacred “homeland — and the meaningless arguments (using the term as loosely as possible) between George Hollister and Harvey Reading.

        “People aren’t stupid. Distracted, but not stupid.” Human ingenuity inborn in all individuals is almost guaranteed — but what it is put to use for, and how misanthropic intentions are tolerated (all the way to the White House) is a poly-sci-fi wonder played out on every form of media that exists today.

        Why are belligerent “non-maskers” so angry at us old struggling and very vulnerable people who are not doing anything more than saying, “do what you can — a mask is better than nothing”?

        Why do the people of Mendocino County (and Lake County) have so little influence over the long-standing governmental systems — administrative operations and spending decisions lovingly described by Mr. Scaramella and plain as the “nose on your face”? How many years has the subject of “mental health services” (and the surreal organizations in charge of delivering them) been a topic of concern in the AVA? How many groundhog days are there in a year?

        Does the failure to grasp the implications of incompetence in delivery of public health and safety services (fire protection/suppression, medical emergency and crisis care, utility lifelines, law enforcement) have anything to do with the people on the outside trying to deal with them in their daily lives? I think the answer is that we are still looking for the Wizard of Oz, because “defunding the administration” is too scary and complicated. Cops and district attorneys are part of a system that is defined by legislation at all levels. You continue to patronize Shraeder’s circus tent but leave the “mess management” cleanup to the line staff and provide only the binary choice of punitive incarceration or medical incarceration, so a facade of taking care of business is substituted for alternative actions (Kemper report). Then the Measure B committee is deployed with absolutely no requirements to perform, sits and bullshits for years, no apparent work done, and it’s no big deal to the Board of Supervisors.

        What exactly “is” stupid? And why can’t it be fixed?

        • Louis Bedrock June 30, 2020

          —Despite the near century of Diagnostic & Statistical Manual interpretation of human behaviors, and thousands of specialized fields of “scientific” studies, I’ve yet to see anyone explain the phenomenon we call “stupid.”

          Betsy Cawn, MCT, 28 June

          Hi Betsy,

          Although these comments don’t directly answer your question, I hope they are helpful.

          Carlo Maria Cipolla, an eclectic economist, published a collection of essays titled “Allegro ma non troppo”. In one of them, “The fundamental laws of human stupidity”, Cipolla explores the nature of stupidity. It’s a funny and enlightening read, I would suggest this book to every(non-stupid)body.

          According to Cipolla, these are the five fundamental laws of stupidity:

          Always and inevitably each of us underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.

          The probability that a given person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic possessed by that person.

          A person is stupid if they cause damage to another person or group of people without experiencing personal gain, or even worse causing damage to themselves in the process.

          Non-stupid people always underestimate the harmful potential of stupid people; they constantly forget that at any time anywhere, and in any circumstance, dealing with or associating themselves with stupid individuals invariably constitutes a costly error.

          A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person there is.

          https://www.theava.com/archives/77892

          Scroll down to “KANT, ROUSSEAU, THE ARCHBISHOP USHER, AND OTHER IDIOTS”

          • George Hollister June 30, 2020

            There is safety in numbers. Stay with the heard. This is the only option, and the easy option for most people. Being free allows one to separate oneself from the heard, and the inherent stupidity that emanates from it. Rousseau, to name one, still has a heard following, and those who have taken what he said as gospel, and expanded on it.

  10. Eric Sunswheat June 28, 2020

    Exhaust Valve Mask Statistical Collateral Damage.

    Dr. Colfax of Ukiah Adventist Emergency Room, speaking as private citizen, shoved off concern expressed by KZYX caller on COVID-19 at 3pm show last Monday, with Colfax apparently saying it didn’t matter one way valve masks were ineffective to protect others, as it was simply important for masks to be worn by all if possible.

    Then on Wednesday COVID-19 at 3pm KZYX radio show, Colfax expressed ire and postured frustration that community spread is surging in the County.

    Homegrown Ukiah Valley’s Dr. Doohan may have dictated flawed default exhaust valve allowance mask guidelines in Mendocino County Public Health Orders, authored from San Diego.

    On recent Friday COVID-19 KZYX radio Dr. Doohan was interpretable as verbal stern abusive, roughly saying generally she knows, what is good for the community and known about the science (background: only vaccine immunity will save us) in her orders, that must be followed in this pandemic health emergency. However Dr. Doohan may be losing the big picture, while working part time.

    In effect, local Dr. Colfax could be drumming up defective exhaust valve virus spread mask casualties business for his employer contractor Adventist Hospital, as routine elective surgeries have been postponed, but as he speaks only as a concerned citizen, some day Colfax may clarify.

    His brother, Dr. Grant Colfax, Public Health Director in San Francisco, seemingly beats to the sound of a different drummer, with distinct Health Orders guidance, in concert along with many of the other counties Health Officers, in regulations with variable enforcement education protocol, to prohibit exhaust valve mask use unless medically necessary.

    So what if local Colfax and distant Doohan are cavalier, ignorant or toadies, for the CDC and Governor Newsom’s error and omission.

    Is it the ‘billionaires hit’ or do local newspapers care, what with average life span of loosely rural and northern half of Mendocino County, historically 10 years less than the rest of the County.
    ES 11:22 AM Sun Jun 28. 2020

    RE: Masks with one-way valves cannot be used to comply with this Order. These types of masks permit respiratory droplets to easily escape which places others at risk.

    —>. Source: Santa Barbara County Public Health Department

    The County Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg, M.D. has issued Health Officer Order No. 2020-10. This Order will be effective starting 5:00 p.m. (PDT) May 26, 2020, continuing until 5:00 p.m. (PDT), on June 30, 2020, or until it is extended, rescinded, superseded, or amended in writing by the County of Santa Barbara Health Officer (“Health Officer”).
    https://www.edhat.com/news/temporary-requirement-to-use-face-coverings

    • James Marmon June 28, 2020

      A lot of people believe that wearing a cloth mask or ones without a exhaust valve is like shitting in your pants. They see them as as nothing more than diapers and they don’t want that. They’re the ones screaming that cloth and/or masks without exhaust valves are unhealthy. Those folks are the most stubborn. The whole thought of holding their germs in and re-breathing them makes them sick to their stomach, screw everyone else.

      James Marmon
      Cloth Mask Maker

      • Eric Sunswheat June 28, 2020

        I wear Chinese fake KN95 masks,and gargle with baking soda dust or drops of hydrogen peroxide, either one, diluted in water, To kill fresh landed COVIN-19 fomites after 2 hour shifts, 8 hours a day. I like it.

        I make sure to consume high density liposomes antioxidants first thing each morning with water, before eating 5 minutes later. Go figure!

        And reuse mask if it does not smell after being aired out. Dental hygiene yes!

      • Harvey Reading June 28, 2020

        What is shitting in your pants like, James?

  11. Susie de Castro June 28, 2020

    The United States OF America

    preposition: of

    1.expressing the relationship between a part and a whole.

  12. Betsy Cawn June 29, 2020

    About my comments above, I usually refrain from criticizing your Board of Supervisors and public officials, mostly because all I know is what I read in the AVA, or occasional viewing of official meetings. But I do have need to use many of the organizations in Mendocino County that we have cultural connection with (agriculture, water resources, special districts, recreation, and various administrative agencies), and often go to Mendo County websites for better resources than I can find on Lake County equivalents.

    And I am harshly critical of the Lake County Board of Supervisors, especially where it comes to the “delivery” of “mental health” services — and the creeping expansion of RCS operations into the county’s Behavioral Health “system of care.” BUT there is no one in the County’s impervious administrative system who will even consider re-organizing priorities such as Black Lives Matter and its world-wide supporters suggest. The municipal government as self-rewarding enterprise (with all those lurking “unfunded pension benefits”) must be quaking in its boots, given the collapse of the entire economy and the mushrooming number of disaffected unemployed who can clearly see the disintegration of “normal” life every day.

    In Lake County, the Board of Supervisors’ answer is to redirect attention to the old tar baby “Economic Development” and its fantasy of “rebranding” Lake County (20 years of this nonsense, uncounted millions of wasted dollars) — even deciding that we should no longer mention “disaster recovery” because we have to keep “moving forward.” Seventy-six trombones on order, and meanwhile let’s hum the notes and not worry about that mean old pandemic, eh?

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