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Mendocino County Today: Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Warm Interior | 11 New Cases | Coast Notes | Polio Ward | Mobile Vax | GP Vegas | PA Vaccinations | Second Graders | Sonoma Water | Logging Camp | More Chrysanthe | Cactus Flower | Tough Question | Alien Visit | Police Reports | 1895 Cerfs | Yesterday's Catch | Woke Suicide | Fox Stupid | High Priests | TV Piper | Benevolence | Baseball v Football | Last Days | Beat Museum | Fourth Marriage | Albion Mill | Tenting Homeless | Swing Time | Queen Wilhelmina | Big Bug | Hyper Complex | Fuel Music | Science Fair | Sacrificed | Grading Biden

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TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE INTERIOR WILL WARM through mid-week while coastal areas remain seasonable. No appreciable rain is expected during the next seven days, though an isolated thunderstorm is possible over Trinity County Friday afternoon. (NWS)

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11 NEW COVID CASES (since last Friday) reported in Mendocino County yesterday afternoon.

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COAST NOTES

by Chris Calder

Fort Bragg:

Boar's Nest update: James Lindsay got a 60-day reprieve in Ten Mile Justice Court last Thursday. Sixty days to finish clearing out his yard — or more accurately, the quarter acre of 20th century iron, steel and plastic that has accumulated there since the Eisenhower Administration, enraged at least one neighbor, and brought the City of Fort Bragg's enforcement powers down upon him. At issue is whether he and his family get to keep their home.

The yard job is probably 60+ percent done, thanks to friends, neighbors and newfound supporters over the past several weeks, as well as the Lindsay's willingness to swallow pride and accept a little help. This past weekend, three friends were there with weedeater and loppers, ready to clear some brush.

None of it is easy. Everyone's patience gets tested. The City's list of demands goes back to 2015. Neighbor (who will remain nameless to save his blood pressure) is still calling in alleged violations, even as dumpsters arrive and trailers get demolished. 

And then there's the house. This reporter did not think to ask about the house for the first story on Lindsay's predicament. According to Jay Rosenquist, Lindsay's friend and supporter, thought is being given to moving a modular home onto the newly cleared property and consigning the house to its fate.

Rosenquist has mounted a social media campaign on Lindsay's behalf: gofundme.com/f/help-james-lindsay-save-his-family-home

Along with raising enough money to get some dumpsters moving, she found Lindsay's sister in Sonoma County, who may be paying a visit in a week or two.

So far, James Lindsay and his elderly, irascible, and highly fed-up stepfather, have not been kicked out of their home. Relative peace with their elderly, irascible, and highly fed-up neighbor is being maintained. The judge will decide in July if everybody's kept their end of the bargain.

Previously: "Cleaning Up Jim’s Boar’s Nest"

Mendocino:

The Holy Goats are currently at work on the Kelley House pond. The goats — a flock aimed at reducing non-native vegetation in the Mendocino area — are the charges of Rev. Matt Davis of the Mendocino Presbyterian Church, kind of a shadow government among Mendo's urban campers, and cultural resource for its retirees, now branching out onto landscaping and fire prevention. 

The lifting of covid lockdowns has prompted a flurry of commerical migrations in and around Mendocino. The Mendocino Chocolate Co., integrating a new baby into the larger operation, is moving to Main Street, into the building formerly occupied by Silver&Stone. 

Partners Gallery, the longtime coalition of local artists and artisans, shut down its Fort Bragg location during the pandemic and is re-opening in the venerable Mendocino Beacon Building on Ukiah Street. 

And the HiLight Gallery recently got an eviction notice at its longtime Main Street Mendo location, where five figure monthly rents are rumored to be just around the corner. HiLight is looking for new digs. 

Finally from the fine art world, new arrivals from the Bay Area are said to be finalizing preparations for a new gallery on Lansing Street, to be called the Lansing Street Gallery. 

Fort Bragg's Coast Cinema, buoyed by a large fundraising effort by its many local fans as well as supporters of the Mendocino Film Festival, which has formed a warm partnership with Coast Cinemas cover the years, will reopen May 21.

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FORT BRAGG'S VAXX PARTIES

What’s better than a party? A pop up Moderna party, of course! Gather together 9 of your friends, family members, neighbors, or co-workers and we will vaccinate all of you on any day and at any time that works for you. You can come to the clinic at 205 South Street in Fort Bragg, or we can meet you at the outdoor venue of your choice, whether it’s your front yard or the Coastal Trail. We might even bring along some healthy snacks and sparkling water to help you celebrate! So what are you waiting for? Let’s get this party started! Give us a call at 964-1251 and we will schedule your May is for Moderna pop up party wherever and whenever works for you. 

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GREG ‘GP’ PRICE, FORMERLY OF BOONVILLE, VISITS VEGAS WITH HIS TWO GRANDSONS

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POINT ARENA VAXX

Vaccinations in Point Arena!

There will be a vaccination clinic in Point Arena next Monday, May 17 from 3-5pm at the Vet's Building/City Hall located at 451 School Street!

The clinic will be first come-first serve, no appointment is necessary, there is no need to register beforehand.

There will be 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine available. There will also be the option of the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine.

Please let everyone know about this important opportunity to get vaccinated -- we want a good turnout!

Kindly,

Paul Andersen, City Manager, Phone: 707-882-2122

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Ukiah Second Graders, 1910

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SONOMA COUNTY OFFICIALS TO CUT PUMPING FROM RUSSIAN RIVER BY 20% AMID DEEPENING DROUGHT

by Mary Callahan

Sonoma County supervisors are expected to offer their formal support Tuesday for a plan to pump 20% less water than normal from the Russian River for the remainder of the year, preserving dwindling supplies in local reservoirs but making less water available to more than 600,000 consumers in Sonoma and northern Marin counties.

The move means communities that rely partly or fully on Sonoma Water, the county agency that serves as the region’s main wholesaler, will have to find ways to live with at least 20% less water than a year ago, depending how much worse the drought gets. The reduced diversion level also applies to Healdsburg and Camp Meeker, who take water under Sonoma Water water rights.

The cut would be the most significant single action to date by the county in response to a deepening drought after two straight years of extraordinarily low rainfall and record-low reservoirs for this time of year.

“This is kind of where the rubber meets the road,” agency spokesman Brad Sherwood said.

The action is proposed as a condition for requesting authorization from the California State Water Resources Control Board to reduce river flows below the level usually required to support imperiled fish habitat, thus allowing more water to stay behind the dams at Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino.

It comes as conditions become increasingly dire around California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday extended an April 21 drought emergency proclamation for Sonoma and Mendocino counties to include 39 additional counties.

“It’s difficult to overstate the seriousness of the need to have everyone in the Russian River watershed begin their conservation practices,” Sonoma Water General Manager Grant Davis said Monday.

Instream flows in Russian River’s main stem above the confluence with Dry Creek would be cut to as low as 25 cubic feet per second, while those below the creek, which carries water from Lake Sonoma to the agency’s pumps, would be cut to 35 cubic feet per second — less than half the already meager spring flow on the lower river Monday. Water agency officials say the river would always have a “buffer” to ensure the river flow never drops below the allowed levels.

Davis’ comment came during a drought summit convened Monday by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, who gathered stakeholders from around the Russian River region to discuss the worsening water shortage, its implications for different populations, as well as the varying needs.

In the river’s headwaters, Mendocino County and its small water suppliers do not have the funding and staff common to larger urban entities to provide public outreach about the drought and how to use water efficiently, said Supervisor Glenn McGourty.

Some of those rural communities face severe shortages, and "there is a lot of anxiety here locally," McGourty said.

Isolated coastal communities also have limited supplies that could quickly be depleted, Huffman said.

Small water retailers on the upper Russian River are preparing consumers to reduce their water use to 55 gallons per person per day, said Elizabeth Salomone, general manager of the Russian River Flood Control and Water Conservation Improvement District, which supplies both municipal and agricultural users.

“In the upper Russian River watershed this year, we have some water suppliers that are reliant solely on surface water and will be challenged to make sure they have enough water for human health and safety,” Salomone said.

Agricultural users also are feeling profound pressure, including grape growers who are seeing shorter shoots on their vines and more pronounced indications of disease and fruit failure after a year in which harvested tonnage already was down 40% due to wildfires, said Karissa Kruse, who represents about 1,800 growers as president of Sonoma County Winegrowers.

Dairy ranchers who are trucking water to dry lands with empty water ponds in south Sonoma County also are looking for assistance, said Tawny Tesconi, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau. One rancher has decided to sell off his 600 cows, she said.

With the climate crisis, expectations have to change from the old model, where rain and snow replenish reservoirs pretty close to every year, McGourty said.

“I have huge concerns going forward,” he said.

(courtesy The Press Democrat)

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Moving buildings from one logging camp to another near Big River.

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FOLLOW UP?

Editor,

Is there any follow up to that incredible front page story in the April 14 edition written by Eva Chrysanthe detailing the tragic events at Sausalito? Is Paul Ray Smith Jr. still in jail? And I am so saddened to hear that the “officials” killed his beloved companion dog. Her story really drove home the point that we are becoming a military state. That such an incident could happen in so-called civilized, up-scale Sausalito, and that the perpetrators of such violence could get away with it is testament to our devolution as a society.

I applaud Ms. Chrysanthe for her in-depth account of this tragedy. If there is any more to this story I’d appreciate reading it. Did Mr. Smith ever get legal counsel? And/or psychological counseling?

This account of unnecessary force is just as noteworthy as the George Floyd, Brianna Taylor, etc., cases, but it didn’t make national news, or even local news, except for its inclusion in the Mighty AVA.

Louise Mariana

Mendocino

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Cactus Flower Blooming in AVA Cactus Garden

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BLAST FROM THE PAST

by Jim Shields (Nov. 1997)

A decade ago, the County’s top ag official lost his job when he listed marijuana as the area’s number one cash crop in the annual crop report. The County officials who forced the beleaguered agronomist out the door were lacking — in equal amounts — a sense of humor and an appreciation for a fact which is common knowledge to even Mendocino’s newest arrivals.

At Tuesday’s Supes’ meeting (10/28), the Board was introduced to the County’s newly-minted Farm Advisor, John Harper, who has been with that agency for a number of years as the second-in-command. Following County Administrator Mike Scannell’s flowering recitation of Harper’s bona fides, 3rd District Supe John Pinches welcomed Harper aboard: “Say, John (Harper), can you tell me what is Mendocino County’s number one cash crop?” Pinches inquired.

“Uh…uh…, what was that, Supervisor Pinches?” a flustered Harper responded, questioning Pinches’ question with his own question.

“Well, my question is, What is Mendocino County’s number one cash crop, legal or illegal?” said Pinches, this time fleshing out his inquiry with more detail.

“Well, um, I’d have to say… um…” stammered Harper, evidently unaided by the Laytonville Supe’s additional clues.

“Marijuana!” boomed Board Chair Charles Peterson, riding to Harper’s conversational rescue. “I believe that’s the response Supervisor Pinches was searching for. Welcome to politics, Mr. Harper.”

“Well, uh, yes, but timber is the number one cash crop officially,” replied the ag advisor, grateful for Peterson’s timely intercession.

“The University (of California, which the Farm Advisor’s office is affiliated with) frowns on that one (recognizing pot as a cash crop),” continued Harper. “Also, I have to deal with the politics at the next level, so…”

Deciding that the rookie ag advisor’s trial-by-ordeal was concluded for the day, Pinches turned next to outgoing farm advisor Glenn McGourty, who was beside Harper at the speaker’s table. “Glen, do you think there’s a possibility you can get the County some grants so that helicopters can fly over our cattle and grapes so they can keep the production down and get the prices up artificially high like with that other program (CAMP)?,” Pinches asked, eliciting laughs from everybody but no response from McGourty.

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SUDDEN AGITATION

On Saturday, May 8, 2021 at about 3:30 AM, Mendocino County Sheriff Deputies were dispatched to a domestic disturbance that occurred in the 100 block of Kawi Place in Willits.

Deputies responded and met with a 51 year-old female. Deputies learned the 51-year old adult female had been reportedly assaulted by Kyle Cohn, 48, of Willits, and that the couple resided together.

Kyle Cohn

Deputies learned the adult female was in a vehicle as a passenger while Cohn was driving in the 100 block of Kawi Place.

Cohn suddenly became very agitated and started shouting at the adult female. Cohn grabbed the adult female by the face, throat and choked her for a brief moment. Cohn then grabbed her face again and started hitting her with his other hand.

The adult female was able to escape the vehicle in the 1200 block of Blosser Lane and flagged down a passing motorist who assisted her in departing the area.

Deputies observed visible injuries to the adult female's face. Deputies issued a local law enforcement “be on the lookout” (BOLO) for Cohn and searched the area however were unable to locate him that morning.

Later that day at about 7.00 PM, Deputies located Cohn in the 100 block of Main Street. Deputies contacted Cohn and arrested him on the listed charges.

Cohn was on formal probation in Placer County and had a domestic violence restraining order issued where he was listed as the restrained person and the adult female being the protected party.

Cohn was booked into the Mendocino County Jail on charges of Felony Domestic Violence Battery, Felony Violation of Probation, Violation of Protective Order, Disobey Court Order, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia where he was to be held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

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TONY, SAM & RAMONA, 1:30AM NORTH STATE

On Thursday, May 7, 2021 at about 1:31 A.M, Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a reported disturbance at a motel in the 1300 block of North State Street in Ukiah.

The Deputies contacted several people associated with the disturbance in the motel parking lot. An adult female with the involved persons was determined to be on probation and was subject to search.

The adult female was associated with two vehicles, having personal property in each vehicle.

A Dodge van was in the possession of an adult male identified as Samuel Graham, 28, of Pittsburg. Graham was determined to have been an involved person in the disturbance and was detained.

Romero, Graham, Supnet

A Dodge Charger was in the possession of an adult male identified as Anthony Romero, 30, of Antioch. The Dodge was a rental vehicle with the leasee being an adult female identified as Romona Supnet, 41, of Antioch.

Supnet had outstanding felony warrants and left the scene prior to the Deputies' arrival. Romero was determined to have been an involved person in the disturbance and was detained.

During the investigation, Romero provided false identification to the Deputies, including a false California Identification Card. After locating Romero's true name, it was learned his driving privilege was suspended.

A search of both vehicles was conducted. A loaded Glock .380 caliber handgun was located concealed inside the driver door panel of the Dodge Charger. Romero was determined to have control of the vehicle and was in possession of the vehicle keys.

Romero was determined to be a convicted felon, prohibited from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition. Romero was placed under arrest for Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Carry a Loaded Firearm not Registered as Owner, Carry a Concealed Firearm in a Vehicle, Convicted Felon in Possession of Ammunition, Possession of a Controlled Substance while Armed with a Loaded Firearm, possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of a False Identification Card and Presenting False Identification to a Peace Officer. While searching Romero incident to his arrest, a Deputy located several grams of suspected heroin.

While searching the Dodge van, Deputies located a loaded Taurus 9mm caliber handgun in the glove compartment. Graham was determined to be in control of the van and was in possession of the vehicle keys. Graham was placed under arrest for Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Carrying a Loaded Firearm no Registered as Owner, Carrying a Concealed Firearm in a Vehicle, and Convicted Felon in Possession of Ammunition.

Through their investigation, Deputies learned Supnet was hiding in the area. The Deputies conducted several hours of surveillance and Supnet was eventually located inside a room at a different nearby motel.

Deputies confirmed Supnet had two outstanding felony warrants for her arrest. Supnet was placed under arrest for her outstanding warrants.

Romero, Graham and Supnet were transported to the Mendocino County Jail where they were all booked.

Romero and Graham were each to be held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Supnet was to be held in lieu of $175,000 total bail for her outstanding warrants.

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2:47AM NORTH STATE STREET

On Friday, May 8, 2021 at about 2:47 A.M, Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a report of a male causing a disturbance in the 1300 block of North State Street in Ukiah.

The Deputies contacted Patrick Davi, 62, of Guerneville, standing in front of a business.

Patrick Davi

A records check was conducted on Davi through Sheriff's Office Dispatch and Deputies learned Davi had an outstanding felony warrant for his arrest.

The warrant was issued out of Siskiyou County for violation of probation, with $100,000 being the set bail.

Davi was arrested pursuant to the warrant and was booked into the Mendocino County Jail. Davi was to be held in lieu of $100,000 bail or until extradited to Siskiyou County.

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BUT I LOVE HIM

On Thursday, May 7, 2021 at approximately 11:13 AM, Mendocino County Sheriff Deputies received information an adult male, (Ishmael Nash, 22, of Ukiah) who was wanted for felony and misdemeanor warrants, was hiding in an apartment in the 100 block of Laws Avenue in Ukiah.

The Deputies went to the address provided and contacted an adult female who they identified as Alissa Crosswebb, 23, of Ukiah, who was in the residence. Crosswebb and Nash have a child in common.

Nash & Crosswebb

Crosswebb would not let the Deputies into the residence to search for Nash. Crosswebb told Deputies Nash was not at the residence and she had not seen him in over a month.

Crosswebb was advised of the consequences for harboring a known wanted felon, but she still refused to allow Deputies access inside the residence or provide any information on the whereabouts of Nash.

The Deputies left the residence and continued to try and gather information regarding Nash's whereabouts.

At approximately 12:10 PM, Deputies saw Crosswebb driving her Dodge Charger in the 1400 block of South State Street. As the Deputies passed the vehicle, they saw a subject in the rear passenger seat who they could not positively identify due to window tinting.

When the Deputies finally caught up to the vehicle it was parked in the 900 block of Marlene Street (Ukiah) with the back passenger side door open and Crosswebb in the driver seat.

Crosswebb at first denied Nash was in the vehicle but eventually admitted Nash had been in the vehicle, but fled prior to their arrival. Deputies also determined Nash was in Crosswebb's residence when Deputies were there talking with her earlier in the day.

Crosswebb was arrested for Harboring A Known Wanted Felon.

A short time later the Deputies received information Nash was hiding in a nearby residence.

Deputies and Ukiah Police Department Officers went to the residence and received permission to enter the residence to search for Nash.

Nash tried to flee out the back of the residence, but was apprehended in the creek bed behind the residence by UPD Officers.

Nash was arrested for his felony warrant: Felon In Possession Of A Firearm,and misdemeanor warrant: Probation Violation. Nash was also arrested for the fresh charge of Resisting Or Obstructing An Officer.

Crosswebb was transported to the Mendocino County Jail where she was booked, to be released after the jail booking process on zero bail pursuant to COVID-19 bail schedule set forth by the State of California Judicial Council.

Nash was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held in lieu of $20,000 bail and $7,500.00 bail for his two warrants.

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RODRIGUEZ DETAINED

On Friday, May 7, 2021 at about 8:30 PM, Mendocino County Sheriff Deputies were dispatched to contact Cahto Tribal Police who had a subject detained for a felony warrant arrest.

Deputies responded to the 300 block of Cahto Drive and contacted a Tribal Police Officer who had Antonio Rodriguez, 23, of Laytonville, detained.

Antonio Rodriguez

Rodriguez had an outstanding felony warrant for his arrest for Failing to appear in court on the pending charges, Failure to stop after collision, felony vandalism and motor vehicle theft.

Rodriguez was arrested for the outstanding warrant and booked into the Mendocino County Jail were he was to be held in lieu of $15,000 bail.

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CORT DISARMED

On Friday, May 7, 2021 at about 10:30 AM, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to contact a 36-year old adult female regarding a violation of a temporary restraining order.

A Deputy responded to the Covelo area and eventually made contact with the adult female in the early afternoon. The Deputy learned Cort Miller, 26, of Covelo had been served earlier in the day with a temporary restraining order where the adult female was the protected person while Miller was restrained from having any contact with her.

Cort Miller

The adult female noted approximately 30 minutes after Miller was served with the restraining order he violated it by telephoning her phone and leaving harassing messages.

Present with the Deputy was a California Fish and Wildlife Warden (CFW). The CFW Warden was provided a description of Miller and a vehicle he was last seen driving.

A short time later the Warden located Miller in a vehicle at about the 25000 block of Barnes Lane in Covelo.

The Deputy responded to the location and met with Miller, subsequently arresting him for violation of restraining order.

While inventorying Miller’s vehicle prior to towing and storage, the Deputy located a single shot 12-gauge shotgun in the trunk of the vehicle. Miller is a convicted felon and prohibited by from possessing firearms or ammunition.

Miller was additionally arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition.

Miller was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

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14 DEBIT CARDS AND…

On Sunday, May 9, 2021 at approximately 12:11 A.M., a Mendocino County Deputy Sheriff was on routine patrol in the parking lot of the Coyote Valley Gas Station 7751 North State Street, Redwood Valley.

The Deputy observed a male subject who appeared familiar to him. The Deputy conducted a records check on the subject and was informed the subject was on Felony Probation out of Mendocino County for Burglary.

The subject was identified as Christopher Guerrero, 31, of Willits. Terms of Guerrero's probation included a requirement that he submit to search and seizure.

Christopher Guerrero

Guerrero was contacted inside of the gas station and requested to come outside. The Deputy conducted a search of Guerrero's person and his vehicle.

In Guerrero's wallet, the Deputy located approximately 14 debit cards and 2 California Driver Licenses belonging to various people.

Inside of the vehicle, the Deputy located two forged checks from a business in Clearlake made out to Guerrero.

Inside of the vehicle, the Deputy located a false compartment which contained 17 Alprazolam pills (Schedule IV Narcotic, also known as Xanax), 2.3 Grams of a white powder substance suspected to be Fentanyl, and 4.9 grams of suspected heroin. The Deputy also located approximately one gram of suspected methamphetamine in the vehicle.

The Deputy also located hundreds of baseball cards and two comic books which were suspected to be stolen property.

Guerrero was placed under arrest for Felony Violation of Probation, Felony False Compartment, Felony Possession of Forged Checks, Felony Possession of 4 or More Access Cards, Possession of methamphetamine and Possession of Heroin.

Guerrero was subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

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Cerf Family, Ukiah, 1895

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CATCH OF THE DAY, May 10, 2021

Cochran, Cohn, Elder

NICHOLAS COCHRAN, Talmage. DUI with priors, no license, suspended license (for DUI), false personation of anothoer, failure to appear, probation revocation.

KYLE COHN, Willits. Domestic battery, paraphernalia, disobeying court order, protective order violation.

JODI ELDER, Lakeport/Ukiah. DUI-alcohol&drugs.

Gonzales, Hoaglin, Lawson

ISAAC GONZALES, Kerman/Ukiah. Controlled substance for sale while armed with loaded firearm, transportation, felon-addict with firearm, suspended license, armed in commission or attempted felony, resisting.

GARRIE HOAGLIN, Covelo. Parole violation. (Frequent flyer.)

ZACHARY LAWSON JR., Ukiah. Controlled substance, no license, suspended license, parole violation.

Medina, Miller, Ruiz

JOSHUA MEDINA, Fort Bragg. Protective order violation.

DANIEL MILLER, Clearlake/Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

CHRISTOBAL RUIZ, Ukiah. DUI, no license.

Simpson, Smart, Warner

DAVID SIMPSON, Ukiah. Controlled substance, disobeying court order, failure to appear, probation revocation.

SETH SMART, Willits. Stolen vehicle.

ROBERT WARNER, Ukiah. Suspended license, failure to appear.

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LIBERAL PARTIES around the world have been losing their grip on power, because most people in the real world, away from the shrieking echo chambers of social media, increasingly loathe the woke and cancel culture mentality. And it's also why Joe Biden should be very, very careful which way he takes his Democrat party in the next three years if he wants to stand any chance of re-election in 2024. To understand the danger, Biden need look no further than to what's happening to the equivalent of the Democratic Party in his closest ally, Britain. The Labour Party, which dominated for a decade from 1997-2007 under three-term winner Tony Blair, is currently disintegrating to the point where many members fear it's making itself permanently unelectable. The situation is so bad that Labour's current leader Sir Keir Starmer is already facing calls to quit after being in the job for just a year, following a disastrous performance in last week's UK local elections, the nearest equivalent to the US mid-terms. Labour, like the Democrats, has allowed its agenda to be dictated by an army of woke warriors dripping in demented self-righteous virtue-signalling.... 

— Piers Morgan 

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ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

Complexity is also a ruse.

Do you really understand your phone bill?

Ever argue with an auto mechanic?

Medical – pullllleease.

These are the diminishing returns of technology. A world so complex, only the high priests of technology (the current fascists) can understand and explain it all. Only the high priests of medicine can understand and explain it all. Only the high priests of government can understand and explain it all.

It’s how they pull the wool over our eyes, every single time.

At this point, a world made by hand is more a prayer than a novel.

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BENEVOLENCE, n. Subscribing five dollars towards the relief of one’s aged grandfather in the almshouse, and publishing it in the newspaper.

— Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

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LAST DAYS. Another indication that I was in the South was the chorus of radio preachers across the whole dial, from frequency to frequency, shouting sermons of denunciation that proved we were in the Last Days. "As Paul told Timothy — Second Timothy,” they said, one after another. “But know this, that in the Last Days grievous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control fierce, not lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, overs of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding a form of godliness but having denied the the power therefore. From these also turn away. For of these are they that creep into houses, and take captive silly women laden with sins, led away by divers lusts, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth…” 

— Paul Theroux, Deep South 

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WHEN MY MOTHER WAS ASKED why, after three marriages, she did not try for a fourth, she observed, “My first husband had three balls. My second, two. My third, one. Even I know enough not to press my luck.”

— Gore Vidal

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Early Albion Mill Construction

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"THE UNSHELTERED HOMELESS" (from the LA Times):

…Cities up and down the West Coast, including Seattle, Sacramento and San Francisco, confronted by the high cost and slow progress of building housing for homeless people, have turned to permitted tent encampments. 

They offer services such as toilets, meals and help finding a permanent place to stay. These efforts, once anathema among some homeless service providers, are becoming more widely accepted as unsheltered homelessness has grown and government officials reckon with a pandemic that has made placing people in large shelters dangerous.....

The city’s first site in the shadow of City Hall and next to the public library sprouted up just as the shelter system’s capacity was limited by the coronavirus and large encampments with 10 or 20 tents began to appear on San Francisco’s streets. It started as an ad hoc response to the pandemic but will probably remain in some form.

City officials say there’s more demand for the roughly 260 spots at these sanctioned tent encampments around the city than spaces available. On one day in early April, there were five open sanctioned camping spots, four spaces open at one of the city’s congregate shelters and two hotel rooms. All were filled by outreach workers by the early afternoon.

City officials, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed, have partially credited this effort for a decline in the number of tents on the city’s streets. In April 2020, there were 1,100 tents on San Francisco streets and 66 encampments of six tents or more. 

Now, there are just under 400 tents and 10 large encampments, according to Jeff Kositsky, who previously ran the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and now is in charge of its unsheltered homeless response.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors recently debated and eventually shot down a proposal to require the city to provide shelter for all unhoused people. Its lead supporter has said that this could be accomplished mainly through the expansion of the safe sleep sites. 

The city’s latest point-in-time count found about 8,000 homeless people, but officials say based on other estimates the number is closer to 20,000.

“This creates choices for people. They have agency in getting to decide how to live their life,” Kositsky said…

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I REMEMBER QUEEN WILHELMINA when she came to visit the Whitehouse during the war, and she would sit under a tree and commune with the dead. She would even try to get ME interested in spiritualism. But I always said: Since we're going to be dead such a long time anyway, it's rather a waste of time chatting with all of them BEFORE we get there.

— Eleanor Roosevelt

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THE RAPTURES OF HYPER COMPLEXITY

by James Kunstler

Looks like The New York Times will have to recalibrate its president-o-meter. For five months they’ve been styling Joe Biden as the reincarnation of FDR, but he’s looking more and more like the second coming of Millard Fillmore — who came to leadership of the dominant Whig Party at exactly the moment it flew up the wazoo of history and vanished, ushering in a civil war.

FDR, you remember, was faced with a momentous systems failure, a crisis we came to call the Great Depression. I’m not sure we actually learned the lesson of that, despite thousands of books and PhD dissertations on the subject. The lesson: financial systems tend to expand and complexify at a more rapid rate than the larger economic systems of which they are a component. Their abstract operations seek to hide risk in hyper-complexity until hazard comes a’callin’ and then you discover that the actual money is not there.

The difference then (1929 – 1941) was that the greater US economy was fully outfitted for industrial production when its finance sector blew up. There was something solid underneath all that financial abstraction. We were all set up to manufacture products of value, many of them based on inventions developed here: cars, movies, airplanes, radios, you-name-it, new and exciting things that people wanted to buy. Our factories were all pretty much up-to-date and state-of-the-art then, too. Our oil supply, including the industry that pumped it out of the ground and moved it from points A to B, was the envy of the world. We had raw materials up the ying-yang. The whole kit was humming magnificently when Wall Street blew up, and next thing you know unemployment goes to twenty-five percent and nobody has any money and the luckless are building cardboard shanties in Central Park.

Of course, that was then and this is now. If you’re saying “boo-hoo,” I think you get the picture. That whole kit of industrial production is long gone, and we’re left in an economic slum of Chinese product “welfare” (stuff for treasury bonds) juiced on computer-driven hyper-complexity, decorated with junk enterprise like social media, streaming pornography, crypto-currency mining, and chicken nuggets — with a lot of deceptive and useless motion in the form of mass motoring to provide the illusion that this country is actually going somewhere… all with a poison Chinese Covid-19 cherry-on-top. This is the outfit that Joe Biden is ostensibly the president of.

Now along comes the curious case of the Colonial Pipeline shutdown. It’s especially interesting because the pipeline itself, while big (5,500 miles long, from refineries in Texas clear up to gas stations in New York), is itself not that complicated. It’s a tube that a few volatile liquids move through: gasoline, aviation fuel, diesel oil. It has a bunch of valves to regulate the flows of these liquids. Plus, some storage tank-farms. The valves are computerized. That seems to be the problem. There was no physical damage to the pipeline and its components. The software that runs it got hacked, reportedly a “ransom-ware” sting, where unknown actors get control of the software and won’t relinquish it unless a whole lot of cash gets forked over by some non-traceable electronic means of transfer. I imagine it’s this last point that Colonial and its hackers are haggling over now, which explains the failure to restart the otherwise undamaged pipeline. I also imagine, meanwhile, all kinds of private and government computer savants are trying like hell to hack the hack behind the scenes.

The Colonial Pipeline is easy-peasy compared to the financial system and the electric grid. If the first one gets hacked, the nation’s nominal wealth might disappear (yours included), and, anyway, the financial system itself is not just enormous and hyper-complex, but much of its complexity conceals the massive misrepresentation of vaporous entities for “money” and any stoppage of the flows of that “money,” and things purporting to derive from it, will reveal the black hole at the center of all that activity. Hear that giant sucking sound? That was your livelihood, your pension, and your legacy rushing by en route to zero.

The electric grid is sometimes referred to as “the biggest machine in the world.” Unlike the financial system, it’s not largely stoked on hyper-complex dishonesty, it’s just really old, and jerry-rigged, and held together with duct-tape and baling wire. Probably a few kids in a basement somewhere — not even enemies of the republic, necessarily — could initiate a software attack that causes a whole lot of damage to transformers and other vital components and starts a process that wrecks the whole darn thing. Taking down the grid would be, effectively, the end of civilization, at least for a while, maybe a long while, maybe for good.

The various voting systems that states such as Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan employ are child’s play compared to those monsters. And the funny part is: there was no good reason to over-complexify them except to queer elections. Dominion machines and Smartmatic software were hardly needed to tally votes and only invited opportunity to cheat. Paper ballots, pen-and-ink voter registration ledgers (like the ones still used in New York state precincts), and some dedicated board-of-election workers will get’er done in a straightforward manner that can be regulated easily. But, no-o-o-o, we had to heap unnecessary complexity on that, too, and look where it’s left us. We may find out soon.

So, the Colonial Pipeline breakdown should send a kind of grim message. The creatures who run the Federal Reserve, the banks, and the markets are standing by along with the poor souls who run the electric grid, chewing their fingernails down to the nubbins. It’s too late to simplify any of it. We’ve just got to roll with it, until it stops rolling.

(Support Kunstler’s writing by visiting his Patreon Page.)

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MENDOCINO COUNTY SCIENCE FAIR GOES VIRTUAL

Local Student Received Honorable Mention at State Competition

Mendocino County, CA — On March 20, the Mendocino County Office of Education (MCOE) hosted the 35th annual Mendocino County Science Fair, moving the event online to comply with COVID safety guidelines. One hundred three students submitted 97 projects representing 16 local schools. Seventeen volunteer judges assessed the projects and voted to advance the top 10 to the California state science fair that was held on April 13. At the state competition, Willits Charter School sixth grader Aedan Lockwood-Chenelle garnered an Honorable Mention by placing fifth in the junior toxicology division for his project titled, “Weeding Out Round-Up.”

Shane Hildebrand, MCOE Director of Continuous Improvement thanked the team of dedicated educators, parents and community members who worked together to make the virtual contest a success. He said, “All of us here at the Mendocino County Office of Education were so inspired by the effort the students put into this year’s projects. This last year has been incredibly challenging for students, families, and educators, so it was especially gratifying to see students pursue their experiments with passion and curiosity.”

Mendocino County students in grades 3-12 submitted science fair projects as teams and as individuals. Projects ranged from biology, chemistry, geology & earth sciences, environmental science & ecology psychology, health sciences, engineering & technology, and physics. The winners are listed below.

SPECIAL AWARDS

Yee Kit Chan from Instilling Goodness / Developing Virtue Schools received the California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS) Award . This award recognizes students’ scientific study and encourages them to continue developing their scientific interests. Students eligible for this award must be in grades 7-11 and meet certain criteria by CAPS.

Aedan Lockwood-Chenelle from Willits Charter School and Kaci Maynard from River Oak Charter School received the Outstanding Young Scientist Award. 

Connor Quigley from St. Mary of the Angels and Eddie Bower from Bower Homeschool received the UC ANR Hopland Research and Extension Center for Excellence in Environmental Science/Ecology .

Savanah Rorabaugh from River Oak Charter School and Adalyn France from Willits Elementary Charter School received the Paul Joens-Poulton Avantgarde Award. This award honors Joens-Poulton’s efforts in spearheading the county science fair and his promotion of scientific education for students within the county. This award recognizes a project that would be characterized as advanced, unorthodox and/or experimental.

Logan Devine from Willits Charter School received the Evelyn Smith Excellence in Science Award for his project, “Can Deleted Files be Recovered?” MCOE established this award as a memoriam to Evelyn Smith, a supporter of science education whose enthusiasm and efforts for the science fair benefited students, instructors, and the community.

CALIFORNIA STATE SCIENCE FAIR 

Ten projects and three alternate projects advanced to the California State Science Fair. The Mendocino County Science Fair state judges selected the following students in grades 6-12 with Class A and Class B Projects to compete at the state level (in no particular order).

California State Science Fair - Qualified Projects 

  • Abigail Sherf, Which Wax Works Well?, Willits Charter School
  • Eddie Bower, The Wildest Wildfire Project of Them All: Exploring Plant Growth in Burned and Unburned Coastal Hills in Sonoma County, California, Bower Homeschool
  • Yi Fan Chan, Cooling Properties and Freezing Times of Various Water Temperatures, Ukiah Independent Study Academy
  • Connor Quigley, Which House Siding is the Most Fire Resistant?, St. Mary of the Angels
  • Logan Devine, Can Deleted Files Be Recovered, Willits Charter School
  • Danielle Skinner, Best Hatched By..., Laytonville Elementary School
  • Tyler Knight, To Drink or Not to Drink, Laytonville Elementary School
  • Aedan Lockwood-Chenelle, Weeding Out Round-Up, Willits Charter School
  • Yee Kit Chan, Observing Trends and Correlations in Sleep Quality and Stress of Students Immersed in Different Mode of Instruction and Learning, Instilling Goodness/Developing Virtue Schools
  • Kyler Hall, Wacing Wabbits, Willits Charter School

ELEMENTARY DIVISION — CLASS A PROJECTS 

Ribbon of Superior

  • Bronach Bowles, A Dog’s Favorite Color, Blosser Lane Elementary
  • Autumn Brockman, pH of Water in Brooktrails, CA, Sherwood School
  • Jameson Matheson, Cold vs. Warm Crystal Growing, Blosser Lane Elementary
  • Aiyana Adams, The Rise and Fall of Water Temperature, Blosser Lane Elementary
  • Asher Mansfield, What Causes Green Flames?, Blosser Lane Elementary
  • Adalyn France, Types of Cats Who Likes to Sit in Boxes, Willits Elementary Charter School
  • Esteban Orozco, Battery Voltage, River Oak Charter School
  • Kaci Maynard, Are Your Hands Really Clean?, River Oak Charter School
  • Ocean Shattuck, Magnet Powered Rockets, River Oak Charter School

Ribbon of Excellence

  • Savanah Rorabaugh, Do Cats Have A Paw Preference?, Willits Elementary Charter School
  • Taylor Thorpe, Borax Slime vs Contact Lens Solution Slime: Which is Stretchier?, Arena Elementary

Ribbon of Achievement

  • Daisy Collins, Water Balloons with Household Items, Blosser Lane Elementary
  • Kayley Medina Gaona, Blowing Up a Balloon with Baking Soda and Vinegar, Arena Elementary

JUNIOR/SENIOR DIVISIONS - CLASS A PROJECTS 

Ribbon of Superior

  • Connor Quigley, Which House Siding is the Most Fire Resistant?, St. Mary of the Angels
  • Tyler Knight, To Drink or Not to Drink, Laytonville Elementary School
  • Sofia Vaccaro, The Effect, Willits Charter School
  • Eddie Bower, The Wildest Wildfire Project of Them All: Exploring Plant Growth in Burned and Unburned Coastal Hills in Sonoma County, California, Bower Homeschool
  • Abigail Sherf, Which Wax Works Well?, Willits Charter School
  • Kyler Hall, Wacing Wabbits, Willits Charter School
  • Yi Fan Chan, Cooling Properties and Freezing Times of Various Water Temperatures, Ukiah Independent Study Academy
  • Yee Kit Chan, Observing Trends and Correlations in Sleep Quality and Stress of Students Immersed in Different Mode of Instruction and Learning, Instilling Goodness/Developing Virtue Schools

Ribbon of Excellence

  • Danielle Skinner, Best Hatched By…, Laytonville Elementary School
  • Aedan Lockwood-Chenelle, Weeding Out Round-Up, Willits Charter School
  • Vada Morgan, Oil Spill Cleanup, Willits Charter School
  • Alexandra Ramos, Toddler Choice, Baechtel Grove Middle School
  • Ruby Dauenhauer, How Color Affects Temperature, Point Arena Elementary

Ribbon of Achievement

  • Cael Phenicie, Which Kitchen Trash Bag Has the Best Durability for Its Value?, St. Mary of the Angels
  • Adelaide Ross, Are Students More Focused on Distance Learning or in School?, St. Mary of the Angels
  • Caleb Hubley, Steven Dunnicliff, Bode Gower, Do Different Liquids Affect Our Body Cells and Can the Effects Be Reversed?, St. Mary of the Angels
  • Aiyana Wright, Happy Health Succulents, Sherwood School
  • Gabriela Aguilar, Rosie Aguilar Villagomez, Music and Heart Rate, Arena Elementary
  • James Martin, Copper Electroplating Coins, St. Mary of the Angels
  • Austin Ross, Are Students More Focused on Distance Learning or in School?, St. Mary of the Angels
  • Dillon Buchanan, Puppy Love, Willits Charter School

JUNIOR/SENIOR DIVISIONS - CLASS A PROJECTS 

Ribbon of Superior

  • Logan Devine, Can Deleted Files Be Recovered?, Willits Charter School
  • Leo Estrada, The Spud That Could, Arena Elementary
  • Khloe Neuroth, Bombs Away, Laytonville Elementary School

Ribbon of Excellence

  • Molly Kaluna-Jones, What Materials Block Wi-Fi Signals?, St. Mary of the Angels
  • Jade L’Heureux, Personal Hotspot, Eagle Peak Middle School
  • Enzo Vaccaro, Let It Glow, Willits Charter School
  • Hunter Paris, Autonomous Line-Following Car, Willits Charter School

Ribbon of Achievement

  • Jonah Myers, Evan Lodge, Mechanical Pellet Stove Concept, St. Mary of the Angels

(State science fair results are available at csef.usc.edu)

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* * *

CONGRESSWOMAN JAYAPAL MISSES THE MARK BY SAYING BIDEN DESERVES AN ‘A’ GRADE

by Jeff Cohen & Norman Solomon

It’s the job of progressive advocates and activists to tell inconvenient truths, without sugarcoating or cheerleading. To effectively confront the enormous problems facing our country and world, progressives need to soberly assess everything -- good, bad and mixed.

Yet last week, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Pramila Jayapal, made headlines when she graded President Biden’s job performance. “I give him an ‘A’ so far,” Jayapal said in an otherwise well-grounded interview with the Washington Post. She conferred the top grade on Biden even though, as she noted, “that doesn’t mean that I agree with him on every single thing.”

Overall, the policies of the Biden administration have not come close to being consistently outstanding. Awarding an “A” to Biden is flatly unwarranted.

It’s also strategically wrongheaded. If we’re going to get maximum reforms in this crucial period, President Biden needs focused pressure -- not the highest rating -- from progressives.

In school, an “A” grade commonly means “excellent performance” or “outstanding achievement.” Rendering such a verdict on Biden’s presidency so far promotes a huge misconception and lowers the progressive bar.

Biden does deserve credit for some strong high-level appointments (Deb Haaland as Interior Secretary jumps to mind), a number of important executive orders (many simply undoing four years of horrific Trumpism), and one crucial legislative achievement -- the American Rescue Act. The proposed American Jobs Act (a small step toward a Green New Deal) and American Families Act (education/anti-poverty) are also quite progressive.

But Biden has made several major appointments that overtly kowtowed to corporate America -- for example, “Mr. Monsanto” Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture and former venture capitalist Gina Raimondo as Commerce Secretary. To mark Biden’s first 100 days, the Revolving Door Project issued an overall grade of B- in its report card on how Biden had done in preventing “corporate capture” of the executive branch by industries such as fossil fuels, Big Pharma and Big Tech.

In an improvement over the Obama era, the Biden administration earned a B/B+ in keeping Wall Streeters from dominating its economic and financial teams. On the other hand, as graded by the Revolving Door Project, Biden got a D- on limiting the power of the military-industrial complex over U.S. foreign policy: “We are particularly alarmed by Biden’s hiring of several alumni of the Center for a New American Security, a hawkish think tank funded by weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.”

Much as “personnel is policy” in the executive branch, the federal budget indicates actual priorities. Biden’s budget reflects his continuing embrace of the military-industrial complex, a tight grip that squeezes many billions needed for vital social, economic and environmental programs. The administration recently disclosed its plan to increase the basic military budget to $753 billion, a $13 billion boost above the last bloated Trump budget. (All told, the annual total of U.S. military-related spending has been way above $1 trillion for years.) And Biden continues to ramp up spending for nuclear weapons, including ICBMs -- which former Defense Secretary William Perry aptly says are “some of the most dangerous weapons in the world.”

Meanwhile, Biden is heightening the dangers of an unimaginably catastrophic war with Russia or China. In sharp contrast to his assertion on Feb. 4 that “diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy,” Biden proceeded to undermine diplomacy with reckless rhetoric toward Russia and a confrontational approach to China. The effects have included blocking diplomatic channels and signaling military brinkmanship.

Biden won praise when he announced plans for a not-quite-total U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, but he has not committed to ending the U.S. air war there -- and some forms of on-the-ground military involvement are open-ended.

Unfortunately, little attention has gone to the alarming realities of Biden’s foreign policy and inflated budget for militarism. Domestic matters are in the spotlight, where -- contrary to overblown praise -- the overall picture is very mixed.

While Biden has issued some executive orders improving social and regulatory policies, he has refused to issue many much-needed executive orders. Give him an “I” for incomplete, including on the issue of $1.7 trillion in student loan debt that undermines the economy and burdens 45 million debtors, especially people of color. Biden has not budged, even after non-progressive Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have pressed him to use his executive authority under existing legislation to excuse up to $50,000 in college debt per person.

On the subject of healthcare reform, Biden has long been held back by his allegiance to corporate power -- as Rep. Jayapal knows well, since she has tenaciously led the Medicare for All battle in the House. Biden has never disavowed his appalling comment in March 2020 that he might veto Medicare for All if it somehow passed both houses of Congress. During the traumatic 14 months of the pandemic since then, while millions have lost coverage because insurance is tied to employment, Biden’s stance hardly improved. Candidate Biden had promised to lower the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 60, but even that meager promise has disappeared.

With wealth and income having gushed to the top in recent decades, and especially during COVID, Biden is proposing some tax increases on corporations and the very wealthy -- quite popular with voters -- to pay for infrastructure and social programs. For example, Biden proposes returning the top marginal tax bracket on the richest individuals from 37 percent to merely 39.6 percent, where it was in 2017 before Trump lowered it. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders campaigned on raising the top tax bracket to 52 percent, while AOC called for raising it to 70 percent, a popular approach according to polls. To put this all in perspective: When the U.S. economy and middle class boomed during the 1950s, the top tax bracket was over 90 percent under Republican President Eisenhower.

We have no quarrel with those who seek to inspire optimism among progressives by pointing out that their activism has already achieved some great things. But activism should be grounded in candor and realism about where we are now -- and how far we still need to go.

(Jeff Cohen is an activist, author and co-founder of RootsAction.org. He was an associate professor of journalism and the director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College, and founder of the media watch group FAIR. In 2002-2003, he was a producer and pundit at MSNBC. He is the author of “Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media.” 

Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and the author of many books including “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.” He was a Bernie Sanders delegate from California to the 2016 and 2020 Democratic National Conventions. Solomon is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy.)

31 Comments

  1. Kathy Janes May 11, 2021

    The Umatilla National Forest is in Oregon. That ranger station must be near Ukiah, Oregon.

    • Bruce Anderson May 11, 2021

      Good catch, Ms. Janes

    • AVA News Service Post author | May 11, 2021

      Ms. Janes is correct. I had caught wind of the issue earlier this morning and replaced the photo. For those still interested the caption was “Meadow Ranger Station. 220245. USDA, Forest Service, Umatilla National Forest, Ukiah (OR) RD, July 1927” and the photo can be found here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MEDIA/fsbdev3_066876.jpg

  2. Bob A. May 11, 2021

    “I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time — when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.”

    — Carl Sagan

    • Rye N Flint May 11, 2021

      Wow! That is the most dystopian prediction-come-true I have ever seen. Makes me appreciate Carl Sagan even more.

  3. Rye N Flint May 11, 2021

    RE: Homeless Tent Camping

    Remember back when tent camping was fun? In all seriousness, check this out:

    “The city is paying for dozens of new tiny homes to replace tents in three emergency outdoor shelters that opened last spring.”

    https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/tiny-home-pods-help-portlanders-facing-homelessness/283-c01dea86-cb4d-4dd7-ac34-dc60a486bb60

    http://www.centerforpublicinterestdesign.org/partners-on-dwelling-pod-initiative

    Oaklandish style:
    https://tinyhousetalk.com/micro-houses-for-homeless/

  4. chuck dunbar May 11, 2021

    Sagan nailed it– a scary vision coming true. Thank you, Bob.

    • Bruce McEwen May 11, 2021

      Edgar Rice Burroughs nailed, too. When I was 14 I read The Mastermind of Mars about a Martian society where the One percent harvested organs from the rest and even — the crux of the story — the Mastermind, who advanced technology t the point he could have his own brain transplanted, intact w/ all his consciousness, into any strong, young body he chose, thereby achieving all the rewards of the fountain of youth and immortality… enraptured w/ this story, I was reading the secondhand paperback during my 10th grade Biology class, w/ my textbook open upright on my desk. However, my teacher stalked up behind me and discovered my ruse, rapped my knuckles w/ one of those old-fashioned hickory rulers — the one w/ the thin copper blade set in the edge — and all my classmates laughed to hear me howl in pain and surprise!

  5. Harvey Reading May 11, 2021

    Re: Cactus Flower

    Is Little Dog still around?

    • Bruce Anderson May 11, 2021

      LD has seizures and he’s pretty much blind, but he’s a dogged little dog and soldiers on.

      • Stephen Rosenthal May 11, 2021

        Sorry to hear that. And Skragg?

        • Bruce Anderson May 11, 2021

          Skrag and Alice, aka Mrs. Skragg, have both exited, walking off somewhere down by the creek and giving it up. I still don’t know much about either cats or dogs, but I have to admire the way cats exit, private and all to themselves to the end.

      • Harvey Reading May 11, 2021

        Glad he’s still around. Sadly, dogs, like monkeys, do get old.

        • Harvey Reading May 11, 2021

          My last Lab was subject to random, fairly mild, epileptic seizures that started when he was about seven. He would stiffen and bump into furniture at first, until I learned to recognize his symptoms just before a seizure came on, when I would make him lie down. I would pet him until the seizure ended a few minutes later. He got to where he could sense a seizure coming and come to me on his own (even awakening me at night with his nose), and lie down while I stroked his coat until the seizure passed.

          He died of lymphoma that had been diagnosed about two years before. On what turned out to be our last outing, I noticed that he had wandered further from me than was his habit. When I called him, he simply sat in place and turned his head to look off in the distance, which was very unlike him. It went through my mind that he wanted me just to let him go but finally he returned to me, and we went home.

          The next morning, he simply crashed. I took him to the vet, who told me Diamond was feeling no pain and that he would pass peacefully if I fed him by hand and helped him get around, which he considered much better than euthanasia. As it turned out in the end, I fully agreed, and agree. Five days later Diamond died.

          To this day I wish I had just let him go off to die like he wanted to do on our last outing.

          My current Diamond is nearing his tenth birthday and is showing the normal greying on his muzzle and above his eyes. If I outlive him, I will probably get another, since I much prefer the company of black Labs to that of my fellow monkeys. I don’t want a neutered dog, so will probably get another pup. Who knows…

          • Marmon May 11, 2021

            Black Labs Matter!

            Marmon

      • Lazarus May 11, 2021

        I have a 13 year old. She’s still in the mix, but I know the deal…
        Good luck Little Dog.
        Laz

        • Bruce McEwen May 11, 2021

          A lost dog is a mixed blessing
          — Old Hippy Proverb

  6. Marmon May 11, 2021

    “When I was in office we were known as the Peace Presidency, because Israel’s adversaries knew that the United States stood strongly with Israel and there would be swift retribution if Israel was attacked. Under Biden, the world is getting more violent and more unstable because Biden’s weakness and lack of support for Israel is leading to new attacks on our allies. America must always stand with Israel and make clear that the Palestinians must end the violence, terror, and rocket attacks, and make clear that the U.S. will always strongly support Israel’s right to defend itself. Unbelievably, Democrats also continue to stand by crazed anti-American Rep. Ilhan Omar, and others, who savagely attack Israel while they are under terrorist assault.”

    Donald J. Trump
    2:54pm May 11, 2021

    • Bruce Anderson May 11, 2021

      Wrong as always. Of all the screwed people in the world, the Palestinians have got to be on any top ten list, but that’s a fascist (like Trump) for you, always with the biggest bully in the neighborhood. Of course if you think the Old Testament gives you 2021 title to the property you owned 4,000 years ago you also probably think the Israelis have every right to throw Palestinians off property they’ve only lived on for recorded history.

    • Professor Cosmos May 11, 2021

      STFU Donny.

      The far right wing policies and abuse of Palestinians is the issue.

      The prophets of the Old Days harshly confronted those rulers who failed in treating those beyond the covenant ties rightly and fairly. Oh Israel, where are Your Prophets today? (They do exist in leading voices there but the country seems 50/50 re Bibi’s path with many willing to kill the next Itzhak Rabin.)

  7. Michael Koepf May 11, 2021

    “…the property you owned 4000 years ago.” Oh, that property. The property that the Romans and then the Arabs drove you out of? That property? The property that was fled back to after the Germans knocked off six million of your fellow jews? I guess that’s the place the old, Israeli hater is referring to.

  8. Bruce Anderson May 11, 2021

    I yield to the sage of Greenwood Road’s encyclopedic knowledge of the Old Testament. But for the record, I thought Rabin and Oslo were the paths to a just peace agreement, but Rabin was murdered for being reasonable and here came the demagogues and the ignoramuses of the Trump-Von Umlaut variety to make a just peace impossible.

    • George Hollister May 11, 2021

      Of course, it depends on how just peace is defined, but in my mind, a just peace in terms of the West will never happen in the Middle East. That would require tolerance, rule of law, and personal responsibility. Those are alien concepts in the Muslim Middle East. It is winner take all there, too, and always has been. Even when there was peace there, historically, peace was maintained by the repression of the tribes out of power, by the tribe in power. That is where Israel exists, and survives.

      America has big problems blindly attempting to project its ideals in other non Western lands. A promise of Western peace in the ME is one of those problems.

      • Harvey Reading May 11, 2021

        The US never had ideals worthy of consideration, just good propaganda techniques to make us dummies think that we were the best humans ever. We have done little but slaughter others and plunder the earth for our entire existence. Hopefully, we are very close to the end our putrid existence. We will be missed by no one.

        • George Hollister May 11, 2021

          Putin would agree.

          • Harvey Reading May 11, 2021

            So would anyone with more than half a brain, unless the person had allowed our very own fascist propagandists to successfully pollute his or her brain with misinformation.

            And, by the way, I do not believe that Russia,or China, has interfered with anything here. The assertions to the contrary are utter bullsh-t, peddled by our military and “intelligence” agencies, with willing assistance from right-wing, lunatic-fringe “think tanks” and lying politicians, who want to cash in even more once they’re out of office. Gotta keep the rubes diverted from reality after all; else they might have original, logical, thoughts of their own…and if that happened, the whole charade would fall apart.

          • Harvey Reading May 11, 2021

            What the ruling class is peddling these days is simply an updated version of the “missile gap” horsesh-t they were peddling when I was a kid, i.e., complete lies. And, the gullible and ignorant lap it up and beg for more. I soon learned not to believe it then, and the lesson “took”, better than any smallpox vaccination.

    • Michael Koepf May 11, 2021

      Throw in a few Hamas rockets (made in Iran) and forget about recent developments inspired by the Trump administration, which brought Israel and several Arab counties to more to more harmonious relationships, and Boonville’s old, subsidized socialist is once again wrong.

  9. Rye N Flint August 10, 2021

    RE: Fox Stupid

    https://www.theava.com/archives/153790#19

    Why some of the smartest people can be so very stupid…

    “Stupidity is a very specific cognitive failing. Crudely put, it occurs when you don’t have the right conceptual tools for the job. The result is an inability to make sense of what is happening and a resulting tendency to force phenomena into crude, distorting pigeonholes.”

    https://psyche.co/ideas/why-some-of-the-smartest-people-can-be-so-very-stupid?utm_source=pocket-newtab

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