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Letters To The Editor

DC NONSENSE

Editor,

The nonsense going on in Washington these days keeps making me think that we are living in a completely broken, nonfunctional state; one that is incapable of even recognizing, much less responding to, the most pressing problems that we as a society, lo, as a species, face.

While Congress spends endless hours obsessing about Bengazi and the IRS's scrutiny of Tea Party and so-called ‘Patriot’ 501(c)(4) tax exempt applications, a decade after our "liberation" of Iraq, as I write this, I hear that today 17 bombs went off in Baghdad, killing and maiming who knows how many people. But, rather than doing what reason and morality would dictate and admit that the entire invasion of Iraq was a misguided war crime which should have resulted, first, in the arrest of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld etc., shipping them all off to The Hague for trial in the International Criminal Court, and secondly, by doing trillions of dollars worth of actual reconstruction of all the property destroyed by our illegal invasion. Far from that though, instead, we hear the same criminals once again beating the drums for a new war, this time against Syria, in order to keep our permanent war economy humming, at such devastating cost to so many people in other lands.

I am at a loss to see how this business with the IRS ever got to be considered a scandal; I mean, the fact is that the Tea Party adherents have basically fetishized their passionate opposition to taxation itself. Never mind the fact that in virtually every other country in which one might actually want to live, people, especially the well off, pay significantly higher taxes, but enjoy a much higher quality of life, with a degree of security about health care and basic needs that is unimaginable to most Americans.

Since the bizarre Supreme Court Citizens United case basically tore up and threw away all controls on the flow of corporate and billionaire money into politics, the IRS has been swamped with requests for these tax-free "social welfare organization" applications, creating an enormous new workload for them, with hardly any more IRS staff to handle it.. Isn't it only reasonable for them to give a bit more scrutiny to organizations whose main organizing principle is a hatred of taxation? Given all the hullabaloo over this IRS policy, you would think that some entities besides the most obscure news sources would point out the fact that even though all of these organizations got a little closer look, not a single one of them was denied! WHAT ARE THEY WHINING ABOUT!?

Of course, whining seems to be about the only thing that the Republican-controlled House is capable of these days, other than their single-minded obsession with cutting the taxes of the people and corporations who are already wallowing in more wealth than they know what to do with, and their truly pathological fixation with stripping away the rights of women to have sovereignty over their own bodies, apparently at the behest of these madrasah-style 'Christian' sects who believe that they have a god-given right to force you to act as if you share their particular set of obsessions.

Instead of involving itself with any of the actual challenges facing our country, they chose instead to pass, for the 37th time, a bill repealing Obamacare, even though they know full well that it has zero chance of even being taken up by the Senate.

No wonder Congress’s approval rating, according to Gallup, has fallen to 10%, the lowest point in the history of such testing. I think Satan himself enjoys higher poll numbers. How can our society function at all, when one party in a two party system is determined to not cooperate with ANYTHING this president wants to do, for fear that it might do some good for people and thus increase Obama’s popularity?

When I hear from some of Tea Party type crazies recently elected by the red states, I’m reminded of Ambrose Bierce’s definition of demagogue; “one who preaches doctrines that he knows to be false to people he knows to be idiots”. What hope is there for progress on unemployment, the weak economy, the continuing housing crisis, global climate change, or any other of our nation’s pressing problems while our political system is hobbled into inaction the way it is today? Why on earth do people in these perma-red states continue to vote for these deranged Tea Party type repugs?! What will it take for them to change their default Republican voting pattern?

Sincerely,

John Arteaga

Ukiah

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ARCHIPELAGOS, NEAR & FAR

Editor,

When I re-read Solzhenitsyn's Gulag yesterday, I wrote you this prose poem editor letter:

"Dwell in the past and you'll lose an eye. Forget the past and you lose both eyes."

The sea of oblivion rolls over the islands of the archipelago; scars and soars.

"The White Sea Canal was the first Russian literature to glorify slave labor." Clandestine Archipelago, hour by hour planes fly there, ships steer there, trains thunder off. "Arrest me? What for?" An instantaneous, shattering thrust, expulsion, somersault from one state to another. Past walls and fences of rotten wood, rammed earth, brick, concrete, iron railings. The gate to our yard used to be open is slammed shut. Arrest is a blinding flash and a blow. The fake circus moon will blink at you: "It's a mistake! They'll set things right!" Sharp nighttime ring, rude knock on the door. The insolent entrance of unwiped jackboots. A witness who must sit there all night long and sign in the morning. They rip your place apart, crunch and trample. They unwind bandages to search beneath them, the cholera epidemic, 1830. They broke the bottles that contained lysates that were curing people. "No right to correspond" means: "has been shot." Those left behind, a wrecked and devastated life. Night arrests, as if they had not taken place. The Black Marias. The cab driver knows, the Organs don't pay. Lubyanka.

Note bene, mark it well,

Diana Vance

Mendocino

PS. She who steals rocks gets stoned. And Officer Guydan, the Bible tells us: The false accuser is the one who is guilty. I salute the AVA for dealing with the legal now.

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GIVE IT UP, HZ

Editor,

A friend just forwarded your latest libel.

First, I have never been banned from any newspaper or publication in the Bay Area. You printed this falsehood before with no specifics and I refuted it at the time. I have never had a problem getting my letters published in any venue in the Bay Area or elsewhere. In fact, I was never banned from the AVA. The last time I sent you a letter for publication in 2010 on the state elections it was published.

Second, nor have I ever written you under any other name. I know several people who have written you and you accuse them of being me! You are obviously off your rocker.

Third, I haven't read the AVA for years for reasons that are apparent. You are a liar, a cheat, a thief and a libeler. I have absolutely no interest in you or the AVA. Period.

Fourth, I haven't seen Martin Zemitis for several years. I broke off my friendship with him for entirely personal reasons, not political ones. He's probably the sixth or seventh person you have falsely accused me of writing under his name. I will copy him here to set the record straight.

Fifth, when the national writers Union in 1996 forwarded my complaint about not being paid $300 for 12 lengthy op-eds written for the AVA, you lied and wrote them that I had only written letters to the editor! That I had, only a few dozen, but they were separate from my op-eds. I never expected to get paid for letters but did expect to get paid $25 a piece for the op-eds which was the standard fee at the time. (1992-93, 1994-5.) The NWU forwarded all 12 of my op-eds to you and you wisely chose not to respond.

Sixth, I don't know what "racism" even means anymore. It appears to be a code word for brainless libs who which to evade the fact of growing black sociopathology. Some black conservatives like Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams have documented this almost ad infinitum. See LewRockwell.com.

Seventh, "homophobic" apparently means any person who does not subscribe to the misnamed "gay" agenda. That probably covers 98% of the people on this planet.

I have less than zero interest in the AVA or the current political scene.

You're [sic] a_hole opinions on Ayn Rand mean nothing. Her 60 page speech, "This Is John Galt Speaking" in "Atlas Shrugged," is more of an intellectual achievement than 99.99% of all the persons who have ever lived on our planet. Maybe the entire universe if there are other inhabited planets.

Now goodbye forever and I do not want to hear anything about you in the future. Nada. Zilch. Nothing.

Mike Hardesty

Berkeley

Ed reply: Knock-knock. Who's there? Hardesty. Hardesty who? Hardesty-Zemitis. PS. Op-eds? The AVA? From you? PPS. Your obsessions betray you every time, HZ. Give it up.

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SUCH A DEAL

Greetings, Beloved Brethren & Cistern:

I’ve been busy setting up my new venture these many weeks, but if you’re seated comfortably on a vulture-feather pillow, I’ll bring you up to date.

The Christian Science Ambulance Service is up and running! Got a sucking chest wound? Don’t call us. We don’t care and we don’t have to. That’s what religious freedom is all about. We get to watch you die and you can’t get us to help; we’re covered by our conviction that god wants you dead. Think about it.

So, we sit around the station and polish the equipment (what are they burning in that thing?, I hear you cry) and pet the horses (that’s real nice) and every once in a blue moon we fire up and get on the road. Road kill makes a really great smoke (hint hint) and a pretty good barbecue occasionally. The rest of the time we sit on the porch and watch the turkey vultures pile excrement on their feet. They’re a bit behind the bell curve, but their heart is in the right place.

So, I’m up and running with this service. I wanted to keep busy in retirement, but I didn’t want to work at it. With this one I have no work, no responsibility and no intercourse with needy mediocrities with attitude. Sweet!

Remember: Don’t call us. We’ll call you!

Ignatzio Hephalumpe

CEO, CSAS Incorporeal

Paphlagonia

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FAIR TRIAL. NOW.

To The Editor,

Evil prevails when good men fail to act.

Ok, Mendocino County, it breaks my heart when I watch miscarriages of justice occur on Dateline and across the country, but after reading KC Meadows’ recent report on the hearing for Timothy Elliott, I can’t believe it’s occurring my county. What is being done to get this guy a fair trial?

The only witness was a young boy on a dark knight through a window.

The “murder weapon” was tuned in weeks later by friends of the victim with no evidence on it.

The “murder weapon” was 1.65 inches. The Medical Examiner testified about it being 3 to 4 inches, yet the fatal wound was 6.7 inches.

The Medical Examiner recanted his original testimony, then recanted that he was recanting it. Under penalty of perjury.

The defense attorney, Linda Thompson, didn’t question his discrepancy in the knife facts due to her knowledge that he doesn’t like being contradicted and of him being pompous.

Are we in the Twilight Zone? Nobody likes being contradicted. But it’s your job as Mr. Elliott’s attorney to cross-examine.

One more thing. No evidence was found on Mr. Elliott’s clothes and this guy is sitting in a cell for 16 years to life? This could be any one of us Mendocino County residents needing a fair trial and adequate representation.

Something needs to be done now.

Tina Thompson

Ukiah

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KZYX RULE VIOLATIONS

To: Board of Directors Mendocino County Public Broadcasting

July 2, 2013

P.O. Box 1 Philo, CA 95466

Re: Violation of California Corporations Code - Annual Membership Meeting

Members of the Board:

I am writing today to alert you to violations of the California Corporations Code that affect the legitimacy of the corporation and its ability to renew its broadcast license for KZYX&Z.

Sections 5510-11 of the Corporations Code state, in part, that:

5510. (b) A regular meeting of members shall be held on a date and time, and with the frequency stated in or fixed in accordance with the bylaws, but in any event in each year in which directors are to be elected at that meeting for the purpose of conducting such election, and to transact any other proper business which may be brought before the meeting. . . . 5511. (a) Whenever members are required or permitted to take any action at a meeting, a written notice of the meeting shall be given not less than 10 nor more than 90 days before the date of the meeting to each member who, on the record date for notice of the meeting, is entitled to vote thereat . . .

The Bylaws of Mendocino County Public Broadcasting state, in part, that:

Section 10.01 Annual Meeting:

1) The annual meeting of the Membership shall be held within sixty (60) days of the completion of Board elections each year, unless the Board shall provide for another date and so notifies Members. 2) The purpose of this meeting shall be to declare the results of the preceding election of the Board, to present an annual report to Members on the activities and accomplishments of MCPB, to present the audit report, and any other business as may come before the meeting. 3) Notice of the annual meeting date and location, including agenda items that may require Membership vote, shall be given to all Members a minimum of fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting if delivered by first class mail or a minimum of four (4) days prior to the meeting if broadcast daily on the Station’s radio frequencies and posted at the Station headquarters.

MCPB failed to notify its membership of the most recent purported annual membership meeting, as required by both the Corporations Code and its own Bylaws. Such notice is required under Section 5510 because 1) the meeting completes the election process for the Board of Directors, and 2) such a meeting is required by the Bylaws. The notice must be no less than 10 nor more than 90 days prior to the annual membership meeting. The 90 day outside limit will allow you to send a notice of the annual meeting along with the notice of election, so there is no practical reason not to do so.

In addition, MCPB failed to hold a proper annual membership meeting by failing to answer any questions put forth by members at the meeting, thereby failing to transact any other proper business which may be brought before the meeting or to fully present an annual report to Members on the activities and accomplishments of MCPB.

I recently attended a regular meeting of your board, during which members were permitted three minutes each to make comments and ask questions, but with no provision for the board to answer those questions. It took two brave board members to disobey the instructions of the current Board chair and actually respond to questions raised by members. The Board’s current policy of never responding to the questions and concerns raised by the membership at any meeting brings into question the legal legitimacy of the Board. Worse, it burns the bridges of communication that are essential to any membership nonprofit organization.

As a member of the Board of Directors, each of you has a sacred duty to maintain that communication.

MCPB is a membership-based organization dedicated to serving the entire community of Mendocino County and contiguous counties. The primary purpose of MCPB is to engage in providing high-quality, independent, community and public radio and other media products and services. — MCPB Bylaws, Article III, Purpose and Governing Principles

When I raised these issues at the recent Board meeting, the General Manager shook his head in a dismissive gesture. If any employee fails to honor the organizations Bylaws or abide by California law, they are doing a disservice to the Board, the organization, and the community. It may be more work to listen and respond to the questions and concerns of the membership community, but that is precisely what the governance of MCPB must do. You are enjoying the benefits of being a membership organization. You must also accept the responsibilities.

On a related matter, I have requested that your quarterly reports to the Public File, required by the Federal Communications Commission, be posted on your website, along with the General Manager’s reports and other information. I was told I would need to go to your main office in Philo if I wanted to see any such reports. Considering the size of Mendocino County and the cost of gasoline, that is an undue burden to place on your membership, or the public, when access can otherwise be provide with a few keystrokes. You will be required to include the most recent Public File report in your application for renewal of your broadcasting license. Refusing to make them readily available to your members and the public at large appears to violate the rules concerning public access.

Since you are submitting another legal matter to pro bono counsel for review, I recommend that you do the same here. The full California Code section on membership meetings can be found online at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=corp&group=05001-06000&file=5510-5517

Please give your urgent attention to these matters. Although I try to resolve issues with the least confrontation possible, the issue of membership involvement is so important that I will file an action in Superior Court to enforce compliance if the Board does remedy its current practices.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Dennis O’Brien

Ukiah

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AMAZING FESTIVAL WEEKEND!

Editor,

The Sierra Nevada Music Festival brought many folks to our valley AND many of those folks stopped by our wine booth for a glass of wine, benefitting the Anderson Valley Senior Center and the Anderson Valley Historical Society. The wine was donated by Navarro Vineyards. The booth space was donated by our local Lion's Club. Booth volunteers staffed the booth. SNWMF promoters provided booth personnel with free admission on the day of their shift and waived all booth fees. A special THANK YOU is in order for all!

Navarro Vineyards - Yummy wine and a community focused local business! The Lion's Club - They just keep on giving! The Volunteers - Susan Bridge-Mount, Kathy MacDonald, Michael Nissenberg, Aaron Sawyer, Mimi Duvigneaud, Rose Easterbrook, Chris Lloyd, Neil Darling, Mary Darling, Michele Darling, Ann Amman, Gretel Amman, Megan McQueeny, Nat Corey-Moran, Noor Dawood , Michael Sheridan, Char Rowland, Christine Clark, Joann Borges, Vicky Center, Vicky Kuntz, Rod Bashore, Judy Bashore, Jeannie Collins, JR Collins, Bob Nimmons, Sandra Nimmons, Joe Hansen, Sheri Hansen

Thanks to all form the AV Seniors and the overseers of the museum!

Sheri Hansen

Boonville

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THANKS EVERYONE

Editor,

Thanks to so many.

It truly was amazing how quickly our porch at the restaurant was put back together after the accident last Sunday. The AV volunteer firefighters really did go way above and beyond the call of duty by staying after the crashed car was removed and helping us stabilize the porch.

So a very grateful thank you to Colin Wilson, Jack Ridley, Cob and Angela Dewitt. You gave up much more of your Sunday evening than the accident required and I really appreciate it.

There were a number of other friends and neighbors who also stepped up immediately and provided much needed help and I'd like to acknowledge their efforts. Julie Winchester helped keep our traumatized plants alive for a few days while I worked to gather new containers. Remember it was blistering hot those days! Robert Rosen worked on another very hot day to transfer much dirt and replant the containers. My landlords Eddie and Tamara worked so quickly to get the new posts that we were able to install them before it got dark Sunday night. Del and Wendy got the call from Tamara and interrupted their Sunday night plans in Ukiah to pick up the posts. Jed Adams was just driving by, stopped, put on his tool belt and became the perfect guy to help Joe Petelle who was the one pulling it all together. Those two just kept working till the porch was safe and I was able to open again for our regularly scheduled Tuesday dinner.

So as the original AVA report in Valley People expressed it, Bad Things happened Sunday night followed by really Good Things. The Bad Thing could have been much worse if it had occurred at a different time, and I'm very grateful about that. I'm also very grateful to all the people who made the Good Things happen. Thank you for stepping up.

Sincerely,

Lauren Keating

Boonville

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CHANNELING REAGAN

Esteemed Editors

The AVA arrived real late last week and I just read Micheal Koepf's tirade against the “47,0000,0000” freeloaders getting fat on food stamps (Pass the Boloney, please 6/26). What with its snide references to “tax serfs and freeloaders,” “free chow,” obese, candy-munching, ice cream-licking “snappers,” food-stamp-stealing aliens “sneaking over the border” (those inscrutable mes-e-cans), the witless ones eating fine sit-down suppers with a zero “dinner tab,” etc, the piece made me think down there in Hollywood poor Mike must have gotten himself whipped with an ugly stick.

Or maybe kicking back in his secluded hilltop estate has unhinged him. Those redwoods constantly swaying in the ocean breezes can do that to a fellah. Or maybe when he set pen to paper he got caught in a time-warp and found himself in the 1970s channeling Ronald Reagan's “Welfare Queens” stump speech. If that's the case, I'd advise him to go and see somebody.

Bruce Patterson, tax serf.

Prineville, Oregon

One Comment

  1. TO: DIANA VANCE July 11, 2013

    DIANA, THE BIBLE ALSO SAYS:

    Proverbs 25:26

    Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

    1 John 3:7

    Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

    OFFICER GUYDAN WAS VERY NICE TO ME THE OTHER DAY…

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