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Mendocino County Today, Monday, June 27, 2016

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IT LOOKS LIKE The Willits Based conservation group calling itself the Blacktail Deer Association (which also has participated in a number of law enforcement marijuana raids in the North County with volunteer clean up crews) has essentially won their lawsuit with the County without going to court.

IN MAY, the Blacktails sued, claiming that the Mendo’s “urgency” marijuana ordinance (enacted to satisfy state deadlines) did not have enough enforcement and, besides, required an Environmental Impact Report.

THE BLACKTAILS demanded that the court issue an injunction on ordinance implementation until their (perfectly valid) objections were addressed.

LAST WEEK, the County reached a “settlement” with the Association by saying that no new medical marijuana cultivation “agriculture” permits will be issued, but the ones already in the pipeline will “continued to be processed,” and “enforcement,” whatever that may be, will continue for those that are approved.

MEANWHILE, the dozer growers in the North County will continue to proliferate outside the regs since the whole, burdensome and expensive process applies only to more mainstream growers who voluntarily apply to be regulated.

* * *

POSTING ELECTION RESULTS

Open Letter to Mendocino County Board of Supervisors

Dear Supervisors,

Today is June 27. Twenty days have passed since our Primary Election took place yet we still lack meaningful results (more than half of our votes remain unaccounted).

Six-and-a-half hours after the polls closed 11,320 votes were tallied and posted. Two days later (June 9) we were informed that at least 16,525 ballots remained uncounted, and since that time we have received no updates.

We should not have to wait this long; therefore, I am asking you, the Board, to 1) investigate the problem, and 2) find a solution. If we need to hire temporary workers (jobs!) to get our results processed more quickly, let's do it. At the very least, a few updates along the way would be much appreciated.

Imagine if you were one of the candidates for judge this time round – their race is close. Same for the residents of Fort Bragg, who await the results of their Measure U (only 22% of the Fort Bragg vote initially got posted). Much hangs in the balance for these people, their lives currently in limbo.

As for the main event of this election, the presidential primary, a majority of Mendo's Bernie votes remain uncounted. The parade has long since moved on and many of our voices were never even heard. This is a crappy version of democracy, and we can, and should, do better.

Mendocino is one of only seven counties in California that handle election results in this unresponsive way. I suggest we leave that sorry bunch and join the other 51 counties that provide updates as their ballots are processed. You can see that list here: http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/status/

Thank you for your consideration of this matter (it would be nice to have this resolved before November rolls around),

Mike Kalantarian, Navarro

* * *

O.J. MADE IN AMERICA: An absolutely riveting five-part, ten-hour (including commercials) documentary recently aired on ESPN. Even though the high profile, months-long 1994 O.J. Simpson murder trial was not that long ago, the events surrounding the trial, both before and after, in sports and in criminal justice, have fallen from memory and have been buried by the media’s endless pursuit of the next big event. Producer Ezra Edelman said that he produced the show because he thought he "could use that [longer documentary] canvas to tell a deeper story about race in America, about the city of Los Angeles, the relationship between the black community and the police, and who O.J. was and his rise to celebrity.”

EDELMAN DID THAT and then some.

OJ, even buried in a Nevada prison, remains charismatic and, by far, also remains the most interesting figure EVER in a country teeming with unusual people.

HAD TO LAUGH when mega-sleeze OJ attorney Shapiro claims the OJ defense dealt the race card "from the bottom of the deck." That race, and police, especially the LA police, would be the entirety of the OJ defense was inevitable, especially given the preponderance of black people on his jury.

BLACK PEOPLE have been brutalized and insulted by cops since the beginning of law enforcement. Duh. No rational person will deny that basic fact of American life. Since OJ had no rational defense, the LAPD's sloppy performance got OJ off, that and the LAPD's history.

THROW IN a wacky, star-struck judge, a marginally competent prosecution team, and OJ walks.

THE FILM'S interviews with key players add a wealth of behind the scenes context to the story that were not part of day to day reporting at the time. The film includes the gory crime scene photos that the media had avoided during the trial and an extended discussion of the Mark Fuhrman affair.

PARTICULARLY interesting was the coverage of the murky Vegas episode that landed O.J. in jail where he is to this day, having been maxed out by a clearly vengeful judge. OJ got way too much time for the goofy episode that got him in court again, albeit a goofy episode involving a gun and an armed robbery of THE WRONG STUFF. The sports memorabilia OJ was trying to retrieve was stored in South San Francisco!

THE ONLY SOUR note struck here is the ending, where a former OJ friend, a white guy, says that OJ is "a tragic figure." A sad character, for sure, seduced by adulation from all the wrong people, but the tragedy here is the two young victims, Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, not OJ. He lives on.

* * *

THE MENDOCINO COUNTY ANIMAL CARE SERVICES SHELTER’s Senior Dog Event has been extended through the month of July. All dogs over the age of 6 years are available at a NAME-YOUR-OWN-ADOPTION-FEE.

SeniorDogs

(Mendocino County residents will need to pay a $25 license fee.) There are lots of wonderful senior dog guests. Come and meet them, and all the dogs and cats, at 298 Plant Road in Ukiah. Call the Adoption Coordinator for more information--707-467-6453. Don't forget to visit and bookmark the shelter's official website: www.mendoanimalshelter.com.

We're also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mendoanimalshelter/

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THIS WEEK AT BLUE MEADOW FARM

Happy for summer and June rain!

Strawberries, Santa Rosa Plums,

Walla Walla Onions, Zucchini & Patty Pan Squash

First Peppers and Sungold tomatoes!

Sunflowers & culinary herbs

BlueMeadowFarm

We now have alcohol free gasoline at the small engine shop.

Blue Meadow Farm, 3301 Holmes Ranch Rd, Philo 707-895-2071

* * *

A READER REACTS to Sunday’s latest PD story on the homeless who are “teeming” in Santa Rosa:

“These sob stories sell newspapers but reality is so different. The ever increasing handouts attracts homeless. San Francisco is a great example. Many of the homeless in San Francisco aren't from San Francisco. They went there from all over the state, and some from out of state, to get the handouts. This story says that the majority of the homeless in Santa Rosa are locals. I wonder why they remain? So one woman lives in her car because she can't afford rent from her Walmart job. She can get a job at a Walmart in Sacramento, in Boise, in Medford, etc, etc, etc where rent is significantly lower. The same question can be asked of the homeless in San Francisco, one of the most expensive cities in the world. Why stay? They stay for the handouts. The majority of homeless choose to be, rather than make something happen for themselves. Why would someone live day after day after day on the street? Nothing changes without effort. Living day to day, handout to handout, doesn't change the situation. Thus, the choice is made to panhandle, to live off the taxpayer, rather than try to make their situation better. Santa Rosa JC offers cheap unit costs and many programs that lead to gainful employment. In regards to education, there are (shockingly) many taxpayer funded programs. Why aren't these taken advantage of?”

* * *

THE STORY OF STUMPS

Editor:

The giant old-growth stumps still standing within the 300 acres of the new Dogwood Timber Harvest Plan slated for the Gualala River have a story to tell. They are the grim reminders of a history of unsustainable forest management that began with the cutting of these redwood giants over a century ago.

For the first loggers, these ancient trees were the easiest to reach, all found on the flat flood plain upriver from the mouth. The trees, some up to 17 feet in diameter and 2,000 years old, were hauled out on a railroad line built next to the river for the hungry markets of San Francisco in the early 1900s.

An unrelenting campaign of logging the biggest and the best has continued to this day. As a result, it is estimated that today’s forest inventories are one-tenth of what they were before the start of logging.

After complying with minimal harvesting setbacks and saving the largest 13 trees per acre, this new plan will log all the next largest trees until canopy retention limits kick in. The trees that should be cut, i.e., the numerous small, overcrowded trees, will be left behind. This commercial, profit-maximizing cut is not the restoration forestry that this watershed really needs and the rest it deserves.

Most of the trees now harvested wind up in outlets like Home Depot as low-grade deck boards and fence pickets. The time has come to consider a different future for this watershed. If it is ever to be anything different than a “recovering forest” it needs to now be stewarded with restoration forestry, not clearcutting and floodplain logging.

What better place to start than with the last remaining tract of big trees growing back in this fragile Gualala River floodplain?

Chris Poehlman

Annapolis

* * *

CATCH OF THE DAY, June 26, 2016

Anguiano, Chavez, Claus
Anguiano, Chavez, Claus

BASILIO ANGUIANO, Ukiah. Refusing to leave, under influence, probation revocation.

LUIS CHAVEZ, Covelo. Failure to appear.

JAKE CLAUS, Napa/Ukiah. More than an ounce of pot.

Dodd, Filbert, Garcia-Escamilla
Dodd, Filbert, Garcia-Escamilla

JAMES DODD JR., Willits. Domestic assault.

CHRISTOPHER FILBERT, Ukiah. False ID.

VENTURA GARCIA-ESCAMILLA, Ukiah. DUI, no license.

Klaisner, Kochie, Kull, Miller
Klaisner, Kochie, Kull, Miller

RICHARD KLAISNER, Ukiah. Drunk in public.

ANTHONY KOCHIE JR., Ukiah. Trespassing.

JASON KULL, Palm Harber, Florida/Fort Bragg. Under influence, paraphernalia.

DEVYN MILLER, Redwood Valley. Criminal threats, protective order violation, probation revocation.

Novoa, Orth, Page, Porritt
Novoa, Orth, Page, Porritt

SEBASTIAN NOVOA, Ukiah. DUI.

GERALD ORTH, Ukiah. Failure to register.

JAMES PAGE, Willits. Drunk in public.

TYLER PORRITT, Willits. Drunk in public, probation revocation.

Sanderson, Sheckells, Todd
Sanderson, Sheckells, Todd

JACOB SANDERSON, Laytonville. Controlled substance, possession of drugs while armed.

PATRICK SHECKELLS JR., Ukiah. Burglary.

SARAH TODD, Ukiah. Drunk in public, probation revocation.

* * *

MICHAEL HERR

The Author Who Shaped How We Saw Our Wars

by Elliott Ackerman

No one had a greater effect on how the Vietnam War has been processed in our popular consciousness than Michael Herr, best known as the writer of the book Dispatches and contributor to the screenplays of Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket, who died near his home in upstate New York this past Friday. He was 76.

MichaelHerr

When you go to war, as Herr did, you naturally imagine the possibility of your own death. I’ve thought about mine before, not in a grand way, but just as a sort of curiosity: What cemetery (Arlington National Cemetery, or a local place)? What headstone (standard white granite, or marble)? What internment ceremony (military honors, or nothing at all)? And I wonder if during his years covering Vietnam, and later when he wrote about it, if Herr gave much thought to questions of how he would be memorialized, if at all.

Herr took a circuitous route to his war. He attended Syracuse University — among his classmates was Joyce Carol Oates — and then dropped out to pursue a writing career and to vagabond through Europe like his idol Ernest Hemingway. He picked up some publishing credentials — New Leader and Holiday magazines — and then struck a deal with Harold Hayes, then the editor of Esquire, to write a monthly column from Vietnam. Herr stayed for eighteen months, embedding with US troops before anyone knew what an embed was, and returning to write Dispatches while simultaneously suffering an emotional collapse.

The book was an instant success. Fame followed and, eventually, Herr turned his back to escape it, relocating to England for many years. Yet, his influence on our modern conception of war is inescapable. Decades after he finished writing on Vietnam, an entire generation marched off to war in Iraq and Afghanistan with images from his books and the two films to which he contributed flickering in their heads, snatches of his dialogue trigger-ready on their tongues.

As Herr wrote in Dispatches forty years ago, he seemed to understand the inextricable marriage between imagination and war:

I keep thinking about all the kids who got wiped out by seventeen years of war movies before coming to Vietnam to get wiped out for good … they were actually making war movies in their heads, doing little guts-and-glory Leatherneck tap dances under fire … They were insane, but the war hadn’t done that to them … We’d all seen too many movies, stayed too long in Television City, years of media glut had made certain connections difficult.

Like others who were there for our war in Vietnam — Tim O’Brien, Oliver Stone, Karl Marlantes — Herr produced works that were, at their core, deeply anti-war. After witnessing so much destruction, it seems little surprise that many who’d experienced Vietnam then dedicated themselves to creative pursuits.

Yet did their anti-war message convey?

Quotes from Herr’s books and films are deeply embedded within the modern military’s lexicon. “Get some!” a mantra repeated by a Marine helicopter door gunner in Dispatches as he mows down Vietnamese civilians in a rice paddy means the same thing as “Go for it!” or “Gung ho!” in contemporary Marine-speak. I would need all my fingers and toes to tell you how many times I’ve watched the impacts of an airstrike or artillery fire mission geyser up clods of earth only to have the forward observer drop the radio handset from his ear and deadpan Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore’s line from Apocalypse Now, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”

When asked from time to time what it was like to fight in Fallujah, I have yet to come up with an explanation that’s better than, “Exactly like the battle scenes in Full Metal Jacket.” In my rifle platoon we used to even joke, “It’s your favorite war movie and you’re the star.”

Does this result speak to Herr’s success in conveying the universal qualities of all war? Does it speak to the inextricable feedback loop between life and art? Does it evidence that anti-war books and films from a generation ago failed to convey their message to the following generation? I don’t think a definitive answer exits, only a series of contradictions.

Contradiction, after all, is the central truth of war, in which we renounce the bedrock of our humanity — thou shalt not kill — in order to preserve that very same humanity by killing. Or, as John Lennon eloquently put it: “Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity.”

What always set Herr’s work apart from his contemporaries was that he intuited this contradiction. His books and films never veered into the polemic. He understood that you could hate war and love it, and that this position made you neither a brutal warmonger nor a precious dove. Toward the end of Dispatches, he recounts an episode in which his friend, the photographer Tim Page, is approached by a publisher to write a book “whose purpose would be to once and for all ‘take the glamour out of war’.”

Herr then writes:

Page couldn’t get over it.

Take the glamour out of war! I mean how the bloody hell can you do that? Go take the glamour out of a Huey, go take the glamour out of a Sheridan … Can you take the glamour out of a Cobra, or getting stoned on China Beach? It’s like taking the glamour out of an M-79, taking the glamour out of Flynn … you can’t take the glamour out of that. It’s like trying to take the glamour out of sex, trying to take the glamour out of the Rolling Stones.” He was really speechless, working his hands up and down to emphasize the sheer insanity of it.

Herr leaves behind a body of work that never shied away from the glamour of war, but it also didn’t shy away from the horrors, the humor, and the insanity. Perhaps that’s why his work has lasted and will continue to last. He showed us the whole thing and in so doing created his own memorial long ago.

(Courtesy, the Daily Beast)

* * *

THE MAJORITY VOTE by Britons to leave the European Union was an act of raw democracy. Millions of ordinary people refused to be bullied, intimidated and dismissed with open contempt by their presumed betters in the major parties, the leaders of the business and banking oligarchy and the media. This was, in great part, a vote by those angered and demoralised by the sheer arrogance of the apologists for the “Remain” campaign and the dismemberment of a socially just civil life in Britain. The last bastion of the historic reforms of 1945, the National Health Service, has been so subverted by Tory and Labour-supported privateers it is fighting for its life.

— John Pilger

* * *

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY:

ELDERLY DRUNK DRIVERS

There are a lot of elderly people who have 'mistaken the gas pedal for the brake' and plowed into buildings and etc while stone cold sober.. For example Sur La Table was crashed into, as I quote here the Press Democrat Article, 'A woman who had shopped Thursday at the upscale kitchenware retailer Sur La Table in Santa Rosa wound up driving back inside, shattering the glass entranceway and sending merchandise crashing onto the floor of the Montgomery Village store.'

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/n...

So the point is she could have done the same thing if her BAC had been zero instead of 0.05%. And she was playing with her dog in the front seat when it happened. So it is not clear to me how much a factor alcohol was in this homicide. BTW, I have known family members to get DUI's at 0.24% BAC which was referred to as more than double the legal limit, back when the legal limit was 0.10% instead of the current 0.08%. So what does that mean? Those were persons who had great difficulty even standing up, let alone being able to walk well in a straight line, who got behind the wheel to drive.

And I also have known a sober elderly man who crashed very hard, at full speed, maybe 35 mph, into a vehicle park at the side of the road against the curb. A sober elderly man who hit the parked pickup truck so hard it jumped the curb, went all across the sidewalk, and came to rest on a front lawn. Had anyone been standing on the sidewalk they could have been killed.

So my opinion is the causes of this fatality are: elderly driver, poor driving skill, slow reaction in failing to correct when the error was recognized, distracted driving in playing with the little doggie that was sharing the front seat, and prescription medication, and some alcohol as well.

* * *

SF VOTERS HUNGRY for results on housing and the homeless.

(A reader notes: Remember the nytimes story promising a media blitz on homelessness in sf? Guess one must subscribe.)

http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/SF-voters-are-hungry-for-results-on-housing-and-7971731.php?cmpid=gsa-sfgate-result

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PARAPROSDOKIANS

First time I heard about paraprosdokians, I liked them. Paraprosdokians are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected and is frequently humorous. (Winston Churchill loved them).

  1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.
  2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you ... but it's still on my list.
  3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
  4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
  5. We never really grow up -- we only learn how to act in public.
  6. War does not determine who is right, only who is left.
  7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism.
To steal from many is research.
  9. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
  10. In filling out an application, where it says, "In case of emergency, notify... " I answered " a doctor."
  11. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
  12. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
  13. I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.
  14. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
  15. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
  16. You're never too old to learn something stupid.
  17. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

Sadly this is true!!!

So.....

Spread the laughter, share the cheer, let's be happy, while we're here.

(submitted by George Hollister)

* * *

(ms adds: My favorite of this type of joke back in the day was the guy who was filling out the government job application form where the obligatory Yes or No loyalty box said: “Do you advocate the overthrow of the United States by subversion or violence?” The guy wrote in: “Violence.”)

* * *

ABANDONED WALMART TRANSFORMED INTO A FUNCTIONING LIBRARY

A Reader Notes: Walmart has accidentally contributed to a community. Refreshing!

http://www.psfk.com/2012/06/abandoned-wal-mart-transformend-into-a-beautifully-designed-library.html#.V3Ai-4oyp-E.email

* * *

WHAT FEW FISH REMAIN, NOW THIS

Yurok Tribe press release:

In response to massive fish disease outbreaks in back-to-back years on the Klamath River, the Yurok Tribe submitted a 60-day notice of intent to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Bureau of Reclamation.

“We cannot stand by and do nothing while our salmon hover over the brink of extinction,” said Thomas P. O’Rourke Sr., Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “We will not continue to watch water managers jeopardize the fate of our fish and our river.”

91 percent of the juvenile, Klamath salmon were infected with a deadly parasite in 2015, as were a nearly identical number of fish in 2014. Given the nearly 100 percent mortality rate associated with the disease, approximately 90 percent of the Chinook salmon and likely an equal quantity of coho died in the main-stem Klamath River during those years, according to the notice. This year’s predicted adult salmon run is one of the lowest on record, which forced the Yurok Tribe to make a difficult decision to completely forgo all commercial fishing in 2016.

“This is not acceptable. The health of the Yurok Tribe is inextricably connected to that of the Klamath River,” Chairman O’Rourke said. “We are advocating for taking actions that will give fish a fighting chance, such as putting more water in the river, restoring riparian areas and removing the four main Klamath dams.”

In April 2016, the Yurok Tribe, the States of California and Oregon as well as the Obama Administration and dam owner PacifiCorp finalized an agreement to send a plan to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for decommissioning the lower four Klamath dams. Dam removal is expected to happen in 2020. Included in the pact is a provision requiring these stakeholders to keep working together on a resolution to the revolving water crises on the Klamath.

“The Yurok Tribe plans to honor our pledge to continue collaborating on a water sharing strategy that is favorable for both fish and farms,” Chairman O’Rourke said.

The flows on the Klamath are the result of how the Bureau of Reclamation delivers irrigation supplies to the 225,000 acre Klamath Irrigation Project. BOR’s irrigation plan must comply with specific standards put in place to protect coho salmon, a fish listed under the Endangered Species Act. These requirements are established by the National Marine Fisheries Service in what is called a Biological Opinion or BiOp.

In 2014 and 2015, the salmon were sickened by a parasite known as Ceratonova Shasta — previously named Ceratormyxa Shasta.

According to the BiOp, if “the percent of C. Shasta (Ceratonova Shasta) infections for Chinook salmon juveniles in the mainstem Klamath River between Shasta River and Trinity River during May to July exceed these levels (i.e., 54 percent infection via histology or 49 percent infection via QPCR), re-initiation of formal consultation will be necessary.” The degree of an outbreak is determined by the number of ailing Chinook, a close surrogate for coho, because there are more of these non-listed fish available for analysis.

NMFS has stated that the agency will not reinitiate consultation on the BiOp, and is instead going to amend the number fish permitted to perish as a result of the water diversions in the upper basin.

“These irresponsible management decisions will create destructive consequences that will be felt by our children, our grandchildren and many future generations,” Chairman O’Rourke explained.

The Klamath dams create the perfect conditions for Ceratonova Shasta to thrive. Prior to infecting salmon, the disease organism spends the beginning of its lifecycle with a different host, a polychaete worm that lives in the debris at the bottom of the river. Prior to the installation of the dam project, massive winter flows carrying a modest coarse sediment load would scour the riverbed, clearing it of the detritus favored by the worm.

The impassable barrier also forces fish to congregate in abnormally high concentrations below Iron Gate Dam, where the parasite is passed from one fish to the next. At this time of year, the warm water temperatures are often close to the lethal level for salmon, which compromises the fish’s immune response and increases the potential for mortality.

In an effort to mimic major winter storms, the BiOp calls for sending large pulse flows down the river in an attempt to disrupt the lifecycle of the parasite. These past two years clearly illustrate that this half measure is simply not enough to protect fish from the pathogen.

“The BiOp is like a Band Aid on a seriously infected wound that only surgery can fix,” Chairman O’Rourke said. “To truly heal the river, we must extract the lower four dams before they completely kill the Klamath.”

* * *

LUXURY

by Manuel Vicent

(Translated by Louis Bedrock; For Russ Rasmussin

A young and undoubtedly rich couple pulled their shopping cart up and down the aisles of a luxury supermarket and were extending their arms toward the shelves, which contained every imaginable delicacy for the most refined taste.

In the bottom of the cart, already lay a boneless black leg of ham and on top of it had begun to fall different meats, sausages, pates, eels, shellfish, wines and liquors retrieved from locked glass cabinets by an employee of the store, fruit from exotic countries, different brands of coffees, and other whimsical delights wrapped in gold foil.

Two adorable creatures followed the couple, a boy and a girl, yawning. Given the nonchalance with which they gathered whatever they wanted, they gave the impression that they had no clue about what was going on in this tormented world.

In the doorway of the supermarket was a Rumanian beggar who did not ask for money. She wanted only that they buy her a chicken because she was hungry and any money she collected had to be obligatorily turned over to the owner of the supermarket.

For many years, this establishment used to find itself full of exuberant customers, but the crisis had almost put it out of business; so it's not clear whether this couple was a survivor of that insane feeding frenzy or a herald of a new class of young millionaires, tanned from the golf courses, the unsuspected owners of a computer business.

“Do you want anything else honey? Did you forget anything?” Golden Boy asked his wife.

Had they forgotten anything that gives them the sense of so much luxury? The woman headed for an aisle and returned a moment later with the most important product of capitalism: an enormous package that contained 20 rolls of soft, rose colored toilet paper, and with it the happy children topped off the shopping cart bursting with goodies.

Then the cash register began to ring cheerfully.

* * *

WILBUR is an adorable dog who is currently in foster care. Here are some hilites about this wonderful dog from his foster family: Willy is a cuddler and loves people. Although he’s a rather lazy dog, he is getting more playful and energetic. He likes his squeaky toys, but his favorite activities are sleeping and cuddling. He does get along with other dogs, but will need to meet any potential doggie friends. No cats for Willy right now — a bit too scary for him, but respectful older kids would be perfect. Wilbur is rather submissive, slightly shy and uncertain of new things, but he’s gaining confidence. He’s great off leash and very easy to walk. He knows sit, down, shake, beg, come and stay. He’ll do anything for a delicious treat. He listens pretty well. He’s also probably on the way to being house trained. We are taking applications on this dog, but want to hold off on meet and greets till we know more about his personality. If you think Willy's the one for you — let us know! He is really one of the sweetest and easiest (and quite possibly the laziest) pups you’ll meet!

Wilbur

The Ukiah Shelter is located at 298 Plant Road in Ukiah. Call the Adoption Coordinator for more information--707-467-6453. Don't forget to visit and bookmark the shelter's official website: www.mendoanimalshelter.com.

We're also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mendoanimalshelter/

* * *

GUNS

On 6/25/2016 3:16 PM, Camerin Kelly wrote: “It's a fallacy to believe that objects kill people. People kill people. With their hands, bombs, guns, drugs, psychology, planes, viruses the list goes on and on. There are plenty of countries that have banned guns. The constitution allows for those who want to live outside the county to do so, as well as it allows for the right to own firearms. The militarization of the police force, and the amount of violence they subject those in poverty to, I'm very surprised by this push to ban weapons. I suggest keeping your guns. Don't forget that by asking to ban weapons you are asking the cops to pull you over for any reason they dream up.”

* * *

Camerin, getting a gun doubles the chance that you or someone in your family will be shot, and it multiplies by hundreds the chance that your suicide or mood-derived murder spree (or both) will be by gun. You can say, "I don't have moods." Okay, then you're a robot, and I think we can all agree on how inappropriate it is to supply guns to robots. We've all seen the movies about what happens.

Here's an Australian's explanation of the issue. He touches on all the points you raise in your emails. Keep in mind that this is from last year, too many US mass shootings ago and zero Australian mass shootings ago:

Part One:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rR9IaXH1M0

Part Two:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9UFyNy-rw4

Marco McClean

memo@mcn.org

http://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com

* * *

IS IT THE ATRAZINE?

(In the case of the controversial research done by Tyrone Hayes, male frogs effectively became female when exposed to the herbicide [Atrazine].)

Here’s the link to the latest study (2016, published in the esteemed Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America) on Atrazine influencing gender development that Hayes warned of when initially hired to evaluate Atrazine by Syngenta over 20 years ago.

Rather than saying “WOW! Thanks for assisting us in avoiding a disaster of major proportions,” Syngenta set out to destroy the man, his career and credibility.

Google: Tyrone Hayes, New Yorker article

After reading the latest studies (link below), one wonders if ignoring his warning has lead to the vast number of young male children now identifying themselves as female extremely early in their lives, and the pressing need for access to bathrooms in accordance with the gender one identifies with, rather than their gender at birth?

<http://www.pnas.org/content/107/10/4612.full>

(pnas = Proceedings of the National Academy of Science)

I understand that Atrazine is one of the contaminants in the GP Mill Pond. Does anyone have access to latest quantitative analysis report of contaminants or the desire to obtain a sample and submit it for analysis?

"The present study demonstrates the reproductive consequences of atrazine exposure in adult amphibians. Atrazine-exposed males were both demasculinized (chemically castrated) and completely feminized as adults." [(!)]

* * *

Abstract:

"The herbicide atrazine is one of the most commonly applied pesticides in the world. As a result, atrazine is the most commonly detected pesticide contaminant of ground, surface, and drinking water. Atrazine is also a potent endocrine disruptor that is active at low, ecologically relevant concentrations. Previous studies showed that atrazine adversely affects amphibian larval development.

"The present study demonstrates the reproductive consequences of atrazine exposure in adult amphibians. Atrazine-exposed males were both demasculinized (chemically castrated) and completely feminized as adults. Ten percent of the exposed genetic males developed into functional females that copulated with unexposed males and produced viable eggs. Atrazine-exposed males suffered from depressed testosterone, decreased breeding gland size, demasculinized/feminized laryngeal development, suppressed mating behavior, reduced spermatogenesis, and decreased fertility. These data are consistent with effects of atrazine observed in other vertebrate classes…

"Atrazine is one of the most widely used pesticides in the world. Approximately 80 million pounds are applied annually in the United States alone, and atrazine is the most common pesticide contaminant of ground and surface water (1). Atrazine can be transported more than 1,000 km from the point of application via rainfall and, as a result, contaminates otherwise pristine habitats, even in remote areas where it is not used (23). In fact, more than a half million pounds of atrazine are precipitated in rainfall each year in the United States (2).

"In addition to its persistence, mobility, and widespread contamination of water, atrazine is also a concern because several studies have shown that atrazine is a potent endocrine disruptor active in the ppb (parts per billion) range in fish (45), amphibians (612), reptiles, and human cell lines (51315), and at higher doses (ppm) in reptiles (1618), birds (19), and laboratory rodents (2028).

"…Furthermore, atrazine contamination is associated with demasculinization and feminization of amphibians in agricultural areas where atrazine is used (32) and directly correlated with atrazine contamination in the wild (793334)…”

* * *

You can read the full study and access the links to the other studies they reference here:

<http://www.pnas.org/content/107/10/4612.full>

We are fortunate that the next generation of scientists chose to follow Hayes’ lead and continue this investigation, despite the extreme blowback and threats to their careers — currently it seems essential to pay attention rather than hide our heads in the sand and be satisfied with a pretty coastal trail and promises of increased tourism. The GP site needs to be cleaned up, and its impacts on the FB municipal water system looked at as well.

— Cindy Swan, MCN listserve

* * *

IT'S GETTING ROUGH OUT THERE

SACRAMENTO (AP)— At least seven people were stabbed Sunday when counter-protesters clashed with members of right-wing extremists groups that planned to hold a rally outside the California state Capitol building in Sacramento, authorities said.

California Highway Patrol Officer George Granada said about 30 members of the Traditionalist Worker Party were gathering for a rally around noon Sunday when they were met by about 400 counter-protesters and a fight broke out.

As people tried to leave the area, smaller fights broke out, Granada said. He said no arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon.

He said the Capitol remained on lockdown three hours after the large fight broke out but that things had calmed down and only about 70 “anti-fascists” remained in the area.

Videos from the melee posted on social media showed mounted police officers dispersing a group of mainly youth, some with their faces covered, while some throw stones toward a man holding a stick and being shielded by police officers in riot gear.

Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Chris Harvey said many other people had cuts, scrapes and bruises.

“There was a large number of people carrying sticks and rushing to either get into the melee or see what was going on,” Harvey said.

The victims were all present while a protest took place, said Sacramento Police spokesman Matt McPhail but he said it was still unclear whether and how they were involved.

The Traditionalist Workers Party had scheduled and received a permit to protest at noon Sunday in front of the Capitol. McPhail said a group showed up to demonstrate against them.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has described TWP as a group formed in 2015 as the political wing of the Traditionalist Youth Network, which aims to “indoctrinate high school and college students into white nationalism.”

Matthew Heimbach, chairman of the Traditionalist Worker Party, told the Los Angeles Times that his group and the Golden State Skinheads organized the Sunday rally. Heimbach said that in the clash, one of their marchers had been stabbed in an artery and six of the counter-protesters had also been stabbed.

Vice chairman Matt Parrott, who was not present at the Sacramento rally, blamed “leftist radicals” for instigating the violence.

A message left at a phone number for the Traditionalist Worker Party was not immediately returned to The Associated Press.

A post recently uploaded to site of the Traditionalist Youth Network said TWP members planned to march in Sacramento to protest against globalization and in defense of their right to free expression. They said they expected to be outnumbered 10-to-1 by counter-protesters.

“We concluded that it was time to use this rally to make a statement about the precarious situation our race is in,” the Traditionalist Youth Network statement said. “With our folk on the brink of becoming a disarmed, disengaged, and disenfranchised minority, the time to do something was yesterday!”

The clash Sunday follows a confrontation in March between Ku Klux Klan members and counter-protesters in Anaheim, California in which three people were stabbed.

* * *

‘PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD LIGHT’

by Meatloaf

[Boy:]

I remember every little thing

As if it happened only yesterday

Parking by the lake

And there was not another car in sight

And I never had a girl

Looking any better than you did

And all the kids at school

They were wishing they were me that night

 

And now our bodies are, oh, so close and tight

It never felt so good, it never felt so right

And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife

Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife

C'mon, hold on tight

C'mon, hold on tight

 

Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night

I can see paradise by the dashboard light

 

[Girl:]

Ain't no doubt about it we were doubly blessed

'Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely dressed

 

[Both:]

Ain't no doubt about it

Baby, got to go out and shout it

Ain't no doubt about it

We were doubly blessed

 

[Boy:]

'Cause we were barely seventeen

And we were barely dressed

 

Baby, don't you hear my heart

You got it drowning out the radio

I've been waiting so long

For you to come along and have some fun

And I gotta let you know

No, you're never gonna regret it

So open up your eyes,

I got a big surprise

It'll feel all right

Well, I wanna make your motor run

 

And now our bodies are, oh, so close and tight

It never felt so good, it never felt so right

And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife

Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife

C'mon, hold on tight

C'mon, hold on tight

 

[Both:]

Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night

I can see paradise by the dashboard light

Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night

Paradise by the dashboard light

 

You got to do what you can

And let Mother Nature do the rest

Ain't no doubt about it

We were doubly blessed

'Cause we were barely seventeen

And we were barely

 

[3x]

We're gonna go all the way tonight

We're gonna go all the way

And tonight's the night

 

[Radio Broadcast:]

OK, here we go, we got a real pressure cooker going here

Two down, nobody on, no score, bottom of the ninth

There's the wind-up, and there it is

A line shot up the middle, look at him go

This boy can really fly

He's rounding first and really turning it on now

He's not letting up at all, he's gonna try for second

The ball is bobbled out in the center

And here comes the throw and what a throw

He's gonna slide in head first

Here he comes, he's out

No, wait, safe, safe at second base

This kid really makes things happen out there

Batter steps up to the plate

Here's the pitch, he's going

And what a jump he's got

He's trying for third

Here's the throw

It's in the dirt, safe at third

Holy cow, stolen base

He's taking a pretty big lead out there

Almost daring them to pick him off

The pitcher glances over, winds-up and it's bunted

Bunted down the third base line

The suicide squeeze is on

Here he comes, squeeze play, it's gonna be close

Here's the throw, here's the play at the plate

Holy cow, I think he's gonna make it

 

[Girl:]

Stop right there

I gotta know right now

Before we go any further

 

Do you love me?

Will you love me forever?

Do you need me?

Will you never leave me?

Will you make me so happy

For the rest of my life?

Will you take me away

And will you make me your wife?

 

[Boy:]

Let me sleep on it

Baby, baby, let me sleep on it

Let me sleep on it

And I'll give you an answer in the morning

 

[Girl:]

What's it gonna be, boy?

Come on, I can’t wait all night.

What's it gonna be, boy?

Yes or no?

What's it gonna be, boy?

Yes or no?

 

[Boy:]

Let me sleep on it

Baby, baby, let me sleep on it

Let me sleep on it

And I'll give you an answer in the morning

Let me sleep on it

 

[Girl:]

I gotta know right now

Do you love me

Will you love me forever

Do you need me

Will you never leave me

Will you make me so happy

For the rest of my life

Will you take me away

And will you make me your wife

I gotta know right now

Before we go any further

Do you love me

Will you love me forever

 

[Boy:]

Let me sleep on it

Baby, baby let me sleep on it

Let me sleep on it

And I'll give you an answer in the morning

 

[Girl:]

I gotta know right now

Before we go any further

Do you love me?

And will you love me forever?

 

[Boy:]

Let me sleep on it

 

[Girl:]

Will you love me forever?

 

[Boy:]

I couldn't take it any longer

Lord I was crazed

And when the feeling came upon me

Like a tidal wave

I started swearing to my god

And on my mother's grave

That I would love you to the end of time

I swore I would love you to the end of time

 

So now I'm praying for the end of time

To hurry up and arrive

'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you

I don't think that I can really survive

I'll never break my promise or forget my vow

But God only knows what I can do right now

I'm praying for the end of time

It's all I can do (ooh, ooh)

I'm praying for the end of time

So I can end my time with you

 

[Boy:]

It was long ago and it was far away,

And it was so much better than it is today.

 

[Girl:]

It never felt so good, it never felt so right

And we were glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife.

8 Comments

  1. Rick Weddle June 27, 2016

    re: banning all guns…

    Unarmed populations beg to be dominated and exploited in a world (like this one) where so many governments (like this one) seem not just willing, but eager to kill poor folks in mass numbers, armed or not, gender, age, and armed/combat status of no concern whatever. Ballistic weapons do come with mortal responsibility that none of the movies or ‘news’ stories touch on. What the chunk of hardware is and what it does by design is so obscured by popular mythologies, entertainments, and cultural militance, that civilians generally don’t have a clue. That’s one of the most serious aspects of Our Gun Problem. It’s also famously begging for Big Trouble if you refuse ANY regulation on sales and availability of all weapons, fully anticipating a population just barely aware of which end of a gun is which, and with a wide assortment of wild-ass chips on their shoulder.

    It might be easier if America hadn’t already gone on a 150-year bender and picked a fight with her guardian angels; heads up, America! This may be the most entertaining part of the Ride…the tailspin section…

    • George Hollister June 27, 2016

      Public education should include classes on how to properly use a firearm. Everyone of sane and capable mind should be required to take the class, regardless of whether they ever intend to own or use a gun. Owning and using a gun is an adult responsibility that requires an eduction. Better to learn what is necessary to use a gun, than to be unlearned or to learn bad habits.

  2. BB Grace June 27, 2016

    re: IT’S GETTING ROUGH OUT THERE

    For some of us, it’s always been rough out there.

  3. Bill Pilgrim June 27, 2016

    A few of my favorite Churchill paraprosdokians:

    “Mr Attlee is a very modest man. Indeed, he has a lot to be modest about.”

    “Mr Chamberlain loves the working man. He loves to see him work.”

    “You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they’ve tried everything else.”

  4. Jim Updegraff June 27, 2016

    John Pilger: the Britons did not approve leaving the UN – the English and Welch did – the Scotch disapproved by 63% and the Northern Irish also disapproved.The United Kingdom will disappear into 2 and possibly 3 separate countries.

    Riot in Sacramento: Many of the counter-protestors who were dressed in black with head and face covered were reported to be anarchists from outside Sacramento. A channel 3 camera crew were attacked by a crowd yelling ‘no cameras’ and the reporter was knocked to the ground but stood their ground.

  5. Whyte Owen June 27, 2016

    MS Swan, thanks for including the PNAS link; too often opinion is presented without attribution.

  6. Jim Updegraff June 27, 2016

    Re the Brexit vote one should remember it is only advisory. The new government that comes into office in October may decide not to leave the EU. (correction on my previous comment EU not the UN).

  7. Rick Weddle June 27, 2016

    re: gun rules…

    Among the early rules for any ballistic weapon must be included the fact that the bare existence of the weapon in our midst automatically holds parents responsible for their function, regulation and disposition, as a matter of protecting one’s children. Other responsibilities accrue automatically for others, including the manufacturers, the moment these weapons are placed in public proximity. The gunsmoke has never cleared long enough around here for y’all down at the nra to line up three sparking brain cells among you, anyway…

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