September 20 – 26, 2023

Highlights this week:

Bratton…UCSC rankings and status, Munching with Mozart concerts.Greensite…on heritage tree loss and the appeal process. Steinbruner…Pajaro River problems, Cummings vs. Koenig and housing, Laird and zoom meetings, Bayview Hotel entrance. Hayes…a fine legacy. Patton…what do we need to do now? Matlock…snarking acquittals-r-us and loyalty oaths. Eagan… Subconscious Comics and Deep Cover. Webmistress…pick of the week: why are funerals so expensive?! Quotes…”Earthquakes”

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SANTA CRUZ’S TOWN CLOCK’S ORIGINAL LOCATION. This was July 27, 1964 when they took down our town clock. It then sat in one of our parks for years until a movement by activists got the new location where it sits today.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

DATELINE September 18

UCSC’s PLACE IN THE WORLD. U.S. News & World Report did a study/survey of colleges last week and there are some surprises. In addition to the surprises there’s a lot to consider when we are so often forced to deal with our very important neighbor…and attraction. To cut to the chase…UCSC came in at #82. “UC Berkeley came in at #15 nationally, tying with UCLA. UC Davis was #28. They reported, “University of California, Santa Cruz is a public institution that was founded in 1965. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 17,502 (fall 2022), and the campus size is 2,000 acres. It utilizes a quarter-based academic calendar. University of California, Santa Cruz’s ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #82. Its in-state tuition and fees are $15,288; out-of-state tuition and fees are $47,862. Go here to get the full impact of that report…

MUNCHING WITH MOZART RETURNS. Due to covid Munching With Mozart & Friends took a 3 year break and resumed its concerts last Friday. Carol Panofsky leads and emcees the concerts which are held every third Friday from 12:10 to about 1 p.m. Last Friday more than 80 people (mostly masked) jammed into the upstairs meeting room in the Downtown library. We heard Music For Piano Solo performed by Ziyue (Amy) Zeng a 17 year old piano master. She played Bach, Prokofiev, Beethoven and Franz Lizst and was absolutely wonderful. Check your calendars for October 20, November 17 and December 15 for the next concerts.

I search and critique a variety of movies only from those that are newly released. Choosing from the thousands of classics and older releases would take way too long. And be sure to tune in to those very newest movie reviews live on KZSC 88.1 fm every Friday from about 8:10 – 8:30 am. on the Bushwhackers Breakfast Club program hosted by Dangerous Dan Orange.

EL CONDE. (NETFLIX MOVIE) (6.6 IMDB). ****   A surprising re-take and reversion and political commentary on Augusto Pinochet’s public and private life. It was made in Chile and they call it a comedy. They have Pinochet being first born in 1776 and still being on earth as a 250 year old vampire. It parallels his actual political and personal history adding the vampire secret, and we get to watch blood drinking from a blender many times. It’s “filmed” in black and white which really adds to the desired mood. Note… Augusto Pinochet was leader of the military junta that overthrew the socialist government of President Salvador Allende of Chile in 1973.

A HAUNTING IN VENICE. (DEL MAR THEATRE) (6.8 IMDB). **** Kenneth Branagh is back with the third in his Hercule Poirot versions of Agatha Christie’s books. Michelle Yeoh and Tina Fey are deadly serious in it too. Branagh moved the plot to Venice in 1947 from Christie’s book “Halloween Party” she first published in 1969. It’s deadly serious, very confusing, and it’s hard to stay interested as Poirot makes his rounds. Not recommended.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. (NETFLIX MOVIE) (6.9 IMDB) **** An overly cute teen ager love story about two kids who fall in love at the airport as they depart to two different locations. Some critic called it a cheesy rom com and I agree. It’s silly, trite, and brings in a cancer drama to give it some validity. Not worth watching.

INSIDE. (PRIME MOVIE) (5.5 IMDB).****It’s good fun to see Willem Dafoe back on screen. This time he’s a specialized art thief who flies in a helicopter and gets trapped in a penthouse in New York City that he was robbing. Because he’s a thief he can’t call or hope for help. He tries climbing, stacking furniture…nothing works. Dafoe is a fine actor and its good fun to watch his many attempts to escape.

JEANNE DIELMAN, 23, QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES. (MAX MOVIE). (7.6 IMDB). **** This 1975 movie was just re-discovered and 480 movie critics from the Sight and Sound magazine (which is part of The British Film Institute) have stated that Jeanne Dielman is the greatest film of all time. Many, many critics around the world agree. Its three and a half hours long and was directed by a woman director Chantal Akerman. It covers three days in the life of a widowed mother and her son and takes place in Brussels. There’s almost no dialogue, the camera never moves from left to right, and it’s definitely worth watching.

SPECIAL NOTE….Don’t forget that when you’re not too sure of a plot or need any info on a movie to go to Wikipedia. It lays out the straight/non hype story plus all the details you’ll need including which server (Netflix, Hulu, or PBS) you can find it on. You can also go to Brattononline.com and punch in the movie title and read my take on the much more than 100 movies.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. (MAX SERIES) (7.2 IMDB) ****  It takes place in 1910 New Orleans and Storyville to be exact. The acting is stylized, the scenes are overly dramatic, and it’s not that kind of vampire. This is about a three way gay love affair and will it work? Much sex, booze, and posing. Roger Ebert called it cheesy, he’s right.

A TIME CALLED YOU (NETFLIX SERIES) (7.4 IMDB). ****  An involved Korean series that I really got caught up in. There’s a plane crash and a girl’s boyfriend dies…or did he? His girlfriend travels back in time to 1998 several times or does she? Maybe she’s actually in 1998?? It’s touching, well-acted and fleeting…don’t miss it.

WHO IS ERIN CARTER? (NETFLIX SERIES) (6.4 IMDB). There’s a hold up in a super market and a killing. But little tension, slow moving, little sympathy for anyone and everyone involved. Spain, Mexico and Britain all get involved but save your time and credit and forget Erin Carter.

SITTING IN BARS WITH CAKE. (PRIME MOVIE) (6.7 IMDB). ****It’s a lot of LA with plenty of bars with girlfriends getting the brilliant idea of making cakes and bringing them to bars to grab the guy’s attention. Bette Midler is legally in the film but there’s no good reason for her rare appearances. There’s a father with cancer, drinking, anger, a brain tumor, shouting and lots of making out. No reason to watch this one.

ONE PIECE. (NETFLIX SERIES) (8.5 IMDB). **** Another attempt by a studio to combine live action fantasy with animation. It’s into the pirate world and back again. The actors and voices are as good as you can expect when you’re dealing with a two world set-up like this one. Maybe if you’re aged 5 to 12 you might be thrilled but otherwise it’s too cute and not intelligent enough. It’s only been season one so far…maybe they’ll tighten it up and add tension and better jokes….so go warned.

INVASION. (APPLE SERIES) (6.1 IMDB). **** Long time movie goers will recognize Sam Neill as the sheriff in this invasion of earth movie. All sorts of clues and warnings that aliens are coming but it’s not very exciting. Much of it is in the telling and re telling of individual’s personal history and their reaction to the invasion. It’s mostly nothing you/we haven’t seen before.

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September 18

LOSING OUR HERITAGE

The Coast Redwood pictured above lives at the corner of Walnut and Lincoln streets, near the High School. Its life hangs in the balance as humans tussle over its fate. The property owner of the adjacent fifties-style apartment building, when advised by the city that the sidewalk was needing repairs, applied for, and was granted a permit for the tree’s removal by the director of Parks and Recreation, based on the findings of the city arborist. The section of the Resolution cited to allow this heritage tree to be cut down is Criteria and Standards 1: The heritage tree has or is likely to have, an adverse effect upon the structural integrity of a building, utility or public or private right of way.”

The public has the right to appeal a tree removal permit, so long as that action is taken within ten calendar days of the granting of the permit. The notice of a tree removal permit is posted onsite. One problem with this arrangement is that you have to live near or be passing by the site to know that a heritage tree is about to have its life ended. The city has no online list of pending heritage tree removal permits available for review.

Two days ago, I passed by the lovely tree pictured below. Whenever I see such a tree posting my heart sinks because I know what it means. Either the appeal period is over and it’s a done deal, as I found out later is the case for this tree, or I have to consider going through the arduous appeal process, pay the fee and invariably lose. The real loser is the tree. However, our lives and that of the birds are diminished with each heritage tree eradicated. Plus, that much less oxygen enters the atmosphere and eventually, more carbon dioxide, depending on the method of disposal of the tree. Grinding a downed tree into mulch is very popular these days. Short of fire, that is the fastest way to release carbon.

The typeface on the posting for the liquidambar was so small I couldn’t read it without stepping onto the property which I will not do. A long time ago, trying (unsuccessfully) to save a beautiful cypress tree via the appeal process, I and the then mayor walked up to the property door, knocked, and asked the tenant if we could look at the tree which was in the back yard. She said yes, we did and after a brief inspection, left. A few days later, a friend called me at work to say the property owner was on the radio accusing me and the mayor of trespassing. So, I avoid stepping onto private property.

The Coast Redwood was appealed to the Parks and Recreation Commission. I am no longer a commissioner, despite being eligible for a second term and unanimously elected as vice chair for the previous year by fellow commissioners. Council member Scott Newsome passed me over for the head of the non-profit Save the Waves Coalition, which has an MOU with the city, is interested in economic opportunities along West Cliff Drive and the city has donated money to the non-profit.

I attended the Redwood tree appeal hearing at the Parks & Recreation commission on August 14th. The usual format for an appeal is a staff report followed by fifteen minutes for the appellant, fifteen minutes for the applicant, public comment, five minutes rebuttal only for the appellant since that party has the burden of proof, then hearing body deliberation and vote. Not in this case.

The chair allowed five minutes for each side’s presentation and five minutes rebuttal for each side. Very unusual. The commission vote was three to two against the appeal. The appellants were young residents of Santa Cruz. They spoke compellingly, without hyperbole or unrealistic assertions. Despite their losing the appeal, my hopes for humanity were raised by their caring and involvement.

I just heard that this tree’s life sentence is not yet determined. The commission’s decision has been appealed to the city council. I assume but do not know that the appellants are the same.

The date for the new Redwood tree appeal is September 26th, at city council.

Your support would be welcome. It’s a tough issue since the tree is close to the house and there is impact to the sidewalk and the building’s low brick facade which appears superficial. Around the corner from the tree the foundation has a crack, which may or may not be tree root related and can be filled. If the growth of this ten-foot diameter tree is very slow, it is likely the apartment building will be torn down and rebuilt before any further impact is likely. The property owner’s civil engineer did not offer substantial evidence of structural integrity damage but did conclude there was some. The report appeared cursory, at least to me and apparently also to two commissioners.

Well-meaning but unrealistic clamors by members of the public to “save the tree, tear down the building!” will not get votes. Yes, the tree was here first but people’s property is not just expendable. I suggest an independent engineering inspection, paid for out of the city’s tree fund, with far more rigor and detail that has yet been made available. This tree, and all our fast-disappearing heritage trees (about thirty a month) deserve at least that much attention prior to being sentenced to death.

Gillian Greensite is a long time local activist, a member of Save Our Big Trees and the Santa Cruz chapter of IDA, International Dark Sky Association  http://darksky.org    Plus she’s an avid ocean swimmer, hiker and lover of all things wild.

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September 18

GUT AND AMEND TO THE RESCUE

It never ceases to amaze me what elected representatives can do to help when there is a will and a need.  Known as “gut and amend”, a representative can completely change (“gut”) the entire content of a piece of legislation that has cleared many committee reviews and is close to completion, and the new  “amended” legislation that nowhere near represents what has been reviewed continues to quickly sail on to the Governor’s desk for approval.  Voila!  It is done.

Here is what has happened locally to completely sidestep environmental reviews that would have been needed to repair the Pajaro River levee:

“California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivaswhose district includes the Pajaro Valley, originally proposed Assembly Bill 876 in February focused on record-keeping related to certain child fatalities. On Aug. 29, with the end of the session less than three weeks away and the Feb. 17 deadline to submit new bills long passed, Rivas completely overhauled AB 876 to focus on expediting the Pajaro River levee repairs.”

A bill to speed up reconstruction of the Pajaro river levee heads to Newsom’s desk

The bill would allow the project to skip the California Environmental Quality Act requirements, a notoriously lengthy and expensive permitting process that can often add years to a project. When I spoke to Mark Strudley, executive director of the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency, a couple weeks ago, he said the ability to get a pass on the state’s environmental permitting requirements plays a central role in starting the project in 2024.

FOUR TO SIX STORY BUILDINGS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD…THE FEVERISH PACE TO RUBBERSTAMP A NEW COUNTY HOUSING ELEMENT WITH SUPERVISOR KOENIG NIXING INCREASED AFFORDABTILITY REQUIREMENTS.

Last Tuesday, following staff reports on the proposed County Housing Element to ensure compliance with State mandates, Supervisor Justin Cummings wanted to increase the percentage of affordable housing required in new projects to be 25% in larger projects and to address affordability issues related to wage gaps of residents.

However, Supervisor Manu Koenig refused to allow that language to be added as a friendly amendment to his motion to rubberstamp staff recommendations.  Why?

Unfounded fears of scaring away developers with higher affordable housing percentages being required was addressed during public comment by Sandy Brown, who spoke on her own behalf and not as a representative of the Santa Cruz City Council on which she serves.  She said the number of applications for building increased after the City increased inclusionary affordability percentages in 2019 to 20% (from 15%).

“The timeline to get this approved is too quick to allow any slowdown this could add.” Supervisor Koenig said.  Planner Suzanne Ise agreed that it would “not reflect well on the county if we are late” in getting the State Housing & Community Development (HCD) approval.

Supervisors Bruce McPherson and Zach Friend went along with the move to stonewall increased affordable housing requirements.  Supervisor Friend was mostly upset that the 13-acre former Par 3 Golf Course on Mar Vista Drive in his district is targeted for inclusionary affordable housing, that may not include senior housing focus or open space. (Is he thinking about the postage stamp “Village Green” of AstroTurf he supports in the Aptos Village Project?)

It was refreshing that Supervisor Justin Cummings persisted: “I feel strongly about this, so I am going to make a substitute motion that this change be added,”  Again, the three Supervisors voted NO, leaving only Supervisors Cummings and Felipe Hernandez supporting increasing percentages of affordable housing required.

Supervisor Koenig said “We disagree on the cause (of the affordable housing shortage).  It’s due to restrictions on developers.  Adding an increase to required inclusionary percentages burdens developers.”

Having been stomped on, Supervisor Koenig’s motion to accept staff recommendations, with some nod to Supervisor Friend’s concerns, was then approved unanimously.  Hmmm…

You can watch what happened yourself on the County Board of Supervisor meeting recording

Click on item #9 on the agenda to listen to the presentations and discussions. Supervisor Friend’s questioning about the Par 3 golf course property begins about minute 1:50, but things are quite out of synch in terms of speaker and image. Sandy Brown’s presentation is at minute 2:04.

My question about why the County declared the 38 acres at 7th and Brommer as “excess property” to sell rather than retain it for affordable housing projects never got answered (minute 2:12) and no one answered my question about the defunct Kaiser Medical Center project that is zoned for 102 affordable units (minute 2:11)

Supervisor Justin Cummings begins advocating increasing affordable housing requirements at minute 2:17:10 with concerns that Nexis studies the County would require to identify locations of affordable units could take up to five years to complete.

What does all this mean for the quality of life in our County, and for private property rights?

I had attended the County Housing Advisory Commission meeting the week previous, and gathered some interesting information.

“Every parcel we have identified will be developed.”  said County Planner Ms. Ise.  What’s more, the County will require the applicant to build at least 75% of the minimum building requirement the planners have established.

Where are all these locations?

The parking lot at Seascape Golf Course, Par 3 Golf in Aptos, areas across from Rancho del Mar in Aptos, the farmland in Soquel, many places in Pleasure Point considered “under-utilized” and will be re-zoned to dense infill development..

Take a look at these maps, found in Appendix HE-F

Attend the County Planning Commission meeting Wednesday, September 27 at 9:30am review of the proposed Housing Element update and rezoning, and get your thoughts included:

Planning Agenda

Write the Commission c/o Nicholas Brown  Nicholas.Brown@santacruzcountyca.gov

NEW COUNTY E-MAIL TEMPLATE FOR YOUR CORRESPONDENCE

About two weeks ago, Santa Cruz County government e-mail templates changed, supposedly just so our County would be consistent with the templates other counties in the state area using.  I searched for a Press Release about this but found none.  County Public Information Officer Jason Hoppin said there had not been any press release, but it was posted on the County’s website.  He said the federal government is encouraging all government agencies to use the .gov domain name.  Although he wasn’t exactly sure why, he thought it might be more secure, and likely would encourage grant funding opportunities.

WHAT IS HE THINKING?

State Senator John Laird’s proposed SB 544 would restrict the public’s access to powerful State-level representatives when they meet by requiring the meetings to be in-person only half the time.  It would reduce the public’s accessibility because those who make policy at state commissions and boards would not actually have to be there in person to see and even know if they were listening.

California boards want to keep pandemic rules for public meetings. Critics call it bad for democracy.

This harkens back to the County Board of Supervisors meetings during COVID, when for over two years, we did not see the images of Supervisors Zach Friend or Ryan Coonerty on the meeting portal screens, and had no idea if they were even in the room of their remote locations during discussions on critical budget items affecting us all.

This SB 544 just landed on Governor Newsom’s desk.  Contact him and voice your opposition: 

Phone: (916) 445-2841
Email form

STUDYING THE ROCKY SHORELINES WITH LIDAR

ROXSI – Rocky shOrelines eXperiment and SImulation – Wilson Nearshore Research Group

SOQUEL CREEK WATER DISTRICT SEEKING RUBBER-STAMP APPROVALS OF FUTURE RATE INCREASES

Soquel Creek Water District is planning to raise rates yet again, having hand-picked a group to show bobbleheads support of whatever the District staff feeds them, yet provide glowing support for rate jumps again.  This was described in the District’s newsletter,

“Quick Sips”  (because that’s all the water rate payers can afford?)

Raftelis Consultants did this five years ago to craftily raise rates to support the PureWater Soquel Project before the Board had even approved the Project’s Draft EIR.

The District formed a Water Rates Advisory Committee comprised of customers, board members and staff to work with Raftelis Financial Consultants to develop new water rates. The advisory committee has learned how water rates are created and have provided insight into the best ways to inform customers about any upcoming rate changes. Looking ahead, they will focus on a 10-year finance plan and rates necessary to support investment in critical infrastructure, operation of the water system and replenishment of the groundwater basin. A public rates hearing is anticipated for February 2024. Customers will be invited to attend and will receive notifications of any potential rate changes. Stay tuned for more updates.

COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ CLOSES BAYVIEW HOTEL ENTRANCE

The County of Santa Cruz closed the entrance to the historic Bayview Hotel last week with ugly orange plastic barricades.  The County has been the lead in getting the approvals required from the CPUC to get Swenson’s new Parade Street entrance to Soquel Drive.  The CPUC regulates new private railroad crossings and doesn’t like them.  The Commission approved the County’s request for Parade Street if they closed two other such private at=grade rail crossings.  The County arbitrarily chose the entrance to the historic Bayview Hotel, and a crossing in Davenport known as the Warrenella Road crossing.  Swenson was supposed to improve Cement Plant Road to cyclist and pedestrian traffic as a mitigation, but when that became too expensive, the improvements were cancelled, and the County successfully lobbied the CPUC to back off on closing the Warrenella Crossing.

Last week, Swenson removed the bright orange barricades that had been plopped there when Parade Street got opened.  The Bayview Hotel parking lot did get some much-needed paving, and now the former driveway entrance to the Hotel is gone.  How will the surface drainage directed from Soquel Drive onto the railroad track area get drained? It is often a pond in the big winter storms.  Write Public Works Director Matt Machado and ask.  matt.machado@santacruzcounty.us

Here is what the entrance to historic Bayview Hotel looks like now, with an asphalt curb along Soquel Drive’s bike lane.

WRITE ONE LETTER.  MAKE ONE CALL.  JUST DO SOMETHING THIS WEEK, AND MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.

Cheers,

Becky

Becky Steinbruner is a 30+ year resident of Aptos. She has fought for water, fire, emergency preparedness, and for road repair. She ran for Second District County Supervisor in 2016 on a shoestring and got nearly 20% of the votes. She ran again in 2020 on a slightly bigger shoestring and got 1/3 of the votes.

Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

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September 17

A FINE LEGACY.

How do we leave a good legacy that will benefit future generations in a world of uncertainty? Some suggest well – raised children are a sure bet, but with that this humble must demur. We must however try

A World of Uncertainty

We live in extraordinary, unprecedented times. Humans have built a remarkable global civilization with a burgeoning population. To survive, we are in a race to shed polluting fossil fuels. But, we have no idea if and how we can replace all that petroleum has provided to fuel population growth and the civilizing of landscapes. No matter what superficial form of government seems to be in place, the “oilogarchy” is deeply entrenched, exercising economic and political control. For evidence, just watch US politics: both parties’ have an inability to act in the expeditious way that the vast majority of citizens know to be necessary. And so, life, including human life, on Earth will likely become much more difficult for the next several hundred years. Of course, we should rise up and protest as if life itself depends on it, but there are other tangible things we can do to make the world more habitable for future generations.

Species and Ecosystem Restoration

There are a variety of activities you can partake in to help restore species and ecosystems, which humans will increasingly rely on for their wellbeing. As global warming creates climate chaos, and as humans increasingly falter without boosts from cheap petro-supplies, species diversity and resilient ecosystems will become more closely tied to better standards of living.

Oil and Water

For an example, let’s consider water. Some suggest oil and water don’t mix, but the two are closely intertwined over most of the world. We might suppose that the role petroleum plays in repairing, creating, and powering our water supply will be replaced by some renewable energy supply in the future. Plastic pipes will be made from hemp, renewable energy will power our pumps, electric vehicles will transport the legions of water district workers who maintain water systems, etc. However, when rain comes in torrential bursts or not at all, we will rely on very well-tended ecosystems to absorb and meter out rainfall so that we can benefit from more dependable surface or groundwater supplies.

Dust Storms

For another example, let’s consider erosion. The stability of our infrastructure- homes, utility lines, roads, dams, communication towers, airports, etc., depends on more than just good geological anchors: that stability is deeply dependent on functioning ecosystems. Species hold our stuff together. On the coast and along rivers and streams, species protect shorelines. On hillsides, in the mountains and on the plains, species hold the land in place. Without a wealth of species supported by resilient ecosystems, everything will come unzipped – gullies, floods, landslides…infrastructure collapse. At the same time, the bared soil will start to blow and dust storms will become more frequent, destroying engines, burying buildings and roads, and darkening the sky.

Restoration Means Now

The species that currently perform best at the “holding the soil in place” function are likely not the ones that will do best in a hundred years, given the rapidly changing climate. So, we must conserve every species, and plan to allow species migration through a healthy landscape of resilient ecosystems. Right now, this very year, we must quickly turn increasingly to restoration of the land because we have degraded too many places already. You can help by volunteering with the many habitat restoration projects in our area, taking better care of your land, voting for politicians that support ecological restoration and land care, spreading the word, and/or giving money to groups that are making a difference. Many people are joining this movement, we are making a difference, and we need more help.

Bye-Bye Soil, Hello Agricultural Substrate

Since World War 2, agricultural systems have become increasingly intertwined with petroleum at great expense to the soil that humans rely on for sustenance. Petroleum-fueled mechanical cultivation has destabilized billions of tons of soil which has already washed or blown away due to recklessness. You can watch it happening, still: in the Salinas and Pajaro valleys and along Santa Cruz’ North Coast watch the soil blow or wash away, depending on the season. At the same time, cheap fertilizers and expedient pesticides have been made possible by petroleum and the application of these have destroyed ecosystems that once sustained and built topsoil. Farmers for years have acted like soil is just a substrate, something to hold a plant in place long enough to harvest a crop. And so, most agricultural land is highly degraded and production is increasingly and deeply dependent on the supply of petroleum. While we can, there is a great opportunity to build the kind of soil health that will be necessary to feed humans when petroleum-subsidized fertilizers become too expensive, and the human population is still larger than it is now.

Soil Health

Healthy agricultural soils can retain more water, provide plants more dependable nutrition, and stabilize pest outbreaks. So, why would a farmer not create more healthy soils? There are two main reasons. First, investing in healthy soil reduces profits. For example, using cover crops to cover and build the soil during the rainy season means the loss of one or more potential harvests. That also drives up food costs, which then helps to create the second reason: mandates for soil health are politically difficult. The good news is that you can help with both of these conundrums.

You Can Help Create Healthy Soil

We all purchase groceries, and the choices we make can help support soil stewardship. Already, the organic agriculture movement has been growing and makes a difference for soil health. Certified organic agriculture requires farmers to find alternatives to pesticides and fertilizers that are synthesized from petroleum. In ‘conventional’ agriculture, novel petro-created compounds working alone or as a mixed concoction are released into agricultural systems without analysis on long-term soil health. Organic farmers more often rely on soil health as a means of production, and the higher cost of those products reflects that investment. Some tell me that they can’t afford organic foods, but discussions reveal that they are unwilling to make more basic food choices, preferring to rely on processed foods or meat that are especially more expensive when certified organic. Going organic may mean dietary changes that might be more healthy, anyway.

Besides using the power of your purse to support farmers who build soil health, you might more directly create healthy soils in community orchards or gardens. You can volunteer in a school garden which has the added benefit of helping children better understand soil health and healthy foods. You might also support, by volunteering or donations, organizations that are working to improve soil health on agricultural lands.

Grey Hayes is a fervent speaker for all things wild, and his occupations have included land stewardship with UC Natural Reserves, large-scale monitoring and strategic planning with The Nature Conservancy, professional education with the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and teaching undergraduates at UC Santa Cruz. Visit his website at: www.greyhayes.net

Email Grey at coastalprairie@aol.com

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September 16
#259 / What Do We Need To Do Now?

I don’t really know too much about Pauline P. Schneider. If you click the link to her name, and read about her, you will then know exactly as much as I know. Though I don’t really know her, I received a posting she made on her Substack blog about a month or so ago. I thought it was worth passing along. Schneider’s blog posting is also where I got the image I am using above. The blog posting that captured my attention was titled, “When Nations Drown/Burn.”

On the very same day I read Schneider’s blog posting, I got a bulletin from Tom Engelhardt, who was writing on the same topic, in “TomDispatch.” Both Schneider and Engelhardt were focusing on global warming. Engelhardt put it this way:

Hey, who knows? It could be the Gulf Stream collapsing or the planet eternally breaking heat records. But whatever the specifics, we’re living it right now, not in the next century, the next decade, or even next year. You couldn’t miss it — at least so you might think — if you were living in the sweltering Southwest; especially in broiling, record-setting Phoenix with 30 straight days of temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit; or in flaming Greece or western China on the day the temperature hit 126 degrees Fahrenheit or sweltering, blazing Algeria when the temperature reached an almost unimaginable 135 (yes, 135!) degrees Fahrenheit; not to speak of broiling Canada with its more than 1,000 fires now burning (a figure that still seems to be rising by the week) and its 29 million acres already flamed out; and don’t forget Italy’s 1,400 fires; or Florida’s hot-tub-style seawater, which recently hit an unheard-of 101-plus degrees Fahrenheit. And though I’m still writing this as the month is ending, July is more or less guaranteed to set the record for the hottest month in history. And don’t assume that “record” will stand for long, either.

Who even remembers that this June was the hottest since records have been kept or that July 6th was the hottest day in recorded history (and July 3rd through 6th, the hottest four days ever)? And don’t be surprised if 2023 ends up setting a record for the hottest year or assume that such a record will last long on a planet where the previous eight years were the warmest ever. And if I’m already boring you, then one thing is guaranteed: you’re going to be bored out of your mind in the years to come.

Englehardt provides a link to a New York Times’ article, in making his claim that temperatures in Algeria reached 135 degrees Fahrenheit during July. Schneider doesn’t provide any link, but her blog posting claims that temperatures reached 154 degrees Fahrenheit in Iran.

What Schneider does propose (that Englehardt doesn’t) is a list of specific ideas of what we should do about the kind of catastrophic temperatures that are now being experienced, almost everywhere, on Planet Earth. Here is Schneider’s list, copied from her blog:

What to do?

  1. Birth control, sterilization, and abortion should be free and readily available globally. Yes, even in Texas.
  2. ALL Nations should decommission nuclear power plants immediately. They cannot be operated safely in a normal climate, even less so in a smouldering climate.
  3. All militaries and their weapons of mass destruction should be immediately repurposed and decommissioned as well. Same reason as for nuke plants above.
  4. The IPCC scientists should be publicly horsewhipped for minimizing the climate crisis since Reagan (Ronnie Raygun). Even though that was the purpose of their creation-to minimize the crisis, & defuse any positive climate activism. Thank you Heartland Institute for helping to murder the planet. Kevin Hester explains that in detail. https://kevinhester.live/2021/09/06/its-time-to-acknowledge-the-spectacular-success-of-the-ipcc/.
  5. Any and all pseudo “Green” and “sustainable” energies should be called out for their lies and misinformation. Electric cars, solar and wind, hydroelectric, nuclear, are all NOT green, nor sustainable. They all require MASSIVE amounts of fossil fuels, mining, transportation, and a secure grid-tied infrastructure. Few nations have that, and the US especially lacks a secure infrastructure of any kind. Thanks Heartland Institute for helping to ruin our infrastructure with your greed-based, inhumane policies.
  6. Finally, as we (most of us) recognize the existential crisis we are facing, billionaires should be banned from speaking, or having any public presence, or holding public office. There should be no billionaires to begin with, that is an obscenity of capitalism and has led to the destruction of our only home. They are welcome to leave and go to Mars. Today is good.
  7. Societal changes:

All humans must be treated with dignity and compassion as we begin to exit this existence. This is simple. Basic needs met for all: housing, food, medical care, safety. We MUST end the houseless/homeless crisis in the US. We MUST provide universal healthcare for all. We MUST ensure our poorest have a basic living income. We MUST have sane gun control in the US (like other nations do) to ensure safe neighborhoods, schools, parks, and shopping areas.

oooOOOooo

There are some problems with Schneider’s list of recommended actions (particularly if you believe that individuals should continue to enjoy the kind of constitutional rights about which Schneider seems little concerned).

That said….. I think this is what Schneider is trying to convey: (1) We need to take immediate and effective action to stop contributing to the processes that have driven and are still driving the catastrophic global warming that both Schneider and Engelhardt describe; (2) We need to take immediate and effective action to mitigate and reverse those processes, to the greatest degree we possibly can; and (3) We need to take immediate and effective action to make radical, real changes to how we conduct our lives and structure our economy and society.

Anyone disagree that we need to do those things? If not, if we are all in agreement that we need to take the kind of immediate and effective actions outlined in the preceding paragraph, I would like to suggest that we focus on those two words, “radical” and “real.”

Making radical and real changes in how we do everything. That is what we need to do now!

Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net

Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

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September 18

SNARKING ACQUITTALS-R-US AND LOYALTY OATHS

The attempt by the Texas GOP to clean up its party fell short, as the Texas Senate acquitted their state attorney general of all charges following his corruption trial, not only echoing the thrust of the national organization, but showing its ability to be one of the most extreme bodies in the country. In defense of Ken Paxton during the impeachment proceedings, Texas representative, John Smithee said, “Today it could be General Paxton, and tomorrow it could be you.” In other words, Texas is fighting for all of us, just as Trump is standing strong between THEM and US! Paxton has been a vehement supporter of the former president, calling Biden’s 2020 presidential victory an “overthrow” by pulling off a coup to take away Trump’s ‘rightful place’ in the Oval Office. The Texas GOP is noted for a 2022 resolution designating Biden “an illegitimate and acting president,” implying that he won’t long be occupying his unearned seat and might be removed at will. As Ruth Ben-Giat on her Lucid/substack.com site says, “The logic of corruption also matters here. The GOP has embraced the methods and values of authoritarianism. It now depends on propaganda (the ‘Big Lie’), intimidation, and corruption – election denial being a form of corruption – for its identity and to maintain itself in power. In particular, it is a party that has remade itself in Trump’s image, with the goal of protecting the corrupt, and, the criminal dictating its actions.”

The New Yorker magazine’s snarky contributor, Andy Borowitz, writes “thousands of hardened criminals poured into Texas over the weekend after learning how easy it is to secure an acquittal there. Interstate freeways were reportedly backed up for miles as acquittal-seeking perpetrators sought to put down roots in soft-on-crime Texas. Harland Dorrinson, a self-styled recidivist who has been convicted in Ohio, Missouri, and Wisconsin, said that he was heading to the Lone Star State because, ‘in Texas, no one is below the law. An acquittal is yours for the asking if you’re white, male, and nefarious. I check all the boxes’. When told that one must also be elected as a Republican in order to qualify for Texas’ special “conviction exemption,” the career criminal was unfazed, noting that “even Greg Abbott” managed to do that.”

As Carl Gibson writes on Nation of Change, “Despite four criminal indictments totaling 91 felony charges, two impeachments, 26 women with sexual misconduct allegations, and arguably an act of sedition, and an attempt to incite a civil war, Donald Trump remains the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. What the indictment of Trump and 18 other Republican operatives, many being longtime acolytes of GOP causes, by a Fulton County grand jury truly shows that the Republican Party goes far beyond Trump.” He goes on to say that if an indictment within the Democratic Party occurred it would likely doom the individual’s career, with Trump it has only raised his polling position, despite charges in three separate jurisdictions. Should this not be regarded as a sign that the party is morally bankrupt and rotten to the core? Georgia’s RICO statute specifies that each co-conspirator in the case is equally liable, each facing up to 20 years in prison with a mandatory minimum of five years’ prison time. DA Fani Willis has said the guilty will not be able to serve less than five years, or be able to substitute time served with probation. Gibson feels that Trump is merely a byproduct of an increasingly criminal political party, with Eastman, Clark and Chesebro shouldering as much guilt in the plot to use fake electors to subvert the election; and while the GOP’s base has frowned upon dissent within its ranks, criminal accountability may finally be coming for operatives and elected officials.

Many in the GOP believe that Trump’s position at the top of the Republican ticket spells political disaster, with a loss of the US House, giving Democrats full control of Congress. Former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan who testified before DA Willis‘ grand jury, expressed his belief that a Trump nomination would be a big mistake, comparing his candidacy to that of the failed Herschel Walker campaign. “We didn’t ask who was the best leader. We didn’t ask who had the best resume. Unfortunately, Republicans looked around to see who Trump supported, and he was a famous football player, and so he became our nominee and now we’re paying the price.” Former GOP Congressman Will Hurd of Texas admonishes Trump as being toxic to the Republican Party as a whole, and his nomination “gives the 2024 election to Joe Biden.” Other shoes may drop since Jack Smith’s grand jury is still active as it meets in the DC courthouse, continuing investigations of other individuals, pointing to unindicted co-conspirators who may face the music. And of course, we all are waiting with bated breath over Fani Willis‘ pointing to the 30 other unnamed co-conspirators in her Georgia case…the fun rolls onward. However, Carl Gibson says that it the GOP stays electorally competitive, democracy may remain in peril for years to come.

Jenna Ellis, a Trump lawyer who shares some of his criminal charges for attempted election subversion, now says she will not vote for this “malignant narcissist” who can’t admit his mistakes, and his tendency to simply say he’s never done anything wrong. Ellis also has a show on American Family Radio, a rightwing evangelical network run by American Family Association, a non-profit that describes itself as having been “on the frontlines of America’s culture war” since 1977. Her charges of violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering laws, while soliciting violation of an oath by a public officer, resulted in being granted $100,000 bail after her not-guilty plea. Her claims of being a constitutional lawyer have been widely doubted, though she served as a former counsel for the Thomas More Society, a conservative Catholic group, being sought out by Trump after he saw a television commentary by her. She rose in prominence to become part of what she termed an “elite strike force team” working to overturn Trump’s defeat by Biden, then being signed by Family Radio late last year. On a recent show, she spoke with rightwing host Steve Deace, who said, “Before that man needs to be president again…[to] escape the quote-unquote, ‘witch-hunts,’ that man needs Jesus again because…his ambitions would be fueled by showing some self-awareness. And he won’t do it because he can’t admit, ‘I’m not God’.” Ellis agreed with Deace, commenting, “I have great love for him personally. And the total idolatry that I’m seeing from some of his supporters that are unwilling to put the constitution and the country and the conservative principles above their love for a star is really troubling. As Christians we need to take this very seriously and understand where we are putting our vote.” Ellis was censured by a Colorado judge in March for her spouting falsehoods about the 2020 election, and she has been criticized for hateful comments about the mass shooting at the Club Q gay nightclub, in addition to showing a cruel video concerning a Mitch McConnell hospitalization. Curiously, Ellis tore into Trump in 2016, calling him an “idiot and a bully” unable to “handle criticism” before making a complete turnaround to back him. True to form, the former prez chose not to fund her defense or fund any of his co-defendants, which spurred suggestions that she could flip on him in her testimony.

An attempt to keep Trump off Colorado’s state ballot in 2024 in a suit initiated by a group of voters was filed several weeks ago, related to his role in the J6 riots, arguing that he should be barred under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. A particular section prohibits anyone who has “previously taken an oath” to uphold the Constitution, who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office again. The suit was filed by six Republican, and other unaffiliated state voters, by Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility, which asked the court to rule it “improper and a breach or neglect of duty” for Secretary of State Jena Griswold to allow Trump’s name on future ballots. Griswold said she hoped “this case will provide guidance to election officials on Trump’s eligibility as a candidate for office.” Florida, on the other hand, just voted to abandon a rule adopted earlier this year which would require all 2024 GOP presidential candidates to pledge support to the eventual nominee should they want to be placed on the state’s March 19 primary ballots. The winner in that revision is none other than former President Donald Trump, who has loudly refused to sign any such commitment, and a slap in the face to early signer, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Loyalty pledges have become an issue in the GOP as they attempt to unify the party behind one candidate in 2024. For instance, to appear on the first candidate debate stage in Milwaukee, individuals had to sign the pledge; but, although Trump refused to sign he also refused to appear to debate, keeping peace in the family for the present, anarchy averted.

Andy Borowitz strikes again with his revelation that “in order to qualify for the next nationally televised debate, Republican Presidential candidates must sign a pledge to go to prison in place of Donald J. Trump…confirmed by the Republican National Committee. Ronna McDaniel, the RNC chairperson, said that agreeing to serve hard time for Trump was ‘the only way’ that GOP candidates could prove their loyalty to the party. As for whether Trump had been asked to sign a pledge to go to prison for any of his Republican rivals who might become convicted of a crime, McDaniel said, ‘Absolutely not. He’s very busy these days, and we didn’t want to bother him.’ Nearly all of the GOP contenders immediately agreed to sign the pledge, with the exception of Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, the latter of whom said he preferred to be ‘hog-tied.’ ‘I’m sorry to hear that Asa feels that way,’ McDaniel said. ‘Being asked to go to prison in place of Donald Trump is an honor that only comes around only four or five times in a lifetime.’ In a related matter, the RNC chair confirmed that none of the candidates had agreed to go to prison in place of Senator Lindsey Graham.”

CNN’s conservative commentator, S.E. Cupp, on her ‘The Lead‘ broadcast, says don’t expect Trump’s rivals to start seriously attacking him anytime soon. She notes Chris Christie’s, Asa Hutchinson’s and Texas’ Will Hurd’s blasts at the former president, but others have been stingy with any criticism. “The problem is, for these people to implicate Trump, they also have to implicate his voters. None are willing to say, ‘Listen white nationalists, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, we don’t want you. The Republican Party is not your safe space. You will not find comfort in a Nikki Haley administration’. They won’t say that because they all still want to win and they all still think they’re going to get Trump voters if they don’t swing at Trump more vigorously.” Her reality check is, “They are not going to win the cult of Trump over. It’s just not going to happen. There’s only one of him for a reason.” Right! We can only wish that were true…there’s a bunch more in the wings waiting to step into his tiny shoes!

It’s been reported that Melania Trump has rejected several requests from her husband to join him in his campaign appearances, though he claims he has been keeping her away and that she will accompany him soon, saying, “She’s a private person, a great person, and a very confident person and she loves our country very much.” He certainly has the “best words,” eh? To this assertion to Kristen Welker on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Trump added, “And, honestly, I like to keep her away from it. It’s so nasty and so mean.” The New York Times in July reported that she’s told friends she feels betrayed by staffers and friends during her time in the White House, but still supports and believes in the relevancy of her husband’s candidacy, while steering clear of any of his court appearances. As his legal woes accumulate, PR experts say she should “keep her distance, but plan an escape route,” before the legal complexities worsen. The easiest option for her is to claim she has to spend time with Barron, or doing charity work, being busy with anything for which she can’t be faulted, and The Donald isn’t going to make an issue of it. Amid the various rumors about their marriage is that it is merely a transactional union with an iron-clad prenup, making son, Barron, the big hang-up in their relationship, especially with any rumored breakup.

One of Trump’s fanatical backers last week was unceremoniously ejected from the Buell Theater in Denver after she was accused of vaping, singing, recording the show and being generally disruptive during the performance, along with her companion, Quinn Gallagher. Representative Lauren Boebert, who has been quietly dating Gallagher for a few months, denied they were causing a disturbance, just simply enjoying the musical, ‘Beetlejuice.’  Being warned about their behavior during an intermission after several complaints, they were finally escorted out following additional accusations of being too frisky…but not before Boebert tried to ‘pull rank’ and threaten the ushers and other theater personnel. Her campaign manager verified that the couple were shown the exit, but tried to sugar-coat the circumstances, before encouraging the public to see the zany and raucous show for themselves. Boebert is seen on video honoring the various theater workers with one-finger salutes on her way out, holding Quinn’s hand as she twirled around. Gallagher, a Democrat, is a co-owner of the Hooch Craft Cocktail Bar in Aspen, where they previously staged “a winter Wonderland Burlesque & Drag Show,” per an invitation for the event during Aspen Gay Ski Week“an evening of cocktails, appetizers, and laughs.” Perhaps Boebert should apply for a position at Hooch because Adam Frisch is campaigning hard for her congressional seat in an attempt to remove the “unneeded distraction in her district.”

After Joe Biden moved into the White House, he questioned why he had always seen two Army soldiers standing near a Rose Garden bench as if they were guarding it. He approached them, asking why they were assigned to this duty. They weren’t knowledgeable, but thought it was some kind of tradition. Biden then called former President Trump, who told him it must have been a tradition that he simply had kept in place. A call to former President Obama garnered a similar answer; then a call to George W. Bush questioning the presence of the guards provided the answer. “What?! Is the paint still wet?!” he responded.

Dale Matlock, a Santa Cruz County resident since 1968, is the former owner of The Print Gallery, a screenprinting establishment. He is an adherent of The George Vermosky school of journalism, and a follower of too many news shows, newspapers, and political publications, and a some-time resident of Moloka’i, Hawaii, U.S.A., serving on the Board of Directors of Kepuhi Beach Resort. Email: cornerspot14@yahoo.com
 

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EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. View classic inner view ideas and thoughts with Subconscious Comics a few flips down.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Deep Cover” down a few pages. As always, at TimEagan.com you will find his most recent  Deep Cover, the latest installment from the archives of Subconscious Comics, and the ever entertaining Eaganblog.

“Earthquakes”

“You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake”.
~Jeannette Rankin

“I will remember this day for the rest of my life. There is nothing you can say. It’s just like you won the match after the earthquake and it just feels great”.
~Elena Vesnina

“We want a story that starts out with an earthquake and works its way up to a climax”.
~Samuel Goldwyn

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I have played you videos of hers before, but that’s not stopping me. Her name is Caitlin, and she’s great! Watch this video on the cost of funerals…


COLUMN COMMUNICATIONS. Subscriptions: Subscribe to the Bulletin! You’ll get a weekly email notice the instant the column goes online. (Anywhere from Monday afternoon through Thursday or sometimes as late as Friday!), and the occasional scoop. Always free and confidential. Even I don’t know who subscribes!!
Snail Mail: Bratton Online
82 Blackburn Street, Suite 216
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Direct email: Bratton@Cruzio.com
Direct phone: 831 423-2468
Cell phone: 831 212-3273
All Technical & Web details: Gunilla Leavitt @ godmoma@gmail.com
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September 13 – 19, 2023

Highlights this week:

Bratton…about Hawaii diaspora, Mozart lunches. Greensite… on centering girls’ and women’s safety. Steinbruner…is getting ready for the County Fair and will be back next week. Hayes…BLM Overlooking Precious Wildlife Conservation. Patton…the “Law” of supply and demand. Matlock…disagreeing on that midnight train to Georgia. Eagan…Subconscious Comics and Deep Cover. Webmistress…pick of the week. Quotes… “Santa Cruz”.

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SANTA CRUZ FIRE DEPARTMENT circa 1941. Still the same building but the trucks have been updated.

Additional information always welcome: email bratton@cruzio.com
photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection.

DATELINE September 11

THINKING ABOUT HAWAII and HAWAIIANS.

I’ve subscribed to Ka Wai Ola for years. It’s the Office of Hawaiian Affairs monthly free newspaper. The September issue had a statement that surprised me…”more Native Hawaiians now live on the continent than in Hawaii”. It goes on to talk about the loss of statehood, the takeover by capitalists and government officials and concludes with the Maui wildfires. I looked up more “news” about the diaspora. Here’s some of what I found…”According to 2021 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the biggest growth of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander populations was in Clark County, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas, and Sacramento County, California. The biggest decline of Native Hawaiian residents was in Honolulu”.

Then a quote from NPR…”Residents in Hawaii are spending on average 42.06% of their income on rent, which is the highest of any state, according to a Forbes Home analysis. California ranks second, but at a much smaller proportion of income going toward rent: 28.47%”. Lastly from NPR again…”Estimates from the American Community Survey showed that in 2011, there were about 296,400 Native Hawaiians in Hawai’i and about 221,600 on the continental U.S. Just a decade later, those numbers flipped. In 2021, there were about 309,800 Native Hawaiians in Hawai’i and about 370,000 in other states”.

MUNCHING WITH MOZART RETURNS. The heroic, brave, talented Carol Panofsky is bringing back and recreating the every third Friday noon free concerts to our downtown library’s second floor meeting room. The first return concert will be this Friday, September 15, 2023 from 12:10 – 12:50. It features solos by Ziyue (Amy) Zeng, at the piano. She’ll be playing Johann Sebastian Bach, Sergei Prokofiev, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Liszt.

I search and critique a variety of movies only from those that are newly released. Choosing from the thousands of classics and older releases would take way too long. And be sure to tune in to those very newest movie reviews live on KZSC 88.1 fm every Friday from about 8:10 – 8:30 am. on the Bushwhackers Breakfast Club program hosted by Dangerous Dan Orange.

ABOUT ROTTEN TOMATOES AND IMDB. Some statistics somewhere showed that folks almost always go to critic’s reviews/critiques before attending a movie. I’ve always included IMDB (International Movie Data Base) ratings and since we found out last week that some Rotten Tomatoes critics were on the take and receiving monies from movie companies for good reviews I’m happy to stay with IMDB.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. (MAX SERIES) (7.2 IMDB)   It takes place in 1910 New Orleans and Storyville to be exact. The acting is stylized, the scenes are overly dramatic, and it’s not that kind of vampire. This is about a three way gay love affair and will it work? Much sex, booze, and posing. Roger Ebert called it cheesy, he’s right.

A TIME CALLED YOU (NETFLIX SERIES) (7.4 IMDB). **  An involved Korean series that I really got caught up in. There’s a plane crash and a girl’s boyfriend dies…or did he? His girlfriend travels back in time to 1998 several times or does she? Maybe she’s actually in 1998?? It’s touching, well-acted and fleeting…don’t miss it.

WHO IS ERIN CARTER? (NETFLIX SERIES) (6.4 IMDB). There’s a hold up in a super market and a killing. But little tension, slow moving, little sympathy for anyone and everyone involved. Spain, Mexico and Britain all get involved but save your time and credit and forget Erin Carter.

SITTING IN BARS WITH CAKE.(PRIME MOVIE) (6.7 IMDB). **It’s a lot of LA with plenty of bars with girlfriends getting the brilliant idea of making cakes and bringing them to bars to grab the guy’s attention. Bette Midler is legally in the film but there’s no good reason for her rare appearances. There’s a father with cancer, drinking, anger, a brain tumor, shouting and lots of making out. No reason to watch this one.

ONE PIECE. (NETFLIX SERIES) (8.5 IMDB). ** Another attempt by a studio to combine live action fantasy with animation. It’s into the pirate world and back again. The actors and voices are as good as you can expect when you’re dealing with a two world set-up like this one. Maybe if you’re aged 5 to 12 you might be thrilled but otherwise it’s too cute and not intelligent enough. It’s only been season one so far…maybe they’ll tighten it up and add tension and better jokes….so go warned.

INVASION. (APPLE SERIES) (6.1 IMDB). ** Long time movie goers will recognize Sam Neill as the sheriff in this invasion of earth movie. All sorts of clues and warnings that aliens are coming but it’s not very exciting. Much of it is in the telling and re telling of individual’s personal history and their reaction to the invasion. It’s mostly nothing you/we haven’t seen before.

SPECIAL NOTE….Don’t forget that when you’re not too sure of a plot or need any info on a movie to go to Wikipedia. It lays out the straight/non hype story plus all the details you’ll need including which server (Netflix, Hulu, or PBS) you can find it on. You can also go to Brattononline.com and punch in the movie title and read my take on the much more than 100 movies.

THE EQUALIZER 3 (Del Mar Theatre) (7.1IMDB). ** Denzel Washington (age 69) and Dakota Fanning (age 29) head the cast of this conclusion to the Equalizer series. I can’t find or remember what I wrote about the first two Equalizer series…and this part 3 just left me cold, bored and mystified. Somehow Denzel the Equalizer goes to Italy and gets all involved with the Mafia in order to protect his friends who live there. His background/history are mysterious and only hinted at. Go warned.

MASK GIRL. (NETFLIX SERIES) (7.4 IMDB). ** Most definitely a Korean film that plays out as a semi comedy and some tragedy. A plain looking but shapely girl decides to wear a mask and performs strip dances online. Her followers work hard to expose her and it’s a foolish but curious use of animated cartoons and dance numbers to tell this foolish story.

THE CHOSEN ONE. (NETFLIX SERIES) (5.6 IMDB). ** A movie from Mexico (Baja California) about a 12 year old boy who discovers that he has powers like Jesus. It’s almost an amateur’s first attempt at making a movie. He makes wine from water, helps the handicapped folks and makes some momentous decisions about how to live his life. I’ve watched the first two episodes and will ignore the rest.

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September 11

WE CAN DO BETTER

Continuing with the theme from last week on the stark difference I experienced between Tanzania and Santa Cruz on addressing violence against women, this photo is of a member of Monduli Teachers’ College exploring the topic of how a father might best react to hearing that his daughter has been raped. It applies also to granddaughters. This issue is rarely addressed, both in Tanzania and in Santa Cruz. As that country opens a dialogue on issues of violence against women, the city of Santa Cruz closes it down.

There is no lack of examples of the city’s marginalizing these issues. It was evident when I attended the recent meeting of the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women last Wednesday. To say the meeting was frustrating would be an understatement. This indictment is not directed towards commissioners. Most are largely unaware of how neatly the city has stacked the deck to render them less than effective in their ordinance-mandated role.

In contrast to the first thirty- three years, the long-term dedicated staff position for the commission has been terminated. This was a position we worked very hard to secure. The person hired was trained in the issues and gave a minimum of twenty hours a week solely on commission work. That position has been replaced by a revolving door of city manager employees who are present for the meetings but have limited availability outside those few hours. The latest iteration is a senior member of the city manager’s office who had no clue how to handle a tied vote due to one commissioner abstaining from voting. Nor did the chair know what to do with a tied vote. The staff person left the chambers to look up the by-laws. Meanwhile I’m in the audience, prevented only by decorum from calling out, “you can’t abstain from voting unless it’s a conflict of interest!” After ten minutes or so, they figured it out.

Nor were they aware that a commission (or council) standing committee, in this case the Commission Police Committee must be publicly noticed, with time, place and agenda posted. When the public comment period for that item was recognized, I reminded them of this Brown Act requirement. I never expect a thank you, but a cold stare has a chilling effect.

This is small stuff but signifies a less than functional city body. It appears that valuable past commission records and documents have “disappeared.”  There is no institutional memory. The commission recently hired a consultant to tell them what they should be doing, all of which is in the records, if they are ever “found.”

Of more serious import is the issue of commission members’ access to redacted police records of reported sexual assaults, excluding those under investigation. Such access is not only supported by the Ordinance language, confirmed by state law but also has been the practice since 1981, until now.

By reviewing redacted reports of sexual assault and compiling the results, the commission can evaluate the quality of investigative techniques and provide the community with a comprehensive overview of important information about sexual assaults committed: when; what part of town; whether by a person unknown or known; whether an arrest was made; whether there were more or less sexual assaults reported last year or the last five years; whether the city has more sexual assaults reported compared to other similar cities; whether we have more or fewer arrests than other cities; whether we have a higher percentage of sexual assaults committed by strangers than other cities (we do). Such information is crucial for public awareness and safety.

When such information was available and developed by the commission in its required annual report to council, the city of Santa Cruz did not feature well. Our rate of reported rape was higher than average; our rate of arrest was lower than average; our rate of rapes committed by strangers was well outside the norm. The last commission comprehensive report was in 2012. A combined three -year report through 2016 was a one pager but still contained some data- based information. Since that time, reports have been a description of events with no data. When I wrote to council this year regarding the commission’s upcoming presentation of its report, pointing out the lack of data in the Agenda Report, a one slide pie graph of aggregate numbers from the SCPD website was added for the council meeting.

Put on notice (by me) that the commission was floundering, lacking dedicated staff; resources and access to police data, the council at that meeting gave the green light for the commission to send to council its wish-list for what the council could do to be of better support. Since then, the commission has drafted and approved a letter asking for more support, referencing the ordinance language that requires police cooperation to provide information not deemed confidential by state law. However, the city attorney has determined that providing such information will be problematic and has recommended against its provision. He has left it in the hands of the city council.

Message to council and the community: the commission cannot do its mandated work without that information and the public cannot be educated without that information. It’s a long road back to a functioning Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women and it starts with this one step. For girls and women’s safety…take it!

Gillian Greensite is a long time local activist, a member of Save Our Big Trees and the Santa Cruz chapter of IDA, International Dark Sky Association  http://darksky.org    Plus she’s an avid ocean swimmer, hiker and lover of all things wild.

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September 11

Becky is at the County Fair and will be back next week.

Becky Steinbruner is a 30+ year resident of Aptos. She has fought for water, fire, emergency preparedness, and for road repair. She ran for Second District County Supervisor in 2016 on a shoestring and got nearly 20% of the votes. She ran again in 2020 on a slightly bigger shoestring and got 1/3 of the votes.

Email Becky at KI6TKB@yahoo.com

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September 11

BLM OVERLOOKING PRECIOUS WILDLIFE CONSERVATION.

Santa Cruz County’s newest conservation land managers are supposed to conserve the wildlife prioritized by the State of California, but are failing to acknowledge their obligations, which means some of our area’s iconic wildlife species will disappear faster due to lack of Federal cooperation at Cotoni Coast Dairies.

Background

The Bureau of Land Management oversees management of Cotoni Coast Dairies, but it is following much-outdated wildlife conservation guidance. Land management agencies like the BLM are guided by policies and procedures that guarantee that they do a good job of managing wildlife. For instance, BLM has its 6840 Manual “Sensitive Species Management,” which notes:

“The objectives of the BLM special status species policy are:

  1. To conserve and/or recover ESA-listed species and the ecosystems on which they depend so that ESA protections are no longer needed for these species.
  2. To initiate proactive conservation measures that reduce or eliminate threats to Bureau sensitive species to minimize the likelihood of and need for listing of these species under the ESA.”

In other words, BLM recognizes that the agency should not be contributing to wildlife species becoming rarer and so receiving more regulatory protection, which would impact private landowners by restricting the uses of their property.

Mouritsen’s Duty, Neglected

To avoid that, BLM California’s State Director Karen Mouritsen is required to, “at least once every 5 years,” review and update the BLM-maintained list of sensitive species in coordination with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). It is unusual for such policy guidance to lay out a specific timeline, which adds clarity to expectations. The last time California BLM’s sensitive wildlife list was updated was in 2010, before Director Mouritsen’s tenure: 13 years ago! A lot has changed in those intervening years, and scientists have recognized that many more wildlife species are in need of protection by BLM.

Repercussions at Cotoni Coast Dairies

What happens when BLM’s sensitive wildlife species list isn’t updated? Let’s look at the Cotoni Coast Dairies example. BLM has already completed a Resource Management Plan that is meant to guide wildlife conservation on the property. Under the guidance and environmental review provided by the RMP, the agency is building miles of trails and parking lots, implementing a cattle grazing program, and allocating funding to other prioritized activities. BLM will soon embark on a Science Plan for the property. The RMP didn’t and the Science Plan will not consider conservation of wildlife species that do not appear on the BLM’s sensitive species list. And so, the following 10 rare wildlife species will receive no attention, pushing them further towards extinction: ferruginous hawk, grasshopper sparrow, Northern harrier, olive-sided flycatcher, American badger, San Francisco dusky-footed woodrat, Western pond turtle, California red-legged frog, American peregrine falcon, and short-eared owl.

A Deeper Dive – Grasshopper Sparrow

Let’s consider one of those species with a little more detail, the grasshopper sparrow. If this species is nesting in an area, under California law they are protected and our state wildlife agency, CDFW, has been charged with their conservation. According to BLM guidance, Director Mouritsen is 13 years overdue in updating the agency’s sensitive wildlife list for California to include this species. As their name suggests, grasshopper sparrows are grassland-dependent organisms. There is an abundance of nesting grasshopper sparrows at Cotoni Coast Dairies.

Without active management such as with carefully planned livestock grazing or fire, all of the grasslands at Cotoni Coast Dairies will disappear, being invaded first by brush and then by trees. This is already happening with extensive French broom and coyote brush invasion.

Already, BLM has planned its livestock grazing and recreational trail uses without consideration of preferred habitat for nesting grasshopper sparrows. Livestock grazing could be taking place to the detriment of the species, already. The construction of recreational trails and parking lots may have already destroyed important nesting habitat. When recreational visitors start using those facilities, it may occur before BLM has a baseline study of the density and location of nesting grasshopper sparrows. So, the agency will be unable to understand how land uses are impacting the species and so will be unable in an informed way to adjust its recreational or livestock management to better conserve the species.

It may well be that BLM’s management of Cotoni Coast Dairies will further reduce nesting populations of grasshopper sparrow, pushing the species closer to the point where they will need to be listed as threatened or endangered. When that occurs, private landowners whose land supports nesting grasshopper sparrows will see increased regulation and oversight by the State and/or Federal government. Their property values will be reduced and their ability to develop homes, farms, or other uses will be diminished.

An Alternative

On the other hand, if the California BLM State Director Mouritsen were to meet her regulatory obligation and update the BLM State Sensitive Wildlife Species List in the near future, a bunch of good would result. First, Cotoni Coast Dairies’ Science Plan could provide guidance for conserving those species. Second, because BLM funding is tied to the number of sensitive species on each property, Cotoni Coast Dairies would be better situated for increased conservation funding. If the Science Plan succeeded in moving forward the conservation of sensitive species like the grasshopper sparrow, BLM’s leadership on these issues could help many other land managers do the right thing for species, contributing to the potentiality of ‘delisting’ species, reducing the potential for increased regulatory burden and loss of private property values.

Do Your Part

I’ve said it before in this column, but I’ll say it again. NOW is the time to write Director Mouritsen to urge her to do her job. She hasn’t replied to any of the numerous letters she’s already received, so evidently she needs more pressure to take this seriously. Here’s some language to send to her via her email kmourits@blm.gov

Dear Director Mouritsen,

I care about wildlife and plant conservation on BLM’s Cotoni Coast Dairies property in Santa Cruz County. I write to urge you to help by adding sensitive species found on that property to the State BLM’s sensitive species lists. Only if those species are on the State’s lists will local administrators consider impacts of their management on those species in their analyses and planning for the property. So, I ask that you please:

  • Publish an updated State BLM sensitive wildlife list in collaboration with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, as mandated by the BLM’s 6840 Special Status Species Manual.
    • This list was last updated in 2010, but you are required to update it at least every 5 years.
  • Publish an updated State BLM sensitive plant list to include the State ranked 1B plant species documented at Cotoni Coast Dairies, as mandated by the 6840 Manual.

I would appreciate a reply to this email with details about how you intend to address these issues.

Signed,

xx

Grey Hayes is a fervent speaker for all things wild, and his occupations have included land stewardship with UC Natural Reserves, large-scale monitoring and strategic planning with The Nature Conservancy, professional education with the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and teaching undergraduates at UC Santa Cruz. Visit his website at: www.greyhayes.net

Email Grey at coastalprairie@aol.com

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September 6

#249 / The “Law” Of Supply And Demand

Readers of my blog postings may or may not have heard about a plan, pushed by land speculators and development interests, to turn huge areas of open space and farmland in Solano County into a “new city.”

Click this link to read a recent AP news story about what has been a “stealth” effort by “billionaires” to buy up land for this proposed project. The whole idea – great for the billionaire land speculators – would be fundamentally inconsistent with Solano County’s current land use policies.

An attorney friend of mine – who lives in Southern California – recently wrote me a note in which she made the following observation, with reference to the proposed Solano County development:

I thought the whole point of these housing density bills was to stop sprawl. I wonder if the governor is supportive of this project too? I’m sure these billionaires assume they can just roll the land use laws. This will be a test to see whether the legislature and the governor will finally put their money where their mouth is, so to speak.

My friend’s comment references the fact that the Governor (and the State Legislature) have recently been undermining “local control” over land use. I mentioned that phenomenon in my blog posting last Monday, suggesting that an initiative petition being circulated in the City of Santa Cruz would be an important way to bolster local control over future high-rise developments in the city, besides helping to ensure that developers produce more “affordable” housing units than state law would otherwise make them produce.

The “housing density bills” my attorney friend mentions in her note to me are bills that mandate new density in existing cities, while depriving local elected officials (and local voters) of their ability to try to balance the demands for new development with other important objectives of good land use policy. For instance, preserving farmland and open space is important. So is dealing with issues like traffic, parking, neighborhood compatibility, water availability, etc., as new developments occur inside already existing urban areas. Recent state laws (those “housing density bills”) constrict or remove the ability of local officials to make key land use decisions, as they attempt to establish the right balance.

I wrote back a response to the question posed by my friend. I suggested that the newest efforts at the state level to reduce local discretion over local land use questions is mainly driven by our state’s very real, and very urgent, housing crisis. Unfortunately, the proposed “solution” for this crisis – eliminating local land use discretion and mandating new high-rise and high-density developments – isn’t actually effective in producing more “affordable housing.”

I have a theory why the state is going along with the developers, which I sent along to my attorney friend. She thought it was a pretty good explanation, so I decided I’d pass it along to those who read this blog.

If the so-called “Law of Supply And Demand” were actually a “law,” equivalent to the law of gravity or other such laws that describe the inevitable consequences of some action or condition, then maybe the state’s preemption of local authority would make some sense. But there is no such operational “law,” which is the point I made in the response I sent to my friend (I have also talked about this topic before):

It is my opinion that the political efforts now underway to overturn and undermine local land use controls (to promote “affordable” and “infill” housing) have very little to do with the “smart growth” philosophy that many of us have supported – and that I, certainly, still support. “Smart growth” does require infill, and infill projects, clearly, are more difficult politically (and often economically) than “greenfield” projects that represent the typical “sprawl” style of development that “smart growth” is intended to counter. In fact, genuine “infill” development (as contemplated in the “smart growth” philosophy of future land use development) requires great attentiveness to the “neighbors” who will, inevitably, be impacted by new infill development. Allowing local governments to figure out how to accomplish politically challenging infill projects requires the exercise of lots of local discretion, because the parking, traffic, and utility issues are very real.

In my opinion, the political basis upon which the YIMBY [“Yes” In My Backyard”] argument that the state should preempt local discretion is founded on the implicit claim that there is a reality to a posited “Law of Supply and Demand.” Proponents win the argument in favor of new, high-density development (both in the legislature and in the mind of the public) based on people’s belief that there really is a “Law” that insures that a reduction in housing prices will occur if the “supply” of housing is only increased. The argument that makes acceptable the erasure of rules intended to balance community concerns as development proceeds is based upon a genuine (though terribly mistaken) belief that if the “supply” of housing can be made to increase then the “price” of housing will fall.

The lack of affordable housing is a national, and state, and local crisis. So, to the degree that the supposed “Law of Supply and Demand” will provide a solution, as many believe it will, other important priorities can be disregarded. Of course, in the state legislature, the “pay to play” principle is also a major reason for our state legislators’ recent willingness to sell out the communities they represent for campaign dollars (and in some cases, probably, for personal dollars).

In fact, “demand” is not a constant, so increasing the “supply” doesn’t inevitably mean a decrease in price. The “demand” in my community, for instance, is functionally unlimited. If new housing units are made available in Santa Cruz County, there will be more than enough demand (coming from outside the community and generated by the possibility provided by the new supply) to “raise,” not lower, prices. That’s what is actually going on, but I have observed well-intentioned people say that while it’s “too bad” that local neighborhoods will be undermined by the developments being approved, on the basis of recently-enacted state laws, these outcomes are really alright, and necessary, since it is so important to produce affordable housing.

Regrettably, the state legislature has not mandated universal inclusionary housing requirements (requirements that we instituted in Santa Cruz County in 1978), which might actually help address the lack of affordable housing. Instead, the legislature is backing the “supply and demand” theory that if we just let the developers build more units the price will go down. Ironically, some of the legislature’s newest efforts have actually undermined our local inclusionary housing ordinance, by giving out “density bonus” units to developers that are substituted for what would otherwise be inclusionary affordable units required by our local ordinance.

Anyway, this short rant, stimulated by your inquiry to me, is intended to encourage all of us to try to get local and state officials, and the public at large, to realize that MORE housing does not, absent very specific, and increased, affordable housing mandates, mean more “affordable” housing. Certainly in places like Santa Cruz, California, these new state law mandates for more, more, more – and for higher, higher, higher – have just the opposite effect.

That’s the analysis that I sent to my Southern California friend. For residents in the City of Santa Cruz, let me reiterate my suggestion that we should be trying to get that “Housing For People” initiative measure qualified for the city ballot next March! It would increase the “inclusionary” percentage, locally, meaning more affordable housing, despite what the state has been doing to reduce our affordable housing requirements. It would also “secure our right to vote on height.”

If you care about affordable housing, and want to have more local control over new development, not less, this initiative measure is a step in the right direction!

Gary Patton is a former Santa Cruz County Supervisor (20 years) and an attorney for individuals and community groups on land use and environmental issues. The opinions expressed are Mr. Patton’s. You can read and subscribe to his daily blog at www.gapatton.net

Email Gary at gapatton@mac.com

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September 11

DISAGREEING ON THAT MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA

Last week the Fulton County, Georgia grand jury report containing the suggested charges in the election tampering case, with 39 names which had been under consideration for possible indictments by DA Fani Willis wasreleased. Of the names on the list Willis selected 19 for indictments. Former Georgia senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler were included, as was South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, but the DA decided to leave them as un-indicted co-conspirators…so far. Her reasoning was likely influenced by the vote tallies of the grand jury members, which were weighted heavily toward indictment but with enough variations which may have presaged problems with future trial jurors, not to mention the complex legal arguments involving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The complexity of indicting Trump national security advisor, Michael Flynn, though the jurors voted 20 to 1 for indictment, may have given him a temporary reprieve with his exclusion. The same explanation might be applied to Trump aide, Boris Epshteyn. One dissenter is noted on each of the votes for Trump’s recommended indictments, and Willis filed several of those charges against him; but, she also included her own charge for the fake elector scheme, not recommended by the grand jurors. Of course, Trump on Truth Social, dismissed the report as having “ZERO credibility.” “Essentially, they wanted to indict anybody who happened to be breathing at the time. It totally undermines the credibility of the findings, and badly hurts the Great State of Georgia, whose wonderful and patriotic people are not happy with this charge,” he whinged.

(Not-a-)Senator(-from-Georgia-) Graham, who appeared before the grand jury after the court ordered him to do so – taking it to the Supreme Court – said he was “totally surprised” to have been on the list and, “The next election, if I have questions, I’ll do the same thing.” Representative Adam Schiff pounced on Graham after he claimed his actions were “consistent” with being a Senator. “I think Lindsey Graham’s explanation doesn’t pass the laugh test,” Schiff said. “You don’t – as a Senator, a House member or another elected official – call a secretary of state in some other state and try to get them to toss out votes. That is not the least part of the job description, and he’s lucky not to be indicted.” Graham reportedly had called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to toss ballots, “not to find votes,” in hopes of giving Trump the state’s electoral votes. The Former Guy’s attorneys filed three lawsuits asking the court to toss out the grand jury report and countermand Willis’s inquiry, along with an effort to sue the DA and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who presided over the grand jury. A heavily redacted version of the report concluded no evidence of rampant chicanery resulting in a Trump loss, after which The Don’s legal team protested that some of the report’s content might influence a jury. Declining to take up the matter, the Georgia Supreme Court wrote that Trump was simply “circumventing the ordinary channels” for obtaining relief.

Cartoonist Clay Bennett of the Chattanooga Times Free Press portrays the old Proud Boys slogan – ‘Stand back and stand by,’ with the new one – ‘Stand trial and serve time.’ The Boys took a few hits last week with sentences handed down for their insurrectionist incursion on the D.C. Mall and environs on January 6, 2021. As the last of the seditious conspiracy cases wrapped up, which resulted in various charges for over 1,100 rioters, the groundwork is being prepared for the highest profile conspiracy case yet: the trial of un-President Trump, and the 18 others indicted along with him, with another 10 un-indicteds standing in the wings, awaiting their chances. Mary McCord, former federal prosecutor and Georgetown Law professor said, “The cases involving seditious conspiracy and the case in which Mr. Trump is charged federally do all involve an effort to prevent the peaceful transition of presidential power – to overrule or override the will of the voters. Mr. Trump is a different defendant than an ‘Enrique’ Tarrio or a Stewart Rhodes.” The conspiracies alleged are not the same, with prosecutors presenting different cases to a D.C. jury than that of the extremist group leaders.

Trump faces ‘only’ four counts in DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith’s D.C. case, but the cases indicate a cause-and-effect tie with the extremist groups to engage in their various conspiracies according to Stan Twardy, a former federal prosecutor and practicing attorney. “Trump lit the match, and the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were the gasoline that exploded here,” Twardy says of the indictments. Violence in both speech and behavior were basis of the DOJ’s cases against the Oath Keepers who predicted a civil war and had stashed weapons across the Potomac. The Proud Boys called for “war and revolution” as they dismantled barricades, breached the Capitol building and fought with law enforcement. Proud Boy ‘Enrique’ Tarrio crowed, “Make no mistake…we did this.” Trump’s case will be based on communications, revealing his words and those of his co-conspirators indicating the willingness, and agreement, to commit a crime. Mary McCord says, “Prosecutors will likely present a mix of Trump’s public statements and private ones to make their case. His legal team will likely argue that Trump had no intent to subvert the election results because he honestly believed he was the winner. Mr. Trump maintains to this day that there was fraud in the election. I think he’s tried to make the public believe that if he honestly and truly believed the election was stolen, that essentially, he couldn’t be guilty of anything because he had a right to attack the results of the election.” Trump’s delusional belief won’t necessarily clear him of misconduct as charged in Jack Smith’s indictment, with mention of the riot in which the former president sought to “impair, obstruct, and defeat the federal government function through dishonesty, fraud and deceit.”

Proud Boys, some of whom will be Old Boys by the time they see freedom outside of prison walls, were convicted in May, and last week got sentences ranging from 17 to 22 years. ‘Enrique’ Tarrio, who was seen as “the ultimate leader” by US District Judge Kelly, got 22 years, though he was not present at the J6 riot as he continued to spur his compatriots on. Four other PBs, Nordean, Biggs, Rehl, and Pezzola, got off with slightly lighter sentences, even after the prosecutors sought longer terms all the accused. The judge conceded that the conviction met the guidelines for enhanced terrorism penalties under federal law, saying further, “the terrorism adjustment overstates” their roles in the offense since they did not have the intent to kill or cause mass casualties. Though Tarrio apologized for the harm caused to the Capitol police on J6, the judge felt there was no remorse for those actions for which he was convicted. Judge Kelly said, “I think we’re talking past each other in many ways. There’s only so much that statement can go toward assuring me that deterrence is not warranted.”

Prison sentences will not deter the Proud Boys from infusing their destructive energy into the GOP, and their attempts to alter American’s lives by being in effect the Republican paramilitary force. After Oath Keepers leader, Stewart Rhodes, was sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy, that organization has experienced a decline in numbers; but, Proud Boys draw their energy from the GOP, with Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Roger StoneLauren Boebert, and Michael Flynn carrying their banner. Arizona Representative Paul Gosar supposedly recruited Proud Boys to block certification of election results in his state after the 2020 election to no avail. And who can forget President Trump’s call to the Boys in a debate with candidate Biden saying, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by?” Their membership rolls increased as they became his BFFs, and they showed us of what they are capable in their insurrection. Think Trump is starting to feel a bit edgy, now that the court system is showing its power?

A post on Quorum wonders if Florida Judge Aileen Cannon in her drive to absolve Trump of all charges, will continue to risk losing her cushy forever-job, or will she follow the law and precedent? An example of following the law: A jury is picked in Trump’s purloined documents case. Immediately the defense attorneys ask that the charges be dismissed because of blah, blah and blah… only a formality, which most presiding judges decline to honor, but they don’t HAVE to deny the request. So, should Trump’s team begin by saying, “Your honor, we ask that all charges be dismissed because the Moon is in the 7th House, and Jupiter is aligned with Mars.” Judge Cannon, hearing the power and logic of the appeal, might say, “Case dismissed.” Scary enough for you?

In Jack Smith’s D.C. case, he and the Justice Department will examine closely the cases against the insurrectionists, and in particular the verdicts returned against the leaders, which might inform them of the persuasive points, and what jurors will find to be compelling evidence. Former federal prosecutor, Barbara McQuade of the University of Michigan, feels attempts to portray the J6 actions as patriotic is one facet that has been, and will be, rejected by a jury. She said, “Jack Smith can be confident that a reasonable jury can be selected that sees the events of that day for what they were – a profound display of disloyalty to the United States.” Henry (Enrique) Tarrio’s seditious conspiracy conviction lets prosecutors see that a jury understands the guilt of a person who isn’t present at the scene of the crime, since Tarrio was in Baltimore on January 6 after being arrested on separate charges. McQuade warns that no two juries are alike, with just one outlier able to bring it crashing down. Again: the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there is criminality.

Representative Jim ‘Gym’ Jordan got his sore butt handed back to him by Fulton County, Georgia DA Fani Willis last week after he attempted to interfere with her criminal investigation into Donald Trump and his minions. Jordan sent a letter demanding information and communications with the Department of Justice and Executive Branch officials, and information on federal funding the her office receives. The Ohio representative knows full well that Willis is within her rights to proceed with her case with the 19 indictments involving Trump’s four year crime spree of corruption and incompetence, but he and the MAGA crowd couldn’t care less. One writer compared Jordan’s letter to emails from ‘Nigerian princes’ which are intentionally loaded with grammatical mistakes and punctuation errors seeking to scam recipients of money or hard drive data. Smart people immediately know they are dealing with a scammer and hit ‘delete,’ leaving the ‘princes’ with the stupid recipients who won’t catch on until it’s too late…distilled brainlessness! The MAGA messages attempt to accomplish the same thing with their wacko conspiracy theories…smart people move on, or the conmen find a sucker.

Fani Willis is not one to put up with this meddling, and she forcefully responded to Jordan’s letter by telling him, “It is clear you lack a basic understanding of the law, and are overstepping your congressional authority.” The Palmer Report’s Bocha Blue feels it would make a good Saturday Night Live sketch, with Willis being a spirited and fiery woman against Jordan’s sludge-like character. Further, Willis told ‘Gym,’ “Your job as a legislator does not include criminal enforcement.” Blue describes Jordan as a ‘lurker,’ poking his nose into places it shouldn’t be, a person who has an unusually thick skull that doesn’t register phrases like ‘critical thinking skills.’ Willis essentially told the meddler where to stick his inquiry, and that his calling the prosecution a ‘political stunt‘ being related to ‘federal interests,’ does not relate to the interference in state-run elections. The charges against Trump in Fulton County rightfully belong to the state of Georgia, not the federal government! ‘Prince Gym’ tried to come across as knowledgeable, but it all fell flat in the face of Willis’ onslaught, as she pointed out several inaccuracies and misleading statements. She went on to state that his actions offend “each and every one of the settled principles of law,” as he attempted to obstruct the proceedings and advance his own partisan goals. The topper in her response used Jordan’s own words in his earlier letter to the House Select Committee: “This unprecedented action serves no legitimate legislative purpose and would set a dangerous precedent for future Congresses…the American people deserve better.” DA Willis is well-versed in the law and proper procedure, as she proved that Jim Jordan is a complete ass!

Former youth pastor and author, John Pavlovitz, who is known for his progressive social and political writings from a liberal Christian perspective posted an open letter on his website several years ago, which deserves a look-back. He says the phrase, ‘We’re just going to have to agree to disagree,’ is unacceptable, and he refuses the term. His response would be, “I believe you’re deeply, profoundly, and egregiously wrong…this is not a disagreement.” See his post here. Perfect for the after-Thanksgiving dinner-food fight!

Remember what Leonard Cohen said: “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in!”

Dale Matlock, a Santa Cruz County resident since 1968, is the former owner of The Print Gallery, a screenprinting establishment. He is an adherent of The George Vermosky school of journalism, and a follower of too many news shows, newspapers, and political publications, and a some-time resident of Moloka’i, Hawaii, U.S.A., serving on the Board of Directors of Kepuhi Beach Resort. Email: cornerspot14@yahoo.com
 

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EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. View classic inner view ideas and thoughts with Subconscious Comics a few flips down.

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s “Deep Cover” down a few pages. As always, at TimEagan.com you will find his most recent  Deep Cover, the latest installment from the archives of Subconscious Comics, and the ever entertaining Eaganblog.

Santa Cruz

“Growing up in northern California has had a big influence on my love and respect for the outdoors. When I lived in Oakland, we would think nothing of driving to Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz one day and then driving to the foothills of the Sierras the next day”.
~Tom Hanks

“When I go home to Santa Cruz, I’m the same girl as when I grew up.”
~Marisa Miller

 “My own zigzag path through life led me back to Santa Cruz in the early Eighties, and I have revisited regularly since. The place hasn’t changed: head in the clouds, backside on the hills and feet in the ocean – one of the most decent and beautiful places on earth.
~Clive Sinclair

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It’s a story of reincarnation, and it’s quite beautiful.


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