Bratton… throwback…Greensite still on leave, back soon!… Steinbruner…Trees, State Water Board, Central Fire…. Hayes… Spring sprung.. Patton…A mighty oak… Matlock…Grifting along… Eagan…Subconscious Comics and Deep Cover. Webmistress…pick of the week. Quotes….”Spring”
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DATELINE May 29, 2017
CABRILLO MUSIC FESTIVAL’S REAL HISTORY. For some reason, many, many promotional pieces have fallen into the trap of giving Lou Harrison, Bob Hughes and The Stickey Wicket some kind of credit for starting the Cabrillo Music Festival. It simply isn’t true. Lou Harrison did play at the First Festival but…but …but read Alyce Vestal’s reporting of how it really started. She’s got newspaper clippings from the Sentinel and The Watsonville Pajaronian (I’ve seen them) detailing everything she says. She was one of the three or four most important movers and shakers in getting it off the ground. She and I have been friends for decades and she sent me (us) this email last week…
re: Cabrillo Music Festival. The actual facts that are long hidden in the archives of time.
1962: I was the president of the Watsonville Concert Association, and had just put together an Art, Music and Wine Festival that was very successful. To raise money for a piano. I got the idea that I wanted to create a major music Festival much like Tanglewood or Carmel’s Bach Festival. I was singing in the Bach Festival at that time.
November, 1962: At a Gala Affair at the Aptos Beach Inn I ran into Ted Toews, who was the new conductor of music at Cabrillo College. I was singing with him at that time. We talked. I told him of my dream. He said he was thinking about the same thing! The seed of an idea was fertilized and was given birth 9 months later!
The Sticky Wicket and the Jowers were dead against it. They said it would compete with their weekend musical series. Bob Hughes was their director. As things progressed and it was becoming apparent that the Festival was happening and was supported by the community, they jumped aboard the bandwagon. At that time Bob Hughes was the “manager” of the Oakland Symphony under Gerhardt Samuels. Hughes involvement in the Festival came after Samuels was selected as the first Festival Conductor. Hughes did NOT create the Festival.
Lou Harrison was dead set against it, too. He calligraphed a scathing letter to the editor of the Watsonville Pajaronian tearing apart every aspect of the Festival! Pajaronian editor Frank Orr gave me the letter after it was printed because it was so beautifully drafted. His basic reasoning was that the community didn’t even support its local artists, let alone a major and expensive Festival. Later he hopped onto the bandwagon when he saw that it was a successful reality.
The first festival cost $15,000 !!!!
Another unsung hero involved in creating the Festival was Jerry Barnes. He was responsible for raising the pledges for the $15,000. He was a Watsonville business man and friend. He went to 15 of his business friends, and somehow convinced them that the Festival was an investment. This took up all his time, and he lost his own business (agricultural broker), his marriage with 4 little kids was destroyed. He was so broke that he couldn’t afford to buy tickets to the festival. Mary and Ted Toews bought his tickets!!! The rest is history.
BACK TO THE CURRENT TIMELINE, March 20, 2024
Enjoy this weeks contributions! Next column will be up in a day or two to catch up.
//Gunilla//
Gillian is almost through with her Grand Jury induced leave of absence!
| 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. |
The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) has big plans for the area between State Park Drive and Freedom Boulevard that calls for cutting down 1,141 trees, many of them mature redwoods. Amazingly, the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) claimed the Project will cause no significant impacts. How can that be possible?
The Campaign for Sustainable Transportation group want to challenge this, and the entire adequacy of the claim the Project will reduce highway congestion. Please plan to attend if you can:
Community Meeting @Aptos Library
Sat., March 30, 10:20am
Who wouldn’t like to reduce congestion on Highway 1?
However, the proposed solution, adding auxiliary lanes (exit-only lanes) will not reduce congestion. We know that from experience (the auxiliary lane between Morrissey and Soquel finished in 2013 and didn’t relieve congestion). Even the Caltrans Environmental Impact Report (EIR) predicts that the latest proposal to add auxiliary lanes in Aptos will not reduce congestion beyond the short term in the southbound afternoon peak. And the EIR says congestion will be worse in the northbound morning commute once the project is finished.
The project would destroy 1,141 trees, including the Moosehead Dr. redwood grove in the photo. And it would divert precious local dollars from real transportation alternatives, like better transit and safer streets for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Come to the meeting to learn about our political and legal strategy to stop this ill-conceived project.
-Rick Longinotti, Chair, Campaign for Sustainable Transportation
CHANGING THE RULES TO ALLOW ON-SITE CANNABIS CONSUMPTION AND EVENTS AT FARMS?
The Board of Supervisors directed the Cannabis Licensing Dept. staff to meet with residents about a proposed new rule that would allow Cannabis growers to sell directly at their farms and to allow on-site public events, similar to wine tasting tours, and allow Cannabis use on-site. Would the next step be to have special events?
This resulted in “Listening Sessions” throughout the County in all Districts except the North Coast District 3 area. The last “Listening Session” will be Wednesday, March 27, 5:30pm in the Live Oak Sheriff Center Community Room.
This is potentially a real parallel to the winery industry in our County, which has been a source of rancor among the rural residents adjacent to the sites as increased traffic, inadequate parking, fire concerns and loud amplified music intruded on and brought forth hazards to the otherwise quiet rural neighborhoods. The enforcement becomes complaint-driven by neighbors…never a good idea to pit one neighbor against another.
If you have thoughts about this proposed policy change, please participate, either remotely or in-person
CENTRAL FIRE DISTRICT CONSIDERING A $221 MILLION BOND VOTE THIS NOVEMBER
Central Fire District Board of Directors wants to know what District constituents think about current level of emergency service because it will help support their plan to place a $221 Million bond issue on this November’s ballot to replace the fire stations in Soquel Village and Capitola Village with a new station. The District has eyed purchase of the vacant lot at 41st Avenue and Soquel Drive in Soquel, but the sales price has escalated with the County determining it is a potential location for dense housing.
There are other changes coming down the pike…a possible consolidation of Santa Cruz City Fire Dept. with Central Fire District.
Central Fire District’s bond measure will make a total of three such proposals to increase taxes on the November ballot…adding to the Santa Cruz Metro tax, and the Land Trust’s “Clean Water for Santa Cruz County” tax that is really just another money grab by the County of Santa Cruz in that a huge chunk of the revenue would go to the General Fund for administration.
Meanwhile, Central Fire District wants to know if you care about emergency response??? Who doesn’t???
Identifying Local Solutions to Improve Life-Saving Services
The scope and scale of the needs identified in the Facilities Master Plan far exceed the Central Fire District’s current operating budget. Thus, the Board of Directors of the Central Fire District is considering placing an Emergency Response, Fire Protection & Facilities Improvement Bond Measure on the November 2024 ballot. While no final decisions have been made, the District is currently considering a $221 million bond measure at a rate of $31 per $100,000 of assessed value, which pencils out to $17 per month for the average homeowner.
Funding from a bond measure could be used to address identified facilities needs in the District, helping Central Fire continue to provide fire protection and life-saving services to the community, including:
- >
- Ensuring that emergency services are operational during an earthquake
- Responding to natural disasters such as wildfires, floods, and earthquakes
- Recruiting and retaining qualified firefighters and paramedics
- Reducing 911 response times
- Increasing local fire protection services
- Supporting emergency medical services
We Want to Hear from You!
In the coming months, the Central Fire District will be closely examining its local funding options. Community input will be a critical component of our planning process, so we welcome your feedback and questions. To provide feedback, please visit our survey or email us.
Two-Page Fact Sheet (PDF)
FAQ (PDF)
Master Plan (PDF)
Central Fire local funding
STATE WATER BOARD WEAKENS CONSERVATION RULES
The State wants people of California to use less water, so implemented rules last August that would require 168 large water agencies to reduce water use to 47 gallons/person/day indoor use and further decrease that by five gallons/day/person by 2030.
“But they came under sustained criticism. A report from the non-partisan state Legislative Analyst’s Office in January concluded that the rules could further increase water rates for low-income people, and cause confusion for the public and water agencies.The LAO report noted that cities only use about 20% of the water that people in California consume, while agriculture uses 80%.
“Whether the benefits of the new rules ultimately will outweigh the costs is unclear,” the report says.”
Recently, the State Water Board relaxed the rules, allowing more time for water agencies to meet the mandate.
“Under the old rules, 168 agencies that serve 42% of California’s population would have had to cut water use 20% or more by 2035. Under the new rules, just 46 agencies, representing 10% of the population, will have to cut water use that much.
Now, communities that are required to cut use by 20% or more, but where the median household income is below the state average, can stay in compliance if they reduce by 1% a year. Regulators also delayed tougher outdoor watering standards from 2030 to 2035.
Overall, Oppenheimer said, the new rules will cut urban water use 7% instead of 12%. That will mean savings of about 500,000 acre feet a year by 2040, instead of 690,000 acre feet a year by 2035 under the old rules.”
California relaxes controversial new water conservation rules
We all know that a seeming consequence of good conservation is that the water agencies INCREASE THE RATES. Stay tuned on how this plays out locally and statewide.
NOW FUNDING DESAL PROJECTS USING BRACKISH WATER
Recently, the State Water Board has released studies supporting Governor Newsom’s funding for projects using brackish water. This eliminates the potentially harmful impacts that desalination causes to marine life habitats.
Brackish Desalination Projects
Wouldn’t it be better for Soquel Creek Water District to use the PureWater Soquel Project treatment plant in Live Oak to clean up salty groundwater, rather than risk health problems inherent of the treated sewage they plan to sell customers? Just sayin’….the energy demand would seemingly be about the same, yet the risks to long-term human health much lower.
State Report Identifies Future Desalination Plants to Meet Statewide Water Reliability Goals
WE’LL GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION WHEN IT SUITS US
The State Water Board gave local water agencies $706 million in 2022 to fund many projects, including a Water Optimization Study showing the benefit of Soquel Creek Water District’s PureWater Soquel Project for pumping treated sewage water into the groundwater basin, along with the City of Santa Cruz’s project to inject potable water into the groundwater.
The Report was due to be presented to the Soquel Creek Water District Board in February, 2024, but was rescheduled to March, and now is not shown at all on the Board calendar through May.
The administration’s answer to my query about the delay is: “The information will be presented at the appropriate time.”
Hmmm…. Does that mean after General Manager Ron Duncan’s September 30 retirement date, so that he is not held accountable for the expensive experiment of PureWater Soquel Project?
In reading the March 19, 2024 staff report for engineering update on the Project, I found this update on the Water Optimization Study:
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Implementation Grant Optimization Study (Study)
o Groundwater and hydraulic modeling continues. Groundwater modeling is being used to
evaluate project alternatives and scenarios for their ability to meet basin sustainability and
help the City meet their water supply shortage gap during drought periods. Hydraulic
modeling is being used to inform infrastructure upgrades that would be needed to
implement select project scenarios, and it also provides critical information (i.e. water age
and distribution system blending ratios) that will be needed to evaluate potential water quality impacts.
o Project scenarios within four alternative tracks are being modeled:
1) Baseline with transfers using existing infrastructure (includes District’s operation of
Pure Water Soquel (PWS) and the City of Santa Cruz’s (City) operation of four aquifer
storage & recovery (ASR) wells);
2) Expanded City ASR (up to 4 new ASR wells) with transfers;
3) Optimize existing PWS capacity of 1,500 acre-feet per year (AFY) (includes three existing
PWS seawater intrusion prevention (SWIP) wells with options to add SWIP injection and
extraction wells) with transfers; and
4) Expand PWS Capacity up to 3,000 AFY (for Indirect or Direct Potable Reuse).
o When modeling is complete and the City & District have selected four alternatives to be further analyzed for economic & financial impacts, water quality impacts, and environmental needs, staff plans to present a Study update to the Board
Consent Item 4.3 page 53
Meanwhile, new rates come into force on April water bills. The District is apparently expecting customers to struggle, twice remodeling the Office Lobby county window to include bullet-proof glass, and applied to the State for financial help. They got it…but do customers know the help is available? Is the help a one-time offer for individuals who will not be able to pay as the future rates increase by 12% annually for the next three years after this year’s 10% increase? What will the District do with money that is not allocated to the struggling ratepayers for the one-time help in paying their bills?
The District’s application for the extended arrearage program offered by the State Water Board was approved. The District should receive almost $80,000 in funding to assist customers who faced economic hardship post-pandemic and were unable to remain current on their accounts.
Consent Item 4.3 on page 55
WHAT IS THIS MITIGATION AND WILL IT WORK?
Last week, sandwich boards appeared on the San Lorenzo River Levee near the Laurel Street Bridge, declaring that netting was in place to prevent birds for hazards of construction on the bridge. Supposedly, biologists are monitoring the mitigation.
Hmmm….
Maybe this vague action is in response to the Sierra Club letter to Soquel Creek Water District Board, stating the PureWater Soquel Project was inadequate in analysis of the impacts the conveyance pipeline attachment to the bridge would have. (See page 10 of the March 5, 2024 Correspondence)
Although correspondence dated 10/31/23 with the Project lead states that “The PWS Project elements do not restrict cliff swallows from nesting on the bridge and abundant nesting opportunities on the bridge remain,” our observation (see photo, and that of the Santa Cruz Bird Club, indicates that the current installation of the project’s pipe covers does eliminate access for the location-faithful cliff swallows. Observation indicates a steep drop in swallow nests beneath the Laurel St. bridge since the Pure Water Soquel installation work began, from an annual average of 50 nests to approximately 15 after implementation of the PWS Project
As it now appears clear that the 2018 EIR did not adequately assess either the project scope or long-term disturbances to the cliff swallows, we are interested in what mitigations are in place for the loss of the cliff swallows’ breeding location, and what future mitigations may be desirable to allow and encourage the return of the displaced population.
The mitigations should factor in that:
- the riparian corridor of the San Lorenzo River is in the protected Pacific Flyway of migratory birds, whose population is steeply declining;
- restoration and protection of riparian corridors is a key aspect of federal and state directives, due to the 90% loss of those corridors;
- mitigations should address cumulative impacts that extend beyond the duration of construction;
- the 2018 Project EIR Biological Resources (Section 4.4) acknowledges that ‘project construction could disrupt breeding and foraging habitat for nesting birds, raptors and bats, and disrupt overwintering habitat for monarch butterflies’;
- Section 30240 of the 1976 California Coastal Act governs development in environmentally sensitive habitat areas: “(a) Environmentally sensitive habitat areas shall be protected against any significant disruption of habitat values, and only uses dependent on those resources shall be allowed within those areas.
- (b) Development in areas adjacent to environmentally sensitive habitat areas and parks and recreation areas shall be sited and designed to prevent impacts which would significantly degrade those areas, and shall be compatible with the continuance of those habitat and recreation areas.”
- the 2018 Project EIR does not include site specific evaluation of the Laurel St. bridge;
- the Laurel St. bridge pipeline construction specifications should contain a Best Management Plan (BMP) for the protected cliff swallows breeding habitat that includes the 9/21/21 restored Migratory Bird Treaty Act and CA Assembly Bill 454, as well as integrating the 2003 San Lorenzo Urban River Plan (SLURP), Santa Cruz City Parks & Recreation Master Plan, e-bird records and the Lower San Lorenzo River 2015 Fall Migration Bird Surveys, thus incorporating bird species now omitted from the Project’s EIR (Cooper’s hawk, great blue heron, osprey)
Please contact Soquel Creek Water District Board of Directors <bod@soquelcreekwater.org> and Mr. Ethan Martin <ethan.martin@garney.com> with your thoughts.
WRITE ONE LETTER…MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE THIS WEEK
Cheers,
Becky
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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 |
Suddenly Spring Sprung
The Spring Equinox is this week and the natural world around the Monterey Bay is full of signs of the season. From wildflowers to birds, from the gophers to the grass, life is waking up. Forest bathing or any sort of time in nature is good for the soul and actively seeking out personal interactions with the signs of the season allows us to stay in touch with ancient rhythms of life…slowing down…nurturing our roots in this wonderful place.
Wildflowers
We’re already past the first wildflowers of the year, but we haven’t missed many. Footsteps of spring is still in bloom- patches of bright yellow color splash across shallow soiled areas in grasslands. Nearby in those same grasslands and in the adjoining shrubby areas, you can see peopleroot, aka wild cucumber, a romping vine pushing up spikes of wonderfully scented cream-colored flowers. Still in those grasslands, poppy flowers have opened: the first ones are always the biggest, tulip sized! Santa Cruz’ Moore Creek greenbelt, Monterey’s Point Lobos, and the grasslands at Fort Ord are all good places to see grasslands’ unfolding spring wildflowers.
Get to some chaparral and you can see the first Ceanothus flowers alongside the waning honey-scented manzanita bloom. Fort Ord is a fine place to see a rare type of chaparral with unusual manzanitas and ceanothus species. Henry Cowell and Wilder Ranch State Parks have some nice patches, too. Report back on the state of the wildflowers in chaparral or grasslands, please!
Swallow Arrival
The first barn swallows returned to Santa Cruz County’s North Coast last night. They traveled from somewhere way south – the tropics where they spent the winter getting fat on different types of bugs. They arrived just in time to eat the early season bees, mosquitoes, and moths. They left when this place was dusty and dry and returned to a vibrant, green, moist landscape. They are just settling in and will soon be scooping up mud to repair or build new nests. I haven’t seen any other swallow species, yet- have you?
Furry Critters
Gophers are throwing soil with gusto, having just woken up for the Spring. The voles have been awake and active for a while, already. Baby voles are dispersing into new areas, and the very violent interactions between voles and gophers has commenced.
Young brush bunnies emerged from their birth dens about 2 weeks ago, half the size of the adults and so very cute. About a month ago, I encountered an adult brush bunny ‘thumping’ – something I’d read about as a youth in Richard Adams’ book Watership Down. An anxious-looking bunny was rushing between shrubs, ducking under cover and then thumping its hind legs onto the ground so hard as to make a drumming noise. It had its eyes on me- very odd, since I thought I had previously had a fairly trusting relationship with the local bunny families. Perhaps this individual was an interloper from another family as this behavior was a one-time thing.
Long tailed weasels are feeding on gophers, voles, and young rabbits as are coyotes and bobcats. It had been a long time since I saw any bobcats, but two appeared in the area in the last month, so maybe their population is rebounding around Davenport.
Grass
It is the season of grass. Get to a weedy wet patch and you’ll see the most remarkable bright shiny green of Italian ryegrass, an invasive species that reflects light brightly from its leaf blades. The cold nights have tinged some grasses red or purple. Disease from the moist winter makes other grasses turn yellow or orange. The first grass flowers are emerging, but most are a ways away. I was surprised to see some foxtails already, normally a later spring grass flower. How tall with the grass grow? You can see it gain height by the day right now, but not long ago it just got slowly thicker across the ground. The longer and warmer days make for rocketing grass growth. Later rains keep it getting taller, but without rain grass drinks up the soil moisture and patches start to brown on shallow soil quickly after warm spells.
Trees
This is the moment of Spring where we can enjoy the colorful signs of the genetic diversity of coast live oaks. Some coast live oaks unfurl their spring leaves earlier, some later. Examine patches of coast live oaks and see the personalities shine with varying leafing out timing, and even varying colors of new leaves. I like the more maroon new leaves, but the paler spring green trees are also wonderful.
Buckeyes and big leaf maples are breaking bud. Rare in our area, patches of black and valley oaks are also starting to think about leafing out. I recently travelled through the Sierra Nevada foothills and saw the blue oak forest waking up. I love to catch blue oak bud break as patches of that forest turn the most amazing purple-blue right as their leaf buds start to swell, before the leaves unfurl. Now is that time.
Time Passing
The moments of Spring pass quickly, so that if you miss visiting natural areas a few weeks in a row, you will miss an entire sub-portion of the season. The birds will come to you, though – keep an eye out for the swallows wheeling in the air, harbingers of spring! If you haven’t planned on visiting your favorite lupine patch, start planning: they are a few weeks away, but a spring without lupines isn’t ever quite the same.
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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 |
The website where I found the picture above identifies the oak tree it commemorates as “Nature’s Greatest Survivor.” I have been thinking about oak trees quite a bit!
Why is that? Well, this is partly due to the fact that I see oak trees not unlike the one pictured above as I walk through Arana Gulch – which I do quite frequently. Additionally, that Holly Near song I wrote about on January 7th has stuck with me. I started that January 7th blog posting with this verse of her song:
I am open and I am willing
To be hopeless would seem so strange
It dishonors those who go before us
So lift me up to the light of change
Near’s song ends with the following, which is where she references “a mighty oak.”
Give me a mighty oak to hold my confusion
Give me a desert to hold my fears
Give me a sunset to hold my wonder
Give me an ocean to hold my tears
Even more than Near’s song, though, and even more than my actual communion with the oak trees I encounter on my walks, I have been thinking about oak trees because a wonderful reference to oak trees suddenly appeared during my recent birthday celebration. My last birthday, you may remember, if you have been “singing along” with my daily blog postings, was one of those “big” ones.
My daughter, in a perfect response to this “big birthday,” denoting a daunting eighty years of life, discovered a poem about oak trees, and read it to me before I blew out the candles. The author of the poem was a singer, whom some have said was a link between Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. I had never heard of him. Click this link if you’d like to see what Johnny Ray Ryder, Jr. was doing as a popular singer. The poem, below, is what has got me thinking about oak trees.
You don’t have to be eighty to appreciate the truth of what this poem tells us:
Johnny Ray Ryder Jr.
A mighty wind blew night and day.
It stole the Oak Tree’s leaves away.
Then snapped its boughs
and pulled its bark
until the Oak was tired and stark.
But still the Oak Tree held its ground
while other trees fell all around.
The weary wind gave up and spoke,
How can you still be standing Oak?”
The Oak Tree said, I know that you
can break each branch of mine in two,
carry every leaf away,
shake my limbs and make me sway.
But I have roots stretched in the earth,
growing stronger since my birth.
You’ll never touch them, for you see
they are the deepest part of me.
Until today, I wasn’t sure
of just how much I could endure.
But now I’ve found with thanks to you,
I’m stronger than I ever knew.
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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 |
Dateline March 18, 2024
GRIFTING ALONG TOWARD TAKING THE LONG VIEW
ATTENTION, ATTENTION…cleanup needed on the fifty-yard line! Robert Harrington writes that RFK, Jr.’s consideration of Jets football quarterback Aaron Rodgers (jersey number 12) for his VP selection has prompted a sudden outpouring of denials regarding Rodgers being an outspoken, rightwing anti-vaxxer, a conspiracy theorist who lied about his own COVID-19 vaccine status in order to stay on the playing field. Harrington calls the former Green Bay Packers player “the poster boy for ignorance, routinely playing the victim in the vaccine debate for the losing and loser side. What’s more and worst of all, it was recently revealed that Aaron Rodgers was and might still be a supporter of one of the vilest, most disgusting and – above all – most inhumane conspiracy theories yet devised by the perverted mind of wretched fools. Rodgers was, and might be, a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting denier.” While he denies being a proponent of the Alex Jones promoted belief, CNN reporter Pamela Brown reveals that Rodgers accosted her in 2013, verbally attacking her and the network for supporting the “Sandy Hook lie.” Harrington believes the Jets missed a bet by not retiring jersey number 12 after quarterback Joe ‘Broadway Joe’ Namath left the team, and being worn today by one who wears it in “ignominy, in disgrace, and without distinction.” Kennedy says he will announce his running-mate candidate’s name on March 26…the other name in the hopper being that of former wrestler, and Reform Party governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Jesse Ventura. What excitement…get your popcorn and a beverage of your choice ready to go! Don’t forget the sponges and towels for cleanup!
Donald Trump is still grifting along, his latest endeavor being the takeover of the Republican National Committee by handpicking the new co-chairs, daughter-in-law Lara Trump, and attorney Michael Whatley, former chair of the North Carolina GOP. After the takeover, about sixty staffers were terminated, as new appointees began to fill the vacant positions, one of whom was Trump attorney, election denier, and classified documents concealer, Christina Bobb. Newly-hired attorneys will focus on “election-related reports,” code words for conspiracy theories. This signals that Palm Beach, Florida is the new location for the GOP’s finance and digital teams which will be “functionally fused into” Trump’s own campaign. Tellingly, Lara has pledged “every single penny” of the Committee’s cash will now be spent on Trump alone, no other Republican candidate should seek funds, so suck it up GOPers! A Mike Luckovich cartoon accurately portrays Lara Trump welcoming donors to contribute to buckets of cash labeled ‘Campaign to Pay Trump’s Legal Bills,’ ‘Campaign to Pay Trump’s Living Expenses,’ ‘Campaign to Pay Trump’s Financial Judgements,’ and ‘Campaign to Pay Trump Family Expenses.’ At least a half billion dollars should be an easy take, you think?
The former president has taken over an organization that is close to being broke, with only $8 million cash on hand after raising $87 million in 2023, but maybe his army of attorneys will now get paid to save his criminal empire from ruin. Rudy G., are you paying attention? Hunter writes on Daily Kos, “Trump isn’t just a grifter. He is a vampire. He spends his life attempting to squeeze people for whatever dimes he can, whether it be through sales of mail-order meat or bottled water, or the right to live in large buildings with his name plastered across them in the largest possible letters. It’s not enough for the RNC to function as his personal campaign arm. He wants all the money he can get, and installing Lara is the best way to ensure the RNC won’t think twice about forking over even more cash for his bills. And Republican voters? They seem just fine with it. They couldn’t be a more willing group of suckers.” Of course, this points to what we might expect from a Trump presidency…absolute control, quick and callous ruthlessness, and heartless retribution for those who are “disloyal.” We will be able to vote in his fake democracy, but the election will be predetermined just like Putin’s weekend victory in Russia, gleaning 88% of the ‘vote.’
On the Late Show, Stephen Colbert’s assessment of Lara Trump’s selection as a co-chair aimed at her lack of ‘credentials‘ to run a major party organization. He commented on RNC member Beth Bloch’s proclamation, “God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called,” by saying, “Sure, Lara Trump may not be qualified, she may not have experience doing things, but she has done what no one thought possible: she married Eric Trump.”Late Night’s Seth Meyers jumped on Donald Trump’s reference to himself as “Honest Don,” as opposed to “Crooked Joe Biden,” saying, “At this point, I gotta believe even he’s being sarcastic. Nobody puts ‘honest’ in front of their name. If there’s a place called ‘Honest Don’s’ in your hometown, it’s either a used car dealership or a pawn shop. Maybe a pizza place…but not the good one.”
Aldous J. Pennyfarthing asks, “Hey, wanna join an exclusive secret club? First, you’ll have to answer a few questions: Are you a woman? Are you LGBTQ+? Are you something other than a ‘real’ Christian (i.e., Mormon, Christian Scientist, Jehovah’s Witness, or White, Hetero, Gun-Totin,’ Prosperity-Gospelin,’ God forbid – Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or atheist? Do you hyphenate your heritage? Do you lack the wealth and/or clout to usher in a ‘US Constitutional order brought much closer to its origins after about a century of…corruption and undermining by progressivism?” Just move along if any of those questions brought a ‘yes’ answer. Aldous suggests you start your own club, but don’t call it the Society for American Civic Renewal…that name is taken, chump! A suggested name is the ‘Naive Liberal Simps Soon to Be Crushed Beneath the Blood-soaked Truck Treads of American Civic Renewal.’ Talking Points Media reporter, Josh Kovensky, examined the SACR’s truly bizarre membership criteria and the group’s vision for the country: “The group…tries to downplay its controversial views, saying it is merely another in a long line of fraternal organizations attempting to foster civic engagement.”
The man who incorporated the national umbrella group is an Indiana shampoo tycoon, Charles Haywood, who refers to himself as ‘maximum leader,’ blogging about Rhodesian anti-guerilla tactics and how the dystopian fiction novel, The Camp of the Saints, is a must-read, and is a vision of America’s present as a latter-day ancient Rome. This crumbling, decadent empire that could soon be replaced by a Christian theocracy, a group that demands faithfulness, virtue, and ‘alignment,’ which it describes as ‘deference to and acceptance of the wisdom of our American and European Christian forbears in the political realm, a traditional understanding of patriarchal leadership in the household, and acceptance of traditional Natural Law in ethics more broadly.’ More practically, members must be able to contribute either influence, capability, or wealth in helping further its goals. Further, one must answer questions regarding politics, religion, a Trump presidency, household dynamics, and involvement in church community.
SACR’s core mission is revealed as wishing to create a mini-state within a state, composed entirely of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christian men, explicitly patriarchal, and celebrating the use of force and existence of authority. In referencing the founding fathers, America’s first principles, and patriotism, democracy is hardly mentioned. Pennyfarthing refers to a podcast in which Haywood discusses ‘caesarism’ and the idea of an American strongman to get the country back on track, while “wholeheartedly” calling for a national divorce. Haywood wrote on his blog, “The goal of the Left was always total expropriation of White people and then, if at all possible, their extermination, a goal made explicit by many powerful people in 2020. How, given this history, should White Americans respond? Facing possibilities involving violence would include more-or-less open warfare with the federal government, or some subset or remnant of it. At this moment I preside over what amounts to a extended, quite sizable, compound, which when complete will be impervious to anything but direct organized military attack. It requires a group of men to make it work…what I call ‘shooters’” Pennyfarthing concludes, “So there you go. Yet another kooky fringe group hopes to turn the calendar back to the days when women couldn’t vote, or decide for themselves whether to give birth, or avoid being ruled over by wealthy Christian warlords.” Upon reading a right-wing Christian’s protest sign, “If you don’t teach your child to obey Jesus, the devil will teach them evolution, sexuality, psychology, and witchcraft,” that awkward moment makes Satan the reasonable choice.
From Arundhati Roy’s novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, The Landlord chapter: “Normality in our part of the world is a bit like a boiled egg: its humdrum surface conceals at its heart a yolk of egregious violence. It is our constant anxiety about that violence, our memory of its past labours and our dread of its future manifestations, that lays down the rules for how a people as complex and diverse as we are continue to coexist – continue to live together, tolerate each other, and from time to time, murder one another. As long as the centre holds, as long as the yolk doesn’t run, we’ll be fine. In moments of crisis, it helps to take the long view.” Does America need to take the long view? Only time will tell.
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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. |
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.
“Spring”
“With the coming of spring, I am calm again.”
~Gustav Mahler
“April prepares her green traffic light, and the world thinks: Go.”
~Christopher Morley
“Spring is far more than just a changing of seasons; it’s a rebirth of the spirit.”
~Toni Sorenson
“Nostalgia in reverse, the longing for yet another strange land, grew especially strong in spring.”
~Vladimir Nabokov
“The beautiful spring came, and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.”
~Harriet Ann Jacobs
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Elle Cordova has put up some amazing videos on YouTube and on TikTok. Most famously, recently, she has done some very viral ones about fonts, and some really cool raps/poems/rhymes on various topics. Here is a Big Bang poem that I just love! |
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