ESTHER AND CHUCK ABBOTT AND THEIR LIGHTHOUSE. October 27, 1967.  The Abbotts arrived here in 1960, and created a lot of positive changes for our city. The lighthouse is of course only decorative, a dedicated gift to the city in honor of their son Mark who died surfing at Pleasure Point. The Abbotts were photographers, and also owned and operated a dance hall in Florida before coming here.                                                   photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection. Additional information always welcome: email photo@brattononline.com

DATELINE November 4

CUMMINGS AND CONSCIENTIOUS. Many thanks to the folks who emailed in asking why I called Justin Cummings “conscientious” in last week’s BrattonOnline. The most honest answer is…  “I goofed”. Maybe it’s part of my curmudgeon stage… but no way is — or was — Justin Cummings “conscientious”. What’s even more telling about Cummings is that on my Universal Grapevine program last Tuesday night, Julie and Stu Phillips (two of the most active opponents against the Dream Inn expansion) told me and our listeners that immediately after Justin Cummings voted with the city council to allow that Dream Inn job ,they walked outside the city hall to see a happy group with Justin Cummings laughing and handshaking with not just the developers, but also with a bunch of the Santa Cruz City Planning Staff. Every Santa Cruzan knew about the City Planning crew and their support of Ensemble’s Dream development from the very beginning, but the surprise of Cumming’s vote will remain with us for a very long time.

BOOKSHOP SANTA CRUZ’S 53RD BIRTHDAY PARTY & HOT DAMN STRING BAND. Just so you know, the Almost Legendary Hot Damn String Band will be playing starting at 7:30 p.m. this Friday night Nov. 8th. There’s a Readers Club Member sale with 20% off storewide. There’s also cake and ice cream and just a grand get together. Our Hot Damn String Band has been playing for  these parties since before the 1989 earthquake!!! The Hot Damn String Band contains; Jim Reynolds – Guitar, Annie Steinhart – Fiddle, Dave Magram – Banjo,  Stewart Evans – Mandolin, Gary Cunningham – String Bass, and I’ll be playing the washboard and the Zayantephone..

J.S. BACH NAMED GREATEST COMPOSER OF ALL TIME. The October issue of the BBC Music magazine stated…Johann Sebastian Bach has been named the greatest composer of all time. The German Baroque figure has been voted top from a list of 50 musical masters for BBC Music Magazine. Bach was renowned for his organ playing, use of fugue, and works including The Well-Tempered Clavier and the Brandenburg Concertos. No British composers made the top 10 list in the poll, which ranked Igor Stravinsky and Ludwig van Beethoven in second and third place – ahead of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Composer Unsuk Chin said of the result: “Bach’s music displays great emotions and fiery temperament, while being the highest conceivable summit of composition as an intellectual art. “It is a synthesis of past music and the creations of his own time as well as a bold vision of the future. “Up to Bach, musical works disappeared after a premiere or, at least, after a composer’s death. Bach was too grand to be ignored.” Bach triumphed in a poll of 174 leading contemporary composers, who ranked their individual top five favourites based on originality, impact, craftsmanship, and enjoyability.

The result of the proposals from composers led to Bach coming out on top, and a list that spans musical history from the 12th century to the present day. Oliver Condy, BBC Music Magazine editor, said: “The sheer breadth and depth of our top 50 list proves that today’s composers look to all countries, styles and centuries for inspiration. “In gathering together 174 living composers for our poll, our Top 50 composer list turned out to be our most ambitious feature to date – and makes for fascinating reading.” British composer Benjamin Britten narrowly missed out on the top 10, voted in at 11th place in the rankings.

The top 10 composers are:
 

1. Johann Sebastian Bach
2. Igor Stravinsky
3. Ludwig van Beethoven 
4. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
5. Claude Debussy
6. Gyorgy Ligeti
7. Gustav Mahler 
8. Richard Wagner
9. Maurice Ravel
10. Claudio Monteverdi

November 4

WHY A SANTA CRUZ FOREIGN POLICY?

Policy Perspectives
I have always encountered a strong sentiment in Santa Cruz for debate, discussion, and action around issues of both domestic and foreign policy. It’s an interest bordering on the severe in Santa Cruz. That is, residents here have always been involved in the larger issues of this state, the nation, and the world. Often, locals expect and demand that their elected public officials take stands against unjust national policies–not sending immigrants back to dangerous places as the council did in passing numerous resolutions to protect immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. The council often addresses and sometimes takes action on state issues such as housing, homelessness, and firearms. Why? Because the state’s policies often impact our spending and ultimate quality of life here in Surf City.

Santa Cruz Foreign Policy
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, and the hopes of its children”.
–From (Dwight Eisenhower’s “Chance for Peace” speech soon after the death of Joseph Stalin)

In the area of “International Affairs” and “Foreign Policy,” the Santa Cruz city council has often put its collective toe, and sometimes foot, into the steamy and muddy waters of global concerns. We’ve demanded that Great Britain for example, hand over Augusto Pinochet to the Chilean people, proclaim our support for the Salvadoran people over the Reagan war machine in the 1980’s, as well as pronouncements in support of the rain forest, banning sex slavery, and upholding the MacBride principles of Northern Ireland. The city council has made statements, demands, and passed resolutions usually because our residents demanded discussion and action on these issues. So here is an update on international concerns I’ve been hearing from Santa Cruz residents recently.

Updates on Concerns Expressed by Residents

Russia and Trump and the Impending Impeachment
To sum it up, Donald Trump had a conversation with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he asked, according to a transcript of the phone call, if the Ukraine would assist in investigating Trump’s rival, Joe Biden and his son Hunter. For most looking at this, it is likely not the worst thing Trump ever did and, the question really is, was it illegal? Can the President of the US make such requests and have it be legal because he is the President? I am not so sure there is a smoking gun here, but the Democrats are moving forward to impeach the SOB-in-chief anyway. Of course, many of us are relieved, some jubilant, but this move is sure to help energize The Donald’s base as we move toward the 2020 election and it may offer additional hope to this self-described Billionaire Underdog. Stay tuned, or perhaps not, since no Republican Senator (maybe Mitt) has changed his or her mind on the impeachment questions yet, which has left Santa Cruz and much of the country wondering what it will take for “his people” to admit this President’s time is over. He’s had his shot and clearly blown it, especially in the area of foreign policy.

Chile Again. An Uprising.
It is thirty years since General Augusto Pinochet was driven from power and Chile entered into a new democratic era. Many in Santa Cruz followed closely the life and times of former President Salvador Allende who was a long-time politician before ascending to the presidency in 1970. Allende was put out of power by a military coup backed by the US and ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph) in 1973. It was a short-lived socialist revolution and a bloody counter revolution, which yielded thousands of deaths and Chilean refugees and for that reason followed by many Santa Cruzans. Saul Landau the film-maker lived for a time in Santa Cruz and taught a summer film class for a few years. He wrote a book called, Assassination on Embassy Row, and former US Rep. George Miller told the Washington Post upon the death of Landau, “In a show of his persistence and tenacity…he helped bring Augusto Pinochet to justice more than 30 years later.” Now, in Chile many are chanting, No son 30 pesos, son 30 años. (“It’s not about 30 pesos, it’s about 30 years.”) It refers to the raising of subway fares, only about 4 cents US, but now they are among the highest fares in Latin America. Increasing subway fares set off a powder keg of popular dissent going back many years. There is a vast and increasing inequality among those who have in Chile, and those who have not. (Sound familiar?!) According to the New York Times, at least 19 have died and “hundreds more injured, though not all by security forces, while 20 people have been reported missing.” Below I offer the contents of an email from an old friend who teaches at the Universidad Catolica in Santiago and who received her Ph.D. from Berkeley in Entomology. She perhaps represents that gulf between the classes in Chile.

Letter from Santiago
Things are a real mess at the moment, kind of reminds Pinochet…. But upside down? I am not sure what to think, a lot of conspiracy theories surfacing, from the right and also from the left!!! Piñera (and all his team) is an inept no doubt about it, but lots of very out of control youth and, for sure in between a few nasty people too. I would guess that much of what you see is out of context, although some intense encounters between police and people had happened. In theory police do not fire real bullets, but the military did shoot 2 people at 4am on Sunday (not dead, but had to have emergency surgery). Most dead people, I think 11 until this morning, were caught up in fires inside stores while taking away stuff in the middle of the night.  This morning I was listening to a guy from the human rights movement, and he was very objective saying what is not acceptable in this situation, and that they had people in the streets and hospitals checking stuff out and helping people with legal actions. But he said that all together, until this morning, only 9 cases were put forward, mainly for excessive force. They are a lot of people detained though, but I think most are set free after they check their documents in the stations. Not sure how these numbers will change after today. We have curfew at night since Saturday, and I have not gone out of the house in the weekend or today (my campus is closed, although tomorrow we have to go to feed the insects). Is not that I feel insecure, but mostly because I don’t need to, and prefer not to add to the bad spirit. Maybe, I should have gone out and protest a little bit (I know you would have!!!!), but I am kind of in a state of shock, trying to process what the hell is going on. I agree with the demands, but setting fire to the subway, supermarkets and pharmacies is really upsetting. Not sure what is the way forward either, politicians in the last 30 years have not helped much, and the economic “model” is unfair for so many. I hate the fact that many of our basic services (water, buses, energy, roads, etc.) are owned by for-profit big transnational companies. On the other hand, I am doing really well. I guess I am upper middle class, I have had all the opportunities, but all what I have is from my work. I pay all my taxes, and try to be fair to those that work for me. More can be done, but I think the Chilean society is really not very together, and people feel “smart” when they legally cut corners with taxes for example. So then in practice you can’t really do more. I don’t know, maybe after this we could… as you see, I am processing all…(Oct. 21)

Uprising in Lebanon
Over what seemed to begin as protest against a government measure to tax WhatsApp, the people of Lebanon took to the streets for 13 consecutive days and forced Prime Minister Saad Hariri to resign. It was “unprecedented” according to Al Jazeera. It is likely Hariri will return to power because he “is still the single most popular politician among Lebanon’s Sunnis, important in a country where the prime minister must be Sunni, the speaker of the parliament Shia, and the president a Maronite Christian.” It also looks like a financial crisis was really at the heart of the Lebanese uprising and that basic services such as electricity and water were increasingly unstable.

Trump and the World Rightwing-mania
It is perhaps no coincidence that the world is besieged by rightwing heads of state and Trump is seems to be a friend to most of them. Trigger warning: this scorecard of right-wingers is gruesome. In Hungary, Victor Orban has successfully kicked out Central European University from Budapest. It was founded by billionaire liberal, George Soros. Kim Jong Un of South Korea has an up and down bromance with President Trump as does Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump has said he admires Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for the way he goes after (and kills) drug dealers. Trump also seemed to be the choice for Russia’s Vladimir Putin in the 2016 elections. But perhaps most disturbing is Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia and his embrace of Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and this is despite all evidence that leads to Salman’s ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. These foreign “entanglements” kind of relationships should be disturbing to most voters, but I would bet there is a larger percentage in Santa Cruzans who want to debate and discuss the current administration’s spiraling downward in the area of foreign policy.

Addendum: What to do About P.G.$ E?
Now, here we have a corporate investor-owned, for-profit utility that has shown more concern for its shareholders than the rate-payers of Northern California and Santa Cruz. What can our residents and ratepayers do to confront this out of control company and maybe help the push toward democratizing P.G.$ E’s future actions? What might residents want their city council to do? Something like making a demand that P.G.$ E not be allowed to get away with the past blackout or future ones as well? No other utility has thus far shut down the grid because of high winds; it is not an industry standard. Residents could demand that P.G.$ E’s people be present at the next city council meeting meeting and respond to the to the community’s questions. Or they could ask for a resolution to sever ties with P.G.$ E, or to buy out P.G.$ E assets as San Francisco and San Jose are asking to do. The least we can do is have the mayor write a letter expressing our community’s strong feelings about this issue. What do you think we should do?

“Won’t you look at that: turns out all the chicken littles on raising min wage were wrong! GOP said the sky would fall if we (New York) raised tipped wages to $15/hr w #TipsOnTop. Turns out both revenue & employment are UP since the #Fightfor15, & way more people are getting a fair shake.” (Nov. 3)

(Chris Krohn is a father, writer, activist, and was on the Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 1998-2002. Krohn was Mayor in 2001-2002. He’s been running the Environmental Studies Internship program at UC Santa Cruz for the past 14 years. He was elected the the city council again in November of 2016, after his kids went off to college. His current term ends in 2020. Email Chris at ckrohn@cruzio.com

November 3 #307 2050 IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER

2050 is “just around the corner.” At least, that is the perspective of someone like me, who has already lived for seventy-five years. 2050 is roughly thirty years away, so I have lived more than twice as long as the thirty years that now separate us from 2050. For someone who has lived thirty or fewer years, of course, thirty years is likely to appear to be a rather long time. It is a “lifetime,” in fact.

From whatever vantage point you consider the year 2050, and whether you think that thirty years is a “long” time or a “short” time, the following headline should make that 2050 date significant:

‘High likelihood of human civilisation coming to end’ by 2050, report finds. Here is a link to an article in The Independent, published in Great Britain, to which the headline above applies. Harry Cockburn, who wrote the article, is reporting on a paper produced by the Melbourne-based think tank the Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration.

The Breakthrough Centre defines its mission as “the development and promotion of strategies, innovation and analysis which are required to restore the climate to a safe condition.” The Breakthrough report was written by David Spratt and Ian Dunlop, with a forward by Chris Barrie, the former chief of the Australian Defence Forces and a retired Admiral in the Royal Australian Navy.

Clicking this link will take you to the full report. The article already linked provides a good synopsis. The key point, and the reason for this blog post, is not just that we need to take very seriously the impacts that accelerating global warming is having on the natural environment. We do need to do that, of course, but we also need to think about what the impacts of the coming changes in the natural environment will mean for our human civilization. We need to think about those dangers and threats, in other words, the way Admirals and Generals have always thought about the threats and dangers posed by other nations, as nations skirmish for geopolitical advance and/or domination. 

Human-caused global warming is initiating a Sixth Mass Extinction. That is horrible, but what the Breakthrough Report is trying to make clear is a point that I, too, try to make clear in the series of daily blog postings that I have been making on this website for almost ten years. 

We live ultimately in the World of Nature, but we live most immediately in a Human World, a “Political World,” a world that we can properly call our human “civilization.” While we have the ability to undermine the integrity of the Natural World, and are doing so (witness that Sixth Mass Extinction) our own, human world is less resilient and more vulnerable than the World of Nature. 

In other words, our human civilization will break down BEFORE the worst has happened in the Natural World. In fact, according to the Breakthrough report, we don’t have long to get ready and to do something about that. 
This is obviously very bad news, but is there an upside? Is there any good news? 

Maybe there is! If we can truly understand that we live, most immediately, in a human world, and that all our lives depend on being able to maintain the viability of our human civilization, then the unity of human beings across all perceived boundaries and differences will melt away. We are in this together. All of us. Every single one of us. In our current situation, in our current crisis, it is only human empathy, love, and commitment to each other that can avert the end to the human civilization we have created and that makes it possible for our lives to continue. 
Sooner or later, we are going to realize this. Young girls are sailing across the ocean to bring us this news. I think we’re going to figure this out, but we don’t have much time.

2050 is just around the corner!

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

EAGAN’S SUBCONSCIOUS COMICS. More of the early years of Eagan’s subterranean sneaky looks into our other selves. Check them out below a few scrolls. 

EAGAN’S DEEP COVER. See Eagan’s sharp, poignant political plots 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. 

TIM EAGAN SAYS…”Hi everybody. If you find yourself in Santa Cruz in the near future, please come take a look at my plein air oils at the Gabriella Cafe on Cedar St. It will be there until the end of December. Hope to see you there”. If you want to subscribe to Tim’s blog, go here 

12×12 ARTWORK The Webmistress, Gunilla Leavitt, wants to let everyone know about an awesome local art tradition, the 12×12 exhibit at the Cabrillo Gallery. It’s open to anyone residing in California, pieces must be 12×12, and the show opened Monday and goes until December 6. There’s a reception on Saturday, November 9, 4:00–6:00, come see all the different ways you can make art in a 12×12 square! Most of the artwork is for sale, and the whole event is a fundraiser for the Gallery. Gunilla has three pieces in the show, woodworking and knitting! Come check them out and say hi at the reception!

LISA JENSEN LINKS. “Maybe now that we’re all so woke, the times have finally caught up to the amazing life of Harriet Tubman, a real-life superhero who fought for justice and won major victories against impossible odds in her lifelong battle to end slavery in the American South. In Harriet, filmmaker Kasi Lemmons explores the woman behind the historical footnote in a tribute that feels long overdue, this week at Lisa Jensen Online Express (http://ljo-express.blogspot.com ). Also, some memories of Halloweens Past for this witching season. And if you were going to dress up as your favorite literary character, how would you choose? Your actual favorite character or the one with the coolest outfit? You’ll get your chance next week when Bookshop Santa Cruz hosts a Literary Masquerade in honor of author Erin Morgenstern (The Night Circus), and her new novel, The Starless Sea! ” Lisa has been writing film reviews and columns for Good Times since 1975. 

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE. Each and every Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. I host Universal Grapevine on KZSC 88.1 fm. or on your computer, (live only or archived for two weeks… (See next paragraph) and go to WWW.KZSC.ORG. .  On November 5 Dean Kaufman Veterans Service Officer talks about the meaning and events happening on Veterans Day. Gail Pellerin Santa Cruz County Clerk talks about voting and elections after Dean on Nov. 5. Paloma Curutenango from UCSC’s Common Ground Center discusses their goals, successes, and history on Nov.12  OR…if you just happen to miss either of the last two weeks of Universal Grapevine broadcasts go here… https://www.radiofreeamerica.com/schedule/kzsc   You have to listen to about 4 minutes of that week’s KPFA news first, then Grapevine happens. Do remember, any and all suggestions for future programs are more than welcome so tune in, and keep listening. Email me always and only at bratton@cruzio.com 

UNIVERSAL GRAPEVINE ARCHIVES. In case you missed some of the great people I’ve interviewed in the last 9 years here’s a chronological list of some past broadcasts. Such a wide range of folks such as  Nikki Silva, Michael Warren, Tom Noddy, UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal, Anita Monga, Mark Wainer, Judy Johnson, Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, Rachel Goodman, George Newell, Tubten Pende, Gina Marie Hayes, Rebecca Ronay-Hazleton, Miriam Ellis, Deb Mc Arthur, The Great Morgani on Street performing, and Paul Whitworth on Krapps Last Tape. Jodi McGraw on Sandhills, Bruce Daniels on area water problems. Mike Pappas on the Olive Connection, Sandy Lydon on County History. Paul Johnston on political organizing, Rick Longinotti on De-Sal. Dan Haifley on Monterey Bay Sanctuary, Dan Harder on Santa Cruz City Museum. Sara Wilbourne on Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Brian Spencer on SEE Theatre Co. Paula Kenyon and Karen Massaro on MAH and Big Creek Pottery. Carolyn Burke on Edith Piaf. Peggy Dolgenos on Cruzio. Julie James on Jewel Theatre Company. Then there’s Pat Matejcek on environment, Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack on the Universe plus Nina Simon from MAH, Rob Slawinski, Gary Bascou, Judge Paul Burdick, John Brown Childs, Ellen Kimmel, Don Williams, Kinan Valdez, Ellen Murtha, John Leopold, Karen Kefauver, Chip Lord, Judy Bouley, Rob Sean Wilson, Ann Simonton, Lori Rivera, Sayaka Yabuki, Chris Kinney, Celia and Peter Scott, Chris Krohn, David Swanger, Chelsea Juarez…and that’s just since January 2011. 

    “VOTING”

 “We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” Thomas Jefferson 

“Too many people fought too hard to make sure all citizens of all colors, races, ethnicities, genders, and abilities can vote to think that not voting somehow sends a message.” – Luis Gutierrez

“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” Plato 

“Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.” – Pericles