Cooling | Ridge Fire | Lost & Found | Jan Pohl | Equinox Sunset | Craft Fair | Ken Bolstad | Dangerous Driver | Phone Scam | Mom McCloud | Early Summer | Prohibited Person | First Garden | Shark Bit | Ceanothus Silkmoth | Cannabis Corn | Local Events | GRTA Plan | Navarro Watershed | Marine-Life Tours | Unhoused Choice | Yesterday's Catch | Reporter Detained | Vacuous Mike | Distracted Drivers | Sunshine Award | Self Censored | Human Composting | Take Responsibility | Poem | Key Question | 2 for 1 | Dad | Horrible Hegseth | Marco Radio | Isabel Cooper | Air Mail | Grace Quan | Worst Podcaster | Buy Books | War Criminals | Life Cycle | Kunstlervision | Eating Beans | Anti-Americanism | Total Grind | Terror Reign | Evil Thing | Lead Stories | Regime Change
YESTERDAY'S HIGHS: Ukiah 93°, Boonville 92°, Yorkville 91°, Laytonville 90°, Covelo 90°, Point Arena 64°, Fort Bragg 63°
STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): 50F under clear skies this Saturday morning on the coast. Maybe some fog but I'm going with a lovely weekend for all, enjoy the Whale Festival ! The NWS continues to mention a sprinkle around Tuesday, otherwise spring has sprung. Temps in general will start to come down in the days to come.
UNSEASONABLE warmth with widespread minor heat risk in the interior is forecast to abate this weekend into early next week. Coastal northerlies will increase on Saturday after passage of a front. Next chance for rain is expected Tuesday into Wednesday. (NWS)
FIRE ON RIDGE Between Salmon Creek and Myers Flat (HumCo)
Gonna be a long, long fire season.
MISSING HIKER STUMBLES UPON RAILROAD EXPLORERS IN MENDOCINO FOREST
by Brooke Park
A 71-year-old hiker who had been missing for several days without food or water was found Wednesday after she stumbled upon a group traveling along an old railway in a remote stretch of Mendocino County’s redwood forest.
Guides for Skunk Train, a company that offers electric-powered, two seater “railbikes” that travel along railroad tracks, had stopped for lunch with guests at Camp Noyo when guide Xochitl Villa heard a woman calling for help. Camp Noyo, a remote campground deep in the redwood forest, is closed to the public for the season and is typically unstaffed in the spring.
“She was like, ‘Please help me. Please help me. I've been lost in the woods since Sunday morning,’” Villa said. “She (was) just really scared that she's gonna end up dying in the forest.”
The woman had been hiking in the Chamberlain Creek Waterfall Trail in Jackson State Forest when she became lost and was later reported missing, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office. By the time Villa found the woman, her lips were cracked, she had pine needles in her hair and her feet were cut up. Skunk Train declined to identify the hiker, citing privacy reasons.
At times, the woman told Villa, she thought she heard voices, only to find out it was the sound of a mosquito or a fly. Initially, she wasn't sure if the voice she heard on Wednesday were real.
“I don't think she had another day left in her honestly,” Villa said. “She was exhausted.”
Villa gave the woman her lunch consisting of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, water, apples and an energy bar. Villa said the woman had intended to go on a short, thirty-minute hike to a waterfall in the area but got lost once the path became overgrown. She had no phone, her medications or other supplies and was dressed lightly in mesh-top shoes, yoga pants, a T-shirt and a thin flannel.
At night, she sheltered in hollowed out redwood stumps and buried her feet in the dirt to keep warm. The woman forced herself to stay awake, fearful she might become hypothermic in her sleep, Villa said.
“I was just in complete awe she managed to find her way out of that vast wilderness,” Villa said, adding she estimated the woman walked close to 20 miles. “If anybody's ever traveled over Highway 20, and there's some lookout points, it is absolutely vast, and there's a lot of nothing out there like in any direction.”
Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Capt. Quincy Cromer said the woman was not injured, and medical staff evaluated her at the scene before releasing her. Cromer said it is common for hikers to get lost in the wilderness, noting that on average, the county's search and rescue team deploys upwards of 60 times a year.
The guides had been leading an excursion through challenging terrain that “can be difficult to navigate without support.” Guides used a satellite based communication device to communicate with railroad employees and first responders, though the dense redwood canopy limited satellite visibility.
Authorities arrived and were able to get the woman back to her car. She and Villa hugged each other with tears in their eyes.
“I made a really good friend that day, and I am just so relieved that she's gonna get to go home and just focus on getting over the whole situation,” Villa said. “I know it's pretty traumatic.”
(sfchronicle.com)
JAN "HANS" POHL
With love and reverence, the Pohl family announces the passing of Jan "Hans" Pohl on March 16, 2026, at the age of 89, in Ukiah, California.
He lived an extraordinary life, while the world changed significantly during his time. He experienced the perils of World War II as a child, and the subsequent economic tribulations, the Russian occupation of East Germany, and the buildup to the construction of the Berlin wall. As the wall was set to divide not only Germany, but Hans from family and friends, he would slip across a fortified, guarded border to the West, in a disabled train car, to continue to be with them, and would soon meet his lovely wife-to-be, Renata, at a local dance in Frankfurt. The pair married and moved to San Francisco, California in the early 1960's, where they steadily built a life together and raised their two children.
He will not only live on through the memories of those that loved him, but by the stunning works he created with his skilled hands, which continue to add beauty to the world. While devoting his life to the mastery of sausage making and butchery, Hans' skills were truly multifaceted. He was an expert furniture and cabinet maker, gifted carver and painter, precision obsessed ammunition reloader, peerless hunter, accomplished marksman, fearless mechanic and fabricator, and an incredibly inventive and adaptable handy man.
The family finds comfort in knowing that Hans’ legacy lives on through the life example he set, the lessons he taught us, the works of art that he created, the love he shared, and all the memories we will cherish. We love you so very much. Hans is survived by his wife, Renata, and his children, Frank and Marian.
A mass will be held at the St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church on March 25th, 2026 at 11:00 am. All are welcome to pay their respects. No viewing will be held per Hans’ wishes.
HUGE CRAFT FAIR AT FORT BRAGG CITY HALL TODAY (SATURDAY)
There will be a "Whale of a Sale" Craft Fair in downtown Fort Bragg on Sat, March 21, from 10am to 5pm!
Come to City Hall in the heart of the downtown business district of Fort Bragg where you'll find most of the Whale Festival weekend activities. The fair is indoors AND outdoors, with a variety of vendors both local and from all over northern California.
Be sure to sample all the fun foods and libations around town! Then between whale watching festivities, treat yourself to a really unique shopping experience at two craft fairs-one inside and one outside!
At our City Hall craft fair you will find a wide variety of amazing handcrafted items, from jewelry to iron works, pottery, woodworks, knits and crocheted items, paintings, tools, games and puzzles.
Doors Open At 10am
Indoors in the gymnasium ~ Outdoors in front.
Ft Bragg City Hall--Franklin and Laurel Streets
Brought to you by Soroptimist International of Noyo Sunrise
KENNETH LEE BOLSTAD
Ken, passed away unexpectedly at home in Ukiah, CA on March 18, 2026, with his beloved wife of 44 years, Marie, by his side.
Born in San Rafael, CA, Ken lived in Ukiah for 30 years after residing in Marin County. He lived a full and hardworking life, known as an umpire, grocer, and FedEx driver, but most importantly as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend.
He loved camping, golf, his dogs, bacon, Burger King, and especially time spent with family at Thanksgiving. He was proud of his children, grandchildren, and his two hole-in-ones. A member of the Rod and Gun Club and Ukiah Elks Lodge, he will be remembered for his kindness, patience, and his famous banana chocolate chip pancakes and rice crispy treats.
He is survived by his wife, Marie; children Brian, Laurie, Monica, and Malissa; brothers Larry and Richard; grandchildren Audrey, Isabella, Kelsey, Chance, Kade, Rowdy, and Josie; and his 2 fur babies Sarah & Sammy. The proud Grandpa is now playing basketball with his grandson Jameson in Heaven.
In his honor, donations may be made to any animal shelter or the donkey sanctuary in Mendocino County.
He will be deeply missed and forever loved.
THIS VEHICLE CAREENS DANGEROUSLY AROUND FORT BRAGG.
Moron music played at top volume. lots of complaints from Fort Bragg residents about his heedless driving.
TELEPHONE SCAM TARGETS FAMILIES OF JAIL INMATES IN MENDOCINO COUNTY, SHERIFF SAYS
A person claiming to be "Deputy Green" asked for $3,200
by Elise Cox
Authorities in Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office are warning residents about a scam targeting families of people in custody after a caller posing as a deputy sought thousands of dollars for a relative’s release.
The incident was reported March 17 when a member of the public went to the Mendocino County Jail to arrange the release of a family member using an ankle monitor, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The individual told jail staff they had received a call from someone identifying himself as “Deputy Green,” who claimed the relative had been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and could be released for $3,200 with future court appearances held over Zoom.
The caller directed the individual to send payment and used a phone number with a 580 area code. The person became suspicious, ended the call without paying and reported it to authorities.
Investigators later confirmed the family member was in custody but not for a DUI offense. Officials believe the scammer may have used publicly available information from the Sheriff’s online booking log to make the scheme appear legitimate.
The Sheriff’s Office said it does not employ anyone by the name provided and does not request payment by phone for inmate release or related services.
Authorities urged anyone who receives similar calls not to send money or share personal information and to report the incident to local law enforcement.
(Mendolocal.news)
VIOLET MCCLOUD IS WITH JOY MCCLOUD
Today my mom decided to make her journey home. All I can do is thank the creator for blessing me with my mom. She taught me so much, and I couldn't be any more grateful. I want to thank everyone who has been praying for my mom; she believed in the power of prayer.
REPORT FROM A SMALL FARM IN BOONVILLE
Still Winter
L. is weed whacking the lower field and the scent of grass cuttings permeates the air. S. is in shorts and t-shirt weeding the garlic row. N. is grappling Thornless blackberry vines out of the D'Anjou pear tree and onto the trellis. T. and P. are in the kitchen canning strawberry jam and labeling previously canned jars while breathing the sweet smell of cooking strawberries. C. and S. are up the driveway sheet rocking a cargo container to keep the cool in.
It's a hot 90+ degrees. Nearly everything is in bloom and the air is buzzing with bees and bugs, chattering birds, and fresh with jasmine perfume putting us all in a daze.
Idyllic, no? What's wrong with this picture? It's perfect and we love it, BUT it's still winter. True, spring is days away, but here it's already summer. All the cool season crops are heading to flower and those just planted are dying of heat exhaustion. Beautiful and scary.
There's another month and a half until the traditional last frost date. The rain season is nearly at an end and there's been slightly more than half the usual amount. The flies, wasps, yellow jackets, and snakes are already out of hibernation. It's wonderful and unnerving, but nature will prevail. We're hopeful that we will too.
Happy Spring everyone….
Nikki Auschnitt and Steve Krieg
DID I KILL YOU? (Not yet, dear)
On Thursday, March 19, 2026, at approximately 8:36 PM, Sheriff’s Deputies with the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the 36000 block of Highway 162 in Willits for a report of gunshots. The reporting party advised a male subject was heard yelling, “Did I kill you?” This was followed by an unknown response from a female.
Upon arrival, Sheriff’s Deputies attempted to contact the property owner by telephone; however, there was no answer. Deputies announced their presence from the entrance to the property but received no response. Based on the nature of the call, Deputies conducted a search of the approximately 15-acre property.
During the search, Deputies located a fifth-wheel travel trailer parked at the north end of the property. As Deputies approached, movement was observed inside the trailer. A male subject, later identified as Justin Greer, 43, of Willits, exited the trailer holding a shotgun and confronted Deputies. Upon seeing law enforcement, Greer dropped the shotgun and retreated back inside the trailer, locking the door. A female subject, later identified as Annette Pastrana, 43, of Willits, was also inside the trailer.
Additional resources were requested, including fire and medical personnel staged nearby, as well as a representative from Redwood Community Services. Deputies engaged in an approximately two-hour standoff with the occupants, with assistance from the on-duty members of the Mendocino-Lake Regional S.W.A.T. Team.
During the incident, Sheriff’s Deputies obtained a search warrant for the property. A records check revealed Greer is a prohibited person, making it unlawful for him to possess firearms or ammunition.
Deputies utilized de-escalation techniques throughout the incident. Greer’s behavior was inconsistent, and at one point he threatened to release dogs on Deputies if they did not leave the property. Greer and Pastrana eventually exited the trailer. Greer and Pastrana were detained by law enforcement personnel at the scene.
A search of the property was conducted pursuant to the search warrant. Deputies located three firearms and several rounds of both live and expended ammunition inside and outside of the trailer.
Based on probable cause developed during the investigation, Greer was placed under arrest for Prohibited person in possession of a firearm, Felon in possession of ammunition, Threatening or resisting a peace officer by force, Obstructing or delaying a peace officer. Pastrana was placed under arrest for Criminal storage of a firearm.
Greer was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he is being held in lieu of $500,000 Bail after a request to increase bail was granted by a Mendocino County Superior Court Judge. Pastrana was booked into the Mendocino County Jail, but was released on a signed promise to appear in compliance with the current Uniform Bail Schedule.
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office would like to thank the California Highway Patrol for their response to the incident and the Ukiah Police Department and Willits Police Department for their assistance by covering calls for service in the within the Sheriff's Office Jurisdiction as this incident developed.
Anyone with information related to this incident is requested to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office at 707-463-4086 (option 1). Information can also be provided anonymously by calling the non-emergency tip-line at 707-234-2100.
SARAH SONGBIRD:
Our first garden planted in our new home
Audrey Hepburn said, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Many of you might know that being in the garden is one of my happiest places. I owned a retail plant nursery called ‘Goodness Grows’ for five years, and worked there for six years before that. I sold the business so that I could move on to making music full-time, but those years were very formative for me.
Having my hands in the Earth, and investing my time and energy in health and beauty and nutrition is incredibly important to me. It uplifts my spirit while it strengthens my body. Those of you that know me, know that I’ve worked really hard to be able to get back to being able to get out and do this work with relative physical ease. At this time when so much feels uncertain and heavy, putting down roots is something that feels sane and positive and necessary. As Lukas Nelson says, in his beautiful song ‘turn off the news and build a garden.’
A garden is a perfect expression of the cycle of life. A seed gets planted. It sprouts and grows. You water it and weed it and tend it while it rises into its fullest potential. Then comes the delicious harvest. Then it wanes - and rots; becomes compost and goes dormant. It sits and waits for the next season, until the cycle begins again.
We all live in this cycle. It can’t be more more more bigger and better all the time. We need to listen to that cycle and allow ourselves to be a part of it.
Yesterday, I really felt that cycle in the garden again.
Thanks to Imwalle Gardens, the loveliest farm stand in Santa Rosa. It’s a family farm that’s been in operation since the 1880s, and they sell beautiful produce and veggie and herb and flower start and garden amendments. It felt really nourishing to walk into that place. I am grateful for all the work that they did to help make it easier for me to start over here in our new home.
I am also so grateful to Jon for being part of this vision of home and garden and health and happiness. I couldn’t do without you, Sweetie, and it’s so much more delicious together.
Happy Equinox everyone.
Green Blessings
SURFER BITTEN BY SHARK OFF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST RECALLS FIGHT TO SURVIVE
Officials closed nearby beaches for 48 hours
by Aldo Toledo, Aidin Vaziri
A Northern California surfer who was bitten by a shark while riding waves off Mendocino County described a frantic fight for survival, saying he thought of his family as he struggled to break free.
James Eastman, 39, was surfing at Big River Beach in Mendocino Headlands State Park shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday when the attack occurred, according to California State Park officials.
“I could see the shark’s head kind of above the water,” Eastman told ABC News from his hospital bed Friday. “I thought of my wife and my kid and I was just like, I cannot die. I can’t die right now.”
Eastman said he struck the shark in an effort to escape.
“I went into survival mode and tried to bat the shark on its nose to 'free myself from it,'” he said.
The shark eventually released him, and Eastman was able to remain on his surfboard and paddle to shore, where three off-duty lifeguards rushed to help and provided emergency care, according to a statement from California State Parks.
He was transported to Adventist Hospital in Fort Bragg with bites to both legs.
His wife, Chloe Eastman, an emergency room nurse at the same hospital, said she was working when she learned of the attack.
“I’m in the middle of work in the ER and I just like dropped to the ground like, 'What? '” she told ABC News. “It’s my worst fear too — that happening to him.”
State parks officials said nearby beaches were closed for 48 hours as a precaution.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has collected DNA samples and is investigating the incident.
Shark encounters in California remain rare. Since 1950, there have been 234 shark-related incidents statewide, according to John Ugoretz, a program manager with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Despite the ordeal, Eastman said he hopes to return to surfing.
“I love surfing so much and I would be very sad if I didn’t surf again,” he said. “As far as everything else is concerned, I was extremely lucky.”
Officials emphasized that sharks are a natural part of the ocean ecosystem and that attacks on humans are uncommon.
RENEE LEE (Boonville): Haven’t seen one of these guys in a long time.
WILLITS MAN ARRESTED FOR SELLING THC-LACED POPCORN TO KIDS
A hot-buttered high turns rancid
by Elise Cox
A 55-year-old Willits man was arrested Wednesday in connection with an investigation into THC-laced popcorn allegedly distributed to minors from a mobile stand in Fort Bragg, authorities said.
Officers with the Fort Bragg Police Department, assisted by the Willits Police Department and other agencies, arrested Michael James Fraser, 55, of Willits on March 18 after serving a search and arrest warrant at a warehouse in the 100 block of South Street in Willits.
Fraser was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Mendocino County Jail on a warrant issued by the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office. He faces charges including furnishing cannabis to minors and child endangerment.
The investigation began in July 2025 after police received a report that an unidentified man had provided popcorn suspected of being laced with THC — the psychoactive compound in cannabis — to minors from a mobile popcorn stand operating in Fort Bragg.
THC-laced popcorn is a cannabis edible made by coating popped popcorn with butter or oil infused with tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Unlike smoked cannabis, edibles are processed through the digestive system, which can delay the onset of effects and prolong intoxication.
Authorities said samples of the popcorn were collected and tested, and laboratory results confirmed the presence of THC.
Investigators later identified Fraser as the suspect, alleging he operated under the business name “The Popcorn Connection.”
During the March 18 search, officers seized evidence related to the case, police said.
(Mendolocal.news)
LOCAL EVENTS (today)
THE MOTHER OF ALL SCAMS (NORTHCOAST DIVISION)
The Great Redwood Trail Master Plan Approved
Trail development to commence for world-class Northern California rail-trail system
The Great Redwood Trail Agency (GRTA) board approved its Great Redwood Trail Master Plan during yesterday's meeting. After more than three years of robust community engagement and careful planning, the roadmap is set for designing, constructing, and managing the Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt County segments of the world-class, rail-to-trail project on the former Northwestern Pacific Railroad line in Northern California. This project achieves multiple goals at once: ecosystem restoration and protection, tourism and economic development, and major state investment in a rural region.
State Senator Mike McGuire celebrated on March 19th: "Today marks a major milestone for the Great Redwood Trail and for Northern California. This Master Plan is the result of years of hard work and partnership—bringing together thousands from across the region including Tribal and local government leaders, neighbors and outdoor enthusiasts to build a trail that will help advance generational change in the North Coast, spur economic development, create jobs, and provide the public unparalleled access to some of the most stunning landscapes in the world."
McGuire added, "As implementation gets underway, we're not just building a trail but creating jobs, boosting tourism, and driving long-term economic growth in rural communities. The Great Redwood Trail is a once-in-a-generation investment, and I'm grateful to the thousands of residents who spoke out to shape this document and for the GRTA Board for helping bring this vision to life."
"And stay tuned," the Senator flagged. "Now that the Plan has been adopted, we'll have another major announcement about the Great Redwood Trail soon."
The Great Redwood Trail
When completed, the 300-plus miles of the Great Redwood Trail (GRT) will be one of the longest rail-to-trail conversion projects in the United States, winding through five Northern California counties; from the San Francisco Bay through wine country, farm lands, mountains, Redwood forests, across rivers, to the Humboldt Bay and beyond. This newly-approved Master Plan covers 231 miles to be developed by the Great Redwood Trail Agency, traversing the northernmost three counties: Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt.
"We're transforming abandoned rail and ecological damage into restoration and beautiful trails. The Great Redwood Trail will create lasting memories for thousands of locals and visitors," shared Mary Sackett, Chair of The Great Redwood Trail Agency and Marin County Supervisor.
While locals and visitors alike benefit from hiking, biking, horseback riding, kayaking, wildlife watching, rural town tourism, and even commuting, at its core the GRT is an ecological restoration project. Transforming the neglected properties once owned by the now-defunct Northwestern Pacific Railroad will involve removing hazardous materials and equipment, shoring up damaged slopes, restoring and protecting wildlife corridors and habitats for riparian species like the steelhead and salmon, restoring local native plants, and much more.
"The Coastal Conservancy is proud to have supported the Great Redwood Trail Agency since its inception with staff time, expertise, and funding." said Amy Hutzel, Executive Officer of the State Coastal Conservancy. "The Great Redwood Trail will be a landmark trail for the State of California, opening public access to some of Northern California's most extraordinary landscapes in ways that protect and restore their ecological values."
The GRT is also a major infrastructure project with impressive economic benefits. Most of the tens of millions of dollars invested through state awards will go directly to the local partners, staff, contractors, and vendors whose work will make the GRT possible. Once completed, the Mendocino-Trinity-Humboldt stretch of the Great Redwood Trail alone is forecasted to create more than $102.5 million in local economic benefit per year (in 2023 dollars.) That's nearly $170,000 a day in daily business revenue connected to the GRT.
Hank Seemann, Public Works Deputy-Director with the County of Humboldt, expects that the Master Plan will be a catalyst for advancing projects similar to the recently completed trail between Eureka and Arcata along Humboldt Bay. According to Seemann, "The historical railroad corridor on the North Coast is an immensely valuable and important public asset. The State's vision and investment in creating the Great Redwood Trail is an incredible opportunity to create paved paths and natural surface trails for transportation and recreation while also reducing flooding risks, cleaning up legacy contamination, and restoring degraded habitat."
The Great Redwood Trail Master Plan
The newly-approved GRT Master Plan is a roadmap for all elements of trail development, including trail design, operations and maintenance, habitat restoration, funding, and management. Its enumeration of applicable protections for the environment and for sensitive California Native American Tribe cultural spaces and resources applies to segments directly developed by GRTA as well as those developed by Tribal, nonprofit, or local government partners.
This Master Plan covers Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties. The Great Redwood Trail in Sonoma and Marin Counties will be planned and constructed by SMART (Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit.) Thanks to significant funding and technical assistance from the State Coastal Conservancy, the Master Plan was developed by Alta Planning + Design, with support from North Coast Opportunities, Redwood Community Action Agency, and Jen Rice Consults.
Feasibility. The process that led to this completed Master Plan began with a feasibility study from 2018 to 2020, which was initiated by the California State Legislature through the passage of SB 1029.
Community engagement. Several years of robust engagement with trail-adjacent communities followed. After the 2024 release of the draft GRT Master Plan 725 participants across 32 community and Tribal events, six in-person and four online workshops weighed in. The GRTA project team also held more than 70 direct stakeholder meetings with business owners, trail users, environmental advocates, landowner groups, ranchers, farm bureaus, rural economic development organizations, tourism and visitor bureaus, vineyard owners, houseless service providers, law enforcement, first responders, youth-focused non-profits and Tribal, local, state and federal agencies.
The GRTA also received 767 completed surveys, and more than 600 written comments, including 37 substantive letters during the scoping comment periods for the draft Master Plan and PEIR (Programmatic Environmental Impact Report). The input resulted in clearer policy recommendations, expanded management strategies, and more defined implementation responsibilities in the final version. Sections 2.2 and 2.3 of the Master Plan explain in more detail how public and Tribal input impacted the process and outcomes.
GRTA's Executive Director Elaine Hogan commented, "I am impressed and deeply grateful to the hundreds of people who contributed their visions, concerns, and creative thinking to the development of the plan." She added, "These years of broad and lively community conversations and input have been invaluable to building a Master Plan that serves the needs of communities along the trail corridor." Hogan summarized, "As many have said, 'If legacy industry is going to leave behind a mess, let's clean it up together and in the end get a publicly accessible trail with amenities for recreation and active transportation.' This solution is better for the environment, the economy, and community connections."
Tribal engagement included direct outreach to more than 35 California Native American Tribes and Tribal/Native interest associations; attendance at more than a dozen tribal community events; presentations at many tribal government and coalition meetings and workshops; and a webinar for Tribal leaders and representatives.
GRTA representatives also held multiple direct and in-depth conversations with tribal members and leaders, including formal consultation meetings with four Tribes, through AB 52 "Tribal Cultural Resources" and the State Coastal Commission's tribal consultation policy.
Jason Ramos, Tribal Chairperson of the Blue Lake Rancheria, affirmed, "The Great Redwood Trail project is a critical opportunity to restore fish habitat, protect cultural resources, and build an economy that benefits the north coast communities who have always called this place home. The Master Plan for trail development represents a meaningful step toward ensuring that Tribal communities are not just consulted, but are genuine partners in how this land is stewarded and celebrated. Blue Lake Rancheria is committed to staying at the table every step of the way."
Organizing Trail Development. The Master Plan's appendices dive deep into the complex planning and design parameters for each of the 43 segments. Segments were defined based on practical considerations like, "Does this stretch connect communities?", "Are trail types and conditions similar across this segment?", "Are there partners who could help develop this segment?"
Jurisdictions that have already designed and built segments of the GRT corridor covered by this Master Plan include the Ukiah Rail Trail, Willits Rail Trail, Eureka Waterfront Trail, Humboldt Bay Trail, Arcata Rail Trail, Annie and Mary Trail, and sections of the California Coastal Trail.
Carol Vandermeer, long-time trails advocate and a member of The GRTA master planning team, reflected, "Never have I seen such sheer community joy as I did on the Bay Trail South opening celebration for the segment from Arcata to Eureka. I'm looking forward to seeing the segment continue to grow southwards from Eureka to College of the Redwoods, and then Loleta. Trail planning and development takes time, but I believe that piece by piece we will get there, learning and integrating knowledge as we go. Community and Tribal input and participation will be ongoing and an important part of realizing the full vision for the trail."
What's Next?
While a few GRT segments are already constructed or nearly done, the majority are not yet in development. With the Master Plan approved, GRTA can begin prioritizing development according to the criteria laid out in Section Six. These criteria ask, "Which segments will create the greatest and fastest benefits for trail users, adjacent communities, and the environment?", "Which are low-hanging fruit, and could be developed efficiently because they have the fewest construction or permitting barriers, and the most community and trail partner support?"
Community engagement will continue as each segment is prioritized for development. The GRTA is developing multiple modes for ongoing public communication and community engagement:
Good Neighbor: The immediate priority is to make sure the owners of all 10,000 – 15,000 parcels adjacent to each prioritized trail segment are fully apprised, every step of the way, of trail development plans, approaches, timelines, and opportunities to ask questions and discuss unique situations. Communications channels will include letters, emails, community meetings, direct negotiations, and a text/phone alert system specific to each trail segment.
Collaborating: As trail segment priorities are announced, GRTA expects organized groups to contribute to or lead design and development of trail segment projects in their communities. Interested parties can sign up online to get notified about opportunities for ongoing community input and participation when a nearby Great Redwood Trail segment is being prioritized for development.
Earning. GRTA prefers to hire locally whenever possible. They invite landscapers, engineers, contractors, truckers, fence-builders, heavy equipment operators, grant writers, and more to bookmark GRTA Bids for upcoming opportunities.
Volunteering & Advocating: People with personal or professional dedication to outdoor recreation or tourism all along the GRT are invited to become a GRTA volunteer or advocate. Volunteerism opportunities will begin once a coordinator is brought on board. GRTA Advocates will receive spokesperson training and opportunities to tell their stories about how trails like this improve lives. Those interested can start by signing up for notifications. .
The Great Redwood Trail segments that have already been developed thanks to active local government and community leadership are already seeing heavy use. Approximately 17 miles of trail are currently open to the public in Humboldt and Mendocino counties with about 40 miles in active planning or construction. The latest Ukiah segment is complete, with a grand opening celebration on April 26th in celebration of National Trails Day.
"For many of us, getting out on the trails is key to our health and wellbeing. In our rural communities people travel on highways and streets without sidewalks. And yet we all know that when you provide pleasant, convenient trails, people will hike, run, and bike more often. That's why the local Ukiah Valley Trail Group has been working for more than ten years to mobilize volunteers to criss-cross Mendocino County with accessible trails through our beautiful landscapes. We're thrilled to see this major state infrastructure investment in regional trail-building. This means taxpayer dollars are going directly into work that matches our local values and needs," remarked Neil Davis, Director, Ukiah Valley Trail Group.
OFFSHORE MARINE-LIFE TOURS
Noyo Pelagics has the first all-day offshore "pelagic" birding trip of the season scheduled for Saturday April 4. This will be a 10-hour trip aboard the Kraken, operated by Anchor Charter Boats with Captain Richard Thornton at the helm.
Details and sign-up links can be found at https://noyopelagics.com/
The all-day trips are primarily focused on seabirds that are rarely seen from shore, although we do stop to look at marine mammals when we encounter them (dolphins, whales, and fur-seals are fairly commonly seen). At this time of year we can expect lots of Black-footed Albatrosses, many coming all the way from the Hawaiian Islands to gather food for their chicks. We also often see a Laysan Albatross in spring, and last year we hit the jackpot with the rare Short-tailed Albatross on three spring trips (unprecedented in California). Tufted Puffin is also a possibility, as we saw them several times last year. Many other seabirds are possible and we will especially be hoping to find Petrels, the ultimate open-ocean specialists that travel thousands of miles with little effort, as they move from the northern to southern Pacific Ocean preparing to breed.
Every trip to offshore deep water is an adventure into a different world, an ecosystem most people don't know about and few people get to experience firsthand. We're fortunate here to have the Noyo Canyon submarine feature that brings the deepwater offshore ecosystem within reach for a day-trip. It's part of the reason our nearshore marine ecosystem is so productive, and it attracts a wide variety of marine life.
It's close enough to the harbor that we can run half-day (5-hour) trips and one of those is scheduled for Sunday April 19. Noyo Pelagics should have a link for reservations up soon for that one. We also sometimes organize short-notice trips for locals, when we can see good weather conditions in the forecast. To find out about those, join the Mendocino-Pelagics email list: https://groups.io/g/Mendocino-Pelagics
CATCH OF THE DAY, Friday, March 20, 2026
CONNOR BERG, 21, Willits. Failure to appear.
CHRISTOL CHILES, 50, Fort Bragg. Failure to appear.
THOMAS DAVIS, 27, Oakland. DUI, resisting.
JESSICA DIAZ, 33, Ukiah. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, failure to appear, probation revocation.
MICHAEL GRAY, 54, Morgan Hill/Ukiah. Probation revocation.
JUSTIN GREER, 43, Willits. Felon-addict with firearm, ammo possession by prohibited person, resisting.
CASANDRA GUERRA, 35, Ukiah. Stolen property, conspiry to commit mail theft, getting credit with someone else’s ID, failure to appear, probation revocation.
FERNANDO HEREDIA-CASTRO, 43, Ukiah. Probation revocation.
FERNANDO JOAQUIN, 31, Covelo. Attempted carjacking, attempted robbery, paraphernalial, conspiracy.
JONATHAN MIRAVALLE, 40, Ukiah. Controlled substance.
ANNETTE PASTRANA, 43, Willits. Criminal storage of firearm.
DARRELL PIKE JR., 31, Hopland. Evidence tampering, paraphernalia, county parole violation.
JASON RAICA, 47, Westport. Probation revocation.
THEODORE SCHREINER, 41, Ukiah. Domestic battery, robbery.
KOL SHOFAR CALLS TIBURON POLICE TO DETAIN THIS REPORTER; Block Mill Valley Attorney; and Eject Activist.
Attendees provided multiple recordings from inside the event space where Senator McGuire addressed "antisemitism" legislation.
by Eva Chrysanthe
Last night, Kol Shofar restricted at least three individuals from attending its “Antisemitism Legislation Conversation”, featuring California State Senator Mike McGuire. Nothing in Kol Shofar’s advertising for the “conversation” indicated that the event, featuring one of the most powerful elected officials in Sacramento, would be restricted to the general public.
Multiple elected officials entered the nearly lily-white event despite knowing that several of McGuire’s constituents had been blocked.
There’s much to unpack from the videos I recorded outside Kol Shofar last night, and from the recordings leaked to me from inside the event.
I’ll have the full story on Monday. For now, I hope readers will notice a pattern of major pro-Israel Jewish institutions (including the Bay Area JCRC and even Congregation Kol Shofar) using taxpayer-funded police to restrict access to public events (and publicly advertised events) to reporters, educators, and activists.
In the meantime, here’s a brief excerpt of video I shot while detained by Tiburon Police to give you an idea of the scene…
https://marincountyconfidential.substack.com/p/preview-video-kol-shofar-calls-tiburon
QUESTION OF THE DAY. How did the vacuous Mike McGuire, magically described in regional newspapers as "the most powerful man in the state legislature," also become a propagandist for Israel? McGuire appeared this week in, of all places, Tiburon, where he was invited to speak about the pandering anti-Semitism legislation he's sponsoring. (The prominent Marin writer, Eva Chrysanthe, a frequent contributor to the ava was barred from attending.)
PENALIZE DISTRACTED DRIVERS
Editor,
Why are people who willfully do not look at the road while driving treated any differently from intoxicated drivers?
I’d feel a whole lot safer sharing the road with a driver over the legal limit who is looking at the road than with a sober one who, given the choice between looking ahead and staring at their phone, chooses their phone.
Why are these people not sent right off to jail while losing their licenses, too? The reason the phenomenon is on the rise is that it’s not being treated seriously with big penalties.
Larry Schorr
San Francisco
LITTLE BIG BROTHER AT THE CARLISLE: CENSORSHIP AT SAN FRANCISCO SENIOR LIVING FACILITY
by Jonah Raskin
Life in senior communities has been dissected in two recent shows: Man on the Inside with Ted Danson and The Thursday Murder Club starring Helen Mirren. They have not described the kind of censorship I have experienced at The Carlisle in San Francisco, a city known for free speech ever since Lawrence Ferlinghetti published Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl and Judge Clayton Horn ruled that it was not obscene.
I thought that my experiences with censorship had ended after I retired from Sonoma State University where the president of the school aimed to censor the student newspaper. As the faculty adviser who taught a course on libel, privacy and copyright, I was cast as the fall guy and refused to fall. When I moved to The Carlisle in San Francisco and inherited the position of editor for the residents’ monthly newsletter I discovered that a local version of Big Brother was watching me and the publication. Ouch!
In the Sixties when I wrote for the underground press I took the pen name Jomo. Now I edit and write uder the name Jojo. For a year or so I encountered zero issues with management. Then a new executive director took over and decided he had the authority to act as the censor of the newsletter. He objected to the comments by one of the concierges who complained about the treatment of Black people in Minneapolis. I published her comments uncensored and in a headline described her as “Black and Beautiful.”
The executive director told me “there are no Black people in Minneapolis.” When I asked him what he would do if I didn’t go along with his plans, he said he would “get rid of me and hire someone else to edit the newsletter. “ At that point I censored myself and cut the sentences that offended him. They would have appeared in the March 2026 issue. I would not do that again. Self-censorship is the worst kind. The author or creator does the dirty work of the censor.
When I gave fellow residents news about the executive director, they were incensed. One resident said, “we pay thousands of dollars to live here. We should enjoy freedom of speech and the press.”
An employee at The Carlisle does the layout and design and makes about 100 copies on the copier and puts one in the open mail slot for each and every resident. A retired UC Berkeley professor proofreads. Mostly, residents approve of the newsletter, though they often ask for more news about The Carlisle and less news about the world beyond. Recently, I’ve been asked to publish more articles about longtime residents, not new arrivals. Fair enough.
Under California Health & Safety Code § 1569.269, residents in care facilities for the elderly have “personal rights” protected by state law. They have the right to be free from “interference, coercion, discrimination, and retaliation.” They also have the right to organize, and the right to “uncensored” freedom of communication.
Jill Ellison, the membership and volunteer coordinator at San Francisco Village, a community for seniors, assured me that elders in senior living facilities enjoy the same freedoms accorded citizens in the society at large. That’s how it should be, though censorship has increasingly become a part of the cultural climate in the US. So, I’m not surprised that the executive director at The Carlisle, a little Big Brother, wanted to control the content of the newsletter and use it as a “marketing tool.”
I’m working on the April issue now. This time around I probably won’t cut any content that the executive director dislikes unless it’s blatantly libelous or an egregious invasion of privacy. He never hired me, so he can’t fire me, and if he assumes control of the newsletter, he’ll have to do the work himself. Then no one will want to read it. The residents are already put off by the weekly emails he sends out in which he says how much he does and will do for them and how wonderful they are. That’s the iron fist inside a velvet glove. No thanks.
(Jonah Raskin is the author of Beat Blues, San Francisco, 1955.)
HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE
Editor,
Regarding “Family of 5-year-old sues California ski resort over a hot chocolate burn”: It seems to me that we have become a society of blame. People do not want to take responsibility for anything.
In this case, why didn’t the parents check the heat of the cup before their daughter drank her hot chocolate? Instead of doing the responsible thing, they blame the server and the resort.
As a therapist, I work with many teachers, and listening to them talk about their difficulties with parents, I see the same thing. It’s never their child’s fault; it’s the educators, the schools, the friend of their child.
Wake up, people, it is time to take responsibility for ourselves, our problems, our country and our actions, and how they affect the world.
Cindy Richardson
Santa Rosa
POEM
I’m in the house.
It’s nice out: warm
sun on cold snow.
First day of spring
or last of winter.
My legs run down
the stairs and out
the door, my top
half here typing
— Ron Padgett
ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY
From my 50+ years experience with the legal system I could rant on and on over the failings of lawyers managing anything. But much of the mess we are in has been created by lawyers (and lobbyists) and the necessary reconstruction of democracy, correcting the broken elements in the system and holding people to account for corruption will require some very good legal minds. Like it or not, the key question for every candidate is really “what are you going to do to fix [issue, problem].
DETENTION CENTERS
by Fred Gardner
"Detention Center" (replacing "prison") is hereby added to our two-words-for one list. To review…
There's been a trend in the American language whereby two words are substituted for one. For example, ” Human Resources” has replaced “Personnel.” Some more examples of our own private replacement theory:
“Reached out” … replaces called, contacted, and the more informative emailed and phoned.
“Mission Statement” … replaces mission. "Goals" would be even briefer, and less pretentious,
Administrative Assistant … replaces secretary.
social anxiety … shyness
skill set … skills
Price Point. … price
Environmental technician … janitor or custodian
Replacement Workers … scabs
Public Relations … publicity
Passed Away … died
Strategic Plan … Either strategy or plan will do.
Clinical Depression … gloom, misery, melancholy, the blues
Venture Capitalist … financier
Turkey Vulture … buzzard
Gender Affirming Treatment … sex change
Advocate for … advocate (which means “to call for”)
Food Insecurity … hunger
Neoliberal Reforms … privatization
Shined on … misled
Supply Chain … inventory … (Globalization changed where and how things got manufactured, so the twofer is sort of justified.)
Atmospheric River … rainstorm
Inner City … ghetto or slum
Content Creators … writers … artists
Job Creators … employers … bosses
Post-Traumatic Stress … shell shock
Underprivileged … poor
Wide Receiver … end
Ralph Nader notes that “white-collar crime” has replaced “corporate crime.”
In Men In Black (1997), Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith use a gun-like device that erases the memory of civilian witnesses. In real life the memory-erasing function is performed by The Culture (language being the very fabric of the culture). Fortunately, not all the changes are imposed from above by management consultants, broadcasters, publishers, academics and influencers. Some of the changes come from below, from the street, from straight outa Compton.
The trend towards euphemism, obfuscation and pseudo-science may have started when the Defense Department replaced the War Department after World War Two. When President Trump changed it back in 2025, I saluted.
An exception that proves the rule is “outsourcing,” a vague, obscurantist word introduced in the 1970s to replace "overseas production." Our corporate masters, who underwrite the creation of The Culture from above, did not and do not want US workers focusing on what was really going on. By replacing “inventory" with "supply chain," they normalize the idea that what’s needed to manufacture a product in, say, Akron, Ohio, comes from overseas. (A great band, homegrown in Akron, sang “We are Devo, D E V O!”)
Three-fer: Refuse Disposal Area … dump
NO PLAN HEGSETH
Editor:
I felt ill reading the article about Pete Hegseth. Hegseth is the self-proclaimed secretary of war — formerly known as secretary of defense, and that says a lot about where we are. Donald Trump attacked Iran, illegally and unconstitutionally. Only Congress can declare war on another country. Trump never bothered to ask Congress for permission. He has no plan, and he didn’t even evacuate Americans in the Middle East, who were desperate to get out as the war widened. Hegseth is a little boy playing “Call of Duty.” He said he would “take no quarter” — a military term that means that everyone will be killed, including prisoners of war. He has no idea what he’s doing, and we are in deep trouble. As the widow of a combat veteran in Vietnam, the entire article sickened me. Please publish the truth about Iran. People need to hear it.
Connie Kellogg
Sebastopol
MEMO OF THE AIR: Good Night Radio all Friday night on KNYO and KAKX.
Soft deadline to email your writing for tonight's (Friday night's) MOTA show is six or eight or so.
Memo of the Air: Good Night Radio is every Friday, 9pm to approximately 5am PST on 107.7fm KNYO-LP Fort Bragg and KNYO.org. The first three hours of the show, meaning till midnight, are simulcast on KAKX 89.3fm Mendocino.
Plus you can always go to https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com and hear last week's MOTA show. By Saturday night I'll put up the recording of tonight's show. You'll find plenty of other educational amusements there to educate and amuse yourself with until showtime, or any time, such as:
It's life, Jim. https://misscellania.blogspot.com/2026/03/life-in-jar.html
A few weeks ago we saw how the Brits got electric guitars in the 1960s. Here's how we get electric guitars now. https://laughingsquid.com/making-gibson-les-paul-guitars/
And "You know what insults Jesus?" https://christiannightmares.substack.com/p/not-a-nightmare-james-talarico-scorches
Marco McClean, [email protected], https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com
WHEN SHE WAS 16, General Douglas MacArthur brought her to America as his secret mistress—then paid her to disappear when scandal threatened his career.
Isabel Rosario Cooper, known as "Dimples," was a young, talented actress and dancer in Manila’s entertainment scene. Barely 16, she was already captivating audiences with her beauty and grace. Across the world, Douglas MacArthur, 50, the commanding general of U.S. forces in the Philippines, was a man of enormous power—commanding armies, recently separated from his wife, and in a position of absolute influence.
When they met, Isabel was just a teenager and MacArthur was an older, powerful figure. He began a secret relationship with her, one that he kept hidden from his family and the public. When MacArthur was reassigned to Washington D.C. in 1930, he brought Isabel with him, but discreetly. He set her up in a private apartment, keeping her hidden away, out of sight from everyone, including his influential mother. Isabel’s life became a shadowed existence—dependent on MacArthur emotionally and financially, unable to pursue her career, and kept out of the public eye for four years.
Then, in 1934, journalist Drew Pearson uncovered the relationship. The ensuing scandal threatened MacArthur’s career. He responded by suing Pearson for libel. However, as the case progressed, undeniable proof of the affair came to light—letters, financial records, and other evidence that showed MacArthur had maintained a relationship with a much younger Filipina woman in secret.
To avoid further damage to his reputation, MacArthur settled quickly and made Isabel an offer. He would pay her $15,000—an enormous sum in 1934—if she would leave Washington and vanish from his life. Isabel, left with few options, accepted the money. She didn’t return to the Philippines, but instead moved to Los Angeles in search of a new life, hoping to revive her acting career.
Hollywood, however, was unwelcoming to a Filipina actress in the 1930s. Roles for women like her were limited and often degrading. Isabel struggled to find work, and her dreams of a successful career were slowly crushed under the weight of her past relationship with MacArthur. Meanwhile, MacArthur’s career flourished. He married Jean Faircloth in 1937, and by World War II, he was one of the most famous generals in American history.
Isabel’s struggles continued in relative obscurity. She lived for 26 years in the shadow of MacArthur’s glory, her own dreams unfulfilled. On February 14, 1960, at the age of 46, Isabel died by suicide in Los Angeles.
The newspapers that reported her death referred to her primarily as “MacArthur’s former companion.” Even in death, she was defined by her relationship with him.
Isabel’s life was marked by power dynamics that consumed her future. She was 16 when she met MacArthur, and from that moment, her fate became intertwined with his. She had dreams of acting, but her relationship with one of the most powerful men in the world forced her into a life of dependence and silence.
This story is not just about a scandal involving a powerful man. It’s a story of exploitation—of a young woman used, discarded, and forgotten. MacArthur continued to climb in stature, his reputation intact, while Isabel faded into obscurity, unable to escape the past.
Isabel Rosario Cooper was more than MacArthur’s secret mistress. She was a talented young woman whose career was ruined by a power imbalance she could not control. Her struggles and ultimate death should remind us of the real cost of these power dynamics—of how young women are still often exploited and discarded by powerful men.
Isabel’s life mattered. Her dreams mattered. And she deserves to be remembered with dignity, not as just a footnote in someone else’s story.
AT THE TURN of the 20th century, Grace Parks, an orphan, was taken in at China Camp on San Pablo Bay. Welfare officials tried to remove her, believing a white girl should not live among the Chinese.
She stayed, and grew up to marry Henry Quan, a Chinese-American, also raised at China Camp. Because California outlawed interracial marriage, they wed in Reno, Nevada.
The Quans had a daughter and three sons. They remained devoted to China Camp, running family businesses there under often daunting circumstances. Their son Frank became a renowned steward of China Camp history, community, and culture. Grace passed away in 1971, having lived nearly all of her life at China Camp.
In 2003, National Park Service volunteers and staff gathered to build a replica of one of the many Chinese shrimp-fishing vessels that had sailed San Pablo Bay in the 1800s. Chinese fishermen had carried the design from their home waters in Guangdong Province, China, and adapted it to California materials like redwood, oak, and flaxseed.
Frank Quan and John C. Muir, a curator at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, were key collaborators on the project. They named the boat after Frank's mother, Grace Quan, who had become the matriarch of China Camp.
The Grace Quan, a beautiful "working sailing museum" now docks between China Camp in Marin and the Maritime Park in San Francisco, educating the public about Chinese-American history in California.
MARCH MEDIA MADNESS: Determining America's Worst Podcaster
Bracketology meets podcasting as we make sport of the influencer game. Plus, a $1000 reader contest
by Matt Taibbi
Welcome to March Media Madness, the inaugural tournament to crown America’s Worst Podcaster! Happily, this first intellectual airball extravaganza takes place amid a podcaster-driven global panic over a Jeffrey Epstein-driven World War that’s ignited mass firings, arrests, media self-immolations, viral fraggings, and a cancel culture program that for once, left and right can agree upon.
These, in other words, are the podcaster salad days, when the musings of Candace Owens, Jennifer Welch, Chris Cillizza, and Tucker Carlson are more important than interest rate hikes or G8 meetings.
Why an America’s worst Podcaster tournament? Because in this sport, errors and wrongness win. In podcasting, you don’t pile up clicks or shoot up the pod-charts with pinpoint swishes like Louisville’s deep-bombing Curry-but-taller sensation Mikel Brown, or with a Kobestalgic three-level scoring bag like UK’s Darryn Peterson. You do it bricking 40-footers from the logo, taking seven-step layups, and breaking your own ankles with crazy-ass theories that send fact-checkers jumping off buildings.
Though we’re airing wrap-ups of results and lowlights on Today’s News with Michael Tracey, audiences will have a say in outcomes going forward. America’s Worst Podcaster! works like the NCAA tourney, except the wrongest, most depraved, or most indefensibly boring podcaster advances in each round.
Podcasters won’t be the only winners. We’re giving away a $1000 prize to the Racket reader who sends in the best pitch or sample clip for a terrible podcast. The Pedophile Report is quasi-taken, but if you have a craven algorithm-chasing show concept like Witch Hunting For Dollars or Penguins for MAGA or Connecting Shitloads of Dots or whatever, we’ll give the prize to the best pitch. The five closest runners-up will get “It’s a Podcaster Thing, You Wouldn’t Understand” t-shirts. Rumors that Racket will pay extravagantly for the taxidermied heads of The Vanguard are just that, rumors, spread by the lying deep state.
The schedule called for narrowing to a Smug Sixteen by today, March 20th, and Michael and I settled those round-of 16 matchups in today’s show. We’ll narrow to a Fumbling Four by March 29th, and livestream on the night of the championship, announcing an illustrious non-winner simultaneous to the sounding of the buzzer at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The 2026 Worst Podcaster will also win a prize, TBD. Readers familiar with the former editor’s history may have ideas, but rest easy: editor Emily Kopp has decreed a “no sperm” awards process.
A note about already-completed action. Subscribers upset that they missed these matchups should be aware that round-of-32 contests were broadcast on Racket7 and RacketDeportes only. Contact your local cable carrier with questions. As for results, much like NCAA basketball, there are always upsets early, and this year was no exception:
Heather Cox Richardson’s Politics Chat, a heavy favorite thanks to its outstanding decision to use the freedom afforded by independent media to just recreate a lo-tech version of MSNBC (itself a high-tech version of the Democrats.org news page), was the first #1 seed to bow out. She lost in a 28-point blowout to Whitney Webb, whose everything-connects-to-everything-and-if-you-disagree-you’re-paid-to-eat-babies routine has now become more the DNC mainstream than the word of Cox Richardson.
Tucker Carlson was another premature exit, thanks mainly to seeding that saw him matched up against this year’s Fukushima of nonsense-making, Candace Owens. Owens gets negative press for many reasons, but an underrated part of her game is her Is This Crazy Shit True? style of delivery, which is the easiest way to spread dubious ideas without being legally tied to them (her latest is Is Bibi Dead?). Other early casualties include Chris Hayes and Terry Gross (both on leave now that shooting has begun on the first installment of the Marvel Smart Glasses franchise), Benny Johnson and Ted Cruz (who lost on Megyn Kelly’s “Micropenis Mark” buzzer-beater), and of course Katie Couric and Hasan Piker, whose whirlwind romance and subsequent sightings on a Game of Thrones locations-themed honeymoon thrilled paparazzi, but took them out of our action.
Their exits, along with those of Ezra Klein (usually a Gonzaga-like early bracket power), The Young Turks (disqualified over Ana Kasparian’s “moment of sanity” last Fall) left us with the round of 16 contestants above.
GEORGE GALLOWAY:
Twenty three years ago today Tony Blair and George W Bush launched the illegal and merciless invasion of Iraq - they called it Shock and Awe. It was well named. The initial attacks were horrific in scale and recklessness almost entirely indiscriminate. A million Iraqis would be killed, in the war and in the state collapse which would follow. ISIS began in Iraq in the aftermath and would shock and awe us all over the world.
It was worse than a crime it was a blunder, as basically all the world long ago concluded.
Only Tony Blair - who grew richer than a Maharaja on the back of it - still defends it. George Bush, inches from imbecility even at the time can no longer be understood, speaking only in the tongues of senility.
And yet at the time it was far different.
There were a million maybe two millions of us sufficiently opposed to brave all weathers and show our opposition in the streets. It is a matter of pride to have been one of their leaders.
But the British establishment formed a phalanx in support of Blair whatever currents were running underneath.
Amazingly the British media abandoned all previous pretensions of being a fourth estate and became stenographers of the war machine.
Now 23 years later the likes of Andrew Marr - an erstwhile Trotskyist - mumble a half apologia - but most of the commentariat just carried on regardless once the lies on which the war was launched. Triples all round.
The British media died that day.
But it was not the only institution to pass away.
The long held belief - even by me - that though they would twist and deceive by omission though they would happily halve the truth and misdirect no British prime minister defence minister foreign minister would directly LIE to parliament and the people met its end 23 years ago today.
Something essential in British governance died that day. For the British state there would never be glad confident morning again. Now nobody believes them, even if they are telling the truth.
All previous deception about the nature of our country in the post 1945 era died too. That Britain represented good (after a fashion) that we believed in the law, that we stood for something, something removed from the US fashion law of the jungle. That facts mattered that the truth mattered that there would be accountability for disastrous policy failures. These were all slain that day.
With no academic or even educational qualifications to warrant it I turned out to be right about what happened in Iraq. From the university of the mean street from a factory floor I intuitively concluded all that turned out to be right.
The war was based on a pack of lies.
That the invasion of Iraq would not be the beginning of the end but merely the end of the beginning.
That the Iraqis would defend their country with their teeth if necessary and would drive their invaders out.
That Islamist extremism would germinate in this cauldron and fan out across the world.
That the destruction of Arab power in the Gulf could only strengthen Persian power there.
That Iraq would never be a stable single country again.
That the war would beget more and more wars.
That British democracy and our way of life would be damaged fundamentally. And would not recover.
The war destroyed the lives of millions and for it no perpetrator has paid a price.
The only people to lose their jobs over a disaster of this magnitude were the people who opposed it, notably Piers Morgan and me.
But there I stood, I could do no other. Knowing the truth I could not lie or even pretend I didn’t know it.
I still dream of Iraq. It entered my bloodstream and will never leave. When I hear the word Iraq I turn around as if somebody called my name.
A million Iraqis died and a million visceral hatreds arose from their graves. Nobody fears death anymore at the hands of the devils who murdered Iraq. As we are discovering now, and will discover still more, across the border in Iran.
George Galloway
Leader of the Workers Party of Britain
In Exile.
AND THEN THE WORLD CHANGED
by James Kunstler
Europe’s own regulatory architecture turned off Europe’s own energy supply. And America. . . on the other side of the Atlantic with a full tank of gas, watched it happen.” —Jeff Childers
Let’s pause for a moment amid all the excitement to address an abiding mystery of these times: why does the news media seem to be rooting for American failure in the Iran operation? Or more generally, how did the media become handmaiden to the Lefty-left and all its ancillaries? How were they lured into their Cloward-Piven bunker of crypto-Marxian “resistance?”
It’s unlikely that the network executives, news producers, and editors are communists outright. That would take you into a simpleminded John Birch Society fantasyland. Or did they just read too much Antonio Gramsci on campus back in the day. If they’re merely whores pandering to an audience, it’s a dwindling one as the Woke mass formation dissolves and the insanity of its agenda stands naked. (Why not pander to the growing demographic that yearns for a restoration of normality?)
Is the news controlled by the so-called Deep State? Do cadres in the CIA send headlines to the Washington Post newsroom? Many think so. I don’t pretend to know one way or the other. The problem with lying, of course, is that you have to keep lying to protect your previous lies. Does the rise of alt-news across the Internet provoke them to lie harder in the face of better narratives? Or is it just plain old group-think, fear of stepping out-of-synch with tribal certainties and shibboleths? Which is to say, are they merely cowards and cads?
Do they really believe in the totalizing bad faith of the Democratic Party in its naked racketeering and power-seeking? That’s a sinking ship — the party that is now battling to obstruct simple straightforward election reform in the US Senate. Here’s a headline from today’s New York Times:
What will The New York Times do when bona fide, convincing evidence from material seized in recent FBI raids in Georgia and Arizona shows that recent elections were arrantly and knowingly rigged? It’s going to happen, you know. And if the procedural delays in the Senate drag out for weeks over the SAVE Act, the truth is likely to emerge while the bill is still in process, and will slam the whole country in the face, like thirty inches of re-bar. Will the newspaper print an apology to its readers?
We’re in a season of whacking great change in global and national affairs. “Epic Fury” in Iran will neutralize a regime dedicated to terrorizing the region and reorder the world’s energy flows to the disadvantage of America’s adversaries. China will lose its deep discount on imported Iranian oil just as in Venezuela a month ago. It already lost control of the Panama Canal as well. All its inroads around the western hemisphere have been nullified in this first year of Trump 2.0. China has to play nicer with America now.
The crisis has demonstrated that the US can’t depend on its NATO allies — who either refused to send ships to assist, or dawdled over it — which can allow the US to step away from the enormous expense that NATO imposes on us, and also from the tarbaby known as Ukraine. The truth is, we are ideologically more aligned with post-Soviet Russia than we are with France, Germany, and UK under their current regimes. Ironically, the Russians, with Hungary, Poland, and the Czechs, are the last earnest defenders of Western Civ. Europe has apparently elected to go medieval, anyway. They like to pretend that they can maintain a high standard of living without oil or natgas, a formula so obdurately stupid that only the most awful hardship might avail to change their policies.
This month, the US leaped to create a maritime insurance alternative to Lloyds of London, meaning the UK banks can no longer impose a 20-percent cost premium on Persian Gulf oil, which thunders through the global system and affects everyone. We’ve already stepped away from the UN-backed international Net Zero carbon pricing scam on tanker and container ships. The economics of oil are going through a quick and decisive readjustment. With an end to Iran’s threats to world peace, the US can eventually leave policing of the Persian Gulf to the nations that depend on its oil (we do not).
Meanwhile, the US will continue pounding Iran until it can’t launch so much as a distress flare. They will have no nukes, no navy or air force, no more missiles and drones and payloads, and no ability to manufacture anymore of them. And if they try, we will blow them up again. That’s real politics, not performative diplomatic jive. Sooner or later, the Revolutionary Guard regime will disintegrate and someone else will have to step up. The Iranian people deserve a chance to live in the sunlight after what they’ve been through for a half century. But it’s really up to them to make it happen. It’s pretty obvious that the American President and his people understand that.
(kunstler.com)
I SAW A CLIP of Fox News war propagandist Sean Hannity solemnly reading a tweet by Atlantic Council fellow Jamie Metzl which said, “It is profoundly disturbing that a growing segment of the far left appears to be almost rooting for Hamas, Hezbollah, the Iranian regime, and other forces fundamentally opposed to the US and our allies. This seems to reflect a corrosive strain of anti-Americanism dressed up in post-colonial theory that risks blinding us to the moral realities of our world and the nature of our adversaries.”
These assholes really thought they could commit a genocide in full view of the entire world for years and then expect everyone cheer for them to win.
Of course we’re seeing more “anti-Americanism”. You don’t get to commit horrific atrocities year after year and then cry when the world starts to hate you.
— Caitlin Johnstone
"GENERALLY SPEAKING, you’re free till you’re about four years old, five, around. Then you go to grammar school, and then you start becoming demented and solved, and orientated and shoved into areas. You lose what individualism you have, if you have enough, of course, you retain some of it, but most don't have enough, so they become watchers of game shows, you know, things like that. Then you work the 8 hour job with almost a feeling of goodness, like you’re doing something, and you get married, like marriage is a victory and you have children like having children is a victory, but most things people do are a total grind: marriage, birth, children, it’s something they have to do because they have nothing else to do. There is no glory in it, no esteem, no fire, it's very, very flat. And the earth is full of them. Sorry, but that’s the way I see it."
— Charles Bukowski
"WAR IS ESSENTIALLY AN EVIL THING. Its consequences are not confined to the belligerent states alone, but affect the whole world. To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."
— International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, 1946
LEAD STORIES, SATURDAY'S NYT
Trump Says U.S. Looking at ‘Winding Down’ the War, but Not a Cease-Fire
Hamas Considering Disarmament Plan From Trump’s Board of Peace, Officials Say
A Few Ships Are Trickling Through the Strait of Hormuz With Iran’s Approval
Switzerland Blocks Arms Sales to U.S. Over the War
U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Some Iranian Oil to Get More to Market
U.K. Allows U.S. to Use Bases to Hit Iranian Forces Menacing Strait Traffic
Deferring to Trump, G.O.P. Lawmakers Resist a Public Accounting on Iran
Hegseth Invokes Divine Purpose to Justify Military Might
TIME FOR REGIME CHANGE in both the US and Israel to restore international law. While other states, like Russia and China, have undoubtedly committed grave offences, some on multiple occasions, none approach the breadth of America's and Israel's combined record — illegal wars, prolonged occupations, orchestrated coups, false-flag operations, assassinations, and destabilizing interventions spanning continents. If a genuine global campaign is ever needed to enforce accountability through regime change, it must begin with Washington and Tel Aviv.
— Chris Hedges
Keep on fighting the Trumpers trying to destroy our precious freedom of the press, Jonah. You’re a gifted journalist and writer on the right side of literary history–don’t let them stifle your voice.
In homage to Jonah Raskin’s literary pursuits, I note that his current residence, the Carlisle, shares a name with the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, the setting of John Sayles’s 2025 “To Save the Man,” which takes place in 1890 during the events leading up to Wounded Knee. It started 20 years ago as a screenplay that Sayles couldn’t get financed, so he turned it into the superb novel that I am currently reading. Struggle on, O Writers, and survive!
And Kitty Carlile, of the Marx Brothers’ /A Night At the Opera/, several other movies of that era, stage productions and actual operas, and a permanent panelist for 46 years on /To Tell the Truth/.
The grand opening of Frey Vineyard in Redwood Valley
https://youtu.be/oYKrKNpIfWg?si=ozBBiLxN62oaiy6w