As I’m sure you’ve heard I recently was sentenced to 30 days, plus 5 more for fees, for resisting!. As I’m also sure your are aware, I will be on a hunger strike during this lock down. This is actually an unusual trip to jail. Since I don’t plan when to stand up, or more accurately when cops will violate my Mother Earth, or her Children, so normally I’m just thrown in jail, and have no time to prepare for a hunger strike. This time however I am doing it the way I always said I would do it if I had time to prepare.
I am starting my strike on the 20th of October, at 1:30. I am striking in solidarity with our movement, Days of Action to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and Criminalization. I am striking against what happened to me and all prisoners who have been railroaded by corrupt politations, violent cops, dishonest DAs, and good ol’ boy courts. I’m striking against police budgets that consume over half every city’s budgets, while help for the poor is cut again and again. I am striking against the militarization of what hypocrites call ‘peace officers.” I am striking against the cops carrying tazers, and using them in place of the baton, instead of the gun as they claimed they would. I am striking against the police tactics used against the homeless, the special people (I don’t believe in mental “illness”), children, the elderly, disabled, protesters, immigrants, gays, sisters, peoples of color, activists, pot growers, and everybody else who was not hurting anyone and was hurt by the cops.
Hurt might seem vague, but I mean it in the most liberal view. Assuming you harmed no one, and if you had to spend money because you weren’t “behaving” the way the cops wanted you to, then count in yourself in my cause.
America once was described as “the land of liberties.” I always viewed it as a land struggling for liberties, but it is liberty that is the definitive thing we’re striving for. Once we obtain liberty then it truely becomes a free market. With the freedom to protest the G-20, or the RNC, they will quickly capitulate to the demands of the people. Though I really think those who threw the tea in the Harbor at Boston shouldn’t have dressed as Original Americans, I see their actions as those of people denied liberty. Patrick Henry said, “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
The answer to this problem is community. Those with money have a community, though in reality their community is very dysfunctional, yet very hierarchical. We have mutual interest. Maybe I don’t enjoy the activities you do, but I am just as upset about the kids getting jacked up by the cops on my street. With the hierarchical crowd you have to stay for the full monty, but with our community you just have to get involved when it is in your best interest.
Come join me and many others who are mutually cooperating for the betterment of our community, at the Days of action October 22 and 23. If you were always “going to do it someday,” then what are you waiting for. I love my community, and would love to have you joins us.
“Derrick will be speaking at a benefit for the Buffalo Fields Campaign. Mike Mease, co-founder of the BFC, will also be talking about their work to save the Yellowstone Buffalo. Music by Good Shield, founder of 7th Generation Rise. At Old Arcata Old Creamery Building, 1251 9th Street, Arcata, at 6PM.” Link
If you haven’t read Derrick’s books yet you will after hearing what he has to say. If you think, “I’m green,” then you should be there. It might just change the way you view yourself.
I got 30 days for talking 30 seconds too long, and not backing down, at the January 27 Board of Stupid-visors. I was dumb founded! Fuck if I had known that it was only a month I would of really disrupted the shit out of that meeting. In fact I have some good ideas now on how to lock down in the courthouse.
Expect to hear about my up coming hunger-strike. I always hunger-strike in jail. Why? Two reasons: first I am allergic to jail food (it takes me three days of fig eating to shit after eating jail food), and second I’m a raw foodist and they don’t serve those kind of meals.
The bad news about all this is that everyone of you know that if a public official does not like what you said, then they can call the cops and play three-cop-monty with you too.
At the hearing today, I asked for a lawyer, but was refused by the judge (appealing). I also asked for a court reporter, again was refused (trying to work it out with the DA(I have about 50 witnesses)). And, I requested a continuance in my sentencing to allow me time to file a motion for a new trial, but was refused (maybe appealing).
I did file a motion for a new trial though. My motion was lacking many other reasons why I deserved a new trial, but I managed to get in a few reason why it is necessary. The reason I believe I deserve a new trial is because I received an e-mail from a friend that indicated he witnessed two of my witness being coached to lie by who we believe is a DA and definitely a County Counsel. That coaching is why Jimmy Smith couldn’t show the jury where he has sat for the last eight years on a map of the Supervisor’s chamber. That coaching is why I couldn’t get a truthful answer out of any of the county witness.
Again I say it is bullshit convicting someone by deception. If the DA has to resort to dirty tricks to get a conviction then the person probably shouldn’t be tried. “Justice for all” was Gallgos’ campaign slogan, but it is all about the conviction. If you can’t convict someone on what they did, then a “justice for all” DA wouldn’t try them in the first place. But our’s thinks you can have what the defendant did suppressed, his witnesses lie, and his employees coach those witnesses in their lies, and it can be called justice for all. Bullshit Paul!
I will however tomorrow petition the court for a public appointed appeals lawyer. I am also starting the civil side of this costly county expenditure. A bunch of things came out in the trial that I didn’t know, and which I am pretty sure are illegal. I still have one little gap in the chain of events I haven’t worked out – where was Crandall for the 2 minutes I was talking?, after he an Smith stopped conspiring. The cool thing is that if the DA coached witnesses to convict me unlawfully, then he too is a conspirator. One more good-ol’-boy to shoot out of his saddle.
I am working on the full, start to finish, story of what happened. It is pretty easy to figure out what happened by just watching the video. Jimmy Smith didn’t like what I said, so he started a chain of lies and deception that involved half our elected department heads. I hope all you don’t want your potholes fixed, ’cause that money is earmarked for fighting tad.
Anyone who thinks this is a bullshit waist of money, and totally wrong, feel free to call Jimmy Smith (476-2396), Gary Phelps (445-7251), and Paul Gallegos (445-7411), and tell them your not voting for them again. Or just say fuck-you and hang up, what the hell do I care at this point.
The judge threatened me with a year. I diffused that bullshit when I just smiled, shrugged, and said “okay, well you are after all the sentencing judge.” Power can not handle those who speak truth to it. I believe judge Johnson sentenced me to 30 days because I wouldn’t take probation. He might of tried sentencing me to more, but after seeing how the bailiffs (one was ex-code enforcer/sheriff Desadier) didn’t even try to control the booing crowd, I knew I had more balls then he did.
Again I repeat – no regrets, and I’d do it agian! Thanks everyone, I so love my many friends and supporters. Ya’ll fucking rock.
“Get that hair cut, boy. Your gonna get thirty days boy.” Viva la revolution!
The depression is in full swing. I know the Federal Reserve Bank says its a recession and its ending, but that is based on the fact that only a quarter of a million workers lost their jobs last week. Bush was only losing fifty to sixty thousand jobs a month. Now we’re ready to have a ticker tape parade ’cause Obama is only losing a million jobs a month?
On a more personal note my job has been severely disrupted. Not really eliminated, more like sabotaged. I know you’re asking yourself, “how can a dumpster diver’s job get sabotaged?”. There are so many ways, but the particular method employed currently in Arcata is ID discrimination. The Arcata “Community” Recycling Center now requires a photo ID in order for you to receive a refund of the deposit you paid. I neither worship the beast, its image, or carry its mark, either in my hand or in my head. Guess what? Not only is it compelled and you can’t buy or sell without it, but you can’t get your deposit on your soda pop can back either.
This has been going on for a few weeks now. I would of posted this sooner, but I wanted to give Mark Loughmiller, ACRC Executive Director, the chance to do the right thing. I went to talk to him about why he instituted this discriminatory policy, and why he should reconsider his stance. Needless to say he didn’t reconsider his stance, and now its time to start building an action to bring about fairness.
He claimed he instituted the policy because someone stole a “ticket book” and were forging tickets. Like showing the store clerk an ID would prove a twenty dollar bill wasn’t counterfeit. How about having the workers that fill out the tickets sign the damn things? Then only they could forge tickets. That’s both simpler and fairer than not allowing someone to get his or her own money back because they don’t possess a photo ID.
He then said that it was because people steal bottles and cans then sell them to the recycle center. Okay, since it is impossible to prove one pepsi can from another, perhaps a $50 limit in which you don’t need an ID. This seems more than fair seeing how showing an ID or not showing an ID will prove absolutely nothing, thus doing nothing to prevent people from stealing cans. Poor people very seldom have more than $50 dollars worth of recycling, everyone is subject to the rule so it can’t be discriminatory like Mark tried to argue, and it still allows the poor to obtain the refund of the deposit they are due. A rule is discriminatory only if it disproportionately effects a particular class. Allowing no refunds to anyone without an ID is discriminatory, putting a limit equally enforced is not as long as the effected group gets to participate.
ID discrimination disproportionately effects the poor, the young, the aged, minorities, and the houseless. A person goes out and works their ass off to get $5 worth of beer bottles, and then finds out they have to buy someone else a beer in order to cash them in.
Houseless people lose their IDs all the time. Theft, cops, and even just losing it happen more than you sheltered people know. I hear stories all the time about houseless people getting jacked up by the cops and the cop keeping their ID. The cops know it is an extreme burden on a houseless person to obtain the papers needed to get a new ID, not to mention all the things this society won’t let you participate in if you don’t have one.
Mark knows his discriminatory policy does not accomplish the goals he outlines, and it effects the houseless the most. Hundreds of houseless people go around everyday and pull CRV out of trash cans, and off the streets. They do this in lieu of begging you for your spare change. There are no jobs, so they “get a job” by showing initiative, and Mark “Mr. Community” Laughmiller is throwing stumbling blocks in front of them.
I don’t know about the legalities of stealing my deposit, because I don’t have an ID when I go to redeem it. I do however know that the State’s theft, in conspiracy with Mark Loughmiller, of my deposit is in fact a provable theft, where as the theft of a particular beer bottle is speculation at best. I also know that this new policy will prove to be a bigger burden on the poor than it will be successful as a “crime prevention measure.”
What to do? I am working on that. The first thing to do is tell Mark Laughmiller ((707) 822-4542 ext. 210) that you belong to this community and his Arcata “Community” Recycling Center is not being very “community” oriented. I think a boycott might be in order too, but again I like what the ACRC does. Save your CRV as long as you can. If you can’t save your CRV, you can give it to me and I will not sell it to the ACRC until they change their policy.
I will come up with a new gig, but I will always feel betrayal by ACRC, and empathy for those poor houseless people who will now have to pay someone else out of their meager bounty in order to redeem their deposits. I think Mark should take the word “community” out of their name. Fortunately it is the peak of fruit season, and I at least have something to eat. It seems every year more and more things in this land o’ the free require mandatory ID. First – no ID no job. Next – no ID no vote. And now – no ID no eat. If it wasn’t designed to be eugenic it certainly turned out that way.
I thought I might weigh in with my own views on Health Care Reform. I am not a doctor, but even if I were a doctor it would be illegal for me to practice the recommendations of this opine. In all fairness MDs are doctors of medicine, not doctors of health. But likewise, it is not fair at all to the patients who are literally being poisoned to death by pharmaceuticals.
I mention poison because that’s what causes all our disease. Anything taken into your body that acts like a toxin must be removed by the body or else it accumulates to the point it causes disease. Of course the simplest answer to bad health is stop putting toxins into your body! Toxins include GMO foods, pesticides, herbicides, larvicides, fungicides, animal fats, and most commonly cooked foods.
I can hear you already saying, “what the fuck tad, are you telling us to give up cooking our food?” In the short answer, “yes.” I will however attempt to give you the long answer.
I first became a raw foodest in the high desert of Arizona. I obtained my first Essene literature in which Jesus teaches us that wheat grass is human’s perfect food, and that bread is to be made out of sprouted grains, baked in the sun. I converted from my long held agnostic beliefs to gnosticism. Then I went through life trying to keep my diet 51% raw food, only knowing it was a tenant of my metamorphic beliefs. Today I now know why Jesus “the healer” taught such doctrines, and the meaning of the story that Buddha sat under a tree eating nothing but hemp seeds.
After you eat cooked food you experience a phenomena known as “digestive leukocytosis.” What that is is an increase in the number of white blood cells in the body immediately after eating cooked food. White blood cells are what the body releases to fight illness. So in other words your body thinks your cooked food is a disease attacking it.
Science has known since 1930 that people who ate 51% of their diet as raw foods would have not have leukocytosis. Dr. Paul Kouchakoff, Institute of Clinical Chemistry in Lausanne, Switzerland, discovered that people who ate 51% cooked, refined (white flour, white rice, sugar), pasteurized, homogenized, or preserved, had their bodies treat their food as a disease.
When we cook food it loses half its nutritional value. Vitamin C is completely destroyed by cooking, and orthomolecular medicine has been using high doses of vitamin C to cure cancer since the 40’s. Cooking also kills the enzymes which the body then has to make in order to digest the cooked food. Food is much hard to digest when it has been over processed and cooked. The enzymes in a piece of fruit make it more absorbable than its cooked counter part, and way easier than a cooked steak or loaf of bread. Throw a loaf of wonder bread into your compost, and you will find it still there after everything else is composted. Throw a loaf down your throat and it will be in you colon for probably longer.
Any time you cook food it loses half it protein. A cooked hamburger may have 18 grams of protein, but that comes with 20 grams of fat. Meat is so hard to digest that only a portion of that 18 grams will be absorbed for use by your body. But don’t worry cause you’ll take up all the 20 grams of fat. It likes to congeal in your blood veins if no where else.
Alfalfa sprouts are 35% protein. They are also abundant in vitamins A, B, C, E and K, the minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, also carotene, chlorophyll, amino acids and trace elements. This protein is easily adsorbed by the body (assuming your colon isn’t packed with old cooked food).
I hear people claiming they need meat because they are anemic. I believe they are anemic because they eat meat. Raw cacao has 15% iron, the highest content of iron of any food known. It is also the highest natural source of magnesium, chromium, manganese, zinc, and vitamin C. Mix it with raw agave nectar and you have chocolate that is healthier than your steak and potatoes dinner.
Many things we use are toxins. Smoke of any kind is a toxin. Alcohol is also a toxin. Mercury dental fillings are toxins. Pharmaceuticals are deadly toxins. Not to mention the environmental, and government mandated toxin exposure that we are unfairly exposed to (fluoride and air pollution to mention just two). If we fixed our diets, ate half our food raw, then our bodies would be better able to fight off the toxin exposures we still need to socially moderate.
Unfortunately if you are not raw, and have not flushed out your toxins, you will not gain the full health benefits of a raw diet. The body’s main way of flushing toxins are out the digestive track. Believe me it is better than out the skin. But you’ll want to clean your colon. You can use an enema, or there are professional colon cleansing places for those who have the money. Once the road tar looking shit is removed from you colon you can absorb even more vitamins, and minerals. If you don’t clog it back up with cooked foods then you have eliminated your risk of colon cancer. There are many ways to detox. Teas, herbs, fasting, and even nutritionists to help.
With massive profits in the sickness business it is little wonder that only 6% of our doctors are trained in nutrition. Medicine treats symptoms, nutrition treats the underlying cause. Despite our obese society we are literally dying of malnutrition. Our food is grown in fields fertilized with 3 main minerals, Potassium, phosphorous, and nitrogen, while soil needs 52 different minerals. When the soil isn’t healthy, the plants are unhealthy. This leads to the need of even more pesticides, growth hormones, and other unnatural chemicals. Add to this the fact our food is harvested unripe and then shipped thousands of miles to our stores.
Raw foods are fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, leafs, fungi, sprouts and grasses. If you have a kitchen and want to prepare the tastiest food there are dehydrators, blenders, juicers, food processors, and recipe books. Sprouts are cheap, high in protein, anti-oxidants, vitamins, and enzymes. One pound of seeds makes between 10 and 14 pounds of sprouts.
If we dumped half of what we spend on health care on creating healthly raw food diets we could then use the other half for health care that no one needs. 26% of all patients released from US hospitals are more malnourished after they are released then they were when they were admitted. The medicine industry has a stake in keeping you in the dark about what is health. Health is your body curing itself. If you put the required nutrients into your body your body will heal itself. Where would the health care debate be if we didn’t lose 653,000 people to heart disease, 554,000 to cancer, and 225,000 to modern medicine each year? You truly are what you eat. Think about that next time you open a can.
This morning while looking at the board at the Arcata Coop I notice a flier that had Hoover’s picture and said: “WARNING TO THE PUBLIC! This man, Kevin Hoover, has been caught twice in Arcata in the past two weeks trespassing on private property and going through peoples personal things. Both times he was seen by separate witnesses, and the last time he was caught by the owner of the property. A police report has been filed. This was not investigative reporting. This was a crime. If you see this man trespassing on your property, call 911 immediately.”
Most of you remember how Hoover started his vigilante campaign against marijuana. How he trespassed onto peoples property, and declared they were “large scale commercial grow houses,” because he decided the electricity meter was spinning too fast. And how he wrote letters to the cops and the tenets land-”lords” in an attempt to get them busted and evicted. And how he went on national TV and told the world that the killer marijuana was ruining “his” town. And how he used his tabloid to rally the cry to put an end to the pot culture that has so long been, even his, economic provider.
Hoover is not a reporter! He is a tabloidist! He tries to create a problem so he can then report on it. Everyone who has dealt with the steaming pile knows this is his MO. It is widely believed it was Hoover who spray painted “grow house” on the side of peoples residences to alert the pigs. I personally have little trouble believing that he would paint the house, put a picture of it in his Arcata Leye tabloid with a story saying “see how pissed off the people of Arcata are.”
It seems he’s up to something again. Since he is showing the same biased hate for people in the marijuana culture as he does for people with no fixed abode, I have no doubt his snooping around is to try once again to find the exception that proves his alcohol addled world view. What is his world view? Whatever his wealthy handlers say it is to be. How else can a pot smoker try soooo hard to end pot smoking.
Whatever he is up to people, BE CAREFUL! Until he is boycotted out of busyness, he will have his brown nose in everyone else’s. He is on the ropes, and the on going boycott seems to be working. Everyone who disagrees with the ultraconservative pot laws in ultraliberal Arcata, everyone who believes the feds putting guns in the faces of Humboldt County children is completely unnecessary, and everyone who believes Hoover is a Quisling little snitch should never buy, let alone read the Arcata [L]Eye tabloid. Boycott the Eye!
I filed a motion requesting a suppression hearing today, May 27, concerning my alleged “peace disruption.” I didn’t post anything, because seeing how no one showed up at any of the previous hearings I figured you would rather read about it ex post facto.
A suppression hearing, officially known as a “Motion to Suppress Pursuant to Penal Code §1538.5,” is a motion questioning the search and seizure of an arrest. Due to the fact I only receive mail in Eureka, not live there, I found out the DA filed three filings on the 21st, and that a court date had been set for yesterday.
The first DA filing was a Motion to Continue. That was the reason for the surprise court date. The DA requested the continuance because the cop who wrote the report was allegedly on vacation. The ironic thing was that last week I received my motion back from the court clerk saying that my motion was voided and the 27th date was vacated. When it got vacated I was motivated to refile it and had already rescheduled it for June 17th at 8:30am, and had already done so by the time I checked my mail yesterday. Plus I was able to vacate that pesky, and mostly useless pretrial hearing scheduled for the 8th.
June 8th is the date scheduled on the second DA motion. This is a Motion to File Amended Complaint. It seems now I am know longer an accused disturber of the peace, but am accused of being a “disturber of the meeting.” California Penal Code (CPC) § 403 is the new charge they will change disturbing the peace to on July 1.
The third motion was an “Opposition” to my motion to suppress. It claims that I didn’t give proper notice for a court date. The law says 10 “court” days, and I didn’t count Monday holidays. Sorry?!. With all the shit one has to learn in order to defend themselves its not surprising to over look some little shit once in a while. Luckily I was able to find a printer and deliver a letter telling all the witness which I felt compelled to subpoena, “never mind.” Yes, that’s right the cat’s out of the bag. Everyone that got subpoenaed for tomorrows date will once again be subpoenaed for the 17th.
Who was on the subpoena list? Jimmy Smith, Kathy Hayes, and Vanessa Erickson all came forward as police witnesses against me, and so I assumed that they are also called by the prosecution, but you can never be too careful when playing with slimy creatures who can bite you, so I subpoenaed them too.
I also subpoenaed Mark Lovelace, because I believe he was the most creditable person in the room at the time. I was grateful for his coverage of Maxxam’s bankruptcy, and believe he has good standing as an observer. Plus despite his new politician status, I believe he is still fairly honest. We’ll find out on the 17th.
Lastly I subpoenaed Phil Crandall, who happened to be the last person, in the little foyer leading into the supes chambers, before six, nail eating, steroidal, cops came charging in the room.
I think I have a good case in the suppression hearing, but I’ve lost hearings before. I really believe I’ve lost any element of surprise now that they have an extra month to “prepare their witnesses.” I still believe my other witnesses and their evidence will make my case.
Sorry I can’t be more specific about what I am trying to do with my suppression motion, because suppression motions are up to the DA to prove his case. And I don’t think he can. I know I promise to write about shit I haven’t yet wrote about, but I will try to explain everything I learned about suppression hearings in a later post.
If you ask a cop, they will tell you there are two branches of Government, the legislative and the executive branches. He or she will say something stupid like “the legislative makes the laws and we (the executive) enforce them.” Everyone else, who passed at least the 6th grade, knows there is also the judicial branch. The judicial branch is a “checks and balances” on abusive powers of the executive and legislative branches. Everyone should be familiar with these three branches.
The fourth, and by far the most potentially powerful, branch is stated in the very first words in the whole constitution – “We the People.” Our collective future is only limited by our lack of participation. It is our direct participation in dissent that will free us, and save our planet. Unfortunately we are too easily manipulated. We been told to go along with the status quo for so long we believe we are powerless.
Part of our problem is we view the system as a repairable system. Working within the system to “change it” has never been shown to have positive or long lasting effects. It only makes the system bigger.
Civil disobedience is the tool of the Fourth Branch. Civil disobedience has been shown again and again to bring real change. When enough people commit enough time and energy into something then shit changes. When we cooperate with the system we are corralled. There becomes limits on our actions, and eventually our thoughts. We obey all the rules, yet it is the rules that are at the root of all our woes.
When we question authority we quickly realize its lies, but when we resist that authority we break down those lies, and create the world in which we really need. Imagine if 10,000,000 USians didn’t show up for work tomorrow morning, or refused to pay their rent on the first. What if it went on a week?; a month?; a year? Imagine a successful world wide general strike. What concessions would they make if they didn’t have the masses enriching them?
I know most of you already understand that civil disobedience is not violence, but for the sake of the ignorant I’ll write a few words. In fact any violence, possible excluding immediate self-defense, is immoral, counterproductive, and suicidal. After all how can you resist oppression on the one hand, while oppressing with the other? I, as a pacifist, don’t want anything to do with violent people and/or movements. To attempt war against such vastly superior armaments is suicide, pure and simple. War begets war, and Peace begets peace.
Don’t believe pacifists are cowards either. Way to many of them have stood their ground shaking their finger at the soldiers gunning them down. As long as our masters control us with violence there is going to be casualties, and “collateral damage.” Not only will the casualties be less than with violence, it will be way more effective. What if every city had to provide RNC type “security,” every day? How long could your government afford to do that?
It is time to start convening the Fourth Branch, and save ourselves. The Republicans have turned into a joke, I mean Russ Limbaugh is the head of the party, come on. And the Democrats are following down the very same road. Its time to stop this one step forward two steps back bullshit and bring equality, liberty, freedom, and justice to this world.
To exercise the powers of the Fourth Branch look locally. Stand against what you can see locally. We will end all the problems globally when their implementation is stopped locally where it occurs. Think locally, act locally.
I read the supes agenda late this week end, and I found Item D-8 is long confusing and very evil. Item D-8 is our County’s part in creating a State wide “California Counties Mental Health Services Authority.”
This new “Authority” will “have all of the powers common to General Law counties in California, such as Alpine County and all additional powers set forth in the Joint Powers act, and is hereby authorized to do all acts necessary for the exercise of said powers.”
The purpose of this agreement is explained under “purpose” in the agreement as: “This Agreement is entered into by the Member counties in order to jointly develop, and fund mental health services and education programs as determined on a regional, statewide, or other basis. Such programs may include, but are not limited to addressing suicide prevention, ethnic and cultural outreach, stigma and discrimination related to mental illness, student mental health and workforce training and education, as well as the provision of necessary administrative services. Such administrative services may include, but shall not be limited to, establishing a depository for research materials and information regarding ‘best practices.’” Notice they use both the ideas that mental disorders are “illnesses” and that “best practices” is something more then pharmaceutical industry Orwellian word craft.
This agreement establishes an “authority” which has among its new powers the power “to receive and use contributions and advances from members (that’s us) as provided in Government Code section 6504, including contributions or advances of personnel, equipment, or property.”
By signing this “agreement” Humboldt County agrees to “fund all costs of that program (a program the Member county is participating in), including administrative costs,” “a development charge billed by and payable in accordance with the Authority’s invoice and payment policy,” and “annual premiums charged to the Member counties participating in the programs each fiscal year.” That is of course unless we withdraw, or get kicked out from the Agreement where upon we owe “any charges which the board of directors determines are due from the members for expenses which were incurred during the county’s participation in any program.”
It gives this new “Authority” god like powers over the county. The agreement claims: “Upon establishment of a program by the Board (the board of directors of the Authority), the Authority shall determine the manner of the program implementation and shall give written notice to all participants of such program, which shall include, but not be limited to: program participation levels, estimates of first year premium charges, program development costs, effective date of the program (or estimated effective date), and such other program provisions as deemed appropriate.”
Under “Responsibility of Members” the agreement requires us tocommit for an initial term of three fiscal years, appoint a representative and a alternative to the board (the Authority), pay development charges, program charges, late penalties, and any additional charges due, as determined and assessed by the board of directors, provide the Authority such other information or assistance as may be necessary for the Authority to develop and implement programs, and cooperate with and assist the Authority in all matters relating to this Agreement.
All this signing of our rights and funds over to the “Authority” without even a clue of what we might get in return, is what’s crazy. We get unspecified “programs.” The word “programs” is bolded ever where it is mentioned in this agreement, but who has a clue what the programs actually are? They are based on “best practices,” but who knows what the fuck that means either? Aren’t we really building a medical unit with the powers of the state police, or even more? What the fuck does “provide the Authority such . . . as may be necessary for the Authority to , . . implement programs” really mean?
I don’t know yet how much pharmaceutical money is involved, but judging by their use of the phrase, “best practices” we know it is some. The Orwellian term “best practices” has everything to do with pharmaceutical corporation financing, and nothing to do with practices which might in fact be best.
This is one of those agreements which guarantees to give us less benefit for more money. Because prop 63 was written to earmark all its money to the treatment of mental health problems exclusively, it takes a large hiarchy of hands to spend it all before it achieves any social good. If it sounds a lot like I’m complaining about the same type of poverty pimping I spoke of in reference to the “ending of homelessness in ten years,” it might interest the reader to know that one of the poverty pimps claiming to be the harbinger of the end of homelessness, Barbra LaHaie, is Crandall’s selection for the “alternative representative” to the board of the Mental Health Authority, the assistant director of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, and Co-chair of Humboldt Housing and Homeless Coalition.
We wont send our best and brightest to sit on the Authority, we will send our greediest and corruptest. It seems that we are signing an agreement to participate in something we know nothing about, but this I can promise you: it will entail roping and doping way more of you then I care to imagine.
By now you’ve heard about the bullet we dodged today. Jill Duffy’s absence postponed the The Humboldt County Supes eliminating your right to vote for your coroner one more month. A synopsis is here.
When I heard Mark really question this legislation I got hopeful. Then with Bonnie gun-ho in support, and Cliff seconding her, made me loose hope. But, Jimmy Smith did something I thought was outside his realm of thought – he went against the deal. Bonnie freaked. She was just as surprised as I was, only with completely opposite desires. I don’t know exactly what she said but it started out as ahs and uhs and such.
Anyway you can and will find out all about today’s decision. I just want to say the phone calls, and e-mails helped buy us this time. The law says that in the question of denying people their rights the government must show a compelling reason. No compelling reason has been given why I should give up yet another one of my rights – the right to have an independent elected coroner. Get in touch with your Supe (I list them in order of district below).
As to the coroner: I went to every day of the Cheri Moore inquest. When that “special prosecutor” asked “So, the first time you fired she was facing you?,” and “Her body was turned in your direction?” and then “you actually saw the, ah sight picture of her body prior to firing?” to the swaticide perp I knew Cheri’s death was not what they said. No one to date has explained the hole in the back of Cheri’s head.
The question is what good did it do? Most people just believe it is a conspiracy theory, yet it would be easy to debunk if that were so. I believe in people’s ability to do the right thing. In fact I find in one on one situations most people do. It is my hope that soon we realize that we are not just individually fucked, but also collectively. And, likewise we collectively start doing the right thing, not just when your alone. Maybe we could vote in a doctor as coroner instead of a lawman.
love eternal
tad
Jimmy Smith
825 5th Street
Eureka, CA 95501
Phone: (707) 476-2391
“mailto:jrsmith@co.humboldt.ca.us”
Clif Clendenen
825 5th Street
Eureka, CA 95501
Phone: (707) 476-2392
“mailto:cclendenen@co.humboldt.ca.us”
Mark Lovelace
825 5th Street
Eureka, CA 95501
Phone: (707) 476-2393
“mailto:mlovelace@co.humboldt.ca.us”
