Someone got kinda mad at me for writing about Paul Gallegos winning the Humboldt County Attorney’s race, an online writer named Rose who is virulently anti-Gallegos. On December 5, a week after I wrote the post about Gallegos’ win, Rose threw down cranky, ad hominem, gritty sandpaper neener epithets, which were pretty funny.

Despicable propagandist

is snappy, fer shur. But not as cool (nor anywhere as accurate) as when I was called a

voodoo hussy.

And that was to my face, in real life.

Still, nice use of the Word-of-the Day Calendar! Frankly I think

propagandista

would have been a lot cleverer. And one must keep in mind that propaganda is in the eyes of both the creator/creatrix and the reader/s.

Because this article was up on FDL, Rose wrote

It really must be about right vs left after all. /(sarc)

I covered Gallegos because there things he supports that I support, things I like about him–for instance,  he says he’s heard of Big Flats, and he also says he’s never surfed the mythic surf spot, nor does he claim to know where it is. And that means something to a lot of folks in Humboldt.

Rose  complained that the comments were closed on my post. Well, the comments on all my posts close after a certain amount of time. That’s just what happens.

So anyway, Rose does allow comments on her page:

Post a Comment

Comment moderation is enabled. This means your comment won’t show up unless or until it is approved. Shoulda done this years ago. This is primarily to limit the attacks on other posters. If you have something to add to the topic at hand, you should have no trouble. Thanks – and weigh in…

Gosh yeah, within moments someone did have something to add which was approved–someone who was more comfy posting anonymously:

Anonymous said…
She swallows. And i don’t mean koolaid.

Now that’s some weighing in on the topic at hand. Thar she blows!

(And when is swallowing a bad thing?)

Rose then posted her disdain for my lack of a university degree, making fun of my not having graduated college; mocked me like having had jobs and stuff; though by their fruits ye shall know them…grapes of thorns, figs of thistles? So Rose, seriously whatever.

My link alert, which is not super timely, and a friend in Humboldt who doesn’t really monitor watchpaul.org regularly, directed me over to Rose’s site Wednesday night, Dec 7.  I wrote what I thought was a very nice response, somewhat belatedly, but still…

Hi Rose. Posts on FDL close automatically after 48 hours; nothing cowardly about it, simply a way to prevent spammers and bots. Sorry you missed the window, but thanks for the linkage!

I find your views intriguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter. You can read more of my despicable propaganda at http://lafiga.firedoglake.com.

which showed up after a mere three minutes.

And I posted about all of this on my Facebook page which got a lot of comments.  I thought in light of the current kerfuffle over anonymous/Anonymous, DDoS, WikiLeaks and Assange it would be timely on Thursday day to use Rose’s anonymous poster to illustrate a point about online anonymity.

Rose had posted the two following remarks after 9pm Wednesday night:

Rose said…

Lisa Derrick, You’re a tool. You got used here. You don’t know jack about the subject. You do your readers and yourself a disservice.

If this article is any indication of the accuracy of your writing, you ought to find another profession.

Did they pay you?

12/08/2010 9:08 PM

A few minutes later,

Rose said…

Tell you what, Lisa – open up your comments on that post. I’ll post the real facts. Then your readers can actually get a fair honest picture and make up their own minds – maybe they’ll prefer the fairy tale. But at least they’ll know the Emperor isn’t wearing any fine robes. Whaddya say?
12/08/2010 9:22 PM

Assange and personal commitments kept me away from watchpaul.org until Thursday night, December 9 when I responded between 6 and 7 pm, politely saying that again comments close automatically, but that I had made sure that people were getting directed to her blog as it is important to gain a variety of perspectives.

And then I asked her to define the “they” to whom she was referring. Because I’d love to know.

You’d think cooking foil companies would be subsidizing some bloggers–all that hat making!

My most recent response to Rose hasn’t shown up yet as of 12:27 am Saturday, nor have those responses from people who wrote me Wednesday and Thursday letting me know they have sent Rose their own views.

It strikes me that if one is going to moderate comments–especially after making an queried accusation of a sordid, scurrilous, damaging and  wrong nature–one should be monitoring and moderating comments for replies.

And if one is going to allow anonymous (yet accurate, though caged as a derogatory slam) remarks about a subject’s sexual behavior, one should allow for equally as rapid replies from those who use their names, pseudonyms and Anonymous covering.

Otherwise the blog in question just seems like despicable propaganda. But hey, it’s the holiday season and I’m sure Rose is really busy getting her picket signs ready for the AntiWin rally outside the Gallegos victory party.

Oh and Anonymous #1  of watchpaul.org: You’ll never have the pleasure.

For the record: No one I have ever written about has paid me to write about about them and junkets, tee shirts, meals, etc. don’t sway me. I did once write a piece about U2, Negativland, Fair Use and copyright. A while later I was paid before it was repurposed into a press release; the essay has also been excerpted elsewhere without recompense.

Humboldt County, synonymous with high-end marijuana, is at the epicenter of the “sun bud” outdoor-organic grow movement. Recently the attention on  pot and Prop 19 have overshadowed a huge Humboldt County legal battle, a landmark case, the outcome of which has far reaching implications in the healthcare field and for senior citizens.

In 2004 the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, under Paul Gallegos, filed a complaint against Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., related corporations and five of the defendants’ skilled nursing facilities in Humboldt County. The complaint alleged that the defendants had intentionally failed to provide sufficient direct nursing care staffing for elderly residents at their skilled nursing facilities.   The Times-Standard reports:

Patients, who [plantiffs' attorneys] contend did not receive showers on a regular basis, walked around with catheters leaking and dragging on the ground, had wounds left untreated and were forced to sit in soiled bed sheets for hours or, in some cases, even days.

Additionally, the suit alleged that Skilled Healthcare Group, which was rather profitably run, with 79 facilities in  seven states, misrepresented to the consuming public–in particular, the elderly residents and their family members — that they were operating the nursing facilities in compliance with applicable laws. California state law mandates that each resident receive 3.2 hours of care daily (the federal minimum is 4.1 hours).

The suit expanded to include over 32,000 patients who lived at various Skilled Healthcare facilities statewide. In July the jury awarded members of the class action suit over $667 million. Skilled Healthcare stock plummeted and the promptly indicated it would file for bankruptcy.

Had the bankruptcy filing happened, there would have been no financial award, so Humboldt County District Attorney Gallegos stepped in and negotiated a settlement for $62.8 million, the largest settlement in the US this year. The settlement also provides for an injunction that ensures that nursing staff levels at the defendants’ facilities will meet or exceed the minimum staffing levels required by California law. When word of the settlement hit, Skilled Healthcare’s stock shares rose from a hideous low.

In addition to providing financial relief for the defendants, and insuring that care will meet state standards, the settlement which Gallegos negotiated may also provide up to  $2 million in funding the Humboldt County District Attorney’s office.

This is a case in which justice was served by both the jury which awarded a substantial verdict and by the District Attorney who negotiated an outcome for the greater good of all concerned.  There was no reason to drive Skilled Healthcare into bankruptcy, which would have served no benefit for their clients, their employees, their stockholders, and the communities they serve. Gallegos’ injunction insures that the clients and communities will now be served to the letter of the law; no jobs are lost–in fact, the settlement will increase nursing staff hours; and district attorneys’ offices are funded to protect their seniors from other predatory abuses. This is how justice should be done.

Humbolt Co crash

I found this on Humboldt’s Craiglist.org, along with other grow related ads. It really sums things things up–or it’s the result of a really creative copywriter! Note that the advertiser was the investor in the project…

Can you GROW better than my Ex?

He’s gone; his equipment is not. I am not a gardener, but here is what I can describe: There is a complete set-up with a black tent, a large filter, a light with a hood, a different light that looks fluorescent to me, pots, chemicals, a large tub and a pump, etc. Basically everything someone would need to get off of their feet. It has all been purchased within the last year, and has been used twice.

I have receipts for many items and it was all purchased at local hydro stores, except the tent which was purchased online. I am not desperate and will not give it away… I know I spent about $4000 but any serious offers will be considered. I am a professional person and just want all of this out of my life, I don’t need more hassle, so please don’t respond if you aren’t reasonably mature and discreet.

Humboldt County’s marijuana crop brings in about $300-$500 million annually, while the rest of the county’s $3.6 billion dollar economy comes from cattle and dairy, education, forestry, wildlife, construction, lumber, fishing, media, non-profits, tourism, wellness, restaurants and retail.

The local community radio station KMUD gives reports of fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and law enforcement movements. They are supported by donations for the growers, as are numerous community service clinics, non-profits and businesses. One grower told me that many small businesses were opened by people who would have found a way to be successful no matter where they were. But the infusion of cash for start up didn’t hurt.

With legalization will come some problems as well as a potential economic downturn if prices don’t hold. And there’s a good chance weed won’t stay at $3,000 to $5,000/lb.

What Humboldt has going for it is a lot of what Napa and Sonoma Counties have with regards to wine, what the French call terroir, a group of vineyards (or even vines) from the same region belonging to a specific appellation and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions, grape and wine-making knowledge, all of which combine to give its specific personality to the wine. Can branding and appellation help keep Humboldt afloat?

Humboldt weed is legendary, whether grown indoor or out. Will legalization change that? Most plants are clones, so technically, Mr. Nice or any number of varieties could spread like, well, weeds. Is appellation possible? Co-ops could be formed like the dairy co-ops, organic certification is possible, outdoor vs indoor labeling…but is that viable?

Can Humboldt create a pot tourism industry like Napa’s wine tourism industry, and to a smaller extent Los Olivos, and build on what is already there in the gorgeous county? Does it want to?

Humboldt has a strong organic food and farming base, plus wineries and breweries. Loleta Farms raises its own cows and makes their cheese right in their shop in Loleta. Loleta also has an organic bakery that uses locally grown wheat and fruit. Cypress Grove Chevre makes Humboldt Fog and other goat cheeses. Grass-fed beef is the norm; pork and lamb are also raised, and yes, I saw “meat rabbits” at the county fair, but that’s not likely to be a major retail food anytime soon. Locally grown fruit and vegetables abound. Add in an art scene, a film festival, performing arts, the Victorian homes of Ferndale, and you have a really sweet area for vacationing, an hour flight from San Francisco, two hours from LAX–when it’s not fogged in.

Can all that–combined with the ocean, rivers, and lush mountain scenery, river rafting, surfing, and eco-tourism–plus legal artisanal pot help lure tourists? We’ll see in the next year or so. There’s still a harvest to be brought in before the election, and November 2 there’s a Legalize Pot rally at the Veterans Hall.

There is supposedly a crime problem involved with pot growing. And not just because some of the people growing it here in Humboldt are growing more than their legal limit. No, with a pound of pot worth $3,000 to $4,000, there is a problem with theft. Grow houses get ripped off. Drugs deals go bad. And people will steal plants out of the ground.

Or at least try too. A grower told me about the one time a rip-off was tried at his place several years ago. He and his buddy had guns, a shot was fired into the air, the perps screeched off the property,  and the crop–which was too well rooted to get yanked out–was saved, end of story.

Crime as a side effect of indoor grows are an issue in this November’s Humboldt County District Attorney’s race.

In an interview with Eureka’s local paper, the Times/Standard, DA candidates Allison Jackson and Paul Hagen said:

home invasion robberies and fires associated with grows in residential neighborhoods are out of control, and that something needs to be done to rein in abuse of Proposition 215.

Jackson felt that the county’s recently overturned 99-plant limit, an ordinance drafted by incumbent Paul Gallegos,

brought a massive influx of people from outside the county, outside the state and outside the country into this community. And, it’s made residential neighborhoods unsafe.

Gallegos disputes Jackson’s assessment about home invasion robberies, calling them drug deals gone bad and said with regards to
non-medical pot growing and sales:

Illegal marijuana is accessible to anyone who wants it — that’s how successful the war on drugs is.

Opponent Paul Hagen–the only candidate who supports Prop 19 and said he will vote for the measure which will legalize marijuana– has a solution:

If we make it legal, we can finally control it above board. You’re never going to get rid of it.

If the initiative passes, the DA will be plenty busy, since there could be a new wave of local controls, regulations and ordinances. And then there’s the economic side effects.

According to reporting in the Los Angeles Times,

Humboldt State economists guess that marijuana accounts for between $500 million and $700 million of the county’s $3.6 billion economy.

I stopped at gas station and went in to buy a pack of double-A batteries for my camera. I asked the cashier which he preferred for my $4 purchase, a debit card or a $100 bill.

Either

he replied with a smile–everyone in Humboldt is really, really nice and friendly and smiles all the time–so I gave him the C-note since I wanted change, and he didn’t even check to see if it was counterfeit. What a change from LA where many businesses have signs posted saying

No bills over $20

and a fake-bill checking pen resides in the cash drawer. It’s like they see them all the time.

Oh wait, they do…

So this morning I went into the fields and kicked it in an anachronistic but fundamental way, sexing plants and pulling the males by hand. This is done for two reasons. Growers, indoor and out, don’t want male plants to pollinate the females; and this farmer, like many of the OG Original Growers up in Humboldt wants to keep plant count down to comply with Prop 215 and more importantly federal sentencing guidelines. I was on an outdoor organic grow where the farmer has raised pot for over two decades and now is able to work on refining seed strains and creating new breeds, rather than growing purely for profit. He has other businesses now, and works on cross breeding decorative flowering garden plants of various sorts, but has a love an respect for the weed which got him to this plateau.

The male cannabis plants have little pointy horns, the females thin white hairs. I am slow at identifying them but good at pulling them out. But I don’t seem to have much of future as a ganja worker at least in skill, since the farmer has pulled twenty to my inexperienced six.

The plants smell great, green and musky, they are sticky and thick-stemmed. Years ago a company called Frantic Farmer baked pot cookies and other goods with butter made in huge vats cooked down with male leaves, shake and stems as well as the trim and waste from females. Everything form punk rock clubs to Drivers Ed class was a lot more fun with a snack of those. Luckily we didn’t have to watch Red Asphalt.

There is now a medical use for the leaves of the males, which are allegedly non-psychoactive, as an anti-inflammatory.  However these boys won’t be making it to the dispensary; they are are slated for a mulch pile, since there are plenty of males for the dispensaries.