Your Tuesday Newspaper 8/4/26 – Craziness on the Left Fuels the Crazy Right + Flock + ICE + The Stakes Ahead + Fort Braggers Pulling Salmon from the Surf+ MOUNTAIN LION attack report in Manchester!!
We are currently investigating a possible mountain lion attack in Manchester that may or may not have occurred in the early morning hours of Tuesday. So far it seems like this is a rumor going around social media as if someone shouted fire in a theater. There are scanner printouts being posted all over social media, so the news, or fake news is out.. THE SCANNER IS NOT RELIABLE AS NEWS AND IT EVEN USED TO BE A CRIME TO USE IT THAT WAY, SHOULD BE AGAIN WHEN NEWS SITES DONT ATTEMPT TO VERIFY IT. This may be a rumor, but it may be serious. Stay tuned. DFW is looking into this for us, but the people we talked to had not heard this, which tells us the reports are false. We were awoken last night after midnight by the howling of our dogs, in response to sirens. Turns out there was some sort of fight at MacKerricher last night. We had left there about 9 p.m and there were tons of tourists fishing for salmon and drinking. The booking log shows four people booked into jail overnight, but none matching the fight at MacKerricher, if that is what happened.
FISHING ECSTASY COMES TO MACKERRICHER BEACH AND NOT JUST FOR HUMANS
Four of the Creator’s strangest fellow creatures fished together on MacKerricher Beach, all of them thrilled by what they pulled from the surf. Bulbous, tottering humans stood on the sand firing lures into the churning water. Surf‑fishing is usually dicey at best — more exercise than fish catching. But over the past four to five days, something astonishing has been happening. Salmon, some of them gigantic, like the 30‑pounder shown here, have been caught right off this beach.
While we watched for an hour on Monday evening, no humans pulled a salmon from the surf. Just offshore, a huge school of smelt — we think smelt — bubbled at the surface. The salmon were the most successful fishers by far, feasting on the smelt and driving them upward.
Above them, the third species of fishers, pelicans, circled with long necks and massive bills pointed down. Their technique is simple and brutal: wait for the moment, then dive. Brown Pelicans are the smallest of all pelicans, but still enormous birds — heavier than almost every chicken and even some heritage turkeys. They commonly weigh around nine pounds and fly here all the way from Los Angeles County.
When they dive, their bodies hit the water with an artillery‑like impact, stunning the smelt that have risen to escape the salmon below. The pelican scoops up the stunned fish — smelt, anchovies, sardines — in her bill and flies off, often carrying a gallon of water in there as well. They usually wait until they reach a dry rock to tip their heads back and swallow their catch. I have one photo of a fish, lit by the sun, swimming inside the pelican’s craw shortly before going down the hatch.
And that brings in fishing species number four: gulls. The gulls, lazy opportunists of the bird world, follow the pelicans. They give the big birds their space, but the moment they can, they grab their own dinner of stunned smelt.
The energy of a hundred pelicans, about that many gulls, and two dozen humans on shore was palpable. A few graceful cormorants slid past as well, clearly put off by the comparatively grotesque fishing techniques on display — two fellow birds dive‑bombing like artillery shells and those massive two‑legged monsters flinging lures from the beach. The cormorants took one look at the chaos and flew on, choosing dignity over dinner.
ARE THE RAPID RESPONSE NETWORK, FLOCK OPPONENTS REALLY HELPING THEIR CAUSES?
We call on the Ukiah branch of the Rapid Response Network to hold press conferences, identify anyone arrested by ICE or other federal agencies, and insist that every detainee has legal representation. The public should know where people are being held, what charges they face, and how their cases are resolved. And the RRN should work with local police — both cooperatively and critically — to ensure transparency and accountability.
We call on those opposed to Flock cameras to denounce vandalism and work toward a reasonable strategy with city, county, and other government agencies on AI and surveillance. The goal is to help shape local responses to rapidly advancing technology that increasingly resembles a Skynet‑level system of automated monitoring. But vandalism is a crime — and it will only turn potential allies away from efforts to regulate the fast‑growing, and often deeply concerning, reach of AI and the emerging surveillance state.
If you’re worried about ICE, call the police first — not the Rapid Response Network. That’s how the rule of law works, and we should use the legal system we have. It’s disappointing to say this, because we hoped local activists would take a sensible, transparent approach when federal agents appeared. Instead, the left here has become an unexpected ally to the secret police — and, incredibly, more secretive than ICE itself. But we know the people involved and believe they are probbly doing good things in addition to the not good secrecy business. After calling the police, call them too.
Read on.
The Rapid Response Network — a group meant to protect communities from both lawful and unlawful actions by the federal agency ICE — failed to do so when ICE finally arrived. The two ICE raids in Mendocino County made that clear, sadly, just as we had warned, though no one was willing to listen.
We have never shouted louder — (by email) — than we did at the Rapid Response Network when we learned they intended to keep everything ICE did a secret. RRN said they would not, under any circumstances, release the names of people arrested by ICE.
Here is what happened.
All arrests must remain public information — that’s a core principle of transparency — yet this group opposes that.
ICE came to Mendocino County without notifying local police they were coming, only after theey were here. They arrested two people. The Rapid Response Network — the group that had positioned itself as the one to call — fielded those calls as fear spread across the county, from dozens of employers to green‑card holders here legally. RRN then confirmed the rumors: ICE had been out, and someone had been detained. But they provided no name and no details, leaving locals to worry whether the person taken might have been Uncle Bob or Juan.
Then the next predictable thing happened: a reporter got part of the story — but only the part ICE wanted told. Elise Cox, with her Mendo Local, managed to obtain full details about the person arrested in Cleone and published them. The secrecy finally cracked, and a federal agency released information.
Click the link below
But what was not released was the name of the second person arrested by ICE the previous day in Ukiah. From the start, we heard there had been two arrests, yet no information surfaced. Elise Cox, reporting for Mendo Local, worked quickly and published full details about the Cleone arrest — a man with a criminal record. That fit the narrative ICE wanted: they were targeting “bad hombres,” doing the job they claim to do. The other arrest, the one we didn’t hear about, apparently told a different story — one of ICE acting far outside its mandate, detaining someone for political reasons.
Why did this happen? ICE and the Rapid Response Network were apparently the only ones with the names of both people arrested. We don’t know for certain what RRN knew, but that is what the evidence suggests. Neither side was open or helpful. ICE released information only about the arrest that supported their preferred narrative — the man with a criminal record. The other arrest, the one kept quiet, told a very different story.
With RRN keeping both names secret and ICE releasing only the arrest that made them look effective, the local narrative was shaped entirely by the MAGA community in Fort Bragg. Social media filled with posts saying, “See, ICE is doing their job.”
We warned this would happen. We said it repeatedly. We even shouted it by email to someone at RRN. There was no response. Arrest records are public for a reason. RRN was not only unwilling to push ICE to release information — they helped keep it hidden by refusing to release the names themselves.
They may be helping families of the detained in other ways, but they are not equipped to deal with the tactics of federal law enforcement. And in this moment — despite the best intentions — they became ICE’s strongest ally.
What should have happened is clear. The Rapid Response Network should have called a press conference and released the names of the people arrested to all members of the press at the same time. They could have even purchased an ad to ensure the information reached the entire community: this member of our community was taken.
Then they should have insisted that we — the press — help track down basic facts. Where are these individuals being held? Were they given an attorney? What are the charges? They should have demanded that we and they ask local police whether their own policies were followed when ICE arrived, especially given the modern mix of federal law enforcement and political influence.
We need to print the policies of local police, the county, probation, and other agencies. All of us do. And we need to ask, clearly and publicly, whether those policies were followed.
What possible good did it do for RRN to keep the names of the arrested secret? And why did they sit quietly while ICE publicly released the name of one man — and not the other? That second question is the critical one. ICE was able to promote the arrest that supported their preferred narrative, while the other arrest — the one that raised far more serious questions — remained hidden. RRN’s silence made that possible.
Guess what: the men arrested already knew they were arrested. They were in custody, being moved to parts unknown. What they needed was actual help — their names made public, pressure on ICE to release arrest reports, information on where they were booked, and whether they had legal representation. Instead, nothing was said about the second man, not by RRN and not by ICE.
To push us over the top, the Rapid Response Network began fundraising after all of this had already happened. They made the false, preposterous and ridiculous claim that they had dispelled rumors and calmed the community down. Nothing could be further from the truth. ONLY FACTS DISPEL RUMORS!
Their approach — going out to “investigate” and then telling people they had figured out who was arrested and were “working on it” — terrified people I know. The only thing that actually calmed anyone down was Elise Cox’s article, which named the individual and laid out the facts ICE released to her, along with the additional reporting she did. I congratulated her the day she published the name and asked the question she, ICE, and the public still hadn’t answered: what about the other guy?
And why didn’t RRN tell us the human story of both men, including the man arrested in Cleone? Human stories are what people connect to in an age of computerized, remote‑control law enforcement. Instead, it felt like we were being shielded from some underworld tale. Real stories of people — good, bad, complicated — are always better than political posturing.
Later, RRN apparently realized their error — far too late — and then made an even more questionable choice. They still had an opportunity to hold a press conference, acknowledge that ICE had used them, and release both names publicly. Is that what they did? No. Instead, they selected a reporter to release the information about the second man. And sure enough, it matched what we had been told all along: he had been arrested the previous day.
They chose a strong reporter, Kym Kemp of Redheaded Blackbelt. She tracked down the story RRN finally handed over, after they seemed to recognize the failure of their secrecy policy. But by then, the damage was already done.
Kym Kemp learned — or was told by RRN — that there had actually been three arrests, including one in her Humboldt County coverage area. She reported it out. Read her story here:
Redheaded Blackbelt story here
Kym Kemp praised RRN in her article before laying out the facts. She is a thorough and accurate reporter. Fine. But from RRN, it was too little, too late. The secrecy itself was the problem — and it still is. The whole approach creeps us out.
The college Israel protests of 2024 were fueled by the right and by a rogue Zionist faction, aimed squarely at the Biden administration and not at the Trump–Putin–Netanyahu alliance. There’s a long story there — we have information going back 30 years — but for now, let’s stay with RRN and this pattern of secrecy followed by a whispered release of the story, only when they could present themselves in the best possible light.
Make no mistake: the Trump Administration is committing a crime against humanity with this approach to immigration and will be remembered among the evildoers of history. The tragedy is that a simple, humane solution already existed — comprehensive immigration reform modeled on the John McCain plan. That plan had bipartisan support, but GOP leadership blocked it from ever reaching a vote, and Democrats failed to force the issue. Analysts across the political spectrum said it would have significantly reduced immigration pressures when it was proposed twenty years ago.
President Donald Trump, of all people, briefly tried to move toward that kind of reform in his first term. But Fox News — led by bigot‑pundit Ann Coulter — attacked him relentlessly. Fox profits from hate and division, not solutions. Trump backed down and never tried again.
In his second term, he launched a brutal assault on immigrants — undocumented and now legal as well — with administration officials repeatedly signaling, in barely veiled terms, that they wanted “good immigrants” from wealthy countries like Norway, not the huddled masses.
But who is going to stand up and demand that a sensible approach like the McCain plan be used?
That plan was straightforward:
1. Determine how many workers the country actually needs. 2. Give those workers a clear, legal path to immigration. 3. Enforce the law firmly against anyone who refuses to use the legal route once it exists — because right now, there is no reasonable route. 4. Enforce the law equally against employers who refuse to participate in that legal process.
Nothing is more astonishing than the fact that the Trump Administration cracked down on employees but not employers. The Bush Administration did both, yet still never pushed immigration reform. If we don’t adopt a system like this, the immigration situation will continue to fester.
Obama and Biden were unable to overcome GOP opposition — including border‑district members of their own party — and hate won out over common sense and doing the right thing. What we need now is leadership that will uphold the Constitution, not violate open‑government principles, the right to an attorney, and the right to confront one’s accusers.
Kooky Liberal Cause Number Two: Destroying Flock Cameras
Or how the left became the best friends of the Motorolla- Flocks’s competitor.
Many people fear the rise of an AI‑driven surveillance state — something that feels uncomfortably close to Skynet in the Terminator films, and moving just as fast. Flock cameras are part of that system, but only a part. Yet a hysterical movement has formed that targets only one brand: Flock.
Flock has serious issues. No question. From the beginning, we have tried — with absolutely no luck — to get people to watch the investigative reporting video that explains those issues in depth. It lays out exactly why Flock should not be used. But it’s long, and people won’t watch it. They prefer to scream like toddlers rather than present a comprehensive fix‑plan.
People would rather watch ten seconds of screaming hysteria than learn the actual issue. That’s their right — but it also disqualifies them from the real debate.
And when people choose hysteria over information, they hand power to whoever benefits from noise, distraction, and brand‑targeted outrage rather than a comprehensive fix‑plan. That’s the dynamic you’re calling out.
So the question becomes: who gains the most from keeping the public loud, angry, and uninformed?
Motorola makes the LPR (License Plate Reader) L5F Fixed Number Plate Recognition Camera System — the exact same type of product as Flock. And because the anti‑Flock movement has been so rushed, so brand‑targeted, and so hysterical, Motorola has escaped scrutiny entirely. In Los Angeles, activists pushed the city to remove Flock cameras while Motorola cameras stayed right where they were. Huh?
For this movement to make any sense, it cannot target a single brand — or even a single slice of government surveillance. While people are fighting Flock alone, law enforcement agencies here and everywhere are using a wide range of surveillance products. The technology is advancing so quickly that it’s leaving the addled debate behind.
Opponents are unwilling to put in the time to understand the technology, compose a real plan, or ask the right questions. And that’s how a movement ends up attacking one brand while its competitor quietly expands.
We watched the meetings about Flock at the Fort Bragg Public Safety Committee. While some opponents eventually showed up, they didn’t articulate any strategy — just “no” to Flock. What’s needed is a comprehensive approach to AI and surveillance of all kinds.
Police already use body cameras — now mounted on car bumpers — that capture far more information than Flock cameras. A real policy would make all uses of technology open and public, set clear limits, require disclosure of how servers are handled, identify who audits those servers, and explain how the city can do business with a company like Flock once everyone has actually watched the investigative videos.
But the city is unlikely to do this. They’ve grown accustomed to a cycle: people get riled up, express their opinion on important progressive issues like plastics or AI, and then disappear. The protesters leave, and the issue evaporates.
The real issue about plastics never even surfaced in that debate — the toxins are in the 55‑gallon barrels of glues and solvents, not in the plastic turf. I found this out, but by the time I had enough for a story, everyone had moved on. And nobody who opposed the plastic turf wanted a sensible discussion. It was scream and run.
And the city did everything right — followed the law, followed the process — and nobody raised any of these concerns in time to prevent the project without catastrophic losses to the city budget. The opposition never helped find alternative soccer fields or present a reasonable plan of action. So the city finished Wiggly Giggly Park and installed fenced soccer fields that are now terrific additions to the local youth sports scene.
This kind of erratic behavior from the left scores big points for MAGA and the local right wing. Nothing illustrates that more than some on the left supporting vandalism of Flock cameras — something that apparently happened, although we have never seen a police report. There is a video of Police Chief Eric Swift and Councilmember Lindy Peters discussing whatever occurred, and it appears someone vandalized Flock cameras.
We have not asked about this yet, and we will. But let’s be clear: this is a crime of vandalism. Nobody has done the hard work needed to justify this kind of criminal action. If people had presented the city with a real plan for how to move forward with technology, AI, and public safety — including how to protect us from predators at Amazon, where the servers are apparently kept, and from the criminals in low places that Flock cameras actually catch — that would be one thing.
If the work had been done, and the city had refused to act, then there might be a case for pushing further. But committing the crime of vandalism as part of an irrational crusade against a single company is nothing more than criminal vandalism. We will not support anyone who does this, and please don’t tell us you did it. If you need to confess, call the cops.
So here we are and the Work Begins
So here we are. A town full of people who care, who show up, who speak out — and then drift away before the real work can take shape. The city followed the law. The city did the process. The city built the fields. And the loudest voices vanished before the real questions could even be asked.
Now we’re watching the same pattern repeat with AI, surveillance, and Flock. A movement that targets one brand, ignores its twin, and refuses to write the plan that would actually protect us — from the predators hiding in server farms and from the criminals Flock already catches. Instead, we get vandalism dressed up as activism. We get noise without strategy. We get outrage without homework.
But Mendocino doesn’t get safer that way. Mendocino doesn’t get smarter that way. Mendocino doesn’t get better that way.
Real change — the kind that protects people, budgets, rights, and futures — comes from the ones who stay in the room. The ones who read the documents. The ones who watch the videos. The ones who ask the hard questions and keep asking them after the crowd has moved on.
If this community wants to take on AI, surveillance, plastics, immigration, or anything else barreling toward us at full speed, it will take grown‑ups at the table, not toddlers in the comment section. It will take a plan. It will take persistence. It will take people willing to do the work.
And if we can manage that — even once — we might finally stop screaming, stop running, and start building the Mendocino Coast we keep saying we want.
