Goodloe Sutton, editor of the weekly Democrat-Reporter newspaper in Linden, Arkansas (60 miles west of Selma, population 2,123) has made national news resulting from his editorial calling for the Ku Klux Klan to ride again. He advocates lynching Democrats – ironic considering his paper’s name.
Reveling in the attention, Sutton is doubling down, “… It’s not calling for the lynchings of Americans. These are socialist-communists we’re talking about. Do you know what socialism and communism is?”
The University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Communication reacted by removing him from their Hall of Fame. The quality of his writing makes one wonder how Goodloe Sutton got into the Hall of Fame in the first place.
To get paid in full, people like Tesoro would have had to take him to court, an expensive, risky, and hassle-inducing prospect.
The current occupant of the White House’s business modus operandi used fear of bankruptcy-by-attorneys as a cudgel. For example, in 2006, architect Andrew Tesoro submitted his final bill to the Trump Organization for his work on the clubhouse at the National Golf Club Westchester: $140,000. He was offered $50,000. Wanting to avoid legal hassle and expense, he sent a revised billing for $50,000. When that went unpaid, Tesoro contacted The Donald himself who said he would pay $25,000. Knowing that legal action to collect would cost much more, Tesoro took it, 18% of the billed amount, less than what he owed the consultants who had worked with him on the project.
A local news report tells of a couple in Rohnert Park California who were successful in their suit against the city. Police officers had entered Raul and Elva Barajas’s house, with guns drawn, looking for their son who was on parole.
Unfortunately for the city and its police force, they neglected to get a warrant for the search.
The state attracts a steady stream of college graduates, especially from the East Coast, even as many less-educated residents move to neighboring states — and to Texas — in search of a lower cost of living.
The current occupant of the White House says California is “out of control.” Something called “Hidden Dominion” posted “50 Reasons Why California Sucks” (Since updated to 72 reasons.) including such well-documented and thoughtful reasons as:
California has the worst healthcare system in the country.
Los Angeles. (Do I really even need to explain?)
San Francisco.
Oakland.
A San Francisco newspaper posted an on-line photo essay illustrating the reasons people say they hate California. As a native Oregonian, I am familiar with blaming Californians for most everything, especially their moving to the Northwest and driving up home prices and otherwise “Californicating” our pristine dominion. It’s almost an article of faith that Californians are eager to get out, relocate to the Northwest or Nevada or Texas. Having recently repatriated to Oregon after twenty-plus years in California, I am here to say it’s not so bad in the Golden State.
If you’re concerned about our Mother Earth, don’t be. The planet we inhabit will be just fine. A few thousand years after humankind is gone, Earth will have recovered from the damage done during the very brief time it suffered human infestation. The reign of people will be just a tiny blip on the planet’s many-billion-years history.
In case you were holding on to hope that the coming environmental apocalypse might somehow be prevented, our leaders are doing what they can to assure that any hope is misplaced. The current occupant of the White House has appointed an oil-and-gas lobbyist as acting Secretary of the Interior and a coal lobbyist as acting Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The President has announced both as nominees for permanent positions.
Allen Allensworth was
looking for a place to establish a town outside the Jim Crow South, a town where
African Americans could own property and pursue their economic potential.
Allensworth was born into
slavery in 1842. While still a youth he was punished for learning to read and
write, illegal for those in his situation. During the Civil War he escaped and
made his way behind Union lines. He signed on as a civilian nurse with the Army
Hospital Corps. He then served in the U.S. Navy from 1863-1865. After the war,
Allensworth was ordained a Baptist Minister. He later became an Army chaplain.
He retired from the service as a lieutenant colonel, the highest rank of an African American in the U.S.
Armed Forces to that time.
The Allensworth family settled in Pasadena California. Allen joined with four others to establish what was then called a race colony. They founded their town in 1908 on the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley, aka Central Valley, a region that still today is sometimes less than welcoming to minorities. They called their new town Solito, later changed to the eponymous “Allensworth” in honor of its most prominent citizen.
A school district was
formed in 1912. Two years later the state sanctioned a judicial district and a
post office opened. Unfortunately, Allen Allensworth was run over and killed by
a motorcycle while on a visit to Los Angeles in 1914.
The town continued to
thrive, serving the growing agricultural activity surrounding it. It reached
its peak in 1925. That’s when water shortages began. Pacific Farming Company, the land development
company that handled the original purchase, failed to deliver the promised
irrigation water in sufficient amounts. Legal battles with Pacific Farming
drained the municipal coffers and lack of water resulted in farmers moving
away. By 1930, the population had dropped below 300.
Studies have demonstrated that users of paper maps have greater geographical skill than those who don’t.
The prototypical traveling salesman carried among other
necessaries a Thomas Brothers Street Guide for the area he (in those days,
usually a he) was working. A Thomas Guide was usually within easy reach on the front
seat of the car. The guides, with their foldout maps and street indexes were
especially popular in California and other western states. Businesses,
government agencies, law enforcement and emergency responders used Thomas maps,
including the company’s large wall maps.
Cartographer George Coupland Thomas and his two brothers founded
the company in 1915. Early maps were detailed block grids with bird’s-eye
three-dimensional drawings of major buildings. As the business expanded, the
Thomas Company moved its headquarters from Oakland to Los Angeles.
George Thomas died in 1955. The family’s lawyer, and brother of a
former Oakland mayor, purchased the company. Business continued to grow and in
1970 the company moved into a shiny new building in Irvine, south of L.A.
