Columns

Happy Birthday, Wavy Gravy

It's not every day that Hugh Romney (better known as "Wavy Gravy") turns 85. And that may explain why the celebration is lasting for three whole days—May 14-16.

And what a festival it is! As always, Wavy's fun-raising birthdays are also fund-raising events for two of his signature do-good charities—the Seva Foundation and Camp Winnarainbow.

This time-around-the-sun, the birthday fun features a virtual online fest of "songs, tributes & stories" starring a who's who of beloved Sixties Survivors including: Joan Baez, Jackson Browne, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle, Michael Franti, Jorma Kaukonen, Maria Muldaur, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, Buffy Saint-Marie, and Bob Weir—with Wavy as Master of Merriment. For the complete line-up and all the other delicious details—including a video link to all jinks, high and low—click on https://www.seva.org/.

And what better time to revisit our proposal to the City to consider adding a new plaque to the street sign marking the intersection near Wavy's wood-shingled home on the corner of Henry Street and Berryman. The proposed new sign would dub the short, block-long stretch of road leading to Live Oak Park: "Wavy Gravy Way." 

AT&T Caught Red-handed? 

Several Berkeley power poles have now been outfitted with microwave wireless transmitters and complaints are starting to come in from neighbors living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) disorders. It appears that "The Internet of Things"—long ballyhooed by Big Com giants like Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T—has brought a few things that weren't mentioned on the corporate dish-list—like headaches and sensations of burning skin. 

The National Institutes of Health have concluded that 5G radiofrequency (RF) exposures are known to cause "nerve stimulation, changes in the permeability of cell membranes, and effects due to temperature elevation." There may be other side-effects triggered by 5G exposure but there has been a lack of independent studies into 5G RF risks. As the NIH points out: "Conflicts of interest and ties to the industry seem to have contributed to the biased reports. The lack of proper unbiased risk evaluation of the 5G technology places populations at risk." 

And those at risk appear to include some long-time Berkeley residents who are now scrambling to sell their homes and relocate in an attempt to out-run the 5G "rollout." 

"Some mornings I wake up and my hands are burning," says one North Berkeley resident. "My skin is visibly red." Her damaged hands currently are being treated with topical creams by a local dermatologist. The burning—accompanied by bouts of tinnitus and other hearing disorders—began on the same day a newly installed WiFi antenna was activated on Gilman Street, near the Berkeley Natural Grocery. 

The resident (who prefers to remain anonymous) claims that covering her hands with ice-packs or plunging them into cold water only provides momentary relief. 

"Rainy days are better than dry, hot days," she reports. "Apparently, the rain helps block the radiation from the transmitter" but on most days, she says, "I feel like I'm being burned at the stake." 

She and her husband are part of a small group of "electro-sensitive" residents who fear the prospect of hundreds of transmitters popping up in Berkeley—as many as two or three per block. They are desperately trying to find housing in less-developed communities outside the heavily wired Bay Area. 

Poverty Tows in Berkeley 

On my Sunday run, I noticed a car parked on Rose Street with a bright red towing tag tucked under a windshield wiper. The car was dusty and appeared to have been parked for some time. Berkeley police had drawn a chalk arrow on the street and another on the car's rear tire to provide visual proof that the car had not been moved and was targeted for a tow and storage—all at the owner's expense. If the vehicle could not be driven, the tag warned, "you should arrange for private towing or auto wrecking service to move it off the street." 

This left me wondering why we have a system that allows the police to essentially steal someone's vehicle, bill them for the theft, and demand a bounty to regain custody of the car. (Also worth noting: There was plenty of open curb space on this stretch of Rose, so the vehicle didn't pose any parking inconvenience.) 

The Chronicle recently reported how the practice of "poverty tows" is causing major misery in San Francisco. Most affected: people of color. Latinos composed 15% of those targeted for tows, with Black drivers representing 19%, and America Indian/Alaska Native residents accounting for a whopping 20% of poverty tows. 

As the ACLU and other rights groups see it, poverty tows amount to a cruel and criminal act that should be outlawed. In the meantime, here's a simple step that police officers could employ to reduce the trauma: Instead of placing a warning tag on an over-parked vehicle and walking away, the police could use the license plate or VIN number to identify and contact the owner—by letter or phone. The owner would then have an opportunity to move the car and there would be no need for the police to impound it. 

If the car cannot be safely driven, the city could offer to tow the car to a storage lot. Any car owner whose income falls below, say, $15,000 a year would be exempt from having to pay to have their car taken away. 

Gun-lovers for Peace 

In 2019, a wounded war vet named Sgt. Dan McKnight founded BringOurTroopsHome.US to challenge "Washington DC and its war machine." Heartened by recent YouGov polls that show 58% of Americans favor "an immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan," McKnight has announced a new campaign—The Ten Seven Club, named to commemorate October 7, 2001, the date "my brothers and sisters in uniform hit the ground running in Afghanistan." 

McKnight's 10-7 Club supports the Constitution's historic position that only Congress can declare war and holds that it's time to "wave goodbye to the ideas of empire and restore the limited government republic envisioned by our Founding Fathers." 

The 10-7 Club's "Defend the Guard" campaign also would prevent the deployment of National Guard troops without a formal declaration of war by Congress. 

All well and good. But here's where the boots leave the ground. "To inaugurate this new association," McKnight announces, "we are announcing a gun giveaway!" [Emphasis in the original.] Join the 10-7 Club by June 13 and "you will automatically be placed in a raffle to win a brand-new AR-15, the most popular rifle in American today." The $1,500 AR-15 is an assault rifle described as ideal "for home defense, competitive shooting, and more." (It's the "and more" that has me worried.) 

So, in exchange for a monthly membership fee, you'll be entered in an automatic raffle for an automatic rifle. 

Mapping Militarism 

What if there was an animated map of all the world's current armed conflicts? Well, it turns out there is such a thing. Actually, there are two—and here they are: 

First up is World BEYOND War's interactive Mapping Militarism 2021, which just debuted on May 2. This online tool is a mapster's masterpiece that allows anyone to scan the planet, pick out a particular conflict area, and zoom into a trove of site-specific details including present wars, numbers of US troops on the ground, drone strikes, money spent, weapons sent, amounts of military "aid" and who gets it, types of chemical and biological weapons, number and location of nuclear weapons, location of 800-plus US bases in other countries, data on NATO deployments, and a list of all US wars and military interventions since 1943. 

Second, TLDR News has posted a video that portrays "Every Ongoing War: All 56 Global Conflicts and 113,523 Annual Deaths Explained." 

Karmic Strips 

Last Sunday's Doonesbury strip offered a well-crafted, short-but-sour reference to "That Other Guy." 

Sitting behind his NPR studio microphone, Garry Trudeau's doppleganger Marc Slackmeyer asks Sen. Lyndsay Graham this question: "With the GOP in disarray, who do you think should lead the party into the future?" The senator's fictitious (but factual) reply follows:
"That's an easy one. We need someone tough enough to survive two impeachments for high crimes in addition to 29 ongoing lawsuits and five criminal probes in three jurisdictions including investigations into bank fraud, insurance fraud, tax fraud, racketeering, solicitation of election fraud, conspiracy, threatening officials and incitement of violence! That's who should be leading the party." 

Karmic Strips Redux 

In a recent Candorville strip, cartoonist Darrin Bell opens on a scene where Lemont Brown is waiting for a bus alongside a young boy who starts a conversation. The kid boasts about his father who, apparently, is a politician. 

"My father and his friends get together and pass flaws," the young tyke proclaims, proudly adding the news that "My father is incongruous." 

Reminds me of the meme: "What's the opposite of 'progress'? Answer: 'congress.'" (Note: Be wary of disparaging memes. Despite its flaws and corruption, congress is still a key tool for progressive change.) 

MoveOn's Hope to Out-Fox Fox 

Writing from the MoveOn platform, Robert Reich shares some troubling news: "On Friday [May 7], of the top 10 most popular Facebook posts, nine were from far-right extremists, including Ben Shapiro and Franklin Graham. And every weeknight, more than 3 million people tune in to watch Tucker Carlson on Fox News. It's the largest audience of any show on cable news." Reich cited a short-list of troubling trends in the following links: 

"Sean Hannity used to rule Fox. But in the post-Trump era, Tucker Carlson is king," CNN, May 7, 2021
"Majority of Republicans still believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump," Ipsos, April 2, 2021 

"False news travels 6 times faster on Twitter than truthful news," PBS NewsHour, March 9, 2018. 

Restraining Orders Are Absurd 

I read yet another news story about a San Francisco woman harassed by a former male companion after a spate of domestic violence prompted her to seek a restraining order (RO). And, as in most such stories, the offender simply ignored the RO and returned to bang on her door and threaten further violence. 

SF District Attorney Chesa Boudin recently took some heat after it was revealed that more than 100 domestic violence complaints on file had been dismissed and none of the remaining cases had resulting in criminal charges being filed. 

Another Victory for the Patriarchy 

Thugs who attack innocent people on our streets are tracked down, arrested, and punished. But if the perp happens to be a boyfriend or a partner, the police stand back, refusing to "meddle" in a "relationship" problem. 

Note: There are no "retraining orders" for burglars, robbers, arsonists, carjackers, or rapists. These criminals face arrest and jail with no "get out of jail free card." 

This practice is a remnant of an institutional patriarchy that proclaims a hands-off stance with there is a charge of violence within a marriage or a relationship. In cruder terms, this hesitancy to intervene is predicated on the once-unchallenged belief that "in a marriage, a man is entitled to beat his wife" and the police dare not invade this "sanctuary" of male privilege. 

Many times, the police explain, no charges are brought because the female victims refuse to file a complaint. (As if the action of calling the police in the first place does not constitute a complaint.) 

Restraining Orders that Really Restrain 

Too often, restraining orders don't work. More often than not, an abusive mate will return to inflict more fear and pain. 

If we want to maintain the "exceptional" practice of issuing restraining orders, here's a suggestion. When a partner is accused of assault, he (or, to be fair, she) is not simply ordered to stay away from the victim's address. Instead, the accused attacker is fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet that tracks the person's position. Approach within 20 feet of a victim's dwelling and an alarm is sounded. The alarm is monitored not only at the nearest police station, but also blasts a warning into the neighborhood, thanks to a siren attached to the ankle bracelet. 

Another potential improvement: Design an ankle bracelet that not only tracks and blasts but also contains a built-in taser that activates within 20 feet of a designated building and delivers a crippling blow that will disable the potential attacker until the police arrive. 

And speaking of potential attackers, here's the latest pop-tune Trumpelstiltskin parody from The Founders Sing: 

I Can't Live (If Living Is Without You) 

Founders Sing