Dear Comrade Socialist-Friends

Our dear, departed leader, Nikita Khrushchev was correct when he said, "America will destroy itself from the inside." Now that the Supreme Court of The United States (SCOTUS) has spoken saying  what is commonly referred to as “Obama-care," is constitutional since Congress has the right to impose taxes on citizens, it’s time to see what sort …

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Civilian

With the war overseas still raging, the inevitable happened -- Jennifer Griffin received her draft notice. Her grandparents and parents were upset – she, however, was ecstatic. Soon Jen, as she was known to her friends and family, was off to the Marine Corps Training Center at Parris Island.  It would be nearly four months before she’d be allowed …

Silver Tailings: The Girl I Left Behind

Described as a beautiful, tall, and slim brunette with dark eyes, the day she died, miners throughout the Comstock cried. The bludgeoning and strangling of 35-year-old prostitute Julia Bulette on January 20, 1867, stunned Virginia City's residents. Less than six-years earlier, in 1861, Virginia Fire Company No. 1 had led a grand parade through town. The …

Ronald Reagan — the “Gay-hater”

Ronald Reagan campaigned for gay rights before he was President -- a move considered by many a risk to his future political career. Reagan had been out of the California governor's office for several years and was preparing to run again for President. In 1978, California State Senator John Briggs pushed a state ballot initiative …

The Humble Beginnings of Sam Drucker

He was perhaps best known a “Sam Drucker” in three separate but simultaneous TV series during the 1960s – 'Petticoat Junction,' 'Green Acres' and 'The Beverly Hillbillies.' Frank Cady passed away at age 96 at his Watsonville, Oregon home, on June 8, 2012. Cady was born in Susanville, California, September 8, 1915. His family once …

Immigration Shift: Then and Now

The White House will halt the deportation of as many as 800,000 young illegal immigrants and in some cases give them work permits. People under 30 who entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas when they were under the age of 16 will be immune from deportation if they have not committed a significant …

Why Dove Mourns

This is a Karok story, I believe, because it mentions the Klamath River and Weitchpec, which is a village that rests along the river's bank in Humboldt County and home to the 'Up-Stream' peoples. Once a family of doves lived with their grandmother in a sheltered cave, and were all very happy. A spring gushed up outside; grasses grew …

Silver Tailings: Behind the Ox-Bow

The first time I heard of "The Ox-Bow Incident," I was perhaps 13 years-old. One of my cousins had to do a report for a high school English class and had the "Cliff Notes," on the book. It wasn't until I was an adult that I actually saw the movie starting Henry Fonda and Harry …

The Silent Leader

For years I have been working to be the best “Silent Leader,” possible. A ‘silent leader’ is someone who acts in such a way, others might follow their example. This can be anyone from a CEO if a Fortune 500 Company to the person cleaning the restrooms and everyone in between. Much of it is …

New Book: Final Flight

Three weeks ago I decided to clean out some of my news notes I'd collected from work. I had nearly one-hundred pieces of paper regarding the disappearance of Steve Fossett. In order to do this, I spent the day copying and transcribing these notes and such -- creating a massive computer database file. By the time …

Silver Tailings: That Infernal Blue Stuff

Virginia City's beginning is described by a Dr. Pierson in a letter to the Carson Tribune, dated August 1879: "I visited the spot known as Virginia and found not a house, but two tents in the ground. One was owned by John L. Blackburn who died by an assassin's knife. I saw the first mine …

Weegie

She knew she wasn’t supposed to have the thing – let alone have it in her bedroom. Bette’s father had forbidden it and now she was sitting on the couch listening to him lecture on the evils of the Ouija Board. “But its jus’ harmless game board,” Bette protested. Her father either didn’t hear her …

The Communists Next Door

Beijing, China based Xinyuan Real Estate Co. Ltd. purchased a portfolio of 325 finished lots and 185 acres of raw land across northern Nevada for $7.4 million, according to Lou Berrego of West Haven Development Group. The properties, which had been owned by Wells Fargo Bank, extend from Wingfield Springs to Washoe Valley to Gardnerville, …

Hot Tempered, Hard Drinking and God-Fearing

All that was missing was a passable road through the area, so Hanson ordered one to be cut. A survey was made of the coast from the Klamath to Crescent City as 1855 was nearing its end.  Building a road in rugged and steep terrain had its trouble, but not as many as the difficulties …

The Glass Pool Inn Sign

The Glass Pool Inn was a two-story motel at the southernmost end of the Las Vegas Strip. It's most striking feature was its kidney-shaped, 54,000-gallon above-ground swimming pool with seven portholes that allowed passers-by to see swimmers underwater. About the only structure on the desert when it was built in 1952, the Glass Pool Inn was a like …

To My Son, the Graduate

It was a night for which I couldn't have been prouder. I witnessed my son, Kyle walk across the stage and receive his high school diploma. It might seem like a simple piece of paper to some, by to Kyle, I sure it feels like the achievement of a life-time. That's because of all the …

Silver Tailings: Tahoe from Grant to Clinton

The first chief executive to visit Lake Tahoe was Ulysses S. Grant, in October 1879, two-years after leaving office. And contrary to popular belief, John Kennedy's visits to Tahoe were before he was elected president in November 1960. It's rumored he visited the Cal-Neva, which was owned by Frank Sinatra at the time, for a …

A Drive-by Cashing

My wife and I were running a few errands in town before going out to lunch. We were heading north on Rock Blvd,  jus’ south of Prater Way in Sparks when I saw a black SUV fly through the intersection. The next second – I saw what looked like pieces of paper come flying out of …

A Knock at the Door

The doorbell rang and I looked at the clock -- 9:30. “Who the hell’s coming to our front door at his time of night?” I asked myself, "Better no be a salesman or some shit like that." Peeking through the peephole and saw a man in uniform standing jus’ to the left of the door …

Remains Identified as Eureka California Woman

The Sierra County, California Sheriff's Office has identified the remains of a woman found in the forest several years ago. Her skeletal remains were found in a heavily wooded area off State Route 89 that runs between Truckee and Calpine in 2003, in the central part of Sierra County. Since then, authorities have been trying to …

The Air Force’s Missing Trainer

While completing background research about adventurer Steve Fossett, I happened across a related story. This one takes place May 9, 1957 and is still the subject of speculation. "Wife Refused to Let Hope Dwindle," declared the front-page headline in the Reno Evening Gazette on July 3, 1957. The story of David Steeves dominated the upper half …