A Case of Bullying and Extortion?????
As reported in last week's edition of the Fillmore Gazette, your City Council approved a Resolution of Intent to transition from AtLarge to District Based Elections in response to a lawsuit which was filed against the city of Fillmore by Attorney Jason Dominguez of Druven PC, representing a “Resident of Fillmore.” This lawsuit claims this “Resident” is a member of a protected class and that the “AtLarge Election” system presently in place violates the California Voting Rights Act. This lawsuit will initially cost Fillmore $42,000 to hire a professional demographer service to draw the district lines but will also incur an initial cost of approximately $34,000 for Mr. Jason Dominguez’s services representing the “Resident of Fillmore.” Question: How much of that initial cost will be paid to the “Resident of Fillmore? Just something to think about. Which protected class could the “Resident of Fillmore” represent? Examples of protected traits include but are not limited to: Race and National Origin, Sex, Religious Beliefs, Age, Marital Status including same sex marriages, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities, and Disabilities. A few facts to know: During the 2020 Census, Fillmore is reported to be greater than 70% Hispanic. Our current Fillmore Council is 60% Hispanic. Our Council, 5 members total, is represented by 3 males and 2 females. Religious Beliefs are now being trampled upon with unrelenting bigotry but not sure this is the protected class at issue here. Age is usually discriminated when it is a person 40 or more years old. So, that is not the issue. An important fact to know is that almost all of the cities in our immediate area have been pulled into this type of lawsuit. Some cities have spent money in the “Millions of dollars” trying to defend their AtLarge voting system. Our city is small in comparison to many. What could be the possible benefits of this type of change? How will we measure the outcome of this change? If we changed to “district” representation how will that improve upon our current governmental Council? Our Fillmore Unified School District changed to “district” voting not long ago. How many of you know that was changed? How has that benefited our children and/or your representation? Do you know who represents your district? What is his or her name? With our current City Council representation, you have 5 elected officials you can speak with about any issue you have in Fillmore. When you live in a “district” you will have one voice for your issue or ideas. Why, “Resident of Fillmore”, did you agree to this lawsuit involving our beautiful Fillmore? Without fighting this we are spending at least $76,000 on this foolishness when it is not needed. We, in our town, are fully and fairly represented by our current Council. What a waste of funding and tax dollars to spend this to go into the pockets of lawyers and law firms. This is surely a form of Bullying and Extortion. What does the law firm care about our beautiful City of Fillmore? But you, oh “Resident of Fillmore”, should have cared about your city.
Concerned Citizens who love Fillmore
To the Editor:
Money is being extorted from the City of Fillmore by one of its own citizens forcing the city to pay $72,000; $42,000 for the initial set up of Fillmore into geographic districts; plus another $30,000 to go to the plaintiff for their self-proclaimed suffering from being unrepresented in city council (tongue in cheek). That sounds extreme, but it is true. One citizen labeling themselves as “a member of a protected class and registered voter” (Really? Who isn’t in a protected class?) feels they have been unrepresented in our votes for City Council and to correct this system, they are threatening the city with a very large lawsuit if Fillmore refuses to comply with districting as opposed to an “at-large voting method as we currently have.
For the citizens who do not know what this means, in a nutshell, instead of voting for 5 individual candidates for City Council from anywhere within the city, you have only 1 vote from the area that has been designated to you by this “Districting”. If a candidate wins in your district, but does not share your same ideals or priorities for the City, there are no other options.
As with our current “at large” system, our voters have 5 opportunities from a selection of candidates at election time. If you have concerns for the city, a citizen can take that concern to one of the 5 likeminded council members.
What becomes problematic, is the outlining of the districts themselves where potential “gerrymandering” can occur. This is where either party can manipulate boundaries to affect the outcome of the election.
So the question is, why would one citizen feel justified to strong arm Fillmore that already has a 71% Hispanic population and 66% representation on the City Council? The only other “protected class” that has been pushing the envelope of acceptance in our schools and parades are the gay and transgender. Might this person feel unrepresented? It has been told, they have also been on our council. Is this just a payday for ambulance chasing lawyers asking for a citizen to be a surrogate citizen on their behalf?
This is happening all over the state of California. It is called the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) where cities are losing to the tyranny of another states mandated manipulation to control our citizenry. We ask that you attend the next Fillmore City Council meeting discussing this subject on October 24, October 26, November 24 and November 28 to voice your opinion. Concerns also need to be directed to our state representative. In our district, it is Congresswoman Julie Brownley.
- Concerned Citizen for Fair Voting in Fillmore
Letter From Safegaurd Fillmore
As members of Safeguard Fillmore, we are appalled that a resident of Fillmore is involved in a serious disregard for our small town by filing a lawsuit against our town concerning At Large voting. Yes, that is the thought we have. What??? This resident of Fillmore must have been “hoodwinked” or taken off guard by a payoff as to involve themselves with “ambulance chasing” attorneys and law firms. At the Fillmore City Council meeting on Oct. 10 our Council voted to transition from At-Large to District-Based elections. Why? Because Jason Dominguez, Attorney representing a “Fillmore Resident,” filed a suit against Fillmore due to the unnamed “Fillmore Resident” claiming to be underrepresented in the City Council. The claim cites the California Voting Rights Act gives this person the right to sue our city because “they” claim to be a member of a protected class and registered voter. Hmmm. Which protected class is the “Fillmore Resident” referring to? For more information about this atrocity please come to the Public Hearings being held at Fillmore City Hall on Oct. 24, Oct. 26, Nov. 14, and Nov. 28. Come to one or all of these meetings to find out how much money is being sucked out of our hard earned tax dollars and funding for our city. It is more than you think for no benefits for anyone in our small town. Oops, the only benefit is for that law firm, and possibly the “Fillmore Resident” claiming to be in a protected class and misrepresented on our Council.
Just a last question - Who is this unnamed “Fillmore Resident?” Let’s find out. Stand up “Fillmore Resident,” tell us all why you are participating in this “money grab.” If you are truly misrepresented we need to hear about it so we all can possibly solve any problems which may plague our city.
Safeguard Fillmore Member
To the Editor:
It’s unfathomable even for Democrats to witness the chaos of the Republican House. The Freedom Caucus (“FC”) is disemboweling that august body at a time when the world is in the greatest danger since the Berlin Wall fell. No legislation has passed, not the remotest concern for Americans and their need for Congress to act has been shown, and no progress has been attempted by the GOP on the 2024 Budget because it will accept no compromise. On anything.
The appalling nomination of Gym Jordan as Speaker, second in line to the presidency, is a grim statement of what many House Republicans think is the best they can do. The late Michael Gerson, an evangelical Christian, lifelong Republican, and onetime chief speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, described Jordan as the “truly Trumpian Man, guided by bigotry, seized by conspiracy theories, dismissive of facts and truth, indifferent to ethics, contemptuous of institutional norms and ruthlessly dedicated to the success of a demagogue.” And that’s just his life as a “legislator.”
Gym’s increasing notoriety has resurfaced allegations that, when he was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State, he knew and didn’t report the epic sexual abuses of team doctor Richard Strauss, “to include 1,429 sexual assaults and 47 rapes of student patients during Strauss’ time at the school (1978 to 1998) prior to his suicide in 2005.” Jordan has denied the accusations, but five people, four former wrestlers and one longtime friend, have said that Jordan “had to have known,” and was “directly informed” by at least one athlete.
The final report of the January 6 House Select Committee concluded that, “Jim Jordan was more involved than any congressman in the January 6 conspiracy with Donald Trump as he attempted to overturn the election.”
In 2021, former House Speaker John Boehner was asked to name one of the “political terrorists,” legislators who get lots of attention despite having no significant accomplishments. “Jim Jordan especially,” replied Boehner. ”I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart ― never building anything, never putting anything together.”
Jordan is reportedly threatening Republicans who refuse to vote for him, and as of this writing, it appears to be expected. If he attains the Speakership, this is who the Republican House holds as the best they have to offer, and will be their leader toward their vision for America’s immediate future.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
“Israel:” one land, many peoples and names. “Canaan,” later two kingdoms of “Israel” and “Judah” (origin of “Jew”) and “Palestina.” Ironically, it is also the source of a common ancestor significant to three of the four Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). By more than 1,000 years, “Israel” predates “Palestine.” After the Diaspora of Jews to the East by choice or force, the land then became home to an Arab population, again for more than a millennium. Here, the history is necessarily summary.
After the Islamic conquest of the Middle East in the seventh century, Arab peoples began to settle in “Palestina,” which included a small Jewish population. Excepting a century of Crusader domination, the land fell under Muslim control for nearly 1,200 years. Although Jewish habitation never ceased entirely, the population was overwhelmingly Arab, and the land was their ancestral homeland.
In the second half of the 1800’s, the deep-rooted yearning of Jews of the Diaspora to return to the territory of their ancestors, and their recognition of rising hatred toward Jews in Europe and the Middle East, cultivated the nationalistic movement, “Zionism.”
Zionism eventually succeeded because the Western Allies ¬forcibly restored the Jews surviving the Holocaust to their ancient homeland, and that of the Palestinian Arabs. It seemed “just and compassionate.”
In November 1947, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 181, partitioning the land into “Independent Arab and Jewish States.” The resolution met immediate violent Arab rejection of the “invaders.” On May 14, 1948, the Zionist leadership declared the founding of the state of Israel.
In the Jewish “War of Independence,” for Palestinians, it was “al-Nakba,” “The Catastrophe.” The new Jewish state was immediately invaded by the armies of several Arab countries, alongside Palestinian militants. Vanquished, seven hundred thousand Arabs were driven from their homes, with no right of return, to the present. As 20% of the Israeli population, Arab Israelis and are considered as “second-class citizens” in what they consider to be “their country.”
In the Six-Day War of June 1967, Israel repelled a heavy Arab military force massed at its borders. Israel seized East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza (considered illegal under the UN declaration by much of the world), claiming much of the West Bank and leaving Palestinians under painful Israeli occupation in Gaza, one of the most poverty-ridden, densely populated and isolated places in the world. Since the 1990s, there have been several failed attempts to negotiate the two-state solution, as promised by the UN.
Under Israel’s prime minister, “Bibi” Netanyahu, Jewish settlement expanded in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and violence against the Arab Israelis has accelerated. The UN declaration of a two-state nation has been discarded by both populations.
As I write this, Israel has promised a retaliatory “complete siege” of Gaza, “No electricity, no food, no water” even for innocents. Hamas is threatening to kill all the hostages taken last weekend if Israel does not provide needed items to Gaza or attacks them in retaliation.
The well-meaning gift of Israel to the Jewish people by the West was not ours to give, and both Jews and Arabs have a legitimate claim to the land. The UN is clearly reluctant to resolve the conflict against Jewish interests, and the memory of the Holocaust revives passions in the Zionists. The rest of the world is at a nexus of millennia of regional conflict. It appears that no act of vengeance, however vile or extreme, can satisfy the sons of Abraham. What are the rest of “Abraham’s sons and daughters” to do?
It is as tragic as it was inevitable.
History of Israeli and Palestinian conflict and the latest conflict in Gaza in maps (usatoday.com)
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca
To the Editor:
Three hours before the Congressional Budget deadline, a Continuing Resolution (CR) was adopted by the House, shortly thereafter by the Senate, and signed by President Biden one hour before the cutoff date, thereby averting a drastic government shutdown which had appeared imminent. It will fund the government at 2023 levels for 45 days without drastic spending cuts, but without Republican commitment to Ukraine funding as the Democrats wanted.
It’s not that the Freedom Caucus (HRFC) came to its senses and, holding their noses, did what was good for the country and her citizens. The CR passed only because 209 Democrats performed olfactory defense and, with 126 Republicans, voted to not make the country suffer because far-right Republicans want chaos.
The House was called to order with just over an hour to review the CR and, given Democratic inability to trust McCarthy because he has already reneged on his agreement with President Biden on the debt ceiling figure, did what they could to give themselves time to consider the implications of the CR language.
Speaker McCarthy appeared on CBS News Sunday and blamed Democrats for the delay in voting on the CR, whining that they engaged in some political opposition maneuvering before they voted for the CR. The interviewer laughed out loud. The Speaker conceded that, though Democrats were the ones who voted for the CR to save it, they were responsible for making it difficult for him to look in command. That’s the way to get Democrats to support you for Speaker, dunderhead, just keep bonkin’ yourself on the noggin. Though, imagine if the Republicans cannot get rid of McCarthy because the Democrats won’t let them.
“Even when we’ve had [previous] shutdowns, the issue has never [before] been trust,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO. With good reason, the Democrats do not trust the HRFC or McCarthy. But then, the House Republicans don’t trust each other, either.
“Democrats felt disrespected, the far-right felt betrayed.” Rep. Matt Gaetz vowed to bring a motion to vacate the Speakership this week. CNN’s Jake Tapper warned that, to succeed in vacating McCarthy, “you will have to make a deal with the Democrats.” “Absolutely,” Gaetz agreed. “I will make no deal with Democrats and concede no terms to them. I actually think Democrats should vote against Speaker McCarthy for free.” Two dunderheads.
Such is the HRFC’s logic, political acumen, and interest in the needs of the country. Their only principles are chaos, personal gain, and owning the libs and moderate House Republicans.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To Editor:
It looks like the House Republican Freedom Caucus (“HRFC”) will put the man in the cannon and light the fuse. The Speaker will not escape unscathed, but oh! The lovely smell of Apocalypse Now - napalm, sulfur, smoke, perhaps a fire! Who needs to govern when you can have a war?
The HRFC remains inconsolable over McCarthy’s deal with President Biden on the debt ceiling in June. They refuse any budget proposal that uses that negotiated figure. They had the entire summer to work with Democrats to frame a budget. As the House has been occupied with ranting and raving at the AG, perpetually investigating impeachment, etc., decrying Trump’s legal woes, Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) told reporters, “We allowed ourselves to basically get so distracted with all the other shiny things that we didn’t actually get ahead of our real job, which is to be appropriators.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) accused the HRFC of straying from Reagan philosophy: “take 80% and make a deal. But these folks [demand] 100% and would prefer zero versus getting 95%. Literally, some of these guys have been offered about everything. The goal post moves every day.”
The House Republicans know full well that any bill must be bipartisan since Democrats control the Senate and the Presidency. The point is, the HRFC doesn’t want a deal. What do they want?
Matt Gaetz endorsed a video of Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), which reflected his own belief that, "the only way you're gonna get any change in this town is through force." Speaker McCarthy said of his Party, “They don’t know what they want.” Of course they know. Trump commanded (all caps) Unless You Get Everything, Shut It Down!” He and the HRFC want an actual revolution, or at least “mass dysfunction,” to alter our form of government.
To ensure dysfunction, Republicans have released their 2024 Budget Proposal which is nothing short of rapacious. In an increasingly inequitable economy, it is miserly toward those needing social services, and remarkably charitable to the appallingly wealthy who are sustaining the imbalance. The HRFC vows no compromise, and believes they will bury the Democrats in a government shutdown and achieve their one-Party system.
On the Democratic side, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was indicted for bribery by the DOJ. "Over $480,000 in cash and gold bars - much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe – [were] discovered in the home." Menendez invoked the popular meme of “weaponization of the DOJ” because he’s Latino and was poor as a child.
One commentator accused, “There goes Biden, weaponizing the Justice Department again to prosecute senior political leaders in his own Party.”
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
When I returned from a month-long hiatus from the internet, cable TV, and even newspapers, I felt as I did when, years ago, I left the Dominican Novitiate in San Rafael and rejoined the world. I found myself in a place only somewhat familiar. I felt overwhelmed, displaced for a while afterward. I felt that way when I rejoined the world this week.
Leaving aside the tragedies of natural disasters and the threats of international conflict, it is what is happening in our political system, and the fact that our “United States” is considering its own suicide, that is shocking. Having been away from it, political reality was more contentious and threatening than I recalled.
The reaction of MAGA to indictments against former president Trump and others, based upon credible evidence though not yet proven, have caused judges and district attorneys to conduct voir dire of prospective jurors whose names must be withheld for their own safety against threats of harm to those who participate in the legal process. Not content or confident enough to allow our system of justice to find him “not quilty,” our former president threatens anyone opposing him. “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” Trump warned the judiciary and prosecutors in all caps on Truth Social.
District Attorney Fani Willis in Fulton County, GA, has reported multiple racist threats before and after Trump’s indictment, and his supporters last month posted the names and addresses of investigative grand jury members who voted to charge the former president and his allies.
MAGA is threatening violence if Trump is found guilty of any charge and are willing to crush our constitutional republic if their legally and factually unsupported claims are not validated. People of both Parties are increasingly alarmed that the election of 2024 will become violent if citizens are prevented from voting, misinformation is spread to confuse and deter voters, one Party solely manages election processes, and allegations of fraud are made without evidence.
There is other dismaying news, but it is the outright threats and predictions of violence against each other that are so alarming, and the silence that emanates from other Republicans. It would be a tragic end to the American Experiment, more deadly than the Civil War because the differences are not centered within geographical boundaries. And it makes us vulnerable to other powers that will seek advantage in the self-induced failure of our “Union.”
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
Student Hopes to Start Bible Club at FHS
To the Editor:
Hello my daughter spoke at the school board meeting during public comment and I think she did amazing. Her name is Presley Simson aka Presley Hollis. She is 17 and a senior at Fillmore High School. She is normally a very shy girl with good grades who hasn’t had the easiest time in school. She regularly attends Faith Community Church at 355 D street here in Fillmore. She attends their High School Youth Group Sunday night at 6:30-8 pm at the D street campus. There is also a Jr High School youth group on Tuesday nights at the same time and place. Both are led by J. Donovan Mitchell and over seen by Pastor Dion Brooms. Presley has also served in the church by singing on the worship team as needed, helped with VBS and children’s ministry. She is an experienced Hume Lake attendee too. It has been so amazing to see her grow in her walk with the Lord that has led her to this point.
She looks forward to starting this prayer group with any of the high school kids who would like to go. Please see her speech below given on 9/5/23 at the School Board meeting at the district office:
“My name is Presley Simson and I’m a senior at Fillmore High School. Since I have been going to Fillmore since the first grade, I have always had a dream. That dream is that I can feel included too. I dream I have a safe space to go that was filled with positivity, and was uplifting, and I could praise God openly with my friends. I dream my friends could pray openly before sporting events with out being teased or reprimanded. I dreamed Fillmore High School actually had a prayer club for anybody who would want to join. I had a dream my values and beliefs mattered as much as everyone else’s. I dream you will listen to me today, and help me start a club where my friends and I can be included too. I do have outside support able and willing to help make my dreams come true. And please let me know if you are already in process of making something like this happen, and what step you are on. Thank you.”
She is so looking forward to all the support that is being offered to her to get this going on campus. Unfortunately, this piece has been missing at the high school and we look forward to knowing the kids who so desire to pray will be able to, together as a club. So everyone can feel included.
Thank you,
Brandy Hollis,
Fillmore, Ca
Dear Daniel Gradias, MA, AMFT#138119 (He/Him), After reading your letter in the Gazette a few weeks ago, it is clear that you probably have only recently graduated from some woke university; calling people ignorant solely because they think differently from you does not lend to me trusting in your maturity nor your degree.
As someone who has experienced sexual abuse as a child, I can tell you that often it begins with fun and games. Then it leads to taking off clothes, (like say, throwing a jacket across the room in a dance routine). And when accustomed to that, it can turn into a traumatic incident that stays with a young person for life. Not saying that putting on a “queer cultural performance” would end up in a rape or abuse of any sort. But it certainly does lend itself to a young person becoming desensitized and open to something worse in the long run. "Harm created by drag has zero clinical or empirical data." Play the data any way you want. I, too, can give data that counters your statement. Desensitization will destroy this generation. One step at a time.
You justify drag performances to teach empathy. I beg to differ. It does not take a drag queen dance or even a pro LGBTQ2+ curriculum to teach empathy and inclusiveness. Our district has prioritized empathy and inclusion for 20+ years. Do kids still get their feelings hurt today? Yes. Will they in the future? Yes. Is that part of growing up? Yes. Children don't need "safe spaces" or clubs to become empathetic or even resilient. They DO need adults and parents around them, all of them, who will call out wrong and celebrate goodness.
The question, “Do you want queer kids, or do you want dead kids?” is your basic shut them down question and it is insulting. Your colleague is perpetuating a fear that can be paralyzing for any parent. How unfortunate that he, as a “mental health colleague” would think this appropriate in any setting. I hope you will not use that sort of inflammatory rhetoric in your practice.
Daniel, according to your letter, individuals who differ in viewpoint from you are loud and ignorant. Perhaps. Many are speaking up loud and clear for the children of our community. I say, GOOD!!! Stay loud, parents and other concerned citizens!!! Please! As for ignorant. I know what I am about to ask will seem ignorant, but, why did that man want to dress in a ladies bathing suit and dance in front of children?
Let’s stop with these fake “safe spaces” and help children actually become resilient, healthy and contributing members of society.
Anonymous
To the Editor:
If you who have not heard “Rich Men North of Richmond,” a song by Oliver Anthony, I recommend it. It is an anthem of a common man expressing his frustration and near-despair over the inattention of our political leaders to the Promise of America: equal opportunity.
My sole criticism of Anthony’s moving song is that he is blaming the wrong people. He calls out the politicians in Washington DC and, by extension, the states:
“These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just wanna have total control…
’Cause your dollar ain’t [!@#$] and it’s taxed to no end
’Cause of rich men north of Richmond.”
If only the “rich men north of Richmond” were the actual problem. Charlatans, grifters and authoritarians are in Congress only because we send them.
Some idolize an ex-president who is the subject of multiple civil and criminal, state and federal, indictments, and others who politically control what your children can read, study, learn, and whether a woman’s body belongs to her or to the state.
Anthony’s anguish mirrors the anxieties of so many in this country. President Biden proposed a “wealth tax” to assess higher taxes on the wealthy, who have made billions of dollars since 2008 and Covid, and who utilize so much of the infrastructure and other benefits of the tax dollars we all provide to help make their fortunes. Biden proposes tax incentives to reignite manufacturing jobs. Republicans in Congress are strongly opposed.
Republicans will renew Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy. Most opposed Biden’s plan to force Big Pharma to negotiate Medicare prices. They propose to reduce Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for those who need it to survive in a massively skewed economic system. Several Midwest red states legislatures are amending labor laws to allow 12-year-olds to work late into the night hosing down meat processing plants, or work in bars, to cure corporate labor shortages and let bosses pay lower wages. They defend it as “freedom.”
Anthony mis-characterized welfare recipients as 300-pound cookie-munching folks “milkin’ welfare.” Seventy percent of recipients are working people, men like him, and women, looking for the American Promise, struggling to stay in their homes and some failing, and trying to keep their kids alive in a country of increasing economic imbalance.
Oliver Anthony has said that his song doesn’t advocate for any particular political candidate, but against the system in Washington. His song should have been directed at us.
P.S. Martin, David Reimer’s tragic story of surgical sexual reassignment and his subsequent despair shined a light on how harmful it is to force someone, whatever their outward sex characteristics, to live as one gender when they feel they are another. The “Church Militant” article - you recommended - observed that transgender people feel the same way. It disputes your position that it’s a sinful choice or a delusion.
“Evil,” or the “absence of love,” comes in many forms. I thought I was clearly referring to choosing to protect ourselves from unwelcome facts and being willing to make others suffer to avoid our own discomfort. I was not speaking of cases where evil imposes isolation, carnage, destruction, and persecution of others as does Putin, for example. But recognize that some American red states have already adopted legislation to isolate, silence, and forbid recognition of the LBGTQ community.
If you would allow me more word count, I would happily explain every statement I make in full, but it will be repetitive. I hope you’ll allow it in this instance anyway.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
Martin, I have long tried to determine why you have such a heat on for the “evil” of transgenderism. Presumably, it is not an issue with which you, and other like-minded souls, personally grapple. I’ll venture an opinion: they fear that the bedrock reality they understood in their youth is being significantly challenged, and reconsideration of their assumptions may be too distressing and consequential.
Despite the lyrical beauty of much of the Old Testament, Martin, it is not a history book. History does not include “angels rebelling against God and releasing something called evil down to earth.” The thrilling Biblical story was meant to explain how God can be “good” when his people still suffer intensely. Fear not. If God is all-powerful, he doesn’t need to worry about an upstart.
The conundrum is that the Biblical God created humans with the ability to exercise free will, but when they acted consistent with that gift, though chose unwisely, God punished them forever.Christ came to remedy that gaping problem with Love over Law. All religions hold that God can do no wrong, so why did he create LBGTQ people, or people of different races and religions? Apparently, God did not create “two perfectly distinct sexes” either, as you expected from your misunderstanding of Genesis as historical fact.
The David Reimer story was a tragedy where a child, a victim of a botched circumcision, was raised, unknowingly, as a girl on the advice of a questionable doctor. “As a result, he experienced gender dysphoria, which is the feeling that one’s biological sex differs from their gender identity. People who identify as transgender often experience gender dysphoria early in life as well. His tragic case to reclaim his gender identity contributed to a better understanding of the relationship between gender and biological sex.” Source, “Church Militant” (emphasis mine). It supports my position, Martin.
I did have one tiny smile at your assertion that the Biblical creation story and concept of pure evil versus good is a “foundational principle of our Republic.” You argued that “for consistency,” we should also reject transgenderism. This is erroneous on so many levels and arrives at such grotesque logic that I will step carefully over the steaming mass and move on.
Some people are afraid to consider the reality of others, and take refuge in finding it “evil” as a shield against a painful challenge to long-held beliefs. “Evil,” or the “absence of love,” is a weapon that we often brandish against each other for our own “protection,” resisting the recognition of our common humanity. It is a self-destructive act.
Kelly Scoles
Fillmore, Ca.
Dear Esteemed FUSD Board of Trustees,
I am a proud graduate of Fillmore High School, Class of 2006, and attended FUSD schools from K-12. I also have two nieces and a nephew who attend Fillmore schools. I write to you today after listening to the multitude of public comments at your July 18th school board meeting. Although I am extremely proud of the many people who spoke up in favor of FUSD’s partnership with groups that provide safety and community for Queer youth, I was deeply disturbed by the rhetoric around a Queer cultural performance that occurred at One Step A La Vez’s pride event this past month. Of the most concerning, I heard one community member cite a violent biblical passage discussing ropes around necks and drowning while another seemed to scoff at sexual education’s HIV/AIDS literacy (which is important to EVERYONE’S health). I also heard a variety of harmful stereotypes that have historically been used to rally fear and discontent against the LGBTQ community since the beginning of our fight for civil rights. Phrases like “grooming,” “sin,” “sexual abuse,” and “evil" is rhetoric that has perpetuated hate and violence against our community for decades. I hope that these comments serve to reveal the anti-LGBTQ motives behind the group that has been stoking fear and moral panic in Fillmore.
I hold a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology, and I am a registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist working with a private practice in Los Angeles. I did my pre-degree training at APLA Health which is a leading healthcare provider and researcher for those who are living with HIV/AIDS. My work with people has overwhelmingly catered to a Queer (LGBTQ) cohort, and I have a specialization in LGBTQ Affirmative Therapy. I’d like to add a clinical perspective:
I offer LGBTQ-affirmative therapy because it is needed. And no, LGBT Affirmative Therapy is not “grooming.” At its core, it's about meeting Queer clients with true empathy, understanding, and validation for their right to exist as humans. The reason this therapy is needed is that Queer people have often been deprived of a basic level of empathy and mirroring during their development by their families and communities. This deficit in empathy, and ensuing antipathy, for the Queer part of a person is often at the root of mental health problems that Queer clients present with - anxiety, depression, unhealthy relationships, substance misuse, spiritual cut-off, toxic perfectionism, self-hate, eating disorders, and more. There is an inherent trauma of growing up LGBTQ in a world that believes you are a "sin" and should not exist - this inherent developmental trauma is a shadow that looms large in the background of my sessions with Queer adults. In cases of extreme trauma, clients’ ability to process traumatic events is often complicated by the lack of empathy and sense of safety they received as children due to their queerness.
This is why organizations like One Step A La Vez are so important. This organization’s availability as a resource and its use in community-building is an outstanding early intervention for Queer people who are at high risk for the various mental health issues that were stated above.
Suggesting that our community is a pathway to sexual abuse was one of the more hurtful comments that I heard at your July 18th meeting. The sexual and physical abuse that has presented in Queer clients has often been at the hands of their own family and members of their religious communities - NOT drag queens. In fact, I have heard an overwhelmingly opposite point of view of drag performance from my Queer clients. Seeing a drag show for the first time was once described to me as “Queer Joy” - where a Queer person was able to join in community with other Queer people and enjoy performance art that is intrinsically tied to Queer liberation. Drag is a statement of defiance - couched in comedy, make-up art, and costuming - that empowers the Queer community to embrace their outsiderness and transform it into a source of pride.
I want to also point out: Seeing a person in drag will not make your straight child gay or Queer. If they do end up coming out as Queer, it will be because they were already LGBTQ long before they ever saw a person in drag... And, If the latter is the case, the Queer community WILL "come for your kids" (as one parent feared). We will come to them and offer them acceptance and empathy, we will build them up, and we help them celebrate their existence since so many in society have failed at these tasks for them.
I spoke to this board previously in regard the fearmongering that is happening in the city of Fillmore. When I came to you then, I cited several statistics that can help illuminate the dire need for supportive institutions around Queer children. I will repeat them now:
According to the CDC’s 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 60 percent of LGBQ youth reported being so sad or hopeless that they stopped doing some of their usual activities. (Kann et al, 2016)
LGB youth contempt suicide at almost three times the rate of heterosexual youth... They're also 5x more likely to have attempted suicide compared to heterosexual youth (The Trevor Project).
LGBTQ+ youth have a 120% higher risk of becoming homeless after coming out to their families. This cohort makes up to 40% of the homeless youth population (McCann & Brown, 2019)
40% of transgender adults have reported having made a suicide attempt and of those, 92% reported having attempted suicide before the age of 25. (The Trevor Project)
As a mental health colleague once put it, in a fit of frustration: "Do you want Queer kids, or do you want dead kids?"
The harm in eliminating resources for Queer youth - resources like One Step A La Vez - far outweighs any "harm" of a single drag performance (With the side note that “harm” created by drag has ZERO clinical or empirical backing).
I urge the board to resist the loudness of ignorance and to continue their endorsement of One Step and other similar groups that allow ALL students the right to empathy and community. Thank you for your time and please reach out to me with any questions you might have on queer development and mental health problems that present in queer clients - I am happy to lend articles and other research that could be helpful.
Respectfully,
Daniel Gradias, MA, AMFT#138119 (He/Him)
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
Well, Martin, you really got your Old Testament Prophet on in last week’s Editorial. Your reporting on the Gay Pride event was flawless, and I commend you. Your editorial opinion was as anathema-cursing, bush-burning, and sinner-smoting an event as any in the Hebraic Scriptures. It didn’t sound much like Christ in the New Testament, but it can be hard to get all wound up about Love and Acceptance.
Some people struggle with the fact that not all of God’s creatures think as they do or share all their beliefs or life experiences. Not all Catholics are “Inquisition Catholics,” miserable unless somebody somewhere is being persecuted for a belief they don’t share. Not all Christians consider “Judaeo-Christian” origins to conjure up the relentlessly demanding and avenging God of which you are so enamored.
You skewed the true meaning of diversity, equity, and inclusion to accommodate your biases. You accused the LGBTQ community of “aggression among the young, and closely tied to pornography, determined to infect public libraries and schools.” That’s the phony dog whistle that the far-right uses to devalue and degrade members of that community, who were also created by God, and impose their own supposedly “Christian” reality.
My theological training taught that Christ came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, to bring the “good news” of his message of Love over Law. God created all kinds of people and, if some of them offend you or make you feel “uncomfortable,” you can avoid extended time among them or their performances. But a true Christian is obliged, at the very least, to “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” Luke 6:31, etc., and trust that the Almighty is competent to judge his creation at the appropriate time, and without your assistance.
The Gay Pride event was held in the afternoon at the Community Center, and not sponsored by the District or the City. No one, including students, was forced to attend. If your child did attend, he or she chose to, and you might ask what he or she thought of it. One or two council members should attend every significant community event.
In addition to his screed against anyone who doesn’t think as he does, Martin observed that parents are the “primary authority over their children!” So, parents, do your job and let the other parents do theirs.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor & Fillmore Community:
Please join your neighbors at Fillmore City Hall, next Tuesday, August 15 at 6 pm, to present our concerns to local officials and Supervisor Kelly Long, about the parking of 100 heavily graffitied railcars in the Agricultural Zone, along Old Telegraph Road. The cars have now been there for over 6 months, and were not present when the Sespe Rail bridge collapsed last winter. They were brought in, afterwards.
Many in Fillmore might think this issue is not of their concern. That is not true. An agreement between the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC)and Sierra Northern Railroad was signed in November, 2022, which allows 3rd party railroad storage on all the Santa Paula Branch Line, running from Montalvo to East of Piru, FOR THE NEXT 35 YEARS. While the railway cannot store railcars within city limits, they believe they have been given the right to use the rest of the tracks for Industrial Storage all across the Santa Clara Valley to Piru and all through the green farmlands on the way to Ventura, where one lone railcar already stands, west of Briggs Road.
All of us will be affected if more railcars from Ventura and neighboring counties are allowed to be stored on the railroad tracks. Who will want to start a business or buy a home in Fillmore if it is surrounded by miles of old and heavily graffitied railcars, which are known to draw vandals? Although Sierra Northern Railways is earning hundreds PER DAY by storing these railcars, and the VCTC is set to profit by many thousands this year, the Fillmore community seems to be paying the price. Many believe such an agreement would never even be suggested close to cities like Camarillo and Ventura.
Another troubling part of the Sierra Northern/VCTC Agreement is the inauguration of the Sunburst Railbikes, small pedal “bikes” which rent for $250 a trip, and run on the railroad tracks from Santa Paula to 7th Avenue in Fillmore, before they turn around retrace their route back. These railbikes criss cross Highway 126 sometimes eight times daily, meaning the rail arms come down and close our busy highway in both directions, EIGHT TIMES on some days, not only to regular traffic, but to Emergency Responders: Police, Fire and Ambulance Traffic. While the railbikes are promoted as “scenic experiences” for tourists, the reality is that the graffitied railcars stored by the same company, and parked just a few more feet to the east, have robbed commuters, residents, farmers, and taxpayers of any scenic views for them.
Concerned neighbors have attended a series of VCTC meetings, asking to limit railbike closure times on Highway 126, and asking that the current graffitied rail cars, probably under contract, at least be moved to a less public site, one mile to the west, shortening the railbike ride from 17 to 15 miles, but making the cars much less of an attractive nuisance to tagging crews and teens wanting to jump from car to car. This repositioning would also make them less of a public nuisance in terms of what many feel is offensive and obscene graffiti. County Municipal Code 10 and a section in the agreement between Sierra Northern and the VCTC both address graffiti, but have not been enforced. So far letters, emails, and visits to VCTC meetings have been largely ignored. Many believe that if the agreements in the VCTC/Sierra Northern Contract are not going to be followed, it is time to take steps to terminate this contract and find an alternative partner for the line. Moving the railcars to a less public place, limiting the highway closures, and renegotiating this contract regarding “stored railcars” must happen immediately.
Our Supervisor Kelly Long will be at the meeting. As the head of the VCTC Board in November, she not only voted for this agreement which affects our district, and the area she represents, but she was also the signer for the VCTC. We need to understand why such an agreement was ever negotiated by the VCTC, which is a Ventura County Agency, but which seems to violate Ventura County Zoning Ordinances, the Ventura County General Plan, and the SOAR initiative, which voters approved twice.
Please attend this meeting, which will affect 35 years of all of our futures. You needn’t speak, if that is uncomfortable for you, as a large presence will speak for all of us. A partnership with Sierra Northern could certainly benefit our Fillmore, and we would like to welcome them, but only if their business with us is based on mutual respect and cooperation.
A Concerned Citizen
To the Editor:
The graffiti on the rail cars west of town is not the railroads fault. It is due to the low lifes that see themselves as extremely inferior. Somehow they can become famous if they spread visual sewage also known as graffiti on any surface that they can reach. The problem is with the graffiti vandals, not the railroad. Blaming the railroad is like blaming all the residents of the Meadowlark Dr neighborhood for the gang violence there.
Concerned Citizen
To the Editor:
Bardsdale Cemetery Grave Desecrated:
My family member’s gravesite has been vandalized at Bardsdale Cemetery. I believe it may be a felony in the State of California, and the family of the deceased person is ready to take legal action against the known perpetrator if this continues.
Anonymous,
Fillmore, Ca.
To the Editor:
A meeting will be held at 6:30 pm on August 15 at Fillmore City Hall for residents to voice their concerns to Supervisor Kelly Long and local officials about the 100 heavily graffitied railcars currently parked on Old Telegraph to the west of Fillmore.
In November, 2022, The Ventura Country Transportation Commission, represented by Supervisor Long, signed an agreement with Sierra Northern Railways that allows rail storage, not in cities, but in all other incorporated areas on the rail line currently running between Montalvo and Piru. The agreement also includes use of the railway for the Sunburst Railbikes, which currently cross and interrupt Highway 126 traffic up to 8 times day.
The railcars were brought in after the bridge closure to provide storage revenue for Sierra Northern Railways, and amounts to hundreds of dollars a day.
Despite the request of the Fillmore Gazette, residents, local officials and law enforcement, Sierra Northern Railways, which maintains an office at 351 Santa Clara Street in Fillmore, has refused to move the trains approximately one mile west and out of view, lessening their impact as a public and attractive nuisance.
Although moving the railcars west would shorten the 17 mile round trip Sunburst Railbike ride to around 15 miles, many residents feel is that is a reasonable compromise, and are asking for immediate action.
Sierra Northern Railways insists the railcars will remain in place until the railway bridge is fixed sometime in early 2024, at which time these railcars, and probable others, will be stored outside of Fillmore to the east and in the Santa Clara Valley on the way to Piru.
Although this move in 2024 will provide relief to neighbors whose views of the mountains have been reduced to railcar graffiti they find offensive, many feel using our railways as inexpensive industrial storage sites seems adverse to the local agricultural zoning and Ventura County General Plan, and is disrespectful to both the towns of Fillmore and Piru.
Members of the community are highly encouraged to attend the meeting or send in letters to City Manager Dave Rowland to be shared. This Ventura County Transportation Commission and Sierra Northern Agreement is set to last for the next 35 years.
Concerned Fillmore Citizen
To the Editor:
Martin, in your July 21st Editorial you called special counsel Jack Smith a “punk” because he is bringing indictments against Trump for serious crimes. You attacked Smith solely because you won’t consider the substantial indictment evidence that Trump committed successive lawless, dangerous, and corrupt acts against our country and its citizens, many by his own admission.
Many Republicans have a desperate need to deny the well-documented accusations or admit being deceived by Trump. So, they ignore the evidence and blame everyone else. Blame Smith. Blame Biden. Blame Hunter’s laptop. Blame anybody but the guy with his fingerprints all over it.
Trump does not understand the political truism that it’s not just the crime that traps the perp, it’s the cover up. This week, Smith filed a “superseding indictment” of Trump” for trying to delete incriminating video footage taken at Mar-a-Lago to cover up his intentional retention of vital national security documents. To you, Martin, just another “petty tidbit.”
Your dismissal of rising post-Industrial Revolution CO2 as “required for life” is confounding. We need water to live, too, but if it comes in such volume that it knocks us off our feet and enters our lungs, it’s too much of a good thing, and deadly.
I chuckled at your claim that God created “all those fossils” just so man could dig them up and use the product to such a degree that it is about to radically reduce the quality of life worldwide, and at a rate never seen. I suspect that God assumed his human creation would demonstrate adequate intelligence and discipline to follow the science rather than blindly disregard the threat.
You have said in the past that Democrats and RINOs have persecuted Trump from the day he came down the escalator. Even then, many of us knew his history and who he really is. He has lived up to nearly all those fears and now wants a second whack at it.
There is some silliness in “woke,” but it doesn’t approach your feverish froth of hyperbole in declaring that woke is a “cesspool of anti-Judaeo-Christian deceit.” To me, it means diversity, equity, and inclusion. Treating others as we wish to be treated. You know, the “Golden Rule.” In the Bible.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
Letter to the Editor:
This is directed to the Fillmore Unified School Board and mainly to the club One Step A la Vez. I was at the school board meeting and would like to thank those who spoke on behalf of our kids. I don’t understand what the reasoning behind this drag queen strip dance presentation was all about and for what purpose. I was going to speak to you that night but there were too many signed up. I do want to express my feelings now. I don’t know a whole lot about your after-school program other than what was said that night but what you did on that day for and with those youth was ridiculous, and disrespectful to them and especially to the parents for not communicating your plans for this occasion. It was perverse, abusive, and pedophilic. I am very surprised and shocked to see that 2 Christian ministers were in support of this club for this presentation that took place. Christian ministers should represent Christ and His teachings. Today the youth are already being overwhelmed with pornography and immoral decisions and do not need this in their club. I was also shocked to hear that 2 council members were present on their own time, in support of this event and censored write-ups on public media that were against this. I think that’s grounds for a recall or ask to be stepped down from office. Censorship is against freedom of speech. They won’t get my vote. Folks said this is hate; it’s not. It’s expressing our love and protection for our kids and outrage against their rights to grow up in a peaceful clean world. We don’t want this to go on anymore in front of them and if one wants to strip and expose themselves, please do it elsewhere within your own group. Before I end, why did you have to bring in outsiders for this meeting, this is a town concern; and what was the purpose of the drag queen there? I thought guys who want to be ladies would like to be pretty and not dressed up in Halloween get-up. Women and girls are very pretty, (inside and out), and are special individuals and should be shown dignity and respect. I especially hope that the school board will look at and listen to what was said about the parents’ children and not support this club and try to find a better cause or solution.
Thank you,
A Concerned Citizen of Fillmore, Ca.