Public Comment

SMITHEREENS: Reflections on Bits & Pieces: SmitherRats&Ruminations

Gar Smith

Monday November 07, 2022 - 12:28:00 PM

Rats Are Overrunning the Berkeley Marina

Live-aboard residents of the Berkeley Marina Yacht Harbor are being driven out of their floating homes by an infestation of rats. Among those reported to be most affected by the infection are the denizens of B, C, J, and K Docks.

The problem apparently began more than a year ago and has left a growing number of marina residents complaining that the rodent hoards have turned their Loving Hulls into Living Hells.

In the course of one recent week, 23 rats were caught and killed by boat-owners—but the furry pests just keep coming. One resident noted that a single female rat can deliver a new brood of a half-dozen baby rats in just nine weeks. Put another way: a population of just two rats can swell to a hoard of 1,250 in a single year.

One Marina boat-owner forced to abandon ship—after rodents were heard chewing their way through the vessel's wooden walls during the night—bemoaned the loss of a floating-home-turned-rat-shack. The de-boated—but still rent-paying resident—noted the ratty affliction is greater for owners of wooden boats since wharf rats tend to give a pass to metal and plastic-hulled vessels.

The rats aren't just driven by a search for food. Even when all edibles are removed from the infested premises, the rats continue to graze—on items as diverse as personal clothing and electrical wires.

Rats have eaten through boat-owners' iPad wires and power cables. In some cases they have even gnawed their way through the expensive electric cables that run from the pier-side "dock boxes" to deliver outside power to the berthed boats. In some cases, patches of rat-bitten cables are accompanied by scorch marks burned onto the cement.

"They love wires," one Marina boat-owner groused, "So why don't they get electrocuted?"

In one case, rats chewed through an electric cable that powered a boat owner's bilge-pump, requiring a costly replacement. There were no other options: If your bilge-pump fails, your vessel fills. Without a functioning pump, a boat would eventually take on too much water and sink.

Marina managers appear to be at a loss when it comes to "deratification" of the marina's docks. Rat poison isn't used out of fear it might poison other resident wildlife. Fun fact (unless you're a rat): Peanut butter is toxic to rodents. Other tips on deratification alternatives: While having a dog onboard doesn't seem to hinder the ratty hoards, for some reason, rats and cats don't mix. If local pet shelters have noticed a recent uptick in cat adoptions, the Berkeley Marina just might be the reason.

Meanwhile Marina authorities appear hamstrung and helpless as the Rat Rampage leaves rent-paying-and-rousted residents raising a ruckus and cussing the wreckage.

Checks and Balances

According to Google, Checks and balances are "various procedures set in place to reduce mistakes, prevent improper behavior, or decrease the risk of centralization of power. Checks and balances usually ensure that no one person or department has absolute control over decisions, clearly define the assigned duties, and force cooperation in completing tasks."

How does that play out in real life? American politics is, in fact, a world of "checks and balances": Lobbyists write the checks and politicians smile as they admire their growing bank balances.

Fashion Plates

A red Mini Cooper: MNIMEOW (small cat lover)
A silver Honda: BIRDFAN (big bird lover)
A black Dodge Charger: BLQMGIC (Black Magic)
A dark, open-bed pickup: TRAKI. (Because the plate frame contained the words "mes visi esam traki," I guessed it translated to: "my name is Traki." Turns out the phrase is Latvian for "We're all crazy.")

Bumper Snickers

All on a single Toyota Sienna.
• THINK: It Isn't Illegal (YET)
• Honk if you love Jesus. Text if you want to meet him.
• "Politics Isn't Left Vs Right. It's Top Vs Bottom." Jim Hightower
• The Great Thing About Science Is That It's true, Whether You Believe It Or Not• Having Weird Parents Builds Character
• GOD is too BIG to fit into one religion
• Whenever there's a big spill of solar energy, it's just called a nice day.

Adieu Central Launderette

Alas, my favorite Laundromat, the Central Launderette at 2462 Shattuck, has closed its doors. The Central was a survivor. It first opened for business in 1949 and the walls of the washing area became adorned with historic photos of the site taken over the years.

Technically the doors weren't closed. The bolt is not properly aligned so the front doors are ajar and can't really close. They could be opened but for a heavy metal chain strung through the door handles. A wistful "goodbye" notice is taped in a side window. Meanwhile, the laundromat's entrance remains flanked by two ancient stand-up washing machines. These delightful relics are usually trundled back inside the Laundromat at tne end of the day.

All of these clues suggest a sudden, traumatic shutdown.

One of the unique features of the Central was the human touch provided by the small number of conscientious Asian ladies who have been looking over the business. Sometime over the past year they instituted a rare and touching practice. Whenever they noticed a customer who was elderly, infirm, or poor, they would quietly approach, bow, and offer a gift, in the form of a quarter. I was probably not the only one to wonder how they could afford this small act of charity when their primary customers were only dropping quarters into the slots of the Central's washers and driers.

I wish these quiet, friendly ladies were in the landromat a few more days so I could once more say, "thank you," and offer an affectionate bow.

My Robin Williams Moment

A family member recently sent me a link to a video of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show that featured a half-hour of unrestrained spontaneity by Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters.

William's 1991 fusillade of satiric riffs and transmorphic bits was so intense that I couldn't watch it all at one sitting. (If you've got the time, you can watch the whole comic improv-romp below.)

Watching the former-Mork's archived antics reminded me of a personal Robin Williams link.

Back in the 1980s, when I was working at the Friends of the Earth office in San Francisco's North Beach, one of our press contacts was a woman who knew Robin Williams, a SanFran resident. One day I drew a sketch of Elmer Fudd pretending to channel Popeye the Sailor (At the time, Williams was starring as "Popeye" in a movie of the same name.) I drew a cartoon of Popeye Fudd proclaiming: "I yam what I yam, you cwazy wabbit!"

When she dropped by the FOE office a few weeks later, she told me "Robin liked your cartoon. He has it taped to his desktop computer."

(I'll have to remember to add that to my resume!)

Penn State Dems Say Faux-Doyle-Steal Is a No-go-Deal

It's being called "the stupidest way to lose a blue congressional seat ever."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports "voter confusion" has sent Democrats "scrambling" in a race for a crucial Congressional seat currently held by Mike Doyle.

According to the Post-Gazette: "The name 'Mike Doyle' is about as institutional as they come. The longtime congressman has served the area for years in Washington…. But be warned: Mike Doyle—the Forest Hills Democrat—is not running for re-election this year. He’s retiring. The Mike Doyle on this November’s ballot is an entirely different person; he’s a Republican."

Yep, the state's GOPsters are hoping to ride to victory by nominating a political nobody who just happens to have the same name as a popular, long-serving representative.

With the Deceit of the Dueling Doyles sowing confusion across Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District, the Working Families Party has launched a last-minute TV ad campaign to alert voters about the "real Mike Doyle," the "fake Mike Doyle," and the only real Democrat in the race—Summer Lee. The fear is that some blue-minded voters might be tricked into voting for the "red Doyle," leading to the defeat of the blue Lee.

The TV ads warn voters: "Pittsburgh's long-time congressman is retiring. He won't be on the ballot—but his name will because Republicans are running a Fake Mike Doyle." The ad ends with the line: "Remember: friends don't let friends vote for fake Mike Doyle."

The Art of Political Rhetoric

Politicians excel at the art of ambiguity. A recent letter to Sen. Alex Padilla regarding the risk posed be facial recognition technologies prompted a reply from the Senator that contained the following, totally non-committal response to the pending spread of a Big Brother Police State:

'Facial recognition technology is a powerful tool in the hands of law enforcement, and studies have highlighted that the technology does not produce accurate results across race, age, and gender. For this reason, many cities in California have prohibited law enforcement from using the technology.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over civil liberties and civil rights, please know that I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue, and I will keep your concerns in mind as the committee considers legislation regarding the methods and tools used by law enforcement agencies.

The Georgia Senate Race Is Far from Peachy

I usually don't make political contributions online but Saturday, when my phone rang with a local number I thought belonged to a friend, I found myself talking to Sandra Jordan, a volunteer with the Raphael Warnock campaign in Georgia making a last-minute call for donations to the senator's re-election campaign. The caller emphasized the critical nature of the call by reeling off the time left—right down to the days, hours, minutes and seconds—before election day.

When SJ warned that the race between Warnock and his challenger—former football star Herschell Walker—was "neck and neck" I told her that was cause for concern "because Herschel has the bigger neck. It's thicker than his head!" She mentioned the importance of making calls to raise crucial last-minute funding goals. I saluted her phone-banking efforts and also the importance of volunteers going door-to-door. "Hey! I've got a slogan for you," I ad-libbed: "You could call the neighborhood get-out-the-vote campaign Doorknocks for Warnock."

"I think we might use that," Jordan replied before she started coughing. She excused herself to swallow some water. "Must be hard on your voice, talking on the phone all day," I commiserated, adding that I had already donated, didn't have much money left, and don't like to engage in online financial exchanges. "That's OK," the phone banker replied. "I understand and I apologize for the cough but I've got COPD and I'm on a ventilator."

Phone-banking while on a ventilator? That's dedication!

OK, Citizens for Warnock: You had me at COPD. Breaking with tradition, I coughed up a small donation on my VISA card.

The Wrong Signals?

At a peak period of tension over the darkening omens of a possible, cataclysmic nuclear war, NATO announced plans to stage a massive military exercise called "Steadfast Noon" designed to simulate a NATO nuclear attack on Russia.

When critics raised concerns, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg replied that canceling the already planned exercise (which involved sending nuclear-capable bombers flying from Poland toward the Russian border) would have to precede because to cancel it would "send the wrong signals."

Can you imagine what errant "signals" such a de-escalatory response might trigger:
• "Maybe those Americans aren't suicidal after all."
• "Maybe Americans can act based on rational motives."
• "Maybe Americans might want to use the funding allotted for a $1 trillion nuclear-modernization program and spend it on housing America's homeless, feeding America's hungry, and caring for America's sick and suffering."

And just what kind of signal does Washington's imperial, unipolar, might-makes-right foreign policy send to the rest of the world? The following snippet—clipped from the Internet—does a good job of providing a summation of which country poses the greatest threat to world peace:

"US imperialists who brazenly declare Full Spectrum Dominance with 800 bases after killing 20 million in 34 victim countries of no threat to the US since WWII, not to speak of US threatening to use nuclear weapons on several occasions."