A quarter of crow
First of all, it must be said: Massive props to our new info-overlord,
Heraldo
, for scooping everyone with the tip that a massive federal drug bust was coming to town this week. Respect is due.
However, let me take a moment to play the boring old-school pedant, here. A massive federal drug bust came to town. Was it the DEA? It was not. Is the bust targeting 300 homes? We’ll know for sure by the end of the week, but the answer now is fairly clear: It is not. There’s a total of 29 warrants being served, unless someone is serving up some spectacular lies. Was the list of homes to be targeted gathered by looking at people’s PG&E records? Clearly: No.
The editor in me sees: Awesome scoop, mixed up inseparably with a great big pile of off-the-top rumor and speculation. And generally speaking, rumor and speculation, promulgated as fact, can affect harm people and fuck up society in all kinds of awful ways.
However, I come not to bury Heraldo but to praise him/her. This time. Luckily, the T-shirt
currently on sale
in the North Coast Journal’s online Cafepress store works as both ridicule and tribute, whichever way you want to take it. Buy now.
This article appears in Can’t Swim.
It would be oh so nice if the t-shirts came in woman’s T’s. Your sales would definitely go up.
it shows that heraldo is closely linked to the DA.
I really do find it odd that this news is mainly flowing over convoluted blogs (not usually my choice of info gathering). Where is the ACLU, the district supervisors, the neighbors gathering in coffee shops and bars to ask “why the hell are 400 agents in our county?”
We really should get our act together here in Humboldt to get together immediately whenever there is a large police presence descending upon our home. What if we’re harboring “terrorists” (activists), or folks who are seeking sanctuary from the military during illegal wars, or immigrants who may end up among the thousands of families being held indefinitely in our privately owned and managed detention centers? I’m certainly struck by the lack of community I’ve witnessed these past few days. Thanks to Hank, KMUD, KHUM, and the other journalists who finally brought the lines of communication together.
I should have been more skeptical of the numbers. Point taken.
Then again, if I’d doubted the time frame it wouldn’t have been much of a scoop.
Enjoy your crow.
thanks to you too, Heraldo. At least somebody’s paying attention.
It seems that the feds have been boldfaced lying thus far – sorry, I mean, plausibly denying the situation…
Why should we believe their story now that it is changing?
Is your Heraldo obsession clouding your critical thinking skills?
I agree with you about rumors and the unnecessary drama they can cause. However the feds have cried “I’m no wolf” while dressed in sheep’s clothing. I believe nothing from them now.
I say, if Heraldo can provide this community with the inside scoop on our federal government, then I hope he stays anonymous!
So scoops can be awarded to single writers and not social networks? Craigslist scooped the Herald and likely has a larger audience.
It’s a very good point (says the scoopee). There are degrees of contribution, always, especially since the days when the line between “journalist” and “civilian” became fuzzy.
But to put your mark on something and say “this is true” — to make that bet, and it’s always a bet — counts for something. Credit.
In some senses, Heraldo and the other anonymice come to the table with pretend money — they’re gambling with the reputation of their fictional personas, not their actual flesh-and-blood reputations (or careers). Not much penalty for betting wrong.
But save that for another day.
Now you have to wonder where the leak occurred. If it occurred.
Who was given a heads up? The local media? By the Sheriff’s Dept? Is there a leak in e DEA, FBI? IRS?
And if the TS (example only) was given a heads up, who did they share it with? Or did this really all come about because some clerk at the Red Lion had a bunch of reservations?
And does the Fed care if people know they are coming? Was the leak intentional?
Whether or not they leaked the info or knew about a leak, the FBI shut down a whole lot more than 29 grows this week. That little rumor wreaked havoc. Some people got quite a wake up call. “oh yeah, I forgot, we’re breaking the law!” duh. Know the game you play when you sit down at the table.
Yeah, gambleer. You’re right about that.
I’ll concede the point, but what hell would be raised if the Journal got the scoop and went to print with as many errors as the Herald reported?
What’s more important, first to publish or first to get it right? Accuracy counts for something. It’s not as if an emergency was reported and lives were on the line.
A meager portion, but well et.
Nothing like a few half truths to kill two birds, let the rumor mill turn a single, laser focused sweep into county-wide hysteria. The feds are as tight lipped as they need to be, if the whole world knows they’re coming, they wanted us to know. The person who scooped the story was a stooge for the man.
The fear of impending trouble is a powerful weapon. How many small and mid-sized people shut down and how many won’t start up? A small victory and a kernel of fear is planted in the back of their minds. Shock and awe anyone?
As for the big game, the feds rattle their chains ahead of their visit to see where the roaches would scurry. All those Uhauls and “troop movements” were watched coming off the 27 sites, don’t doubt for a minute that those places weren’t under 24-7 survey for the past few months. No one was home when the man rolled up, easier to search and gather evidence. They didn’t have time to load it all up…
If you cut off the money supply and put those guys on the run, some of them will get picked up and seed the next 2 year investigation with their rat droppings. The lavish habits of a kingpin cost thousands a day, money runs out sooner or later.
We were all sold a fuzzy outline and our imaginations were allowed to run wild. It might not have been jim jones kool aid, but Ken Kesey might have supplied the brew.
Whitethorn got torn up today. No warrants, gates smashed through and entire hillsides cleared. The 29 warrants is bs. They are hammering down. You’re going to fill that crow in tomorrow. This is not a drill.
the contant updates from KHUM and John Mathews in sync with Hanks Blog was clearly the news portal for up to the minute, and most accurate reporting. This is the new synergy of reporting. So Heraldo knows a postal employee that spilled the info to her, someone has to bust the first move.
Keep in mind, once a bulkhead is formed, and they have brought all of their communications gear and sat. uplinks, then Operations can expand…Operation Southern Sweep can easily turn into a phase two.
scored some killa shit in the back of safeway last night.
What is going on here? Either the Heraldo and the NCJ blog are related, or the NCJ blog is profiting off of the Heraldo’s success by selling tshirts! What the hell!
One thing for sure, the FBI is going to take a long look at Humboldt County starting from the top to find the leak after this is done. All those Craigslist Posters are going to have the Party Van parked in their driveways soon enough.
mousy,
the feds werent able to find pot plants in humboldt county!!! how will they find the leak? we will be lucky if they can find their way home…..
the feds will leave this county full of sticky pot plants and their heads will be between their legs in shame. its sad really….
how many plants have they found so far? 100?
Where’s Heraldo’s correction/retraction/clarification for the misinformation he/she put forth?
NEWSFLASH: Some of my info was wrong. Sorry.
You tell it, Anonymous 9:23.
I wonder how many convictions the feds will get in jury trials in Humboldt County?
These cases will be seen by the 9th circuit district court in San Francisco, unless out of area interests lead to extradition. This happened with the 101 north guys being brought to pennsylvania (3rd district?), where it is much more conservative.
An interesting book to read is Tommy Chong’s book, The I Chong: Meditations from the Joint. Tommy Chong was arrested and convicted of selling art bongs across state lines. He was part of the same operation that went after the glass blowers in Arcata called Operation Pipe Dreams. Tommy spent 9 months (he notes is the length a full-term pregnancy) in the Southern California desert. He writes about the privitization of the prison system. His strong faith in a higher power keeps him going.
Not 300 homes? How many families live on the 2000 acres that has been turned into one large “crime scene” by the jackbooted Sweepers?
And the sweepers own press release mentions the DEA, so Hank’s point about Heraldo mentioning the DEA is….?
Hank credits Heraldo – good thing. Hank can only do it full of sour grapes, however.
hahahahaha…hank full of sour grapes come on?!!! the guy has a sense of humor. satire. wit…. rumor is he even has multiple degrees.
While harmless pot growers are harassed by the feds, the dozens of meth labs in Humboldt and Siskiyou COunties go unnoticed. How about going after the methamphetamine labs instead? It’s been reported there are as many as 50 meth labs near the mouth of the Klamath River, yet law enforcement never takes any action there:
http://goodneighborlaw.com/articles_GNL/2007/7-18CauseSalmonDeaths.htm
Excerpts:
Two persons interviewed claimed there are five meth labs between Weitchpec and the river mouth. One of the labs is known to both civilian and law enforcement as the “Crystal Palace.” When asked, one Siskiyou County law enforcement official said, “If the truth were know, there are probably 50 labs.” … The entire 41 miles of river between Weitchpec and the river mouth has no roads and is completely isolated from any civilization.
There are dozens of documented cases of Mexican and Asian drug cartels using remote areas to both grow marijuana, and manufacture meth. These cases include the Klamath River area. This has resulted in concerns for the safety of all users; either national forests and/or Bureau of Land Management lands or those who simply explore for recreation.
Really? Seems you have a real problem with Bloggers.
When you consider the fact that your bought and paid for so-called “journalist” have absolutely no credibility today, I wouldn’t talk to loudly and worry too much about YOUR “fictional personas” or their “flesh-and-blood reputations.
At least the FREE Bloggers can concentrate on the subject and not be bothered about the object. Which is way more than any of us can say about you.
I feel that as long as Hank, the guys at kslg and khum and myself give the info. from a blog the proper credit and attribution, it’s all good.
This new world of blogs has turned the news world on it’s head and it’s about time.
So H.’s predictions weren’t 100%, but they were at least as good as homeland security and didn’t require duck tape and plastic sheeting.
A lot of those grow houses needed a belated Spring cleaning anyway, so its all good. And consider the economic activity of truck rentals and fast food meals generated by the buzz. In that way, the growers are at least giving a little something back. And they’ll be looking over their shoulders a lot more. Likely, the Feds “turned” a good number of local informants.
I love how everyone uses mexicans and asians as the boogieman. This is about Villica LLC and Schetmean and his buddies. Time will tell how well he covered his tracks when he sold his interest in Villica shortly after the Oakland warehouse bust…… Hank how about some looking into APN numbers, owners, and associations? You know real journalism, not that fucked up rumor shit you were talking about….
my neighbors house just got served a search warrant at 7.30 this morning. 3 trucks 4 humboldt county sheriffs cars, white suv and a big truck. the house is owned by one of the sohum guys. the cops are doing follow up work.