Now that her public image and livelihood is destroyed, the “Associated Press” reports:

“A federal judge Monday threw out race discrimination claims by a former Savannah restaurant manager whose lawsuit against Paula Deen has already cost the celebrity cook a valuable chunk of her culinary empire.

Lisa Jackson sued Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, last year saying she suffered from sexual harassment and racially offensive talk and employment practices that were unfair to black workers during her five years as a manager of Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House. Deen is co-owner of the restaurant, which is primarily run by her brother.

But claims of race discrimination by Jackson, who is white, were gutted in the 20-page opinion by U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. The judge agreed with lawyers for Deen and Hiers that Jackson has no standing to sue her former employers for what she claims was poor treatment of black workers, regardless of her claims that she was offended and placed under additional stress.”

Too little, too late.

It’s been a difficult and sad couple of days for my wife, Mary as one of her childhood friends has died. Paul Ransom was only 50-years old and battling lung cancer when he passed away.

In fact Paul’s mother, Esther and his sister Janet tossed our wedding rehearsal dinner in January 1987. However, I first met Paul when Mary’s sister, Sarah and her husband Ron tied the knot two years before, at which point I referred to him as “Smilin’ Paul,” because he always seemed to be smiling or laughing.

I found an online posting from the Ramona Vineyard Church:

“Paul Ransom will live on in all the hearts he touched everywhere he went. Paul was a man that never met a stranger; as he touched and still will touch many lives by the kind words he has always so graciously spoken to many.

Paul Ransom was an amazing man of God that that lived a selfless life; serving his wife, his friends and his community in a Christ like manner.

If you didn’t know Paul Ransom (a man that most all in Ramona do) you wouldn’t have known the disease he was battling with this last year that finally took him home to Jesus where his pain finally stopped. Paul was more concerned about what storms of life others were in, RATHER THAN HIS OWN!

He will be missed be all that knew him. There will be a huge hole in Ramona that Paul once occupied as he ministered Christ to many.

However knowing Paul and his sense of humor; I think he would say: ‘Let Christ now fill that hole until we meet again in Glory!’”

There’s not much else than can be said – so I won’t even try.

It surprises me, how much I cleave to the past. I’m not talking about history, but rather my past.

My brother’s 50th birthday, came and went and I promised myself, I wouldn’t allow it to grip me, leaving me sad and heartbroken. He died in 2010 and it still feels like the moment my Aunt Barbara called to tell me of his passing.

Furthermore, I promised myself, I wouldn’t write about it, knowing I’ve spent a lot of time going over Adam’s death, both on paper and in my head. I cannot hold out anymore, especially when I saw my sister, Deirdre’s Facebook post:

“Adam’s Birthday today, August 4, 1963. I sure do miss him. Of every person lost in my life, I have wanted to talk to him the most. Hey Adam, I plan to see in about 54 years. Time passes quickly and it will be like a wink of an eye.”

Yup, it’s exactly how I feel. But I’ll get there sooner than she will.

The Gasquet Toll Road is a corduroy road, with a bed composed of timbers laid across its width and a surface of dirt and gravel. The result is an improvement over impassable mud or dirt roads, yet rough in the best of conditions and a hazard to horses due to shifting loose logs.

A newspaper of the time described it as a “wagon road leading from the forks of the Smith River up the middle fork of said river on the left hand bank thereof about four miles, thence across the same; thence to the mouth of Patrick’s Creek; thence up Patrick’s Creek to Shelly Creek; thence to a point on the state line between California and Oregon, about three miles east of the ‘Robin’s Nest,’ being about twenty miles in length and intended to be a toll road.”

Corduroy roads built of huge logs were the mainstay of local logging practices and called skid roads. These were the origin of the more widespread meaning of ‘skid road’ and its derivative ‘skid row,’ referring to a poor area.

The Gasquet Toll Road was planned by a French immigrant, Horace Gasquet, and was built by Chinese American workers. The road was begun in 1881 and completed in 1886.

On May 15, 1881, petitions were circulated among the citizens of Del Norte County to document their endorsement of the plan and ask for approval by the board of supervisors to build a new road. The May 15, 1881 issue of the Del Norte Record quotes Gasquet: “Understanding this great work, I consider myself the servant of the people interested and a full accounting shall be made of all expenditures and progress.”

Although the road may have been repaired or resurfaced with dirt and gravel in later years, it has largely retained its original composition and construction. It can still be used, but it is narrow and winds through the mountains.

Klamath County might still exist today, had it not been for its  geography. When Del Norte County was founded in 1857, Klamath was still a county, with Siskiyou to east, Del Norte on the north and Humboldt and Trinity Counties to the south.

The history of the northern counties of California goes back seven-years prior, when the state legislature created 27 counties. At that time the extreme most northern counties were portioned off into two counties, Trinity and Shasta.

A year later, Klamath County was carved from the northern part of Trinity and in 1852, Shasta County was divided, forming Siskiyou County. Then in 1853, Humboldt County was drawn out of parts of Trinity County.

At this time Klamath County entailed present day Del Norte County, parts of Humboldt and a chunk of Siskiyou. This, and the fact that transportation was poor, led to disagreements over where the county seat should be located.

At one point the seat was held in Trinity, later at Crescent City and finally at Orleans Bar on the Klamath. The Bar was a natural location because it was both centrally located and could be accessed by the river.

However during the early part of 1856, petitions started circulating asking for the division of Klamath County, because it was difficult and dangerous to reach the county seat. In fact the Crescent City Herald‘s February 23^rd, 1856 issue called for Klamath to be subdivided, creating Requa County.

When the petition made its way to the legislature in 1857, in the form of a bill, several names were bandied about, but all were rejected for one reason or another. Then someone suggested, “Del Norte,” Spanish for “of the north.”

Since it seemed right, the bill passed and the new county of Del Norte was formed. At the same time, Crescent City was designated the new seat.

Eventually, though Klamath County existed in various forms for the next few years, it was finally dissolved by an act of the 1874 legislature. The public debt as well as the remaining land was divided between Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties.

Historically, it can be stated Del Norte County predated the dissolution of Klamath County by 17 years. Furthermore, California state records show no other county has been dissolved after its boundaries were officially noted by the legislature.

Finally, Klamath County still exists today. It can be found north of the California state line and east of the Klamath River in Oregon.

Born Ann Kelley, in Ireland in 1819, she immigrated to Boston, where she met her future husband, John McLaughlin. He was a sailor, whose home port was New Orleans, where his parents died of a yellow fever epidemic.

While living in New Orleans, the McLaughlin’s became friends with a family named Cadahi, who lived nearby in the Irish distinct of the town. When gold was found in California in 1848, both families set out for the fields.

By this time Ann and John had two sons, John Jr., and Cornelius.  They travelled by ship to Panama, then by mule across the Isthmus from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

They then secured passage from Panama to San Francisco and up the Sacramento River. Once they’d gone as far as the boat could carry them, they set out with a pack train to Scotts Bar on the Klamath River, which was in Del Norte County at the time.

Ann was the first white woman to come the area and the miners pitched in and built her a cabin for the family. By all accounts the McLaughlin’s were successful in their endeavors, remaining in the area for 18-years.

Eventually John travelled over the Kelsey Trail by way of Happy Camp and Big Flat to Crescent City to attain his citizenship papers. Once the mining played out, the family, having added another boy named Thomas, returned to San Francisco.

There, John operated a pig farm in what’s now the heart of the city, while Ann began a small laundry service. Four-years after settling in San Francisco, Peter Darby contacted John.

At the time, Darby owned the Reservation Ranch in Smith River. He wanted the McLaughlin’s to run it for him, giving them the option to buy it if they like the place once there.

The McLaughlin’s arrived jus’ in time for 1870s floods, which damaged several homesteads along the Smith River. This discouraged them from purchasing the property.

Instead, with another son and four daughters added to the family, and Ann expecting yet another child, they looked for other land to purchase, something that would not be destroyed by flooding. In 1874, they located and settled on a ranch in the Lake Earl district.

Ann, who could neither read or write, instead signing her name with an ‘X’, lived to be nearly 100-years old. She’s buried in the McLaughlin Family Plot of the Catholic Cemetery, in Crescent City, California.

Over the past ten days I’ve been struggling with Facebook and the fact that they seem intent on shutting up those of us who have been telling those rioting in the streets to go home, George Zimmerman has been acquitted of murdering Trayvon Martin and that is the end of this so-called ‘battle over race.’ I started out with a simple comment, “Zimmerman found not guilty,”  but within a couple of hours, my post was taken down.

So I upped the ante, I posted pictures, published in the ‘Washington Post,’ of Trayvon smoking and looking like a gangster. Those too, were pulled down by Facebook.

Next, I posted a video that was sent to me by a friend in California, that talked about the background of Trayvon’s purchase of “Skittles and ice tea.” It explained how the combination when added to another ingredient or two, produced a chemical high that kid’s are currently experiencing.

It too disappeared from my FB page.

Martin had Skittles and Arizona Watermelon Fruit Juice Cocktail drink the night he died. These are ingredients that, when mixed with dextromethorphan (DXM) cough syrup, create “Lean”, a concocted high which can cause psychosis and aggression over the longer term.

Furthermore, an autopsy report on Martin’s liver showed damage consistent with DXM abuse.

Then a friend of mine in New York sent me a side-by-side picture of Trayvon when he was about 12-years-old and a rapper known as “Game.” I posted it, only to have it removed within 15 minutes. Now, I’m getting down and dirty.

This is an actual crime-scene photograph of Trayvon Martin’s lifeless body.

Go ahead — ask me to take it down and I’ll tell you to kiss my ass.

Two rival motorcycle gang members are facing charges in court, Monday, nearly two years after a fight at John Ascuaga’s in Sparks. Vagos member Ernesto Gonzalez is charged with the murder of Hell’s Angels San Jose Chapter President Jeffrey Pettigrew.  Rival Hell’s Angel Cesar Villagrana is charged with attempted murder after shooting a Vagos member in the leg.

A thousand dollar reward is offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspects wanted for battery with a deadly weapon and the shooting of a man, Saturday morning. Sparks Police say the victim and his friends were approached by several people in a car who shot at the victim multiple times. Secret Witness: 322-4900.

A missing Oregon woman has been spotted in Reno. Jessica Chastain dropped her daughter at a friends home in Klamath Falls a week ago and never returned. Chastain is traveling with a man named Billie Rose. She and Rose were seen Saturday at the Chevron on Eleventh. The couple is driving a white Volvo with Oregon license plates. Call Secret Witness at 322-4900 if you see her.

A local man is missing and his family is asking for your help to find him.  Stephen Metzner suffers from dementia and other health problems. He wandered off Friday morning from Klamath Court in the Highland Ranch area of Sun Valley. Call Secret Witness at 322-4900 if you see him.

A motorcycle versus a vehicle accident slowed traffic on Sand Harbor at State Route 28 Sunday. Two people were taken to a Reno hospital; the extent of their injuries is unclear. No names have been released and the crash is under investigation.

The Carson County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man who threatened to shoot two people at Olive Garden Sunday night. Deputies say, David Lane started complaining about the food and after asking for the manger, eventually pulling a gun on him and the chef. Witnesses got his license plate number as he drove off.

Fire crews put out a blaze following an explosion Sunday evening, at the PSC hazardous materials disposal facility in Fernley. Lyon County officials say the company has its own crews at the scene cleaning up the mess, and there is no threat to the public. No one was hurt and the incident remains under investigation.

Fire officials are trying to figure out what caused a playground to catch fire, Friday evening in the Wingfield Springs area. Authorities say the blaze at Del Cobre Park destroyed much of the playground equipment. No injuries were reported. If you have info, call Secret Witness: 322-4900.

A bank robber from Carson City known as the “Fedora Bandit” was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison on three counts of armed robbery. In each of his seven robberies, David Osborne wore a hat, sunglasses, a fake mustache and goatee, and demanded money while brandishing a firearm. Osborne is also required to pay restitution.

A planned subdivision in Washoe Valley is meeting some backlash. Residents say it will create too much traffic and have an environmental impact on the area. Washoe County Commissioners approved the plan in May. A public hearing is scheduled Tuesday morning at the Commission Chambers on East Ninth beginning at ten.

The Regional Transportation Commission begins road work on Red Rock Road, Tuesday. The RTC says they’re redoing the pavement between Adobe and Argosy Road, north or Reno. One lane will be open and traffic will be directed by pilot car, but you should expect a 20 to 30 minute delay.

Harrah’s Casino in Reno is hosting an on-site job fair, Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. They plan to hire blackjack dealers, security officers, facilities managers and engineers, table games supervisors, slot technicians, box office agent, stage technicians and dancers. Free training is offered, if hired.

South Carolina’s Progressive Republican Lindsey ‘Goober’ Graham is suggesting the U.S boycott the Winter Olympics in the former Soviet Union, if the Russians grant asylum to NAS whistleblower Edward Snowden.  Graham says he knows “athletes would be heartbroken” but claims the move would put pressure on President Vladimir Putin.

Typical Progressivism — punish the ‘many’ because of the ‘few.’

“If you could go back in time, would you have allowed Adolf Hitler to host the Olympics in Germany?” Graham asked rhetorically. “To have the propaganda coup of inviting the world into Nazi Germany and putting on a false front?”

Hey, dumb shit – the Nazi’s did host the Summer Olympics in 1936 , besides Putin couldn’t give a damn about whether we take part or not.

She’s the newest sensation in the same-stream media, Rachel Jeantel. She is Trayvon Martin’s friend and was exploited interviewed by that dashing Brit host Pierce Morgan on CNN.

I’ve edited the report tête-à-tête into what I believe to be the more entertaining informative parts.

Rachel Jeantel on ‘People in Law or Security Enforcement…’

MORGAN: Let’s talk about creepy ass cracker. People have said that that is a phrase used by black people, cracker, to describe a white person. Is that true?

JEANTEL: No. Like I said —

MORGAN: How do you spell it, first of all?

JEANTEL: Cracker. Well —

MORGAN: There’s no E-R, right? It’s —

JEANTEL: No. It’s A at the end.

MORGAN: C-R-A-C-K-A?

JEANTEL: Yes, and that’s a person who act like they are police, who like (unintelligible), who acting like, that’s what I said to them. Trayvon said creepy ass cracka.

MORGAN: It means he thought it was a policeman or a security guy.

JEANTEL: Yes. Who’s acting like a policeman and then he keeps telling me that the man still watch him. So if it was a security guard or a policeman, they would come up to Trayvon and say, do you have — do you need — do you have a problem, do you need help? You know, like normal people.

Rachel Jeantel on the word, ‘Male…”

JEANTEL: People — the whole world say it’s a racist word. Mind you — mind you, around 2000, that was not. They changed it around, I think. It started spelling it n-i-g-g-a. Nigga.

MORGAN: What does that mean to you, that — that way of spelling it? What does that word mean to you?

JEANTEL: That means a male.

MORGAN: A black male?

JEANTEL: No, any kind of male.

MORGAN: Black or white?

JEANTEL: Any kind — Chinese could say Nigga. That’s my Chino Nigga. They could say that.

Rachel Jeantel on ‘Homosexuals and Pedophiles…’

JEANTEL: Yes. Definitely after I say may be a rapist, for every boy, for every man, every — who’s not that kind of way, seeing a grown man following them, would they be creep out? So you have to take it — as a parent, when you tell your child, when you see a grown person following you, run away, and all that.

Would you go stand there? You going to tell your child stand there? If you tell your child stand there, we’re going to see your child on the news for missing person.

And people need to understand, he didn’t want that creepy ass cracker going to his father or girlfriend’s house to go get — mind you, his little brother was there. You know — now, mind you, I told you — I told Trayvon it might have been a rapist.

Parents need to stop acting dumb. If you’re going to tell your child, oh, a stranger, oh, you tell your child one thing — run away, trying to find somebody, that’s not what Trayvon was doing?

So why — so why the jury — they’re all parents — well, some of them are parents. And they’ve been telling their — their child that. Now, you’re going to tell me you’re going to tell your child to stand there? No.

So in the end, the same-stream media’s template that this story is about ‘race,’ has been wrong from the outset.