Sierrabear

Sonora, Ca -- “I spoke to a few people in our group afterward who said it overwhelmed them to tears,” said Brian Dommes, vice-president of the American Legion Riders Chapter 108 of Amador. There were banners from sponsors welcoming home the more than 300 Vietnam Veterans in vehicles, walking, and riding motorcycles in front of thousands of spectators to the first and only parade in the nation for Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.

Michael Moore's  propagandistic film Capitalism: A Love Story disparages capitalism by unearthing real stories about Americans who have been mistreated, abused and ripped off by our system. Though Mr. Moore's films are obviously biased toward the left, they do often contain nuggets of truth that are sometimes surprising. Such is the case with Capitalism. The following images are generated from a leaked Citigroup document Mr. Moore used to illustrate his point that the rich are out to get the poor. The document claims to have coined the phrase "plutonomy" which in the leaked memo is summed up as follows:

"Our thesis is that the rich are the dominant drivers of demand in many economies around the world (the US, UK, Canada and Australia). These economies have seen the rich take an increasing share of income and wealth over the last 20 years, to the extent that the rich now dominate income, wealth and spending in these countries"

" ... A backlash against plutonomy is not imminent....so long as electorates feel they are getting rich in absolute terms, even if they are less well off in relative terms, there is little threat..."

Editors note: This submission is from the blog of one L.Kidd, self professed wanderer and occasional contributor to Sierrabear.

As I sit here

my disdain for our current situation boils over

and shoots like the steam from a locomotive,

out of each of my frustrated pores.

Sonora, CA -- When most people think of art in Tuolumne County, images like  the Red Church come to mind, simple, wholesome images, views of our area that reflect our cultural past and our scenic beauty. Much of our local music is also reminiscent of days gone by, often reflecting an aesthetic that, though enduring, is hardly pushing the boundaries. These views seem mostly geared toward tourists. What about our current stories? This year local videographer Jessica Valentine produced a video for home town musicians The Nightshade Family, with both subject matter and images that reflect a more current side, perhaps a darker side, of Tuolumne County life. See video below.

Sonora, CA – In January 2009, in the throws of the great recession, a head-shop quietly opened it's doors at 420 S. Washington Street here in Sonora. Offering bongs, pipes, scales and other drug paraphernalia, it quickly filled the niche held long ago by Benjamin Fig's, a little shop whos only links to drug paraphernalia these days are stash boxes. Who would open a smoke shop right in the middle of  socially conservative Sonora? Well, that was easy enough to find out.