Third Time’s a Charm?…

Third Time’s a Charm?… Squid has highly developed sensory organs for an invertebrate, those big eyes and sensitive tentacles. Maybe the folks at some local event venues are lacking in such sensory awareness, or maybe they weren’t paying attention. But somehow, someone at the Gen. Stilwell Community Center – a property of the U.S. Army Garrison Presidio of Monterey – OK’d an April 3 event featuring six speakers who were pardoned for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. All were sentenced to prison time, and the so-called “patriots” were invited as guests of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Conservatives.

The group already had to find a new venue once, after public pressure forced Bayonet and Black Horse to cancel. The group was a little more cautious this time – the venue was available only upon RSVP and paying $45 to attend, and a confirmation included this note: “We kindly ask that you do not post on social media and that you keep the location confidential.”

Of course, that was wishful thinking. Within 24 hours of someone posting the new location on Reddit, Army officials realized the error (no partisan political events allowed on Army property – U.S. Army Regulation 215-1) and canceled on April 1.

As of Squid’s deadline, organizers had not yet confirmed whether they have a Plan C. But wherever they are, a whole bunch of protesters are likely to be there too.

Got Your Nose… Back in the day, Squid was known to watch early court television, Judge Joseph Wapner presiding over The People’s Court, to be specific. It ran from 1981-1993. Wapner is long gone but his memory made a guest appearance at the Pacific Grove City Council meeting on March 19.

That night Councilmember Joe Amelio proposed increasing the decibel level of downtown music venues from 70db to 80db. After his slideshow presentation, Councilmember Paul Walkingstick cued up his own slides arguing against the proposal. One included a quote from “Judge Wopner” that states: “Your rights end where another person’s nose begins.”

Squid tried finding where Wapner had said it, but could find nothing. Squid did find that the quote is likely a misquote of an original statement: “Your liberty to swing your fist ends just where my nose begins. ”It’s often attributed to Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, with variations attributed to others. According to Quote Investigator, the original is probably from a leader of the Prohibition movement in the 1880s – meaning Walkingstick used a temperance movement argument seeking to ban loud music in a formerly dry town.

He argued in favor of protecting ears, not noses, but council voted 4-2 in favor of creating a new ordinance at 80db. It will come back for a formal vote.