In 2011, after a story in The Carmel Pine Cone briefly mentioned Rider McDowell's role in the development of the product "Airborne," Mr. McDowell sent the following emails to the publisher of The Pine Cone, Paul Miller —

From: Rider McDowell <ridermc@sbcglobal.net>
Date: October 13, 2011 8:58:39 PM PDT
To: chris@carmelpinecone.com
Cc: paul@carmelpinecone.com
Subject: rider mcdowell

Jesus Christ, why mention Airborne? Why the fuck do that? Is it relevant? IS it fucking relevant in any way? We don't even own the fucking company anymore, haven't for 3 years. I'm also a successful farmer, a former best selling author, a partner in a half dozen national companies. I also own Pine Brothers, the hottest selling cough drop in America. If I'd known you were taking that route, I'd have mentioned these facts. (I did mention my writing career.) And to call Airborne controversial. It's kind of like a happy fuck you. Why would Airborne still be on the market if it were controversial? Ask yourself that. The facts of the original FTC complaint were bullshit, and it was the THEN owner of AIrborne that agreed to settle because it had a $500 million dollar offer on table, and settled to make that go away. We NEVER would have paid a cent. Nor were we ever given a chance to tell our side of the story. I've also given $10 million to charity, my wife gave $2.5 million with Airborne 'Teacher's Trust Fund,' plus Airborne had created over 75 jobs in America. But rather than research some of the virtues of this company, all you can do is call it controversial. You've done that before in a piece on the Carmel Convalescent Center. If you do it again, ever, I'm going to sue you. Understand me? We might lose, we might win, but it'll cost you. Rider McDowell

From: Rider McDowell <ridermc@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: rider mcdowell
Date: November 3, 2011 at 22:23:22 PDT
To: Paul Miller <paul@carmelpinecone.com>

Paul, I'm in the east where I have a farm, and haven't spoken to my attorney, so I don't know what you said to him. But I'll go out on a limb, and intiut that you told him you would not remove the post, despite the fact that it was not intended for publication. Fuck it, keep it up there. In some ways it's kind of amusing. My friends here in NYC have certainly gotten a kick out of it. A gentleman, however, would have taken my recent e-mail and said, 'Sure Rider, we all have those kind of nights, I understand.' A real editor, a real man,  would at the very least, have posted the apology on the heels of the rant. You don't strike me as that type of guy. Indeed, you probably bought the paper to give you the feeling of power you lack in all of your other relationships. That's the scuttlebut. I've met you once, briefly, and it was clear to me that you were a complicated guy. Certainly that's the impression you left in the neighborhood we now inhabit (in your former house). Perhaps you should give up trying to get even for what happened on the playground, and look inward. Breakthrough, the local men's group, is a great place to start. It helped me enormously (albeit sans sake). Sincerely and off the record, Rider McDowell

From: Rider Mcdowell <ridermc@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: Carmel Pine Cone, November 11, 2011
Date: November 10, 2011 at 21:07:31 PST
To: The Carmel Pine Cone <paul@carmelpinecone.com>

Hey you cunt, take me off your fucking mailing list of this god awful penny saver of a paper

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