Monthly Archives: July 2007

Time for A Laugh, at the Progressives’ Expense – Gonzalez Really Ain’t Running!

So, finally, the Messiah has spoken, and it turns out Golden Boy Matt Gonzalez really isn’t running for mayor. All the pitiful jabbering and gossiping and puttering on the left about What Will Matt Do was for naught. Now, I predicted this some time ago, but you know what?
Who cares?
And that goes for any more chatter about this joke of a Mayor’s race we have now. Seriously.
Right now I’m just thinking of Eric Cartman and Nelson Muntz getting together, pointing fingers at San Francisco (especially the left) and laughing in their trademarked ways.
What’s funnier is that Mayor Newsom (who throughout his term could not pass a ballot measure or elect a new ally to the board that wasn’t appointed) is Mr. Invicible, and can literally do anything he wants, without any consequences. And yet, he’s still so scared of wealthy interests, he’s going to try and torpedo a MUNI reform measure.
Now who’s laughing?

Jury Duty and Ed Jew!

This week I’m stuck in the labyrinth known as the Hall of Justice in jury duty, so I can’t write much. There’s been a lot to observe in my first voir dire in literally 18 years, but I can’t talk about it.

But, it seems the cavalcade of whimsy created by Ed Jew, Kamala Harris, and the gang is just down the hall, so I snapped a few pics while we had a break.

Later, during lunch, I ran into Luke Thomas of Fog City Journal and Josh Sabbatini of The Examiner at the awesome Caffe Roma located right across the street!

I won’t be able to post too much for this week, so enjoy some pics and be sure to check out the fireworks at tomorrow’s board meeting!

Friday Fun: Sup. Braithwaite Burke Doesn’t Live in HER District EITHER!

Although I do not live in Los Angeles any longer, I still read the LA Times, partially out of interest for some subjects they still cover, and partially because watching a once-great paper get torn apart by corporate bean counters and morons is kind of like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
This week, the LA Times did some investigative reporting* on one of the all-powerful LA County Supervisors, investigating if she lives in her district, or in the tony Brentwood area. Needless to say, she doesn’t, and she had a command of “junkie logic” as she changed her story more than once.
It’s interesting to compare the reporting methodology of the Times, which sent people day in and day out to find out the facts, whereas the Chronicle’s style seems to be a bit more laid back, waiting for a phone call from a PR person or an expert from City Hall.
Perhaps I am wrong. But it is also interesting to note that the LA County Prosecutor has successfully nailed folks playing games like this, whereas we still seem to have a bit of fumble and tumble around here.
Score another victory for Los Angeles, who, despite the State Assembly’s budget cuts (shame on you Fiona Ma and Mark Leno) to mass transit, is making improvements in that area. Meanwhile, our Mayor sides with the “cars-only-screw-everyone-else” crowd, and MUNI has meltdowns weekly.
Sad. Just sad.
* San Franciscans on a diet of local media might be confused as to what the term “Investigative Reporting” means, esp. in print…you may need to seek out a news source out of the area to find an example…but hurry! Every day another reporting staff gets fired so some trailer park owner or real estate developer or hedge fund can save a few pennies…then groan about how no one reads their thin, boring, crappy dino-papers anymore….

Mayor Newsom Between A Rock and a Hard Place, Thanks to Sup. Peskin’s Legislative Skillz

Over at my more popular, likeable, and well-read blog on MUNI and urban life there’s the usual grumbling about MUNI follies, as well as discussion on how to make the system work better. Obviously the charter amendment to reform MUNI has been a topic of discussion as it has weaved its way through the corridors of power.

Today’s snark, however, is not as much about MUNI, or about the usual topics of discussion at the popular blog, but instead a look at how the Mayor has been put between a rock and a hard place, due in large part to the mad legislative skillz of Board President Aaron Peskin, and the lack thereof of some of his colleagues.

First, as originally written, one of the many details the provision contained included serious attempts to change middle-management jobs from cushy jobs-for-life into “at will” positions to give MUNI management some more control over who serves the public.

That went over like a lead balloon with labor unions in the city. But, as we read on Monday, Peskin managed a compromise that kept the essence of the labor reform rules alive but not to the degree the original measure had proposed. As of Tuesday, the Mayor, labor, MUNI, and Everyone Else was holding hands and singing Kumbaya together.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the singalong when a little noticed paragraph popped up that would negate the “>developer-backed parking initiative that made its way onto the ballot. Because the MUNI reform measure is a charter amendment, it trumps any initiative on the ballot, as per the rules. D’oh!

Now, what started with hugs and pats on the back is ending in tears as people who have talked big about MUNI reform and green-city this and green-city that are in the position of having to decide which is more important – comprehensive reform of MUNI, the MTA, and a cohesive transit plan, or more parking for more cars.

Continue reading

Stop Global Warming! Ban Burning Man! Buy This T-Shirt!

With all this talk of global warming, that Al Gore movie and all those celebs buying church indulgences – oops I mean carbon credits to offset their lifestyles, I realized there was a way for San Franciscans to cut carbon emissions right now!

Check out our latest T Shirt design, which suggests an obvious route – stop burning the “man” at Burning Man, and end all those carbon emissions annually. Wear this shirt with pride around town knowing you’re doing your part to end “global warming” today.

Obviously this is satirical in nature, meant to raise some issues…please don’t freak out, San Francisco!

Serendipitous Speaking Engagement With the Alice B. Toklas Democrats

Earlier this week I had an unexpected chance to play “pundit” when Paul Hogarth of Beyond Chron urgently emailed me Monday morning. It seems he’d been invited to talk about local political gossip with the good people at the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club meeting Monday night, and was slightly concerned about being the only person speaking for 2 hours.
So, at the lastest of the last minutes, and with the approval of the club’s organizers, I showed up at the LGBT Center on Market, and the two of us talked about a range of topics, from the drama of District 4, the junior high theater shenanigans at City Hall, and more, although once the topic of MUNI came up that seemed to provide some of the liveliest discussion of all.
Overall, it was a lot of fun and I owe a big thanks to the Toklas Club leaders and members. I used to do this sort of thing more often, but have slacked off in recent years as I decided to take a lower profile in the political world, but I had such a great time I would like to do this again.
So if you have a neighborhood or political group and would like a lively speaker on SF politics, political reform or frankly, my favorite topic (and that of most people it seems), MUNI’s follies and foilbles, feel free to email me and if I can make it, I’ll provide some free entertainment and info for you and your colleagues.

We Interrupt This Blog For A Special Announcement: BSG: Razor Trailer!

I just saw this while enduring SCIFI Channel’s dull “Eureka”…but it was worth it….this BSG movie will be out on DVD and on the SCIFI channel in fall 2007….should be good.
Now that you’ve seen the trailer, why not buy an Adama for President T Shirt and be the coolest person on the beach this summer!

Politics 101 for Cindy Sheehan: AKA Why I and Most San Franciscans Will Re-Elect Speaker Pelosi in a LANDSLIDE…

So some folks on those fancified blogs we keep hearing about are all atwiter about the “news” that activist Cindy Sheehan is going to relocate from her “undisclosed location” and deign to run for Congress in San Francisco. While the kids at “Daily Kos” are having a lovely time blogging this to death, if I were working for Nancy Pelosi, I would not be too concerned.
Remember, Ms. Sheehan herself said that she was through with anti-war activism in a much-publicized move, for various “reasons.” Thus, when I read the news about her latest gig, I began to realize that Chris Nolan’s analysis of Cindy Sheehan’s morph into the Left’s Cause Celebre was, well spot-on. When she started on this path and was the lone voice against the President, there was some accessibility and some good her protesting could have been doing. When she morphed into a celebrity, that sought out the likes of President Hugo Chavez, and had a high-powered PR firm guiding her moves, well, let’s just say that her original point got lost in the cult of celebrity she sank into.
Whatever. All of this is irrelevant, anyway. Since Ms. Sheehan does not have much experience in San Francisco politics, she might want to take a look at the history of underfunded, unorganized, anti-establishment efforts in San Francisco, which usually end in tears.
She might also take special note at the fact that despite all the local gimmicks passed to “change” who runs and wins office, not a lot has changed, and we still tend to re-elect incumbents, no matter what they do, progressive or moderate, or whatever.
The outsiders that will descend on our town expecting to find Hippy Trippy Liberal Central will have a rude awakening when they see how much it costs to live here and how few jobs allow for copious hours of crazy crap during business hours.
If I have to choose between supporting an incumbent Speaker of the House, who has to lead a caucus of folks as diverse in views as they are in numbers, versus an outsider with a janey-one-note issue that will be moot in 2009, well, I’ll vote for the Speaker any day of the week.

Does Peter Ragone Have A Little Rain Cloud Over His Head?

One has to wonder if Peter Ragone, he formerly of the Mayor’s official press office who was known for posting under assumed names on SFist.com, now working for the Mayor’s re-election campaign, has a little rain cloud over his head wherever he goes, like a cartoon character or something.
After getting a little free press for going to Rio with Al Gore, the news came out that the concert in Rio was canceled at the orders of a judge. Just now on CNN, they report the concert is back underway, but this is all under a cloud as we also heard the news about Al Gore III’s unfortunate run in with John Law.
Someone, please burn some sage or call the Karma Kops on this guy and help him out. This madness has to stop! The trail of tears left by his clients is too long!