Monthly Archives: June 2008

Matt Gonzalez’s Running Mate a Racially Insenstive Boor? Or Just a Garden Variety Jerk?

Once again, the primal scream lefties show just how ridiculous, and how full of white self-entitlement they are….it seems Matt Gonzalez’s running mate, Ralph Nader, offered some of his oh-so-brilliant insight into the Obama candidiacy:

“He wants to show that he is not a threatening . . . another politically threatening African-American politician. He wants to appeal to white guilt. You appeal to white guilt not by coming on as black is beautiful, black is powerful. Basically he’s coming on as someone who is not going to threaten the white power structure, whether it’s corporate or whether it’s simply oligarchic. And they love it. Whites just eat it up.”

(Obama’s folks served him a dose of STFU good and hard within hours, to their credit.)
Wow. Class act, that Ralphie. Now, if a conservative person said this I’m sure we’d hear all sorts of outrage from the so-called “progressives,” but I guess if a washed-out white liberal guy who isn’t even on the ballot in most (or any) states, I guess it’s ok.
No word on if Magical Matt endorses this Ferraro-like outburst. Funny how local progressives, and local Green elected officials (what few are left) who know Matt and Nader the best are supporting Obama this time around.

I Nominate Christian Bale to Play Gavin Newsom in “Gavin Newsom: The Movie!”

While watching Yet Another Viral Marketing Piece for The Dark Knight, I became firmly convinced that when they make “Gavin Newsom, the Movie” they should get Christian Bale to play Our Mayor.
Now that that’s settled, it’s time to cast the rest of our Cast O’ Characters! Who would you have play Supervisor Aaron Peskin? Or Supervisor Chris Daly? Or Any of the Supervisors? Or City Attorney Dennis Herrerra? Kamala Harris? Our many talented and funny bloggers about town? Or the cast of 100s in supporting roles in City Hall?
San Francisco is full of smart, creative people. So post your suggestions in the comments and have fun!

Cindy Sheehan’s Spam Emails Go Too Far…

I dislike even mentioning Cindy Sheehan’s primal scream campaign, but her latest spam email she blasted out today was over the top, even for her and her band of angry, unlikeable partisans.

I’m no fan of President Bush’s failed policies myself, and looking at the polls it seems most people around the country, not just in So-Called Liberal SF, agree.

However, using images of Hitler, along with the many other histrionic spam emails and the like from Ms. Sheehan and her crew, have so turned me off whatever she’s saying or doing, I’ll happily vote for Speaker Pelosi.

Plus, there’s that giant hole in her impeachment “logic” that one could drive an 18-wheeler through, but the Politics of Intense Feelings, reality doesn’t seem to matter much.

Oh well.

Disinfo Rehab Emergency Edition: Newsom and The Chron and “Free” Wifi

Give the Mayor’s team some credit – at least they know how to use a compliant press to their advantage. This morning, readers were treated to an interesting article about free wifi in San Francisco by private company Meraki – and Mayor Newsom was there, taking all the credit for it.
Even though, of course, Meraki is a private company, and unless the Mayor moonlights as a salesman for Meraki’s repeaters, no one at City Hall did a thing to build Meraki’s wifi networks in the Mission, Noe Valley and Bernal Heights for a couple of years now. (Note to the Chronicle – use The Google to find out these things!)
Instead, this was a chance for the Mayor to Look and Sound Good for the run for Governor, hang out at an SRO, and use the event for what it was really for – repeating loud and clear that “the board of supervisors sucks” and the failed wifi deal as another example of it.
There’s just one problem with this hit – if we had gone along with the Earthlink deal the Mayor was pimping, we’d be totally hosed right now. Earthlink decided some time ago that “Muni WiFI” was not a good business to be in, and has left cities around the country (such as New Orleans and Milpitas, to name a few) high and dry. So in this case, some scrutiny from the Board, instead of a Napoleonic Council rubberstamping Mr. Gavin’s edicts, was a good thing.
The funniest part of the story is of course the rogues’ gallery known as the Chronicle “Comments” section, where the politically correct thugs get together to troll the story to death with their wit and brilliance. The funniest was how angry some people got at the thought of an SRO having an antenna on top – and how misniformed most of these people were in general!
All in all a good day for the Mayor’s team, though, as “facts” didn’t get in the way of a hit on the Board. It is going to be a long summer for Campaign 2008 – and just wait for the avalanche of crappy mail to hit your mailbox this fall. Hopefully they’ll avoid the graphic design tragedy that was the Yes on J sign….

A Question for the Pelosi Haters, and the Political Primal Screamers Re: Impeachment…

Senate Republicans successfully blocked an attempt to tax oil companies at a time when the oil companies are making record profits, and EVERYONE is pissed about $4 and $5 a gallon gas prices. EVERYONE. Blue state, Red state, whatever. And it’s having an effect on businesses, big and small. Yet they still blocked it.
What on earth makes you think if by some miracle articles of impeachment were passed that it would ever make it through the Senate?
Think it through. Think about it long and hard. Come on now…
PS: Oh and if all the Republicans in the Senate bowed to your wisdom, you do realize that Speaker Pelosi, whom you bash on repeatedly with your drums and whatnots….would become President as she’s third in line to succession.
PPS: Oh, and this assumes you can somehow manage to pass the Articles of Impeachment, have a successful Senate trial, AND somehow force out two executives who have never shown a reluctance to use their power to do whatever they want, people be darned, AND DO SO BEFORE THE NOVEMBER ELECTION!
Eeeyeah. And yet, in San Francisco, I’m the one called crazy when I bring these bothersome facts up. Ah well.

IRV/RCV Backers Bash Me at the LA Times! Woo Hoo!

When I compare the pageview statistics for this site vs. The N Judah Chronicles, or even Adama for President, I more or less figure that this site is read by me, my friends, and the occaisional person who googles something or sees a link at someone else’s site, and that’s it.
Thus, it was hilarious to read the LA times Blog today and see not one, but two random commenters bashing me because I don’t worship at the altar of “Ranked Choice Voting” (or “Instant Runoff Voting”) without question. Um, what?
You really can’t have a reality-based discussion on this issue – the people pushing it are so jihad-like in their fervor, they can’t accept any opposing views (or even suggestions to make it better). They don’t like questions being asked, or suggestions that it isn’t the Only Way To Make Elections Work. All they know is attack attack attack. You wonder if these people ever achieved real power if we wouldn’t have “Thought Police” to knock down your door if you don’t adhere to the Party Line. Ah well.
They certainly don’t like the fact that RCV/IRV had no real impact in most recent elections, and instead spend their time calling me names (kinda like a 9-year old might in the schoolyard), or distorting things I’ve said to suit their needs. Who knew my little political blog had so much influence I still get hate mail from these children? The mind reels at the kind of power I could be wielding with this thing (even if most people would rather talk MUNI or Adama).
Which is fine. You can read everything I’ve written about gimmicky “reforms” for yourself and decide on your own what to think. Personally I’m glad the hatahs are linking back to the site – more ad revenue and more pageviews for the site. Thanks guys!
PS: This just reaffirms once again why people don’t like leftists, or frankly any ideological extremists. They’re so intent on demanding absolute loyalty, without any hint of dissent, they become really nasty people to be around. News flash, people: being jerks doesn’t help your cause – try being a little nicer and people respond in kind. It seems to work for Obama and even McCain, you can have your principles and brown rice, and still be cool.

DNC Chair Howard Dean is in Millbrae on Friday, the 13th. Discuss.

This might be interesting: Dr. Howard Dean, chair of the Democratic National Committee is in town on Friday the 13th (!) for an executive board meeting of the state’s party. The folks at Calitics cover this in WAY more depth than I.
It was only 3 years ago that Dr. Dean was running for Chair of the Party, and there were all sorts of dire warnings if he won. Three years later, and Dean’s plan to actually work in all 50 states has paid off somewhat. And much of the internet/grassroots organizing of Dean evolved into what would later become Sen. Obama’s campaign.
If you’re a registered Democrat and want to stop by the proceedings, you can stop by the Westin SFO, located at 1 Old Bayshore Highway, in Millbrae, just off of 101, and not too far from the BART/Caltrain station. They ask for a $20 donation if you’re not an e-board member, but remember, that’s just what they ask. Unless you’re doing something really outlandish, they don’t mind Democrats watching the oh-so-thrilling proceedings.

Celebrate Obama and Adama – Buy BSG Shirts and Stickers Today

What better way to celebrate Sen. Obama’s recent win AND how much you like Battlestar Galactica with version 2.0 of our Adama for President t shirts and stickers.

And, given recent events on BSG, you can either be for Admiral Adama for President, or, ahem, Lee Adama….buy one today and be the coolest kid at the next Obama rally, Comic Book Convention, or other gathering in and around town!

The Only Post Mortem I’ll Do on the Leno/Nation/Migden Bitchfest…

Plenty of geniuses can do all the political post mortems on how Carole Migden and her Sacramento crew invented a new way to lose a sure-win re-elect. For me, I have but one question: will the people who stole my photos of frakking Flickr at least have the courage to reveal themselves, and buy me a case of Schlitz Beer for stealing my photos?
Come on. You stole an image from me, and didn’t have the courage to post an email address or any contact info on your website. The election is over, Leno won, now come clean. It’s good for your karma, and I’ll happily forgive as a good Christian, but I can’t do so unless you ‘fess up.

Bogus Turnout Means It Didn’t Take A Lot of Votes to Win…

While reading up on the results of last nights sort-of election here in the Bay Area, I wanted to see how things turned out in some San Mateo County races, and I was struck by two things:
1. San Mateo’s elections site is easily the best one out there. While all the other counties have some long boring URL, San Mateo’s URL is shapethefuture.org, and they even name brand their (excellent) results section as “RaceTracker.”
Beyond that, if you’ve ever had to deal with San Mateo County’s combined Assesor/Clerk/Record/Elections department, you know that this is easily one of the few citizen-friendly, efficient operations out there. Warren Slocum has long been recognized as a leader in applying innovation and technology to improve the elections process, and the function of the departments he controls, with amazing results.
While we in San Francisco continue to plod along with an Elections and Ethics system that’s half-assed, San Mateo has a model of honest, efficient government. In other words, how it’s supposed to work. Can we vote to get annexed by San Mateo County, or pay the brainiacs at the stem cell council to clone the awesome Warren Slocum? Pleeeease?
2. Anyone running in an open primary in most races really didn’t need a lot of votes out of the eligible voter ranks to win. Check out the results for the Assembly seat down south – the winner only needed 10,000 votes to win! So few people bothered to show up (as there was no presidential contest or statewide contest on the ballot) that really, only a handful of people voted at all, and the winner, who will now probably coast for three terms, got off pretty lucky.
It’s kind of funny to think for all the money the outside interests spent to support or oppose the candidates, the cost-per-vote must be huge. But those trees were gonna die anyway, so I guess they died for a good cause.