GregDewar.com

Tonight I depart for San Diego, where I, and 149,999 of my nerd brothers and sisters will be gathering for San Diego Comic-Con. Three times the size of Burning Man, with celebrities and air conditioning (but with folks in costume, like BM), it should be fun.

However, taking a look at what's up this week, I'm kinda glad I'll be out of town. True, I'll miss this cool Obama Art Show on Thursday, but here's what else I'll get to avoid:

-Everyone's Favorite Bully, Chris Daly, and his many fatwas issued to anyone who dares oppose him as the "de facto" leader of so-called "progressives" on the DCCC (that's the Democratic County Central Committee for those of you who don't follow such minutiae).

Since the takeover of the DCCC by elected officials, the same politics of pettiness, bitterness and attack of City Hall has now infected the DCCC. They're having some big meeting this week to decide this non-matter. Somehow, all this bullsnot is supposed to be an improvement over regular citizens running the DCCC. What-ever

Funny how the people who claim to be "progressive" and open are the ones making threats, taking power away from us citizens, spamming my inbox (that's you, Mr. Daly!), and issuing fatwas, and not The People They Oppose. Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it?

-The Mayor's wedding. Hey, lucky guy, marrying an attractive actress (if you haven't seen her in Life, you're really missing something), whatever, but I ain't going and I'll read about it in People Magazine, or even better, at Beth's awesome blog.

Besides, the Mayor's a cool guy and all, but he's no Christian Bale aka Batman. Or is it the other way around? I dunno. Anyway, best wishes, Mr. Mayor, but I shall be hanging with the Cool Kids from Battlestar Galactica and the Fox Network.

-MUNI failwhales to come. The reason a MUNI blog writes itself most days, and I'm sure Something Big will happen when I'm away (it usualy does). Instead I'll be enjoying the convenience of San Diego's trolley line to take me to the convention every week.

Anyway, that is all. Have a fun week, keep enjoying our uniquely SF summer weather, and stay tuned for updates from the Convention floor at Galactica Sitrep, and will be posting pictures on Flickr here!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remember this weird sign?
.

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....

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

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.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 6:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Living in the Inner Sunset, and for some reason not on any mailing lists, I've missed out on most of the "fun" that is Political Dead Tree Mail this season. In particular, I'm missing out on the flurry of eastside mailers for the Democratic Central Committee, which include many current Supervisors as candidates.

The Bay Guardian's blog reports that apparently the so-called "Change" Slate of candidates is sending out a slate card mailer with the Bay Guardian's logo on it, implying an endorsement of Sen. Carole Migden (the SFBG in fact, endorsed Mark Leno.) There is a more detailed photo of the mailer in question over at the Wall discussion board as well.

I took a look at the pictures myself, and the "too-clever-by-half" design makes it rather easy for voters to be misled that it's a Guardian slate card. Yes, it does say "all change initiatives and DCCC candidates endorsed by" above a logo that looks almost exactly like the Bay Guardian's. At the same time, however, they use the logo as the return address as well.

Yes, there is a disclaimer, but to the casual eye scanning a pile of crappy junk mail, it seems to give the Guardian stamp of approval to all candidates. The fact that people are complaining about it to the Guardian indicates that whatever the alleged "intent," if the end result is the voter is feeling misled or confused, the piece fails. Not being a mind reader, I don't know if this was intentional or just plain dumb, but I wonder what progressives would say if the roles and candidates were reversed. I seriously doubt they'd be giving the Other Side the wink and a nod.

More interesting, though is how Supervisor Daly has taken a "do it my way or go F**K yourself" attitude, saving his best vitriol for people who've been on his side in the past. He has issued two heavy handed progressive fatwas on SF Labor Council director Tim Paulson - someone whom I've worked with in the past and always found to be an honorable, decent guy - and who, with the SFLC, did a lot to support Supervisor Daly in the past.

Continue reading "Disinfo Rehab Weekend Edition: Daly Det Cord, Dead Tree Mail, and More! (UPDATED)" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've never been a big fan of ballot measures. Once the last resort for a distressed citizen to get a social ill addressed by government, they've now become the first weapon for special interests with money to jam all sorts of bizarro spending and borrowing into government, often with paved Road-To-Hell like results.

Living in San Francisco affords one the benefit (!) of voting on even more of these things, which more often than not are simply "advisory" measures with absolutely no power - a sort of civic primal scream against whatever a few thousand signatures wanna scream against.

In a way, it makes voting that much easier since I pretty much vote "no" on all ballot measures, especially bonds, the leading cause of budget woes, and yet, the most popular of measures. Every year there are pleas to vote for "more money" for worthy causes and the like, and yet no one ever stops and wonders where this "free money" comes from. It ain't free - it's borrowed money at high interest rates. If you want to know part of the reason civic budgets are always out of whack - it's because they have tons of bond debt service to pay.

For June, I'm keeping it easy and simple. I'm voting "Yes" on A and B here in San Francisco, only because they're trying to fix something. "A" tries to address the problem of paying teachers in one of the most expensive parts of the country in as best a way as possible under current rules, and "B" is a housekeeping measure to fix some problem with pensions and the like. Fine, I'll vote for 'em.

As for the rest, I'm voting a nice big "NO" on all of 'em. Most of these things are either political grudges gone wild and a waste of the paper they're printed on, or they're things that just aren't that trustworthy. Since I was not part of the dream team that got paid by Lennar to pass Proposition "G" (and because I'm worried a company with so many financial problems would be given a piece of Our City), I'm voting NO.

I'm also voting NO on F, because while the intentions may be honorable, the stream of "Frak You's" I get from its supporters have convinced me they already have enough votes to win, and don't need mine. (Odd way to win an election, kids!).

As for the infamous Props. 98/99 - a big NO on both of them too. Classic special interest big bucks buying a way onto the ballot. Unless a state ballot measure really does what it says or revolutionizes our arcane budget process in ways we honestly need, I always vote NO on all state ballot measures.

I don't care if it's some Worthy Cause with ads that make you cry like you're watching a Hallmark ad or a Lifetime TV Movie, I say no! We pay a Legislature and a Governor a lot of money to pass laws - they should be doing that, instead of running around paying for lavish trips with special interest campaign dollars.

Remember, your ballot is taxpayer financed fun. If you find yourself bored with some of the more arcane races, feel free to write in names as you feel appropriate...or for more fun, bullet-vote for your favorite candidates for Democratic Central Committee! Enjoy!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Election Thing

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here we go again.

On the heels of some parliamentary wizardry that killed the latest tax credit package for "film production," the Chronicle, right on cue, had had a front page article bemoaning the "loss" of film productions in town. Predictably, it talked solely about "tax credits" being offered by various local and national governments, and how SF is "missing the boat" because we're just not offering up enough gimmies to Hollywood.

The problem with the article is that it narrowly defines the "whys" of the lack of film production in San Francisco without considering some very important facts that are important to any film producer, large or small, who wishes to film anywhere on location ( like the fact that previous San Francisco tax credits haven't worked out at all like promised.) Yet nowhere in the Chronicle story is this noted, despite the fact this isn't a state secret.

I've written about this issue before because like many of us, enjoy seeing Our Fair City in TV and movies. Bullitt and the first Dirty Harry movies remain some of my all time favorites, along with Vertigo, to name a few.

Having worked on a documentary about the Screen Actor's Guild, I've had a lot of time to study the issue of film production here and abroad, and have had a chance to talk to a lot of people in the industry and in the unions who have studied this issue for literally decades.

So let's do a little disinfo rehab on the subject and see what we get:

First, it's important to remember that a tremendous amount of film credits in Canada cited in the Chronicle are given to film productions that are primarily created by Canadians to defend and enhance Canadian culture and "Canadiana" (yes that's a word). Thus, to compare any incentive program offered up by a budget-challenged small city to that of the Mighty Canadian Govenrment Protecting Canada's Culture is comparing apple and oranges.

It's also important, up until the dollar's recent decline, the weak Canadian Dollar made filming very cheap, which was the initial appeal for filming in the Great White North. (Ever wonder why so many Sci-Fi channel movies and TV shows look the same? Vancouver!) Don't discount the additional appeal of doing your work in a nation whose cities look like America, but aren't beset by violent crime and filth, either.

Also, as I've tried to tell the chess club brains at City Hall, filming in San Francisco is expensive for reasons you can't give a tax break for. Crews are going to cost more, because rent and taxes here are extremely high. Neighborhood folks, well established in the siren whine of Today's City, will complain about the inconvenience of a long film production, "jobs" be damned. Crime is out of control in San Francisco - we don't even prosecute murderers here, much less property theft. Anyone wanna risk having their brand new movie camera stolen in SF? I doubt it.

And most importantly, we simply do not have the sound stages and related facilities that Los Angeles and its environs enjoy. That alone is going to make it much more feasible to come in to town for a week of exterior shots, then shuffle off to Vancouver or LA to finish the job.

All important topics worthy of coverage by policy folk and media folk. There's plenty of more creative solutions to enhance our economy with jobs and investment from the film industry others have proposed.

The problem is, no one at City Hall or at the Chronicle gives a damn about any of that.

Continue reading "Disinfo Rehab With the Chronicle, City Hall, And Hollywood" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is why we elected Rep. Jackie Speier to Congress this week.

Within moments of being sworn in, Rep. Speier was not afraid to start telling the folks in DC what most Americans believe - it's time to leave Iraq. For her efforts she got booed by the GOP do-nothings, who want endless war, but of course, don't believe in actually fighting the wars themselves.

Notably, Rep. Darrel Issa (R- Syria) stormed out of the chamber. You may not remember this sorry excuse for a Congressman - but he's the guy who openly attacks those who worked rescue on 9/11 in NYC, over and over and over again.

But it's easy to see why Rep. Issa is confused. He loves cozying up to murderous dictators like Assad of Syria, but he doesn't seem to like Americans who defended this country against Al-Qaeda. Maybe he should move to Syria if he likes it so much over there.

If Rep. Speier's truth-telling can drum a nimrod like him out of the House, well then that's a 2-fer as far as I'm concerned. Go Jackie!

Calitics beat me to the punch by mere minutes, but it's a fine post, go check it out!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many people don't realize that there's an honest to goodness Special Election on April 8th. There's been some campaign activity, to be sure, but even with all the nice pieces of mail from the Elections Department, et al, it's easy to forget. Heck, I forgot to apply for an absentee ballot this time around, and now have to go vote in person!

As I noted on my way more popular blog on all things MUNI, right now we don't have anyone in Congress representing the 12th CD (which includes part of San Francisco and San Mateo County) due to the death of longtime Rep. Tom Lantos. Now, if 50%+1 of the good people of the 12th CD vote for Jackie Speier, we can send her to Congress immediately (she doesn't have to pass "GO" and doesn't need to collect $200), and we can have one of the most effective members of the Legislature (yes, we've had a few and she was one of them) be representing us on some pretty important issues right now.

If, however, we don't vote, and she doesn't make the threshold, there'll be a "Special General" election, that will coincide with the June Primary. However, she'll win that one for sure, but we will not have anyone in Congress representing us. Besides, put it to you another way - how many of the current crop of candidates kicked ass on privacy issues and have a train named after them? Hint: Just one, and isn't some hippie-dippie Green candidate.

Today (Sunday, April 6th) there's an event for Jackie at the Machinists Hall down in Burlingame. For a mere $10 donation, you can enjoy a fine spaghetti dinner and meet the candidate and her many supporters. It's an easy commute for those of you in San Francisco - you can take BART or Caltrain to Millbrae, and walk a few blocks to the union hall.

Whatever you do today, be sure to vote on April 8th! We can all talk big in San Francisco, but now it's time to do something about all that big talk, and send an effective legislator to Congress who can shake things up. Go Jackie!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Normally, I'd be headed to a state Democratic Convention in Northern California, because just as artistic folks go to Burning Man, and my comics/anime/film friends go to Comic-Con, folks like me go to these things because you can get your political geek on, in the company of friends and strangers and not feel weird.

In fact, when I re-launched my blog in 2006 I did so armed with a press pass at the CDP convention, which was rather fun (and cheap - Sacramento affords many hotel deals, it seems) and went to the 2003 and 2004 conventions as well

This time around, I didn't think I was going to be in town this weekend so I didn't make any plans, but had a trip pushed back at the last minute. By then, any decent rates on hotels were not to be found, and I couldn't get a press pass in time. Ah well. Probably for the best, as I have tons of other work to do, both for work and for my 15 minutes of Internet fame thanks to the awesome folks at io9.com. (Note to self: never allow yourself to be filmed unless you're dressed to impress, you never know where that video might end up, along with your improv skillz).

However, if you're looking for blogger coverage, fret not, for many of San Francisco's "A-List" Bloggers&trade will be on the case. The gang from Calitics.com will be there, as will Sweet Melissa and Beth Spotswood, and plenty of others (whom I'll add to the list as I discover 'em online). The party itself will stream live video at their site, but as we all know the real fun and drama goes on in the many caucuses, after hours parties, and whatnot at these things.

The funniest thing about this convention is the lack of drama in the Presidential race since we had this stupid idea that moving our primary "ahead" would make us more "relevant" and whatnot. Oddly enough, if California had simply kept all its primaries in June as God and Man Intended, California would literally be the king-maker in the race as one of the last primaries with a sizeable cache of delegates, super or not.

As it stands, most of the drama will be in races for state Assembly and Senate where term limits have created open seats, and of course there's the Migden/Leno/Nation drama-fest as well. Not nearly as much fun as having a host of presidential show up at your convention, but for us Political Nerds it'll be fun.

Or something.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow. That was fast. The jury in the ongoing litigation between the Bay Guardian and Village Voice Media came to a rather sudden end as a jury awarded the Guardian $15 million and sided with its claim that its competitor, SF Weekly, was selling ads below cost in an attempt to put the paper out of business.

There has been an endless amount of spin from each side at their respective "blogs," and the personalized vitriol between the Guardian's management and the VVM management has been a bit over the top. More importantly, I, as the reader of local media, have not had an objective voice report on this trial, so it's really hard to know who was telling the truth, and who was lying.

Re-reading some of the "blog" postings by Tim Redmond and Andy Van De Voorde, it was hard to believe each "reporter" was even talking about the same trial - it was spin spin spin. This is the mainstream journalism I'm supposed to fear the demise of, thanks to Evil Blogs and The Internet? Hmm.

Now, while they're popping champagne corks over on Portero Hill, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that VVM will appeal said verdict. But let's pretend for a moment that said appeal fails and VVM writes the BG that oversized Publisher's Clearing House check. Here are some (real) suggestions on what to do with the money:

Continue reading "Some Suggestions For the Guardian Now That They "Won" $15 Million...." »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ya know, it's tough telling people from the Rest of the World you live in San Francisco sometimes. Folks Out There think we live in some hippy Disneyland, complete with hemp-fueled roller coasters to our mandatory crack pipes and abortions, and whatnot, and you wanna say "No, but some of us are cool!"

Then you read about this, and you do the Jon Stewart shaking-of-head thing

Reactions have been swift. As always, Melissa manages to say all that needs to be said in as few words as possible, SFist has a lively discussion, and Curbed offers a rational take on said issue.

Now, while such a "memorial" is likely to go nowhere due to um, er, that whole budget thing that created such a dustup, and all, it does make us come up with a few ideas for more plaques. Heck we can beat LA at that whole "Walk of Stars" stuff, being the City That Knows How (to Bitch):

Continue reading "Real Life Outdoes Parody: Board Votes For WHAT THE F**K??!??" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I'm at lunch and reading email when I notice someone sends me the news that in fact, Matt Gonzalez is running as Ralph Nader's veep candidate.

Wait, WHAT? This is a joke, right?

See this is what happens when you skip your morning paper and blogs. Beth Spotswood, of course had the funniest and most concise take on the news, and I'm sure others did too (I'll post links as I find 'em).

To me, however, this news encapsulates just how f*cking stupid Magical Matt really is, and how the local conservatives and whatnots need to give him a medal for helping bring down progressive politickers in 2008.

When people to the left of Attilla the Hun needed someone to run against a damaged Mayor Newsom, Gonzalez pissed away whatever political capital he had left, and made sure that other people's efforts were stalled. Then, at the last possible moment, he announces he's not running, but not before wasting a lot of important people's time, money and hard work.

Let's not forget the years of gaming the system for Magical Matt. When it was time for someone to make a stand and perhaps have an impact locally, Magical Matt decided to walk away, and stick it to everyone else in the process since he wasn't the progressive prom queen last year.

The result was an epic FAIL for progressives in 2007, and now, in 2008, when seats on the Board of Supervisors and the School Board are up for grabs, the Mayor and his crew are administering political beat-downs, old school style against anyone who stands in their way.

Unlike, say, in 2004, when, after a close race, Gavin was giving out marriage licenses to our gay and lesbian neighbors, and talking about health care for all. Funny how that worked out.

Whatever. Local progressives and Greens are with Obama this time around and to me that says it all. If the people who know Matt Gonzalez the best aren't supporting his candyland bullsh*t, why should anyone else?

UPDATE: It's so funny to see all the status updates on Facebook concerning Magical Matt...Chris Nolan at Spot-On.com dusts off some interesting info about Matt's past that apparently Ralphie Boy didn't know about. Calitics also has their take on Gonzalez, too. And a diary at Daily Kos that would appear to be from Our Mayor rings the alarm bells (really Mr. Mayor you should give Gonzalez a foil star for helping ruin local progressives' chances in 2008). Oh and KPIX's blog (which I had just discovered a week ago and really dig) was kind enough to link to the blog I write that no one reads

It should be noted that the day before he announced, Gonzalez posted a long, boring piece on why he hates Obama. Funny, he doesn't ask any questions about his new buddy. I guess leftist hypocrisy is just a natural reflex for Magical Matt.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So it looks like Ralph Nader's running for President again, and we're supposed to be worried or something, but I'm not.

True, I'm no fan of this charlatan. On my old blog, I wrote about his extreme dishonesty, and overall lack of ethics, and for a while got a bump on Google Searches. This time around, however, I think it's pretty obvious his time has passed, and he's so out of touch, his reasons for running just don't add up.

My favorite line today was the one about "people being disenchanted with Democrats and Republicans." Eeeyeahh. Funny thing though: Barack Obama is about to hit the one million donor mark (something Nader's greedy hands would love to have but won't because he sucks), and turnout in Democratic primaries have set new records, and blown doors off the turnout in the GOP primaries.

But the most telling sign of the total epic FAIL of Nader has been the response of local Green Party elected members to Nader the Liar. Green Party Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, Green Party College Board Member John Rizzo, and Green Party School Board Member Jane Kim have all come out in force for Barack Obama. Non-Greeen "Progressives" like Supervisors Daly and Peskin also support Obama. Hell, the Bay Guardian, usually the only refuge for disaster candidacies like Kucinich or Nader, endorsed Obama.

It says a lot when the folks who should be on board a supposedly great cause like Nader's bullsh*t are instead working for a candidate who's succeeding in ways Nader could never imagine. (Then again it shouldn't be a total surprise - Nader refused to campaign for Green poster-boy Matt Gonzalez in 2003, because, well, because Nader sucks.)

So let the fool run his little show. Every time he does this, he seems to invent new ways to screw up and fail, and every time he becomes less and less relevant to the national discourse. I can't wait for him to throw a tantrum about some f*cking debate, and get arrested for trespassing. If good people like those in Our Fair City have decided to tear up their tickets and say "no" to the Nader circus, I think most folks in America will be doing the same.

Trivia Time: Here's a piece of trivia that most of you might not be aware of (as you're probably concerned with things that matter, and I mean that in a good way): when Nader's spokesman ran for Senate, he got very little support for his bid, marred by problems and the fact that as Nader's spokesman he elevated lying to an art form. He did however get loud and enthusiastic support from someone new to our city: Cindy Sheehan! Apparently she didn't mind the lying and whatnot and threw her lot with Zeese. Very interesting!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Google Alerts provide links to all sorts of news I might have missed, such as this one about the debut of a Zero Gravity flight service out of Moffett Air Station. Check out the story, and the picture of Hizzonner and the future Mrs. Hizzonner in Zero G.

Heck if I was mayor and had to deal with all the stuff that goes on in town, I certainly wouldn't mind a trip into zero gravity with my gorgeous fiancee. Lucky him!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You really have to hand it to Mayor Newsom and his team. They can pretty much get away with anything, short of murder for hire, and no one seems to really mind. Even more amazing, even when "progressives" are right on the issues, they can't seem to get their message out.

This latest brouhaha, between Supervisor Peskin, the Mayor, the infamous MTA, et al gets the usual "political gossip" treatment, as always. But also, as always, we tend to forget a few salient points as to how we got here.

We're in a situation where the city has a big budget deficit and Mayor Newsom has ordered awesome-sounding "across the board cuts," sounding all fiscally responsible. Which is funny, because as Supervisor Daly tried to point out, this is the same Mayor who blew out the budget with big expensive pay raises and increases in the City payroll.

What's even funnier is that as Daly was trying to point this out, his infamous "cocaine" line blew up into this Big Problem, and Supervisor Peskin was gamed into removing Daly from the Budget Committee. So even though in this case Daly was right, it was he who paid the price - and the Chronicle waited 6 months to note Newsom's key role in blowing out the budget.

Now, to be fair, it was not that hard to push Daly aside - his acrimonious style, and his spending of political capital on symbolic measures made it easy for the Mayor's people, and their friends in the press, to make it all about something Daly really didn't say. Chalk one up for repeating the "mean Chris" meme, and one down for any serious budget reporting.

Likewise, as the Mayor is demanding we cut funds from things we need, he's spending a lot of money on plasma TVs and fancy new offices. And to pay all these people watching ProRun on those plasma tvs, he's swiping money from MUNI and other agencies so he can fill the chairs.

But once again, it really doesn't matter if the Mayor's people are doing anything wrong - they're recasting this as a "personal attack" and upping the ante with all kinds of personal and legal attacks, so no one stops and thinks about the actual issues at hand. And once again, as in the case with Daly, Peskin's temperament and style are being used against him. Suddenly we're talking about he-said-he-said, instead of talking about whether the Mayor is breaking the law, or mismanaging the taxpayers' money.

Brilliant. One thing progressives and their allies don't seem to understand is that in these fights being "right" with the facts isn't enough - you have to have the political capital to be able to fight back.

Blowing it all on symbolic measures and feel-good stuff means you don't have it when you really need it. Now, the Mayor's holding all the cards, and although his opponents may have caught his hand in the till, they're losing the battle.

As this latest political battle escalates, it's clear the Mayor's people don't mind playing rough with their opponents. There's no "safe word" in San Francisco politics, and those who would oppose the Mayor would be wise to remember that.

Note: I wish I was clever enough to come up with that last bit, but it's actually a paraphrasing of a comment I heard from a friend, so I wanted to be sure I mentioned that.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The LA Times has an interesting report on the record voter turnout we're seeing in primaries, and in particular the lopsided increase in turnout on the Democratic side.

The article has some interesting facts and figures, but it pretty much bears out what I said last week - that if you have good candidates who aggressively campaign on issues and ideals that people actually care about, people vote. Who told?

(Oh, and I find it equally amazing that Sen. Obama has been able to run an incredibly close race fueled mostly by small to mid-sized donations...while lefty champions are once again left in the dust.)

It's a stark contrast to the mind numbingly stupid elections we had in Supposedly Liberal Brainiac San Francisco, where "progressives" had a FAIL so complete and total, turnout was in the toilet. And now, of course, the progressives are crying about the Mayor's shenanigans, not realizing that if they'd just bothered to run a real candidate, the election might have had a different outcome. Boo hoo for them.

Most importantly, these record turnouts of voters are coming out without any of the lefty electoral gimmicks out-of-state reformers are trying to peddle across the country as ways to "increase turnout."

It's really simple, people. If you run a good campaign, you win the election. If you inspire people to action, they act. If you listen to people and talk about the issues they actually care about, they get excited and feel like politics is an opportunity for change - not just a tired exercise that people don't feel matters to them.

There's a chance that local "progressives" might take a lesson from all of this in the upcoming elections in November, and perhaps try strategies that don't involved running around in circles, gossiping like junior high girls in gym class, and whining.

News flash, progressives: THIS DOESN'T F*CKING WORK. Stop trying to game the electorate with phony reform bullsh*t. Run on a vision and an agenda that works for the citizens who actually vote in elections, and you might win. If nothing else, it would be an improvement over last year's "act like gossiping dorks" strategy.

The real winner will be the voters of San Francisco, if they're given an honest race between various factions who all strive to offer a cohesive vision of policy and politics for the next four years. We'll see what happens.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This just in: yet another crap-tastic crack shack has sold in San Francisco for $935,000. SocketSite has been following this one for a while so go there and see pics of this decrepit piece of real estate.

I seriously wonder if we should put this on a billboard, with a pricetag, on billboards that say "Memo to Hippies: The SF of the 60s is dead. Do not come here and expect to rent a room in a big nice house for cheap and live off of handouts. Unless you're rich enough to buy this crapshack and renovate it to livable standards, please, stay away. Thank You."

Or something. I mean, at this point, all the housing measures in the world (along with all the ones we've passed) don't seem to mean much if even a craphouse like this is selling for almost a million dollars.

Put another way - how do you build lots of "cheap affordable" housing on super expensive dirt? More importantly, is it really feasible for anyone to build anything that's not super expensive condos for wealthy childless couples anymore when you have garbage selling for almost a million bucks?

Posted by Greg Dewar at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Since I don't have my trusty Mac with me, and am using the infamous San Francisco Public Library's free computers, I can only do a quick post, sans photos. It was an interesting press event, with Sen. Obama talking to women about the challenges of making a living in the Bay Area, and some proposals he's come out with to try and mitigate the cost of living for people who work.

This was probably the only time I've ever heard a politician call BS on "tax breaks" as a primary means of providing relief to those who work, since many times they can't use the deductions on their taxes due to their income, while high income people can take the break. Sen. Obama suggested a break on payroll taxes for those who work (but don't make a zillion dollars) as a start. Not bad.

It was kind of interesting to see the media swarm (pics to be posted) which packed the crowded room at the Women's Building in the Mission. It was crowded, hot and yet there we all were, waiting for the Senator and taking pictures and notes at a furious pace. With only 19 days until the Mega Super Duper Big Primary to End All Primaries in A Whopping 20 states, it's difficult for any campaign, big or small, to reach all voters in all places, so it was kinda nice to see at Presidential candidate speaking in San Francisco, in the Mission, no less.

Luke Thomas took some excellent photos (as always because he's so talented) and they're so much better than mine, you should just go to his site and check 'em out.

More later...the clock is ticking on my time here at the SFPL, and I have to update my other blog, as we have Yet Another Tragedy on the N-Judah line.

This, the day after we read that more MUNI money is being siphoned off to pay more salaries in the Mayor's office, and a month after we heard that they gave the boss at MUNI a big pay raise. And all of this after we voted for a measure that was supposed to start MUNI reform - and immediately after the vote we get a string of accidents and deaths.

All I can say is...WTF?

PS: I had no idea that the "blogger lounge" at Macworld sponsored by Microsoft had free actual computers one could use (when I was here the other day I gave the lounge a quick scan and it looked like you had to bring a computer). Needless to say I wish I'd discovered this a few hours ago, and avoided the glares of the angry pervs who had to wait for their porn whilst I blogged about Sen. Obama.....

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been a big fan of Jackie Speier since I can remember, and have campaign buttons, mementos, and more from her many runs for office throughout the years. I have a campaign button collection that spans decades, but mostly includes rockin' politicians such as Jackie. Heck, when I worked at the Big Company one of the jobs I got to work on was a cool mail piece for Jackie in her last run for State Senate - ironically enough against a world-class douchebag I had the displeasure of attending junior high with.

Oh but enough nostalgia. Go check out Melissa's awesome writeup of the kickoff I missed because despite my Speier-supporting, I suck.

Anyway.

Check it out , and be sure to vote for Jackie Speier in the primary if you're in Our Fair District!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1/9: Obama Rally
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Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Given the level of stupidity political discourse has taken in San Francisco, on all sides, I found this 5 year old cartoon by some cartoonist named "Mark Stivers" to be unusually insightful into the kinds of choices we have....exhibit "A" being that joke of a Mayoral election we just had. Enjoy!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

progressives, you got pwned!
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PRECINCTS COUNTED (OF 562). . . . . 562 (100%)
REGISTERED VOTERS - TOTAL . . . . . 466,127
BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL. . . . . . . 253,872
VOTER TURNOUT - TOTAL . . . . . . 54.46

PRECINCTS COUNTED (OF 580). . . . . 580 (100%)
REGISTERED VOTERS - TOTAL . . . . . 419,598
BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL. . . . . . . . . 149,424
BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL CARD 1 . . . . 149,424
BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL CARD 2 . . . . 150,098
VOTER TURNOUT - TOTAL . . . . . . 35.61
VOTER TURNOUT - TOTAL CARD 1 . . . . 35.61
VOTER TURNOUT - TOTAL CARD 2 . . . . 35.77

Continue reading "When "Progressive" Political Analysis Becomes "Junkie Logic" AKA Disinfo Rehab Time!" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why write an entry of the recent non-election snoozefest, when you can link to a nice concise post like this one from a blog I found on Technorati, Down The Avenue. I especially liked this part:

Is this the legendary California "whatever" attitude? Is he in the waxing phase of our media-culture cycle of building up and tearing down our heroes? Is it the Clinton apologia, a cute boy running the show who just refuses to grow up, but what are you gonna do? And, he has so much charisma?

Or maybe all of us just complain, but are in truth perfectly happy here because it's warm enough for palm trees, it is breathtaking when you drive up and over one of the hills and see the water and the bridges and Marin. Oh, and the restaurants are great even though the price to pay for all that is a real estate market that is above most people's probable reach.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So there's some election or something going on today. And I keep getting asked by folks "Whoyagonnavotefor?" and up until now I have kept silent on the matter, not wanting to legitimize a joke election cycle with more chatter. But since so many people asked, I voted weeks ago for Gavin Newsom and that's pretty much it. SFW?

In the end, I just couldn't bear to waste my time and that of taxpayer funded minions to hand count a bunch of stupid ranked-choice votes that don't mean squat. I think I voted for "H Brown" for my second choice because I know him and he's always nice to me, but really, who cares? The whole ranked choice process is an exercise in wasting taxpayer dollars and time (remember how the People Who Knew Best pushed this electoral turd as a way to "save money" and "get more people to vote?").

Sure the Mayor's done little to improve MUNI or make City Hall work more efficiently, and his obsession with aging technology is a distraction (as was, um, you know what) but when it was clear this election cycle was going to be the joke that it was, who was I suppose to vote for?

More importantly, it is time that rational, independent San Franciscans send a message to the disorganized band of vaguely articulate folks who call themselves "progressives" that running around in circles, posting comments on blogs and chat boards, calling each other at night and gossiping, and worshiping at the Altar of Magical Matt is no way to show you're serious about running this city.

The progressive era as defined by Those Who Opposed Willie Brown In 2000 is dead dead dead, and voting for a non serious candidate like "Quintin Mecke" is just trying to pump life into a corpse already buried. It's time to change tactics, kids, and if you keep doing what you're doing, by 2011 you'll be a vague memory totally irrelevant to those of us who work for a living.

It's unfortunate that the Mayor is winning by forfeit, but maybe that's a good thing. Maybe, after progressives finally lose their Board Majority, and Proposition A goes down to defeat and H wins, someone or a gathering of someones will pull it together and find a better way to get organized and make this city run properly.

I, for one, shall not be holding my breath. An opportunity was lost and the undertow of progressive failure is likely to pull down a lot of good people and ideas with it.

So, folks, sit down, and shut up. Mayor Newsom is your Mayor for 4 more years whether you whine about it or not. You had your chance to do something and failed. Now you will learn what it means when people say "elections have consequences." Just like when you folks supported Nader over Gore in 2000. And we know how well that worked for all of us.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

oh hai! stole ur pictures off of flickr
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Posted by Greg Dewar at 4:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CA Clean Money And Gavin Newsom
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Continue reading "A Question For Mayor Newsom At Tonight's Debate: Which Campaign Finance "Reform" Do You Support?" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Funny thing happened the other day. Whilst perusing the latest in news and political analysis from the esteemed San Francisco Chronicle, aka "The Voice of the West," I caught this article, by CW Nevius about the state of the Election-That-Cannot-Be-Named-On-This-Blog.

What was funny about it was how much it had many points made in this piece which I hosted for my friend (and which appeared at the awesome Fog City Journal as well.

Now, some might take the Chronicle to task as it a) has a reputation for bashing "the Internet" and b) stealing ideas from said hated blogs with no credit. I guess I should just be thankful such a smart, intelligent, well-reasoned, and original columnist such as Good Old CW Nevius reads what's groovy on The Internets!

Thanks for reading, CW, and please, don't forget to check out my way more interesting, fun, and exciting blog if you're stuck for ideas! People love to talk about MUNI and stuff.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, the drama, and the faux drama about Who Will Run Against Gavin is over, and frankly, I'm glad. 7 months of rumor mongering, backroom posturing, puttering, talking, and whatnot is done, and we know what will happen. The Mayor will be re-elected. Big surprise. Despite the "showmanship" of certain candidates, or Internet notoriety of others, there is really nothing to see here any longer.

Oh, sure we'll be treated to the outbursts of people upset that the mainstream media doesn't treat them as seriously as The Mayor. Guess what? They're not serious candidates, they don't care if they win or not, most of these people are just using the elections process to have a laugh and promote themselves for other things they do. Meanwhile, any serious debate or policy changes to address the rising violent crime rate, problems at MUNI, or the sense this city is sliding into Third World like conditions, will fall by the wayside.

As such, I'm making a conscious decision to not write any more blog posts or read any "news" about the Mayor's race because it isn't a "race." I'm even going to end my silly prank trying to get some MUNI fixes via the Mayor's own website, which of course was ignored, despite all those Google ads to "get a blog and make policy."

The Mayor will get re-elected, no matter how many Burning Man people run around town posting silly signs, or how many videos Josh Wolf makes, or whatever the other baker's dozen of candidates does. I don't know that I even need to vote in this race, since it is not like the Mayor will lose if I don't vote for him , and all the expensively hand counted "ranked choice voting" ballots in the world won't change the results through some hippie dust magic.

In other words, a perfect article for Who Cares? magazine. As for me, I'll be reading something else.

PS: I think this moment is the sign that the Progressive Era of 2000-2008 is coming to a definite end. The assorted folks who made up a so-called "progressive" majority (which really was not a monolithic block the way the mainstream press and the prog haters like to suggest) managed to pass all sorts of legislation and the like, and that's groovy.

The fact remains, though, that even after Magical Matt's 2003 phenomenon, there has been a distinct inability to build a permanent political infrastructure, and no mentoring of new people to take the place of those who will leave due to term limits. And the fact that after all the gimmicks of ranked choice voting, public financing, and more, they still can't come up with a real candidate says a lot.

I don't know that this is an opportunity for the so-called "moderates" since their machine tends to mint dull, uncaring candidates that don't fare well in local races. But the age of puttering around, trying to herd a random pack of personalities, politicos, and what not for "last minute surges" is over, especially as the real estate market and city policy continue to make San Francisco a land for the well off, the extremely poor, and push out everyone in between.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week, I'm giving a guest spot to reporter and Boalt Hall law student Savannah Blackwell, formerly of the Bay Guardian, who has written an excellent piece that analyzes both the prospects of a Chris Daly for Mayor Campaign, and how we got here in the first place. It's an excellent read, with news and views you won't find elsewhere. I've added links when necessary. Enjoy!-GSD

By Savannah Blackwell

Twenty minutes into “Big Love” on the last Monday in July, the call came in.

Normally, nothing can tear me away from HBO’s polygamist drama, but having heard late that afternoon from a well-placed source that word was former supervisor Matt Gonzalez would not make a second run against Mayor Gavin Newsom, I was on red alert. I had prepared a story looking toward a Gonzalez v. Newsom race, and I was waiting only for an update from the Green Party activist.

But as the city’s progressives and so many other voters hoping to see Newsom face a serious challenge now all know, Gonzalez, the source told me, decided not to go for it -- after more than seven months of flirting with the idea. And I, like many, was deeply disappointed.

Fast forward to Monday, August 6 when Supervisor Chris Daly told the Fog City Journal that he was considering seriously taking on the task, and my outlook changed considerably.

Sure, the frequently embattled Daly has the slimmest chance of the city’s top progressive leaders to actually beat Newsom – or even come very close. But seven years after a slate of neighborhood activists and hard-core progressives swept the city’s freshly implemented district elections, and at a time when the murder rate is soaring, MUNI is a mess, the homeless problem clearly is not solved and Newsom’s personal problems nearly have cost him the support of some very key and high-ranked leaders in the Democratic Party as well as leaving many in his own administration wondering if he really can handle the job, it just seemed unbelievable – ridiculous even, that there would be no serious challenge from the left.

That’s not good for “the movement,” and it’s not good for the city. As SF Bay Guardian Editor Tim Redmond pointed out back in February, “for a long list of reasons, there has to be a real mayor’s race this fall..We need to keep Newsom on the defensive, to hold him accountable not just to his donors but to the rest of the city.”

Given that recollection of nearly losing to Gonzalez in 2003 likely influenced Newsom’s decision to make important progressive moves such as implementing gay marriage and supporting Hotel workers as well as Supervisor Tom Ammiano’s health care package, a lack of a serious progressive challenge might make Newsom listen only to the Don Fishers of the city. And that would be disastrous.

Although longtime Daly confidante and supporter Richard Marquez cautioned his friend against a run --“because the opposition and the press likely will threateningly depict Chris to voters as Charles Manson out on bail if he enters the race,” Marquez also feels strongly that “Daly’s entrance, however, would speak to the realities of what the other San Francisco – and especially the powerless, the vulnerable, the scorned and despised -- struggles with every day.”

For his part and with less than 48 hours remaining before the deadline to file, Daly says he will sign on only if he feels that doing so will unify the city’s fractious progressive community. He hopes to make the decision by tonight – after meeting with key organizers.

“That’s really what it comes down to,” he said.

Let us pause and reflect on how we got to this point.

(Click below to read the rest of the story)

Continue reading "Why Chris Daly Should Run and How We Got Here - Campaign Analysis By Savannah Blackwell" »

Posted by Greg Dewar at 7:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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?

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

oh no, ed jew part deux
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Posted by Greg Dewar at 8:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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 ma