Monday, May 24, 2010

More Nazi Tactics From Obama's "Purpleshirts"


The lyin' purple people beaters at Obama's favorite thug factory - the Service Employees International Union - have again engaged in gestapo-like tactics to intimidate their opponents, this time actually aided and abetted by the police (whom always, let us not forget, always have the potential to behave as thuggishly as any union when they don't get what they want).

The sick story comes to us from an editorial at the SFExaminer....


Imagine you are sitting at home on a peaceful Sunday when you hear buses pull up in front of your house and begin disgorging hundreds of angry people waving signs with threatening messages, shaking their fists and crowding onto your lawn. Soon, hundreds of screaming people are tromping on your flower beds, peering into your windows and scaring neighbors, who nervously begin placing calls to 911.


As the noise levels rise and demonstrators start banging on your front door, you begin to fear that something very bad is about to happen. Then, you spot the police cars and relief floods over you. “At least the cops will keep things under control,” you tell yourself. But your relief is shattered when you realize the cops you thought were there to protect you are actually from another jurisdiction and they are there because they escorted the mob to your address.


Sound like a fantasy, something that could never happen here? Guess again, because that exact scenario played out last week in Bethesda, Md., an affluent suburb bordering the nation’s capital. The demonstrators were from the Service Employees International Union, the target of their anger was the home of Bank of America Deputy General Counsel Greg Baer, and the cops escorting the group were from the Metropolitan District of Columbia Police Department, which, like departments across the country, is represented by the Fraternal Order of Police union.


Although it’s standard procedure across the nation when officers from one jurisdiction cross into another to provide advance warning, that was not done in this case. The only person inside the Baer home when the demonstrators and Washington cops arrived was one of Baer’s young sons, who locked himself in the bathroom until his father arrived to rescue him after bravely forcing his way through the crowd. Eventually, Montgomery County, Md., police appeared on the scene and the demonstrators later departed.

There are multiple lessons to be gleaned from this highly disturbing situation. Such tactics are standard fare for SEIU, whose leaders think it’s just fine to target the private homes and families of people associated with whatever company the union has decided to demonize. These assaults are clearly meant to shock and intimidate.


Congress long ago banned secondary boycotts from union tactics. It’s time to put a stop to all such assaults on private homes and families. And the conduct of Washington police highlights another critical question: Should law enforcement officers be pawns of union bosses?


Collective bargaining should no longer have a place among those sworn to protect and serve the public.


Sunday, May 23, 2010

SF History Post - U2's Vandalism of Valliancourt Fountain - 1987



Oh yeah... I was there.

I had just started work at the (now defunct) Tassajara Bakery in Cole Valley, and begged my new manager to let me off early so I could race down there.

The famous graffiti was interesting, yes, but the most amusing part of the day was when Sir Bono commented on a sign which read "SF Loves U2" - and went into a profanity laced tirade which ended in "they'll be peace in Oyrland but not with yer Oy.R.A. royfles!!!"

It's interesting to see 50,000 people simultaneously look at each other and go "what the hell is he saying?"

Apparently, Bono - forgetting that he was in a city whose initials were "SF" - thought that the initials referenced meant "Sinn Fein."

Fortunately, I did get to see U2's two performances that week at the Oakland Coliseum. I say fortunately cuz this free show kind of stunk.


Thanks to Peter Hartlaub's "The Poop" for the memory jog.

Arizona Sing-A-Long: Read Immigration Law!

Change We Can Believe In!


For the first time ever, two top-tier test cricket nations met and played in the United States!

New Zealand and Sri Lanka - both coming off of somewhat disappointing World Twenty/20 performances - got to take a mini-vacation of sorts before getting down to business at the Pearls Cup, happening at the United States' one and only ICC-approved cricket ground - the main field at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida.

Hopefully, this will become a regular happening, where top-tier teams will come to the USA for T20 series and maybe even honest-to-God test matches! A T20 World Cup would certainly seem to be in the offing as well. All we need is more than one stadium.

My feeling is that - rather than trying to woo the Oakland A's or the SF 49ers - the South Bay/Silicon Valley should try to capitalize on its huge Indian and West Asian population and build a regulation cricket ground. It would be a lot cheaper and a lot more useful.

Now, to those of you regular readers who are wondering why the hell this blog is spending so much time on the relatively obscure sport of cricket, it's because it's what I'm into lately, and ultimately this blog is about me and my interests and concerns. If I wanted to try to boost readership, I might write about something I could care less about (like Basketball, ghetto rap music, facebook, twitter, etc. etc. etc.). Match results to follow.

Just you wait until the World Cup starts!


More:

The story of Central Broward Cricket Ground

Photo Series of CBCG

England Win Cricket World Twenty/20!


Whoo-hoo!

Obama's coming to San Francisco? Who cares!

England won a major cricket tournament for the first time in many, many years by defeating Australia in the final of the World Twenty/20 in the West Indies!

Pakistan put up a great fight in the semi against Australia but came up a little bit short, while England very easily dispatched Sri Lanka.

Sometimes you need to look beyond the local to find something to cheer about (are you listening Giants? 49ers? Sharks? Obama?!?).

Obama's Coming To San Francisco. Great. Swell.

Our illustrious President Barack Obama will be visiting perhaps his only remaining hotbed of support this Tuesday, May 25th.

Me... I'll be working. Someone's got to!

According to the blog Mission Local (with emphasis mine)...


President Barack Obama is coming to San Francisco on Tuesday May 25 to help fundraise for the re-election of Senator Barbara Boxer.


According to a press release sent by immigration rights advocates the fundraiser will be at the Fairmont hotel. They are also asking people to go to Grace Cathedral near the Fairmont Hotel at 4:00 p.m. to put an altar with photos of loved ones (note: presumably the Bologna's will not be welcomed).

Their demands: 1). Push for comprehensive immigration reform, 2) end police and ICE collaboration, 3) end deportations. (our response: 1) fuck you, 2) fuck you, and 3) fuck you)

Interesting that no one is copping to this supposed immigrant's rights angle directly.

All the news blurbs say that Obama's visit is to fundraise for Barbara Boxer, and not to lobby for comprehensive immigration reform (read:amnesty), or bash Arizona - though presumably there will be a bit of that as it is now very trendy with the local Marxist scum who will no doubt be stepping up the pressure on Obama to destroy America faster than the pace he's going.


After bathing in the glow of the great admiring unwashed, he will then go to Fremont to speak at a solar energy company.

And then he'll be gone. Hopefully without causing too much damage.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

San Francisco: Where PC Trumps Common Sense Everyday

More politically correct clap-trap from San Francisco.

As everyone knows who rides the transit system here, MUNI has a serious problem with fare evaders. It costs the system gobs of money every year, and, by all accounts, appears to be getting worse every day.

Occasionally, MUNI and the Police Department do the absolutely unthinkable and try to actually enforce the law. Yeah... stupid, I know. But it even works for a while, until the populace's collective liberal panties get in a twist and then it's back to the same old shit.

Here's the latest from SFGate...


Does this ever happen to you? I'd been producing a radio piece about fare enforcement over the course of a few weeks. Then the day it aired I learned that the mass enforcement had been suspended. We added a quick explanation to the story and aired it as planned, but I wish we'd had more time: In the days since, as I've done more reporting, it's become clear that the craziness my recorder captured was indicative of the larger problem that got the program suspended.


Here's what happened: Last year Muni started a new effort to get people to actually pay to ride its buses and trains. The most effective way it found to do this was "saturation enforcement." That meant putting about 15 uniformed officers in one spot at a time to bust fare evaders. (When there are fewer ticket-writing inspectors, they are simply outnumbered by scofflaws, who simply walk away scot-free.) Even though the policy was effective - fare evasion has gone down significantly since they started - Muni said it would abandon the saturations and go back to putting a couple inspectors at a time in each spot. Why? ...


... Because of complaints to San Francisco's Immigrant Rights Commission.


People were worried that inspectors were demanding proof of payment from riders who didn't speak English, evoking the image of officers badgering the old Chinese man who simply can't understand what he is supposed to do. But ironically, the saturations actually decrease the possibility of this kind of cultural misunderstanding. With that many officers in one spot there will always be one who can speak your language. When I was on the Muni platform, I heard several inspectors speaking fluently in Spanish and Cantonese.


It wasn't just immigrants that felt picked on: mild-mannered, middle-class, fare-paying riders were driven into an irrational spittle-flecked rage by the sight of the inspectors. There's something about this show of force that rubs people the wrong way. This is all totally irrational, but it's also real, so Muni has to take it seriously. Whether or not public policy is right, it also has to make people happy. Call it the Feeling/Thinking problem. After all, the ultimate purpose of any government agency is to make the lives of the people better and happier. If any program, even if it works, perpetually causes strife and outrage, then it has failed the Thinking/Feeling test. So should Muni stop? No, it just needs to figure out how to do enforcement that makes people feel more secure - rather than less.


Lorena Melgarejo, vice chair of the Immigrant Rights Commission, says that the people she represents need fare enforcement; they are the ones who depend most on a functioning bus system: "This is our Muni," she says. "We don't want to lose $19 million a year and have Muni cutting those lines that we need because people aren't paying." But, she says, the fare enforcement should work, "the same way the census this year has worked." That is, a careful campaign to convince people that the effort is not against them, but for their benefit. Little changes could help, she adds, like if the inspectors wore white shirts, rather than dressing like cops (or immigration officers).


Really both sides in this fight want the same thing. It's gotta be tough for the Muni inspectors to bend to accommodate irrational behavior. But if they can figure out a way to both be right, and make people feel good - if they can solve the Thinking/Feeling test - it will make their jobs a heck of a lot easier.


Same old bullshit.

Now, out of the many classes and genres who evade fare paying, the biggest problems are usually with the insane, the homeless dirtbags, and black ghetto youth, but in terms of sheer numbers, nobody beats Mission Street (that's the Hispanic section for those of you who don't know S.F.) and the huge numbers of people who jump on the back of buses for free. Now who knows if they're "illegal" or not... my guess is that it's just another "entitlement" that "immigrants" (translation: non-whites) have grown very accustomed to.

It's actually a bit of a running joke... many times I've seen people jump on the back to have the driver yell at them something to the effect of "Come on... this isn't Mission Street!"

Fare evasion will always be a crime because it is committed mostly by the "downtrodden" and "socially vulnerable" (translation: anyone who isn't white - though insane or drug-addicted dirtbags get a bye), and therefore nothing will be done that might "offend" the thieves.

Sadly, a Rudy Giuliani-style crackdown would never work here - and not just because of the fascistic political correctness; SF's transit system is almost the opposite of NY's - it is bus based rather than train based - and thus is much, much harder to police (not like MUNI or the cops have any real interest in trying).

No good fare evading bastards!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Pakistan Hit By Hurricane Hussey!


Australia pulled off an incredible win in the semi-finals of the World Twenty/20 Championships in the West Indies, successfully chasing down 192 with one ball to spare, thanks to the massive batting of Michael Hussey.

I know this means nothing to our American readers, but if you ever wanted to know what cricket was about, watch the highlights of this match. Sure, it's not test cricket (that's the 5-day variety), but it was one of the best twenty-over matches I've ever seen.

Next up: the final... England v. Australia on Sunday.

Cricket: It's what's for dinner!

Monday, May 10, 2010


Note: Well... at least he can speak English...

Sunday, May 2, 2010

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?

Man... they must be smokin' some good shit at the Chronicle editorial offices!

I suppose it's no surprise really... but the Chron has endorsed Kamala "I've never met a criminal I didn't like" Harris for the Dems' Attorney General of California candidate...

California's attorney general has the widest portfolio of responsibilities of anyone outside the governor's office. Crime, environment, corporate fraud, consumer protection. This list goes on. Not surprisingly, the Democratic candidates for attorney general presented an array of contrasts in both their emphasis and their knowledge of the issues. San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris stands out in this field both in her grasp of the issues and the clarity of her priorities (...fucked up as they are...).


Harris said her No. 1 goal would be to reduce the recidivism rate of inmates leaving prison, which contributes to an overcrowding crisis, adds to the state deficit - and erodes public safety. As she noted, California releases 120,000 inmates a year. Seventy percent of them return to prison within three years (Her solution: it doesn't count as recidivism if you never send them to jail again!).


"It's one of the biggest challenges that can be fixed in our state," Harris said.


In San Francisco, Harris' "Back on Track" program for first-time offenders between ages 18 and 24 has produced impressive (hardly) reductions in recidivism through job training and other life skills. It also generated a touch of controversy (which even the pro-amnesty Chron couldn't ignore) when it was revealed that some of the participants were undocumented immigrants, and thus could not legally (because they're "illegal") fill the jobs they were being trained to do.


Harris did not flinch at questions about the problems. The program screening was tightened, she said. Besides, she added, innovation in law enforcement necessarily involves an element of risk (to the public, of course).


The worst risk of all to public safety is to accept a 70 percent recidivism rate.


Her opponents include Rocky Delgadillo, the former Los Angeles city attorney; Facebook executive Chris Kelly, who has poured $8 million into his campaign; and three termed-out Assembly members - Alberto Torrico, Ted Lieu and Pedro Nava. Delgadillo, who lost to Brown in the 2006 primary, comes closest to Harris in applicable experience - but does not have nearly as well developed a vision for the statewide office (Oh Christ! You mean Harris has a vision of what she wants to do with - or to - California? That is fucking frightening).


Harris has clearly raised the level of the San Francisco district attorney's office in the last six years (which, considering she replaced Terrance Hallinan, is not saying much). Its conviction rate has reached a 15-year high (again, not saying much). The office has had some unsettling lapses, such as its inability or unwillingness to identify (or even acknowledge) the problems with the lax treatment of young drug dealers (known as "Kamala's Kids") under the Sanctuary City ordinance, or the colossal mess in the Police Department's crime lab. The best that could be said in each case is that she was not well served by some of her subordinates. But Harris has demonstrated her ability to confront and correct problems, and to learn from them. She is the Democrats' best choice for attorney general.


Harris' grandiose vision - Jesus help us - will no doubt require a lot of "elements of risk" that will certainly put the California public in serious jeopardy.


Not that she gives a flying fuck. Kamala's chief concern is for the criminal. They are, after all, the real victims. This is what passes for rational thought in the minds of those like Harris.


Fortunately, judging from the comments section, it looks like few are buying the Chron's glowing assessment of Harris' failed tenure...


* Fortunately, people outside S.F. get to vote on this one. No Harris, no way.

* you've got to be S####ING me...

* "San Francisco’s 800 plus unsolved murders rate ranks as one of the highest in the nation." Candidate against the death penalty--even for a felon who used an AK47 to gun down a cop! My ass. Harris, go get a real job.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

ALERT! PRO-ENFORCEMENT RALLY TODAY AT CITY HALL!

Steve Kemp from GG Minutemen has alerted us to an emergency demonstration today (Saturday May 1st) at City Hall in San Francisco. Come show your support for the Citizens of Arizona!

Here is the e-mail in its entirety. Please read it.


Join us in San Francisco to Counter Protest (Illegal) "Immigrants May Day Labor March"!
Stand up for Border Enforcement and Legal Immigration to America!
WHERE: Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco
WHEN: 1 pm, Saturday May 1, 2010

PURPOSE: To stand up for American Citizens rights for Secure Borders, Support Arizona who is trying to secure its state, and Boycott San Francisco for slurring anyone who opposes illegal immigration.

WHO's COMING:
Pro-illegal immigration groups, SEIU, La Raza, etc (them): It's their rally, so they'll pull out all the stops. With politicians and the media fanning the Arizona flames, we're probably in for some heated moments.

Anti-illegal immigration groups (us): The Golden Gate Minutemen, the Pleasanton Tea Party, members from other Bay Area Tea Parties, SF 912'ers, and a variety of Citizens who want border security, the drug trade stopped, illegal alien crimes halted, and entitlement money cut off to illegal aliens.

NO MARCHING FOR US: The OPPOSITION will gather at 24th and Mission and march up to the Civic Center. DO NOT GO to 24th and Mission! That's their march!

DON’T TAKE THIS LIGHTLY! We are there to peacefully protest, but be prepared!! Watch out for each other and keep the person next to you under control. Stay in groups and don't go anywhere alone. Don't let the opposition provoke you into verbal or physical altercations. Remember, news cameras will be there watching for trouble and want to make us look bad, and make the illegals look like victims.

SFPD: The SFPD will surround us with a barricade and have Officers there to protect us.

BRING: Bring American flags, video and still cameras, charged batteries, snacks, water, sun block, but leave the kids home.

SIGNS: Keep them clean and as positive as possible. The opposition loves to label us "racists" and "hate mongers", so don’t give them any ammo. Here are some ideas:

- Illegal isn’t a Race
- Equal Justice is Color-Blind
- Not Angry, Not Hateful, Just Not Silent Anymore
- US Citizenship is NOT a human right
- NO Amnesty - NOT on my dime!
- We support the citizens of Arizona
- Boycott San Francisco
- Jobs for Citizens and Legal residents


Tell your friends!



I'd like to add a few things.

The deck is very much stacked against us. The illegal immigration supporters will be angry and easily provoked.

They hate us.

The media hates us.

The City Government hates us.

And my guess is the Police aren't too thrilled to see us either.

The SFPD's presence, unfortunately, may not serve as a deterrent to those who are predisposed to violent confrontation. My guess is that they will do all that they can to make sure things don't get out of hand. But you can count on extreme verbal abuse, things probably being thrown at us, and provocation to physical fights.


Remember... I am a former leftist. I know these people, I know their tactics, I know how they think, and I know what they're capable of.


And they WILL hurt us if they are given the chance.

Peace, love, tolerance... I hope that there is no one out there who still buys that garbage. These people fancy themselves as revolutionaries and have no qualms about hurting people that don't agree with them. None whatsoever.


Be especially on the lookout for diversions. A typical tactic is to create a diversion - a small skirmish off to the side - to attract the Police's attention. Then, once they're occupied, they attack. If a diversion occurs, bunch up. Do not spread out. If someone gets pulled away, pull them back into the group. Don't try to retaliate.

Remember... WE THE PEOPLE are the enemy.

Someday, if we stand together, we may live in a country where that is not the case.

SEE YOU THERE!