Should Obama Pick Sebelius as VP?
by Randy Shaw‚
May. 12‚ 2008
Now that Barack Obama is clearly the Democratic presidential nominee, the question turns to his running mate. I made the case for Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown over a month ago, but he has garnered little national support. Ialso argued that Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius should be bypassed since she “has little national experience and is not ready for prime time;” but her support among the netroots has steadily grown. While some of the arguments for Sebelius—she is a Governor, a woman, and is from a Red state—are not convincing, a closer review of her record shows that she has been surprisingly progressive while maintaining her popularity in a conservative state. Obama's running mate should share his ideology and approach to governance, and, most importantly, help him secure the “working political majority” essential for implementing his agenda. Sebelius appears to meet all these tests, and may well be Obama’s best choice.
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Newsom Uses Prop H to Attack Peskin
by Paul Hogarth‚
May. 12‚ 2008
With Prop 98, the State Senate race and the Bayview initiatives dominating attention on San Francisco’s June ballot, very few voters know about Proposition H. Sponsored by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Prop H looks like a modest campaign finance reform measure. But it’s tailored to remind us of how Clear Channel gave $20,000 to last year’s Muni Reform measure – a “controlled” campaign committee by Supervisor Aaron Peskin. Prop H plugs a small loophole in existing law, but fails to define what is a “controlled committee” – a far greater problem that has allowed Newsom and others to raise hefty sums to various ballot initiative campaigns. Newsom put Prop H on the ballot without going through the Ethics Commission, which is common protocol for campaign finance measures. Peskin has introduced similar legislation at the Ethics Commission – which goes further by actually defining what is a “controlled committee.”
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San Francisco Pushing Fossil Fuels Over Green Energy
by John Rizzo‚
May. 12‚ 2008
San Francisco talks a good talk about being a green and progressive leader, but the walk is often something quite different.
Tomorrow, the Board of Supervisors will vote on a contract to build 200 MW of fossil fuel-burning power plants in a low-income neighborhood that is already overburdened with pollution and toxic sites. Ironically, at the same time, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is increasing spending on the fight against global warming, even in the face of a state budget deficit. What’s wrong with this picture?
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Nebraska Senate Race Features Candidate of Change
by Paul Hogarth‚
May. 09‚ 2008
With the presidential primary fight now behind us, activists can focus their attention on Congressional races to expand the Democratic majority. On May 13th, Nebraska will hold a statewide primary for a U.S. Senate seat currently held by a Republican. And Democrat Scott Kleeb, a 32-year-old rancher, is running an Obama-like campaign for change. His opponent, Tony Raimondo, is a manufacturing executive who switched parties because the Republican establishment rallied behind another candidate. Like Obama, Kleeb’s campaign has been fueled by small online donations – and has grassroots appeal that has energized the Democratic Party. If 2008 is going to be the year of change like many are predicting, Kleeb should do better than expected.
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Ex-San Franciscan Leads Fight to Save Wrigley Field
by Randy Shaw‚
May. 09‚ 2008
Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is perhaps the greatest historical monument in professional sports. It seems unimaginable that Wrigley could soon become renamed “Burger King Park,” “Toyota Field” or given a similar corporate moniker. But Sam Zell, whose Tribune Company owns the Cubs as well as such newspapers as the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, is attempting to sell the stadium in a deal that would potentially generate increased revenue for the new owner by allowing the corporate renaming of Wrigley. Jerry Pritikin, who spent his formative years working with Harvey Milk and building gay political power in San Francisco, has become a leader in the fight to save Wrigley’s name. Pritikin and his allies' website, www.keepitwrigley.net, is part of the campaign, which has broadened to include powerful Illinois political figures committed to stopping the desecration of the Cubs venerable Wrigley home.
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For Philly Cops, a Trip Down Memory Lane
by Tommi Avicolli-Mecca‚
May. 09‚ 2008
I’m no fan of the Philadelphia Police Department. I grew up in the working-class streets of South Philadelphia. As a kid, I got stopped by patrol cars on my way home late at night because I looked like someone who had done something wrong. Meaning that I looked Italian. We didn’t call it profiling in those days.
When I came out of the closet, police officers used to raid gay bars (if they didn’t fork over their payoffs on time) and harass queer men walking down the gayest street in town. Believe it or not, they could arrest us if it was after a certain hour and we were in groups of three or more. The first time I was caught at a raid at a popular gay night spot, I made it out of the kitchen door and over a fence. I was underage and had a fake ID.
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Speed Racer, The Mach 5 and Chim Chim's Bad Ass Revenge
by E. "Doc" Smith‚
May. 09‚ 2008
As a child growing up in DC, I became a huge fan of the newly arriving Japanese anime series; Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Gigantor and of course, Speed Racer. The adventures of Speed, his gal Trixie, his pal Sparky, his constant stowaway little brother Spritle and his chimp, Chim Chim, were a must see TV event for me and my siblings. Speed's mysterious brother, "Racer X", his parents, the evil "Snake Oiler" and the equally dangerous "Car Acrobatic Team" were riveting fare, but the true star of the show was Speed's car... "The Mach 5". Like 007's Aston Martin, the Mach 5 could not only slice tires, it could jump, drive under water, defying gravity like no vehicle ever could. Now comes the Wachowski Brothers latest effort, the blue screen heavy "Speed Racer". Once again, Hollywood has tried to make another film from the animated archives of the past and by most accounts, they've come up short.
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A Midsummer Night Mare; Film Noir - 1948 Was a Great Year for Movies
by Buzzin' Lee Hartgrave‚
May. 09‚ 2008
MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: IT’S GLOBAL, IT’S PHYSICAL AND MOSTLY IN THE INDIAN LANGUAGE
This North American Premier of Shakespeare’s singsong recitation comedy coupled with a foreign language makes it even daffier and confusing than the original. The Dash Arts production assumes that everyone knows the story. As I looked around – I saw a lot of young people who were probably seeing this play for the first time. And you know what, the look on their face said: “What the hell is going on?”
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Editorial: The Case Against Proposition G
May. 08‚ 2008
On June 3, San Francisco voters will decide the future of the largest remaining undeveloped acreage remaining in the City. Although its location at the Hunters Point shipyard and alongside Bayview’s low-income minority community has long kept it out of sight and mind, this land is our last opportunity to remake the City’s waterfront a striking community that continues to meet our city’s needs.
Remarkably, almost all the information sent to voters has come from political consultants hired to sell this proposal. It comes in brochures with attractive drawings but very little else, with campaign costs already over $2 million and likely to set an all-time record for a San Francisco ballot measure.
San Francisco, the leader in so many areas, appears to be on the verge of giving birth to yet another first-of-a-kind: the stealth campaign to write public policy out of public view, through a ballot measure exclusively funded by the corporation anxious to seize a billion-dollar prize, and offered in language that wriggles, weasels, and walks away from all the promises it boasts.
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“No on 98” Campaign Goes in Overdrive
by Paul Hogarth‚
May. 08‚ 2008
May 13, 2008
