The blogger spent part of his Sunday renewing acquaintances and checking out the action at 2026 German Day in Golden Gate Park.
A large crowd enjoyed the food and entertainment as he made his way through the many booths of language schools, educational sites and the German Consulate in San Francisco.
Marion Gerlind in line for the German Day opening parade
A major presence at the event is the Gerlind Institute in Oakland Gerlind Institute for Cultural StudiesGerlind Institute for Cultural Studies whose director Marion Gerlind and her partner ‘JB’ offer a wide range of educational classes, cultural events and movies. It was due to the blogger’s wife Liz participation with the Institute that we accompanied the Gerlind Institute to Germany in 2017. After that we twice more traveled to Berlin and explored this historic European city.
Liz, Marion and Lee in Berlin – 2017
Sister Cities: Kiel and San Francisco
A most intriguing conversation for the blogger occurred when I spoke with a representative of San Francisco’s sister City Kiel. It turns out the shipyard in the port city of Kiel just built six submarines for the Israeli navy. These submarines sailed for the Israeli port of Haifa in early September. Three more are in line to be shipped.Israeli Navy’s Sixth Submarine, INS Drakon, Departs Germany for Israel | VINnews
The blogger spoke with a consular representative and after spinning the Wheel of Fortune was awarded an artsy coffee mug
The crowd enjoyed the on stage dance routine and the Golden Gate Park Band attired for the occasion
Dressed in German festival attire
Colorful German flags
The always popular Biergarten at any German festive event
Home, again with souvenirs from German Day 2026including a German language edition of Franz Kafka’s The Trial and a book containing 46 drawings by Edvard Munch – Lebensfries
Top photo: Gerlind Institute booth at 2026 German Day
The blogger has not owned a car for 60 years and never must visit the gas stationexcept to occasionally use the restroom.
I am also well aware that I pay the price when I go shopping.
I am well aware of the logistics of transportation. I worked in this sector nearly 25 years negotiating contracts and being responsible for shipments foreign and domestic.
The current seemingly unending inflationary spiral is due in large part to the sharp rise in gas prices. Responsibility for this is undeniable. Donald Trump’s war of choice against Iran.
One of the groups hardest hit are his supporters. The farmers, ranchers and transportation companies mostly in Red State America, whose owners have been Trump’s biggest MAGA supporters. Until now.
Wall Street Journal – 9.26.2026
Trump’s war against in Iran seven months and counting awash in exploding gas prices will bring him down
Excerpted from The Wall Street Journal 9.26.2026
It’s costing more and more to get stuff in the hands of American shoppers.
Trucking expenses are at their highest level since the Covid pandemic snarled operations around the world. Diesel prices are up 77% in the past year. Freight railroads are adding surcharges. And the nation’s busiest port is the busiest it’s ever been.
There’s virtually no way for businesses to avoid paying more, and they’re passing on the pain to consumers. It all adds up to extra inflationary pressure on a U.S. economy that has been wrestling with rising prices for years.
Among the key drivers is the soaring price of diesel fuel. It hit a record of $6.53 on Sept. 22, according to AAA.
Also contributing to the rise in trucking costs, companies say, is a shortage of truck drivers, a byproduct of the Trump administration’s tightened enforcement of rules on who can qualify for a commercial driver’s license. Tens of thousands of immigrants—often the ones most willing to handle the less popular long-haul trucking routes—have lost their certifications.
Diesel fuel $8.59 gallon in San Francisco – 9.21.2026 – photo Lee Heidhues
Transport costs are rising because diesel prices have hit record highs (up to $6.40 per gallon in 2026), truckload spot rates have surged to $3.83 per mile, and capacity shortages, labor constraints, and insurance spikes are pushing all freight modes upward.
What’s Driving the Increases
1. Fuel Prices Are at Historic Highs
Diesel averaged $6.40 per gallon in the U.S. in 2026 — a 70% increase year‑over‑year. americanactionforum.org
Geopolitical tensions (e.g., Strait of Hormuz crisis) pushed diesel to $5.50 per gallon earlier in the year. keynnectlogistics.com
Fuel is 15–20% of trucking operating costs, so spikes immediately raise freight rates.
San Francisco Chronicle – 9.19.2026(article attached)
It’s dangerous and indicative of the true feelings of the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD).
Now that the AfD has gained power in Saxony-Anhalt in the former East Germany this Nazi Curious party is moving quickly to implement its perverse anti semitism agenda.
Nazi Curious AfD is cracking the foundation of Germany
Top on the list for AfD is banning Stolpersteine ‘stumbling stones’ in Heidenau near Dresden.
In 2015, it became known for riots by local far-right forces against the arrival of refugees.[3]https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34038557In August 2015, authorities were forced to impose a temporary ban on assemblies in Heidenau due to continuous harassment of asylum-seekers.[4]Heidenau – Wikipedia
With the collaboration of the rightist CDU. German politics is in a sorry state when the establishment Christian Democratic Union (CDU) collaborates with the AfD. A political party German security services deem a national security threat.
The town of Heidenau, near Dresden, has banned new Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) on public streets, with the center-right CDU and the far-right AfD voting together to stop the installation of new memorial plaques bearing the names of Holocaust victims.
On Friday, one of the top two leaders of Germany’s Green Party, Felix Banaszak, described the move as “a scandal.”
Banaszak pointed to the current debate on right-wing extremism and the rise of the AfD, saying that everything must be done “to keep alive the memories of those who were persecuted and killed.”
The Stolpersteine are comprised of a concrete cube with a metal plaque on top that bears the victim’s name. They are often seen in German streets, installed just slightly higher than the surrounding walking surface, often near the houses of people targeted by the Nazi regime.
Many others also responded with outrage to the CDU’s decision to join forces with the AfD to pass the motion. The move comes with Chancellor Merz already facing a political crisis over his party’s poor electoral performance, and raises questions about the political “firewall” against the far right which mainstream political parties in Germany have maintained to keep the AfD out of power.
German artist Gunter Demnig started the project in the early 1990s. While most of the 128,000 such paving stones were installed in Germany, they have also been placed in 30 other countries affected by the Nazi regime, making them the largest decentralized monument in the world.
This Friday morning the blogger opened his garage door to see a San Francisco Department of Public Works (SFDPW) truck parked in his driveway.
I asked the driver if he was here to perform work on our property. The answer was “Yes.”
SFDPW was on-site to trim our tree which was overhanging the street. Making it difficult for the bi-weekly street sweeper to transit by our house.The blogger did not receive prior notification. I learned that I could “opt out” of the program. For today it was too late. Should I “opt out” in the future it would be necessary to hire a licensed arborist to perform the required work.
This is our second street tree.
Having familiarized myself with the procedure I talked with the DPW workers Caiman and Dylan. I explained that our current tree is nearly 10 years old. We have had a tree in front of our home since 1992 when Liz approached neighbors on behalf of Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF). As a result of her advocacy 44 trees were planted in our outer Richmond District neighborhood.
Caiman and Dylan assured me they would treat our tree with kindness and went to work. Following is a photo montage.
The blogger’s street tree before the trim
DPW arrives on the scene
Getting ready to trim the trees
The tree trimmings
Caiman and his tree prunner
Caiman liked our tree basin which provides plenty of room for the tree to prosper
San Francisco is only 50 square miles in total. It is being sunk in the sea of vehicle pandemonium.
Bloggers Liz and Lee at car free JFK Promenade election victory – November 2022
The real question that needs to be asked here is two fold.
Why do so many people feel a need to drive a private automobile in San Francisco?
Why are there so many large scale public events which overwhelm San Francisco?
The answer to the first question is that Americans have been indoctrinated to love their cars and as a result have come to regard the car as an everyday necessity.
The solution to the second question is to call a halt to these seemingly nonstop weekly large scale events in San Francisco. This fixation with entertainment speaks volumes to the lack of introspection and time for quiet reflection pervasive in American society.
Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 9.24.2026
The fatal flaw to driving in San Francisco – FATAL CRASH
What caused the epic Golden Gate Park traffic jam —
Should S.F. drivers brace for a repeat?
A woman who gave birth in the midst of a Golden Gate Park traffic jam became an instant symbol of human resilience, though her ordeal also showed what happens when a city is paralyzed by congestion.
Typical motorist Road Rage game face
Days afterward, San Francisco officials and transportation planners are still trying to untangle the root causes of the chaos as motorists brace for a repeat. That weekend of Sept. 19 and 20 included closures along the “Hospital Curve” section of Highway 101 that led to about 20 minutes of backup — mostly for people trying to get on the Bay Bridge in SoMa, said Lori Shepherd, a spokesperson for Caltrans. But snarls on downtown streets and roads were compounded by additional traffic stemming from the King of the Streets Low Rider Parade and Festival in the Mission District on Saturday.
San Francisco’s October calendar is packed, starting with Fleet Week on the northern waterfront and continuing with the bluegrass extravaganza in Golden Gate Park, as well as the rehabilitation projects on major freeways and a “No Kings” march on Oct. 17. Drivers heading out during these times should be aware that anything could happen.
On Deutsche Welle veteran CNN reporter and now university professor Frank Sesno articulated the ramifications for the press, the White House and the viewing public of Trump’s censoring White House media coverage.
Wednesday afternoon a Federal judge in Washington DC heard the argument for a restraining order from three networks banished from the White House. The judge, a Trump appointee, appeared skeptical of Trump’s action. But took the matter under submission and expects to make ruling soon.
Excerpted from The New York Times 9.23.2026
The judge hearing a challenge to President Trump’s attempt to block three news outlets from the White House said on Wednesday he would consider the argument offered by both sides and issue his ruling as soon as possible, leaving in place — at least for now — the president’s block on CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
The judge, Timothy J. Kelly of U.S. District Court in Washington, seemed skeptical of the administration’s arguments but did not immediately rule on the request by the three outlets to restore their access to the White House complex.
Meanwhile, coverage of Trump by the Press ‘Pool’, which includes Trump reliable Fox News has ceased which means Trump, by his own action, no longer receives the blanket media coverage he craves.
Fox News’s bond with President Trump is undeniable. Prime time stars like Sean Hannity and Jesse Watters cheerlead his policies, the president’s daughter-in-law hosts a weekly show on the network, and Fox’s founder, Rupert Murdoch, attended Mr. Trump’s nominating convention in 2024.
Nonetheless, this week Fox News has joined other networks in standing up for the rival media outlets that Mr. Trump decried as “fake” and banned from the White House — and two senior Fox journalists emerged as lead actors in the White House press corps’ standoff with the administration.
Fox News did not hesitate to go along with the plan. On Tuesday night, for instance, Fox was the scheduled pool crew for Mr. Trump’s Air Force One arrival at Joint Base Andrews, but it declined to film the event.
A Fox News spokeswoman referred an inquiry on Wednesday to a joint statement from the five networks, which Fox co-signed: “No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
One of the busiest streets in the western section of San Francisco is Clement Street. A multi-cultural with a substantial Asian enclave near where the blogger has lived much of his lifetime.
The blogger took a walk on recent foggy morning on a portion of Clement Street and memorialized his excursion with a number of photos.
This public street runs from Arguello Boulevard westward through the Richmond district for three miles, ending on a hill at 45th Avenue just before Lands’ End. The street was built as part of the development of the Richmond district, previously sparsely populated terrain known as the “Outside Lands,” a vast stretch of sand dunes beyond city limits.Eager for customers to reach his seaside attractions, including the Sutro Baths, Sutro Gardens, and Cliff House resort, Adolph Sutro underwrote an electric trolley line in 1896 that ran the length of Clement Street, catalyzing its development as a major commercial corridor. A new wave of development followed the 1906 earthquake and fire, as refugees flooded into the area. After World War II, Southeast Asian immigrants began moving to the district en masse, earning it the name of “New Chinatown” among locals. Clement Street’s cultural diversity has long been a defining characteristic of its identity, with demographics shifting over the past century from predominantly Irish-American to Russian, Middle Eastern Jewish, and, later, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Thai residents.
Clement Street was spared the widening that neighboring Geary Boulevard underwent in the late 1940s, preserving the former’s pedestrian scale. A vibrant, two-way thoroughfare, the street is densely lined by two- and three-story, mixed-use buildings housing a variety of locally owned restaurants, produce markets, shops, and community organizations. Examples of the Classical Revival, Mission Revival, and Italianate architectural styles that once dominated the neighborhood can still be seen, interspersed with twentieth-century buildings.
Gold Star Discount Store where the blogger’s wife has shopped for years.
NO on G SAVE SUNSET DUNES PARK! banner on Clement Street alerts the voters to a crucial November ballot measure
The produce assortment at the Yin Xing Food Co.
The Recology containers stacked for the Monday morning collection
The Donuts shop at 10th Avenue. Years ago it was an ice cream parlor
The Asian food selection piled high at a Clement Street grocery shop
FOR SALE. The hyper real estate market in San Francisco on Clement Street
A dangerous crossing. A mother yacks on her phone while crossing 7th Avenue with her toddler in tow
Green Apple Books was founded by Richard Savoy in 1967 in a pre-1906 building at the corner of Clement Street and Sixth Avenue.[2] In 1996, Green Apple Books acquired its long-time neighbor, Revolver Records.[3] By 2005, the store housed over 250,000 titles, as well as 60,000 available online.[4]Green Apple Books & Music – Wikipedia
An art studio on Clement Street
The now abandoned building at 9th Avenue. It was formerly the Coliseum Theater where the blogger spent many Saturday afternoons during his youth watching movies, munching on popcorn and candy. Later it was a Walgreens outlet. Now shuttered
The foggy Monday morning foot traffic on Clement Street
See’s Candies a Richmond District sweet tooth staple for decades at the corner of 9th Avenue
Hamburger Havenat the corner of 9th Avenue feeding the neighborhood for years
Waiting for the San Francisco Muni bus number 44 at nearby 6th Avenue and Geary Blvd
The brick house. The Richmond District Police Station on 6th Avenue. A block south of Clement Street
Another nearby Clement Street resident
Sign of the times. Sky high fuel prices at the pump on Geary Blvd and Park Presidio. One block south of Clement St.
Opening theme to the movie Beyond Rangoon – conducted by Hans Zimmer
Donald Trump is in the wrong country in his dangerous attempt to stifle a free press.
The banishment of CNN, Politico and MSNOW from the White House has unleashed a firestorm.
The most transparent response came today when five networks who share a “pool” to report on Trump pulled the plug. No longer will Trump be able to enjoy unfettered media coverage. The video and audio have been disconnected.
The media organizations have gone into Federal Court seeking a Temporary Restraining Order to block Trump’s childish and petulant action. The hearing is Wednesday.
This is a moment when the American media on all sides of the political spectrum need to stand up and fight and uphold the First Amendment of The Constitution.
PBS News Hour with Committee to Protect Journalists Jodie Ginsberg – 9.21.2026
News outlets Trump banned from White House seek Restraining Order
POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW are seeking a restraining order to restore reporters’ access – 9.21.2026
Three news organizations whose journalists were banned from the White House last week are suing President Donald Trump and three top advisers, calling the abrupt lockout a “direct assault on the First Amendment.”
The organizations filed the suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, which assigned the case to Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee. The news outlets are asking Kelly to quickly rule Trump’s ban unconstitutional and prevent his aides from enforcing it.
“This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,” the news organizations said. “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
Die Linke is on its way to securing the Mayoralty in one of the world’s largest cities. Berlin. Its candidate, Elif Eralp was born in Germany. Her parents emigrated from Turkey following persecution from its government, The result of their political activities.
Eralp, a 45 year old attorney, is being compared to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Eralp and her The Left party which gained 25.6% of the vote will now have to resolve outstanding issues and negotiate a power sharing agreement with The Greens (14.3%) and the Socialists (12.1%).
One of outstanding issue will be to placate Berlin’s Jewish community which feels threatened by The Left Party’s criticism of Israel and its three year onslaught in Gaza. (See Below)
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 9.20.2026
With the socialist Left Party securing the largest share of the state parliamentary vote in Berlin, the party’s mayoral candidate Elif Eralp celebrated the victory of “love and justice over hate.”
“Starting today, we are changing Berlin together and make it a better place,” said Eralp, who hopes to become the first female mayor of Berlin with immigration background.
Eralp was born in Munich in 1981 to a family of Turkish refugees. While her victory speech was mostly in German, she also shouted out “We wrote history, friends” in Turkish during her address.
The Left Party has big plans for Berlin, including tackling its housing crisis by expropriating real estate own by large corporations. In order for Eralp to become the mayor of Berlin and the head of its state government, however, her party would need to form a coalition, with the center-left SPD and the environmentally friendly Green Party being the most likely contenders for a power-sharing deal.
“We are fighting in Berlin to turn the city red,” read the lead motion presented to the delegates at the Left Party‘s federal party convention. Red is the color of the Left Party, but also of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). According to latest polls, a three-way coalition of both alongside the Greens could secure a majority in the September election for the city state’s parliament.
Berlin has been “red” in the past. From 2016 to 2023 it was governed by such a three-way coalition — under the leadership of successive SPD mayors. This time, the Left Party is dreaming of winning the election and taking over the mayoralty itself with its candidate Elif Eralp. The 45-year-old has a remarkable background: Her parents were active in politics and trade unions in Turkey before fleeing to Germany in 1980 as asylum-seekers following a military coup, just weeks before Eralp’s birth.
Excerpted from The Times of Israel 9.18.2026
First they take Manhattan? Looking to mimic Mamdani, far left’s Elif Eralp eyes Berlin City Hall
Jewish community wary as Die Linke party’s mayoral candidate vows to fight antisemitism ahead of September 20 election; critics claim she can’t even control it within her own party
Participants display placards of Germany’s Die Linke (The Left) party reading ‘Freedom for Palestine – End the Occupation and Genocide’ during a demonstration under the motto ‘Draw the red line with us: Together for Gaza!’ in Berlin on September 27, 2025. (RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP)
BERLIN — Last November, Germany’s far-left Die Linke party sent a delegation to New York City to study Zohran Mamdani’s successful mayoral campaign. Inspired by his approach, Die Linke launched a Berlin street campaign focused heavily on housing and affordability
With charismatic 45-year-old Elif Eralp as its lead candidate, Die Linke has a strong chance of winning Berlin City Hall. But that would not be the only parallel to Mamdani: Just as in New York, the relationship between the political left and Berlin’s Jewish population — the largest in Germany, with an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 Jews — is deeply strained.
Elif Eralp, mayoral candidate for Die Linke in the upcoming regional elections, addresses supporters during a campaign stop in Berlin, August 29, 2026. (Ralf Hirschberger/AFP)
Tensions worsened sharply in late August following a controversial performance by rapper Dahabflex at a Die Linke rally in the Berlin district of Neukölln. His song “Stop the Genocide” included lyrics such as “Yalla, yalla intifada,” “Death to the IDF,” and “Intifada like the PFLP,” a reference to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terrorist organization.
In the ensuing debate over antisemitism within Die Linke, Eralp sought to contain the fallout. She condemned the rapper’s performance, saying she stood “clearly for the protection of Jewish life and against any form of antisemitism.” She also placed responsibility on the party’s Neukölln district branch, which had invited the musician.
. Sometimes to an outsider the modern day feels likeBabylon Berlin – Wikipedia. The series is set in Berlin during the latter years of the Weimar Republic, beginning in 1929. It follows Gereon Rath, a police inspector on assignment from Cologne, who is on a secret mission to dismantle an extortion ring, and police clerk Charlotte Ritter, who aspires to become a police inspector.
Then civilian Trump leaves a New York City Courthouse after being charged with multiple felonies. He was convicted of 34 felonies for falsifying records on May 30, 2023
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have a lot in common. One continuous thread in their insidious relationship is their loathing of a free press.
Donald Trump is certainly constrained by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution – Wikipedia. But this has not stopped Trump from his ongoing threats and assaults on the American media. The latest being the banishment of established news organizations from the White House: CNN, Politico and MSNOW.
The American media has always been aggressive in protecting its rights to broadcast and publish. This is no exception and wannabe dictator Trump’s latest outrage will fail.
Trump will be long banished to the history books and the American free press will carry on.
Excerpted from The New York Times 9.19.2026
“He (Donald Trump) thinks that he can bully anyone or any entity into doing whatever he wants and he’s seen it work out for himself with the entire Republican Party bending the knee to him,” said Sarah Matthews, a deputy press secretary in Mr. Trump’s first term. “He is facing pushback from the courts, the Fed, people in his own party, and he’s lashing out.”
The White House on Saturday moved ahead with Mr. Trump’s surprise announcement banning journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, an escalation in Mr. Trump’s long battle with the press.
But it also fits a pattern for Mr. Trump when he faces a political quagmire, according to former government officials and civil rights organizations: He seeks to change the narrative by mobilizing the government to crack down on those willing to question his power.
Excerpted from Committee to Protect Journalists 2.17.2026
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, its media has experienced an unprecedented crackdown. Hundreds of journalists have been forced into exile, where they continue to face transnational legal persecution, and their families have been harassed back home. Meanwhile, reporting from inside Russia has become increasingly difficult, with journalists and media outlets often silenced by laws criminalizing independent coverage.
Evan is a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained in Russia on March 29, 2023, while doing his job as a journalist. He was freed Aug. 1, 2024, as part of the largest and most complex East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War. He is the American-born son of Soviet-era emigres to the U.S. Evan learned Russian from his parents and built a career as a journalist focused on the region. He joined the Journal in January 2022 and before that reported from Moscow for Agence France Press and the Moscow Times.
Since February 24, 2022, CPJ has documented:
27 journalists imprisoned on criminal charges: 15 Russian, 10 Ukrainian, and 2 American. Of these, 4 released, 2exiled, and 1 killed.
Charges against those jailed: 9 for “fake” news; 14 for terrorism, extremism, and other anti-state crimes; 4 were undisclosed.
President Nixon tried to stop publication of the Pentagon Papers, the history of the Vietnam War. The Supreme Court said NO in a historic validation of the First Amendment. Cartoon by Herblock in The Washington Post. June 1971
