SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 8.2.2024

San Francisco, The City of Saint Francis, is going full speed ahead with its cruel and insane crackdown on its homeless population.

Having been freed up from any legal constraints by the Republican Trump MAGA dominated Supreme Court, Mayor London Breed has unleashed the full power of law enforcement to abuse and disrespect the most down and out people in the City. Breed is blatantly pandering to the law and order voters in her quest to win election for another four years in office on November 3rd.

It was San Francisco’s Brief in the Grants Pass (Oregon) case which Justice Neil Gorsuch cited eight times in the Court’s 6-3 ruling in June unleashing the power of the state.

San Francisco is a mean, nasty town. This annihilation of its homeless population if one of the most treacherous acts in the long history of the city.

Excerpted from San Francisco Standard 8.2.2024

Homeless people brace for arrests, lost property amid ‘barbaric’ crackdown

Nine people have been arrested during sweeps on San Francisco streets since July 29.

Tracy Oxsen, 53, called the crackdown “cruel” and said Breed is abusing the homeless population for “political gain.”

“It’s inhumane,” said Oxsen, who sleeps under the Central Freeway. “They made us this way.”

As San Francisco cracks down on homeless encampments, unhoused people say they are afraid of losing their property — and getting arrested.

“They’re gonna get worse, be barbaric,” said 59-year-old Jeff “Tex” Connick, sitting in front of his tent on Treat Avenue, behind Best Buy. “They’re gonna throw our things away, arrest people.”

Homeless people are voicing their fears as the city moves forward with “very aggressive” sweeps promised by Mayor London Breed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision. The ruling gives cities broader authority to punish people for sleeping or camping outdoors, even if there is no available shelter space.

Emboldened by the decision, Breed has said the city will clear tents from sidewalks and underpasses without warning people first, as has been the norm for years. On Thursday, the mayor went further, issuing an executive order directing city workers to offer bus tickets to homeless people before offering them shelter beds.

Top photo: The homeless a block away from Mayor Breed’s office in San Francisco City Hall

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 8.1.2024

This is what Vladimir Putin wanted all along to release his political prisoners.

Have his hired thug assassin Vadim Krasikov return to Russia. Krasikov gunned down a Chechen dissident execution style in broad daylight in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten Park in August 2019.

I am well familiar with this spot, having run and walked in the park during several trips to Berlin. The park is directly across the street from the Tiergarten Hotel where Liz and I stay when visiting Berlin.

Deutsche Welle 8.1.2024

Germany confirmed the prisoner swap with Russia involving the United States and European allies.

Among those returning to Russia was Vadim Krasikov, convicted in 2021 of shooting to death a Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity in Kleiner Tiergarten Park in Berlin in August 2019. 

The victim, 40-year-old Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was shot in an “execution-style” killing The killing was carried out the drive-by style shooting on a bicycle in broad daylight — shooting the victim in the head and chest, prosecutors said

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement the deal had involved close and trusting cooperation with the United States and European partners.

US President Joe Biden, when asked by reporters about what Germany wanted in return for its cooperation, replied: “nothing.”

According to the German statement, the exchange agreement secured the release of 15 people who were unlawfully detained in Russia and a German citizen, Rico K. who had been sentenced to death in Belarus.

https://p.dw.com/p/4j14O

SAN FRANCISCO via CHICAGO

Lee Heidhues 7.30.2024

Condemning migrants, supporting the January 6 insurrectionists and disrespecting Kamala Harris.

Make no mistake bloviating mendacious racist Donald Trump knows exactly what he is doing.

Every utterance coming out of his mouth is geared toward one audience. The racist know nothing MAGA crowd to whom Donald Trump throws political red meat.

These are the people, primarily white and marginally educated, this convicted Felon expects will return him to the White House next January.

Rachel Scott is the senior congressional correspondent for ABC News, reporting from Capitol Hill across all programs and platforms, including “Good Morning America, “World News Tonight with David Muir,” “Nightline,” “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” “20/20,” ABC News Live, ABC News Digital and ABC Audio.

Particularly obscene was Trump’s assertion that he has done more for American black people than any President since Abraham Lincoln.

I forced myself to watch the entire Donald Trump’s sit down with Black journalists.

Rachel Scott of ABC displayed guts and integrity.

Refusing to be bullied and pushed around by convicted Felon and sociopathic liar Donald Trump.

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 7.30.2024

In May 2019 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance regulating surveillance technology used by the San Francisco Police Department.

It’s obvious the cops have failed to get the message.

The willful non-compliance has resulted in a lawsuit against The City and County of San Francisco and possible dismissal of criminal prosecutions which fail to follow the Law.

The case is Secure Justice Inc. v. City and County of San Francisco – CPF-24-518631 attached below.

San Francisco Chronicle – Bob Egelko – 7.18.2024

Five years ago, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to require police and other agencies to seek approval from elected officials before using new methods of technology to conduct surveillance. But a lawsuit says the city has ignored its law for at least four years and allowed officers to use whatever surveillance techniques they choose.

The Chronicle reported in 2020 that San Francisco police may have sidestepped the ordinance by using technology from a regional law enforcement agency, not covered by the law’s disclosure requirement, to investigate an illegal-gunfire case. Then-District Attorney Chesa Boudin said he was uncertain about using such evidence in a criminal prosecution.

Four years ago, the suit said, the San Francisco Police Department “quit complying with the Surveillance Ordinance and has not submitted to the (Board of Supervisors) any further proposed use policies for pre-existing technology.” 

“Police surveillance technologies may help reduce crime,” lawyers for the nonprofit Secure Justice said in a suit filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court. “But they also pose a clear and present threat to the civil liberties of the citizens of San Francisco.”

The technology is “controversial and error-prone,” particularly for racial minorities, the suit said. It said one study found a 35% error rate in identification of darker-skinned women.

The San Francisco ordinance took effect in June 2019 and similar measures have been adopted by many other local governments, including Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda. It requires police and other agencies using facial recognition technology to notify city officials of the technology they were already using, and to obtain approval from the Board of Supervisors for any new methods they planned to use.

Secure Justice said it identified 42 recognition technology programs in June 2023 that had not been approved by city officials, and asked for an explanation but received no reply. Police Chief Bill Scott confirmed to the city’s Committee on Information Technology in January 2023 that his department was using technology the Board of Supervisors had not approved and attributed the actions to two officers, the suit said.

While the ordinance allows police to continue using unapproved surveillance methods for a short period while they seek approval, that is not a “a get-out-of-jail-free card, wherein a guilty party can merely promise to do better next time by simply posting a notice and promising not to do it again,” Mitchell Chyette, a lawyer for Secure Justice, said in the suit. 

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/sfpd-facial-recognition-19582427.php

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 7.28.2024

Next month in Chicago the Democrats will move from the party of despair to the party of the future when Vice President Kamala Harris is formally nominated as its presidential candidate.

After reading the attached in the San Francisco Standard I went into my sizable music collection and found the CD “Paint it Blue – Songs of the Rolling Stones” produced by the House of Blues Music Company. A compilation of Rolling Stones songs covered by an ensemble of Chicago blues musicians.

The song Ventilator Blues is attached as a reminder of convicted felon Donald Trump and his weird behavior during the pandemic.

Top photo: San Francisco Mayor London Breed with Oakland native, former SF District Attorney and currently vice president Kamala Harris, presidential nominee in waiting.

SAN FRANCISCO OCEAN BEACH PARK

Liz and Lee Heidhues 7.27.2024

During a gathering to launch the campaign Liz and I, decades long outer Richmond District residents, life long bicyclists who have never owned a car, were asked to share our thoughts about the upcoming ballot measure which, if passed, will result in creation of Ocean Beach Park.

It was an enthusiastic crowd which gathered on a drizzly Saturday afternoon to kick off the campaign to make the Ocean Beach Park a reality in the November election. http://www.oceanbeachpark.org

Supervisor Joel Engardio, four of his companions on the Board of Supervisors and Mayor London Breed, placed the measure on the ballot. If the initiative passes citywide the Ocean Beach Park at the edge of San Francisco by the Pacific will become a permanent park.

Should the measure pass San Francisco will have flipped the switch on the motorists. First, it was the eyesore Embarcadero Freeway which was torn down after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Second was the motorists freeway which ruined Golden Gate Park for decades. The voters, by a 63 percent margin in November 2022, banned cars and now JFK Promenade is a pedestrian and cyclist oasis.

Approval of Ocean Beach Park by the voters on November 3rd will complete the San Francisco environmental triple play.

Supervisor Engardio faces a sandstorm of criticism from some constituents for his advocacy.

Motorists are engaged in a never ending fight to preserve what they feel is their birthright to drive their cars anywhere, anytime.

The Supervisor, at risk to his political career, refuses to be bullied and intimidated. Should the measure prevail Joel will be considered an environmental leader who stood up for the environment.

Top photo: Cycling along on Ocean Beach Park

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 7.27.2024

John Mayall is gone after a long productive life on the world stage at the age 90. Several days ago I was thinking about him. This foggy Saturday morning I learned of his passing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mayall

On March 1, 1969 after attending the Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco I went into a record store in North Beach and purchased his classic album, “The Blues Alone.” At that moment I became a Mayall fan. This LP is one of my all time favorites.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/jul/24/john-mayall-obituary

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 7.26.2024

I’m Shocked. Hah Hah!!! It’s political payoffs and nepotism in San Francisco, again. Now it’s in the District Attorney’s office.

To be sure the mainstream media will give this story the obligatory 24 hour buzz and then move onto the next dance party at the Embarcadero.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who called herself a “volunteer” while earning 150K from MAGA moneybags for her role in the political lynching of her one time boss Chesa Boudin in 2022, shows herself, once again, to be nothing more than a shameful grifter.

The DA feels so smug and confident in this election year that she feels it’s acceptable to violate all ethical norms. Never mind Jenkins is the chief law enforcement officer in San Francisco.

Brooke Jenkins grift now extends to her cronies.

According to the San Francisco Standard, “Nursing professor Monifa Willis took on the $300K (chief of staff) role in March and continues to pull in a six-figure salary at UCSF.

Further Excerpts from SF Standard 7.26.2024

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins in March quietly promoted nursing professor Monifa Willis with no legal license — who is a longtime friend — to run the office as chief of staff, with an annual salary of nearly $300,000. 

Willis has known Jenkins since they were on the same high school track-and-field team in Union City, according to a 2022 Mission Local story about the appointment. 

The District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that the hiring of Willis as chief of staff did not present a conflict of interest for Jenkins. It said Willis was hired for her experience within and outside of the office.

Ryan Khojasteh, who is running against Jenkins for DA, said the decision to hire Willis shows bad judgment and special treatment of a friend. Ryan Khojasteh worked as an assistant DA during the Boudin administration. He was fired without cause by Jenkins. She cleaned house of Boudin staffers after being named DA by Mayor Breed following Chesa’s Recall in June 2022.

“Nepotism erodes public trust,” he wrote in an email to The Standard. “As San Franciscans, we deserve better from our District Attorney’s Office. My administration will not tolerate such abuses of office — assignments will be based on merit, experience and competence.”

DA Jenkins and Willis spent time together socially before Willis’ appointment to the Victim Services Division. According to their public Venmo accounts going back to 2021, the pair have gone to dinner, rented a car, attended a football game and visited a waxing salon together.

That relationship must be disclosed, according to city ethics rules, but was not.

Jenkins’ office said in a statement that the specific ethics rule around such disclosures does not apply to this hire. 

Monifa Willis, who still earns more than $100,000 a year for her part-time work at UCSF, was initially hired in 2022 to run the District Attorney’s Office’s Victim Services Division. She was also the CEO of a marijuana dispensary called New Life CA, which is now closed.

While city ethics rules require disclosing close relationships — and bar the hiring of direct family members — the appointment raises questions about the DA’s appointment of a friend who has few of the typical qualifications for the chief-of-staff position and holds down a lucrative second job.

“She was given this position because she knew the DA,” a former Victim Services employee who worked under Willis told The Standard. The former employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of professional backlash, said Willis had little knowledge of the law around victims’ rights.

In Contra Costa County, the job requires not only a law license but 10 years of professional legal experience. San Francisco’s position does not require a license to practice law but does require four years of managerial experience in a legal, legislative or clinical social environment. 

Top photo: DA Brooke Jenkins and her high school buddy Monifa Willis, the newly minted chief of staff

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 7.23.2024

I listened to the FRESH AIR interview with Anne Applebaum. An insightful political journalist whose no nonsense commentary and writing needs a wider audience.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Applebaum

Anne is definitely well known amongst the political intelligentsia. Her work is respected.

In this time of coarse political discourse it’s a pleasure to realize there is someone out there whose knowledge is far above the American. norm.

The tape and transcript of the entire interview is attached.

While Donald Trump is discussed briefly I thought what Anne has to say about Trump, given her knowledge of authoritarian leaders, needs special mention. See the excerpt herein.

TONYA MOSLEY, HOST FRESH AIR:

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5049021

TONYA MOSLEY: In the case of Donald Trump, he set the narrative by dominating the conversation on social media

ANNE APPLEBAUM: Yeah.

MOSLEY: In 2016.

APPLEBAUM: Yeah. And the constant stream of lies, even incredible, unbelievable ones – I mean, actually, Trump began his presidency with a lie about how many people had appeared on the National Mall for his inauguration. I don’t know if your memory stretches back that far.

MOSLEY: Yeah.

APPLEBAUM: It feels like so many things have happened since then. But it was a very stupid lie. I mean, who cares how many people were on the National Mall? But he wanted the U.S. Park Service to lie about it, and he wanted his press spokesman to lie about it. And again, that was partly to show – who’s in control here? – I’m in control, and I get to decide what the truth is. And it’s also to confuse people and alienate them from politics. I mean, during the Trump administration, we spent a lot of time arguing about what was true and what wasn’t.

And for some people, they hear that conversation and they say, right, this is – how do I know what’s true? I’m just checking out, you know? So constant lies also create this kind of cynicism and apathy. It’s a way of keeping people out of politics and preventing civic engagement.

I mean, a lot of these authoritarian states know that their biggest enemy, their biggest threat to their power, is their own people. And so their goal is to prevent people from ever organizing, from ever being engaged, from ever caring at all. And one of the ways they do that is through this constant stream of lies that make people feel like they’re simply unable to know any more what’s true and what’s not.

I’m Tonya Mosley. And my guest today is Anne Applebaum, who’s been writing for years about the rise in authoritarianism around the world and the erosion of democracy. Her latest book, “Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want To Run The World,” is a potent read on how today’s autocracies are not just ruled by one powerful leader, but are instead a sophisticated interconnected network. She reveals how they collaborate and support each other through financial systems, technology, and propaganda that spans well beyond their borders. This loose network, which includes nations like Russia, China, and North Korea, isn’t an alliance. They don’t share an ideology, but they do have one thing in common. They don’t like us, and they’re growing more powerful in the fight against democracy. Applebaum says, in order to fight this threat, democracies like the U.S. have to fundamentally reorient their policies.

Anne Applebaum is the author of several books, including “Gulag: A History,” which won the Pulitzer Prize, “Iron Curtain: The Crushing Of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956,” and the best-selling “Twilight Of Democracy: The Seductive Lure Of Authoritarianism.” She’s a columnist for the Atlantic and a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University. Anne Applebaum, welcome back to FRESH AIR.

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 7.22.2024

It was 10:57am when I got the first message on my App via The Guardian (of London) that President Biden is dropping out of the presidential race. 

“EARTHQUAKE” is what the media calls it. It’s not so shocking. 

It was not even unexpected.

The fact that the abdication finally happened after Biden told an interviewer only “God Almighty” could drive him from the race is the “EARTHQUAKE.”

I suppose the fact Biden tested positive for Covid last week and has been home in Delaware recovering is the reason he finally abdicated.

Now Biden is being lionized for the step politicians are loath to take. I replied to a friend after he wrote that he “feels bad for Biden” and posted it on ‘X’.  Here it is for posterity. @JOE BIDEN CAN ENJOY HIS FINAL 6 MONTHS IN OFFICE…HAVE A NICE RETIREMENT.  BE THOUGHT OF IN HISTORY BOOKS AS THE “STATESMAN” WHO GAVE UP THE PRESIDENCY FOR THE WELL BEING OF AMERICA.” THE STUFF WHICH HOLLYWOOD LOVES. GEORGE CLOONEY CAN DIRECT AND STAR IN THE BIOPIC. 818 PEOPLE HAVE ‘VIEWED’ IT SINCE 1:20PM (Sunday). I included a screen shot from the New York Post with its headline, “IT’S JOE-VER.”

Of course the beneficiary of all this is the American people.

Kamala Harris will now in all likelihood be the candidate. It’s disappointing to read that many people think Kamala won’t win because she’s a black woman and America is not ready. That is totally absurd and obscene.

Never mind that Kamala was has been San Francisco District Attorney, California Attorney General, Senator and Vice President nearly four years.  America is just totally fucked up. I know Kamala will run a very aggressive campaign.

The MAGA Republicans are quietly freaking out while Trump is already attacking her. It is going to be a brutal 107 days until November.

Bloviating