Lee Heidhues 8.22.2023

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco continues its campaign of stonewalling and treachery to smash down the effort by one citizen to force accountability.

The saga of the nearly million dollar attempt by the FAMSF to destroy JFK Promenade is a story which needs to see the light of day. It is a tale of the never ending saga of San Francisco where the wealthy and politically connected are able to hide in the shadows and escape accountability.

This fight will have its next hearing before the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force October 4 in City Hall. Heidhues v. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco – File 22052.

At its August 22 meeting in City Hall a task force committee agreed the dispute “must be decided once and for all.”

The committee continued my case and asked the City Attorney to draft a memorandum to address the FAMSF/COFAM refusal to provide the public documentation of its political activities to destroy JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park.

I filed my case with the task force in May 2022. The matter has now been argued three times. May 2022. July 2023 and August 2023. At its July meeting the task force ruled that FAMSF “violated” the Sunshine Ordinance “by failing to disclose public records in a timely and complete manner.”

The San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance Task Force has now upped the ante in my effort to force accountability and obtain records from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF).

The refusal of FAMSF is a sore point with the task force. It is a fact that this well endowed, politically connected institution is one of the worst agencies in San Francisco when it comes to public accountability.

The task force has seen and heard enough of the FAMSF hiding behind its non-profit entity, The Corporation of the Fine Arts Museums (COFAM).

The sought after documents concern the FAMSF/COFAM effort to destroy JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park. The main vehicle being last November’s Proposition I which was bankrolled by the Museum and its wealthy patrons. Primarily political power broker and chair emerita of the FAMSF Board of Directors Dede Wilsey.

I made public records requests of FAMSF in spring and summer 2022.

FAMSF continues to argue it is exempt from public scrutiny. It argues that The Corporation of the Fine Arts Museums (COFAM) has all the responsive documents. As a 501C3 non-profit FAMSF stridently contends it is exempt from the Sunshine Ordinance. This argument belies the fact that FAMSF and COFAM are tightly bound together in a very symbiotic relationship.

Lee Heidhues 8.20.2023

It’s hard to believe that JFK Promenade the 1.5 mile car free oasis is now a reality in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

Saturday afternoon on a foggy windswept late afternoon a hardy group of San Franciscans gathered on JFK Promenade (adjacent to the De Young Museum which waged a ferocious battle in opposition to its creation) celebrated the second Prom on the Promenade. There was music, food and good cheer at the event sponsored by Walk SF.

Top photo: A celebrant jumps for joy at Prom on the Promenade

Lee Heidhues 8.18.2023

Why does the powerful and well connected Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco refuse to provide documentation about its involvement in the 800K lobbying, courtroom and electoral campaign to destroy JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park?

The battle is over. FAMSF and its anti-environmental backers were defeated in the legislature, at the ballot box and in the Courtroom.

I prevailed in my fight with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) to obtain documentation regarding its strident opposition to the creation of JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park.

On July 25, 2023 after waiting five hours to have my Appeal heard by the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force (SOTF) I prevailed. Unfortunately in San Francisco there is rarely such thing as a final victory.

Next Tuesday evening a Committee of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force will convene, again, to hopefully confirm my victory. I am told this is a pro forma matter. Knowing San Francisco and the power of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco I am skeptical.

During the late night hearing on July 25 the SOTF panelists made it perfectly clear they are frustrated and, yes, fed up with the difficulty in getting compliance from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco through Paria Dea, Senior Government Affairs Manager, submitted the attached five page Brief continuing to argue it is exempt from complying with the Order. I will be at City Hall to one more time make the argument that FAMSF cannot hide behind technicalities and needs to let the public behind the curtain of how it bullies its way past citizens who demand transparency and accountability.

Lee Heidhues 8.17.2023

It’s 100 years since a struggling Nazi party in Weimar Germany discovered a powerful propaganda tool. Radio.

When Hitler came to power in January 1933 his propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels realized the power this new communication medium had to offer. During the Nazi’s 12 year reign of political terror, war and genocide the radio was an integral part of its destructive reign.

In the 21st century we have Donald Trump who is attempting to regain power with his non stop lies and distortions. Broadcast by his wholly owned propaganda machine ‘Truth Social’ and an often compliant mainstream media.

Self promotion and a compliant media are the same tools which aided Hitler’s rise to power and kept the public under his thrall until Nazi Germany collapsed in a pile of rubble in May 1945.

And Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker.

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 8.17.2023

When Adolf Hitler came to power in January 1933, radio then was similar to what the internet was in its early days: a powerful, new medium to disseminate information. A big difference: Radio was expensive. Having one could cost more than a month’s wage.

It ended the way it began: with propaganda and fake news. Hitler’s suicide, in his bunker in besieged Berlin, was kept from the public. Instead, his death was glamorously reported on May 1, 1945, as the result of fighting the Soviet invasion.

From early on, the Nazis recognized the propaganda value of radio. They would soon use it to influence Germany’s then 70 million people. Shortly after Hitler had become chancellor, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels compelled German manufacturers to sell cheap radio receivers.

The first model, the VE301, stood for Volksempfänger, and the date when Hitler became German chancellor: January 30th. The government set the price at 76 Reichsmarks, making it affordable for most households.

The discount paid off. At new the German Radio Exhibition in Berlin on August 18, 1933, 100,000 sets were sold. Until then, Germany was home to about four million households paying the public media license fee. By the middle of the war, that number quadrupled. The monthly fee of two Reichsmarks flowed to Goebbels’ propaganda ministry.

Propaganda, however, can only go so far. With Germany losing the war, Germans at home began to lose trust in their national radio. Many turned to foreign broadcasters, such as the BBC. Doing so was strictly prohibited, and those caught listening to “enemy stations” faced the penalty of death.

https://www.dw.com/en/nazi-radio-propaganda-turns-100/a-66551137

Lee Heidhues 8.14.2023

Mr. Donald Trump continues to totally ignore the admonitions from Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan to zip his lips.

The defendant Mr. Trump is goading the Judge to Lock Him Up.

The Judge, whose legal approach to January 6, 2021 insurrectionists who have been tried in her courtroom in Washington DC, has been firm in meting our Justice.

Mr. Trump should be treated in the same manner.

Mr. Trump is now nothing more than a criminal defendant in Federal court willfully ignoring Judge Chutkan.

Excerpted from The Hill 8.14.2023

Former President Trump ripped into special counsel Jack Smith over his recently disclosed search warrant for Trump’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling Smith “deranged.” 

“How dare lowlife prosecutor, Deranged Jack Smith, breaking into my Twitter account without informing me and, indeed, trying to completely hide this atrocity from me,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday. “What could he possibly find out that is not already known.”

“What could he possibly find out that is not already known. Just like the early morning raid of Mar-a-Lago! Why isn’t the DOJ raiding Crooked Joe Biden, the most CORRUPT (and Incompetent!) President in the history of the United States?” Trump continued in his post, in reference to the FBI’s raid of his home in Florida last year, where it found more than 100 classified records.  

Lee Heidhues 8.12.2023

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read this story in The Guardian.

American cops, acting in the worst Police State manner, have raided a newspaper office in Marion, Kansas. Confiscating computers, cellphones and reporting materials.

The cops even expanded this questionable search and seizure to raid the homes of the publication’s publisher and reporters.

This kind of abhorrent behavior is something I expect to be happening in Putin’s Russia.

The Judge who signed this search warrant needs to take a look at the First Amendment to The US Constitution and study the Law. She’s wrong.

Excerpted from The Guardian 8.12.2023

Local police in Marion, Kansas, conducted a raid on the offices of a local newspaper on Friday as well as the homes of the publication’s publishers and reporters.

Eric Meyer, the owner and publisher of the Marion County Record, told the Kansas Reflector that the city’s entire five-officer police force and two sheriff’s deputies conducted the raid, which included the seizure of computers, cellphones and reporting materials.

Meyer said the raid and seizure stemmed from a confidential source leaking sensitive documents to the newspaper. He criticized the seizure, comparing it to seizures conducted by repressive government regimes.

The Kansas Reflector reported: “The search warrant, signed by Marion county district court magistrate judge Laura Viar, appears to violate federal law that provides protections against searching and seizing materials from journalists. The law requires law enforcement to subpoena materials instead. Viar didn’t respond to a request to comment for this story or explain why she would authorize a potentially illegal raid.”

The Marion police chief, Gideon Cody, did not respond to a request for comment.

Press advocates have condemned the raid as an infringement on the freedom of the press.

“An attack on a newspaper office through an illegal search is not just an infringement on the rights of journalists but an assault on the very foundation of democracy and the public’s right to know,” said Emily Bradbury, executive director of the Kansas Press Association, in a statement to the Kansas Reflector. “This cannot be allowed to stand.”

The chairperson of the National Newspaper Association, John Galer, added in a statement on Facebook: “Newsroom raids in this country receded into history 50 years ago. Today, law enforcement agencies by and large understand that gathering information from newsrooms is a last resort and then done only with subpoenas that protect the rights of all involved.

“For a newspaper to be intimidated by an unannounced search and seizure is unthinkable in an America that respects its first amendment rights.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/12/police-raid-local-kansas-newspaper-office-and-homes-of-reporters

Lee Heidhues 8.11.2023

Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan minced no words in laying down the law to Mr. Donald Trump.

Judge Chutkan, in her first appearance as trial judge in the case, made it clear — within minutes of ascending the bench — that she intended to view Mr. Trump primarily as a defendant rather than a political figure, and suggested she sided with the government’s push for a speedy trial.

The Wheels of Justice grind slowly and exceedingly fine. At long last Mr. Trump is up against a Prosecutor and Judge who see his antics for what they are. Harassment. Intimidation. Abuse.

Excerpted from The New York Times and Politico 8.11.2023

The federal judge overseeing former President Donald J. Trump’s prosecution on charges of seeking to overturn the 2020 election rejected his request on Friday to be able to speak broadly about evidence and witnesses — and warned Mr. Trump she would take necessary “measures” to keep him from intimidating witnesses or tainting potential jurors.

“He is a criminal defendant,” Judge Chutkan said. “He is going to have restrictions like every other criminal defendant” — adding that she was not going to “allow him any greater or lesser latitude than any defendant in a criminal case.”

“Your client’s defense is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the internet,” Chutkan admonished Trump attorney John Lauro.

The judge described Mr. Trump’s candidacy as “a day job,” like another defendant.

Trump’s attorney Lauro repeatedly emphasized the politics hovering over the case, noting its influence on Trump’s campaign and the potential that prosecutors could accuse him of violating evidence-sharing agreements even during routine exchanges on the campaign trail with rivals that include Pence. This would advantage Biden’s reelection prospects, he said.

But Chutkan said those considerations simply could not be a factor in her rulings, saying Lauro was “conflating what your client needs to do to defend himself and what your client wants to do politically.”

Aging Arrogant Arrestee – Donald Trump

The caution from the judge, Tanya S. Chutkan, came during a 90-minute hearing in Federal District Court in Washington to discuss the scope of a protective order over the discovery evidence in Mr. Trump’s case, a typically routine step in criminal matters. Judge Chutkan said she planned to impose the order but agreed to a modification requested by the Trump legal team that it apply only to “sensitive” materials and not all evidence turned over to the defense.

She concluded the hearing with a blunt warning to Mr. Trump, and an unmistakable reference to a recent social media post in which he warned, “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” — a statement his spokesman later said was aimed at political opponents and not at people involved in the case.

“I do want to issue a general word of caution — I intend to ensure the orderly administration of justice in this case as I would in any other case, and even arguably ambiguous statements by the parties or their counsel,” she said, could be considered an attempt to “intimidate witnesses or prejudice potential jurors,” triggering the court to take action.

Lee Heidhues 8.10.2023

Mr. Donald Trump wants the world to forget he is a criminal defendant.

Blasting those who are prosecuting him with incendiary, misleading and false political ads.

On the eve of his RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act) indictment in Fulton County (Atlanta) Georgia, Trump takes his unhinged campaign to new depths of depravity.

https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/trump-running-ad-atlanta-criticizing-da-investigating-rcna99003

Top Photo: Fulton County (Atlanta), Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis

Liz Heidhues – Blog Contributor – 8.7.2023

Even @NancyTungSF said “Elders need a voice . . they need a champion.” Why didn’t @LondonBreed champion Seniors’ food security when she prioritized @SFPD? Generously granting $27.6M for police overtime.$81M for pay & recruitment increases. Her ultimatum to @SFMFoodBank FY25? – ZERO!!!

Acknowledge the obvious. Breed sits at the center of a web of pork barrel politics carrying on at City Hall – @SFPD, the crony DA Brooke Jenkins, Supervisor Matt Dorsey, and ADA Nancy Tung – who lost to Chesa Boudin in 2019 election but was later hand-picked by Jenkins to head special unit in DA’s

This Senior will bring home an EMPTY granny cart when the Golden Gate Pop-Up Pantry closes August 28, thanks to Mayor Breed.

This Senior will find the Golden Gate Pop-Up Pantry closed on Aug 28, thanks to Mayor Breed

These three Seniors will no longer be able to wait at bus stop with shopping carts full of food once the Golden Gate Pop-Up closes Aug 28, thanks to Mayor Breed

Photos and artwork – Liz Heidhues

Top photo – London Breed parties with her well paid and well fed SFPD. While she slashes food assistance for the City’s marginalized citizens.

Lee Heidhues and Liz Heidhues – Blog contributor – 8.7.2023

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is willfully engaging in a massive disruption of a critical food supply to a forgotten segment of the City’s citizenry.

In a blatantly mean spirited budget slashing maneuver, putting the welfare of an already well paid San Francisco Police Department and catering to her most reactionary backers, the Mayor has thrown a large segment of the population to the proverbial pangs of hunger.

Slashing the budget for the San Francisco Marin Food bank is a craven crass cruel political move.

Breed’s priorities are lavishing money on the cops and the City’s Swells. The Jay Hotel will be a playground for Breed’s wealthy backers. Its restaurant & bar unattainable to Breed’s vulnerable constituents.

Breed’s 40% cut to pop-up pantries is disastrous.

Earlier in the year Breed happily posed in her Marie Antoinette ensemble. One can only assume her “Let ’em eat cake” wardrobe is no joke.

Top photo – Liz Heidhues – Pop up pantry clients await food distribution at Ocean Beach site in San Francisco. Breed’s vulnerable constituents will be hemmed into difficult choices – food vs housing, utilities, insurance costs, etc. – because she slashed Food Bank funding