The mainstream media has been making editorial noises about America’s descent into a Fascist state. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Sunday January 2 lead editorial spoke to this issue with the headline “American Fascism is Still Rising. What are You Going to do About It California?”  Good question.

Regrettably the Democrats are fighting amongst themselves, the great mass of Americans don’t care  while the Republicans andtheir fellow extremists are laying the ground work for a Trump resurrection.

Excerpted from The Nation 1.2.2022

If 1920s Germany could punish Hitler for leading a coup attempt, why can’t America go after Trump?

A year out from the January 6 insurrection, Donald Trump has yet to pay a serious political or personal price for leading the first known coup attempt in nearly 250 years of American history. Whereas Hitler at this point was in prison, with his Nazi Party in shambles, Trump is roaming the country giving speeches and raising vast amounts of money; his Republican Party is well positioned to gain a majority in Congress next year.

Pulling off a successful coup d’état in a dictatorship is a risky affair. It invariably involves the military, and failure usually results in long prison terms or executions.

But coup attempts in democratic countries, while much less common, are less perilous. They rarely involve the military, and it’s complicated to punish coup plotters who have a following and can represent themselves as protesters rather than traitors.

That is why an important point of comparison for America’s January 6 insurrection is the attempted coup led by Adolf Hitler in 1923, the so-called Beer Hall Putsch, and how it affected his march toward absolute power.

Conventional wisdom has it that the blossoming democratic German government of the early 1920s botched its efforts to rein in Hitler after his failed coup, and thereby helped propel him to greater popularity. In this view, the Biden administration understands the tragic German history, and is now avoiding legal action against Trump, letting the US House of Representatives investigate the coup plot and limit its punishment to some kind of public shaming.

Yet if you review the events following the failed Beer Hall Putsch, it becomes clear that German institutions successfully sidelined Hitler for nearly 10 years, and might have kept him out of the mainstream longer except for a worldwide economic depression that amplified popular disaffection.

Moreover, Trump has raced ahead of Hitler’s timetable for recovering from an attempted coup, bringing the United States much closer to a fascist takeover than most Americans likely realize.

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-hitler-coup/

For those who think it can’t happen here  watch this Academy Award nominated documantary “A Night at the Garden”.

Lee Heidhues 1.2.2022

Throughout the World people are not concerned about being struck down with a Covid variant. Instead, the disgruntled and impatient citizens think they can resume life as normal while the Pandemic is still in full force.

It’s a sad commentary on the World condition that people lack the patience and discipline to listen to the health authorities. The people are putting themselves and their fellow humans at risk.

The impact of Donald Trump’s noxious and neo-fascist American presidency is still being felt. The fact someone unfurled a banner lauding this disgraced leader as the January 6 anniversary of his attempted political coup d’etat approaches is a frightening reminder.  Trump and those extremists who suppport him have not gone away and are in our neighborhoods be it in Amsterdam, Washington or San Francisco.

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 1.2.2021

Thousands of people in Amsterdam defied a ban on large gatherings on Sunday as they took to the streets to show their displeasure at restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.

Protesters congregated in the city center before marching toward a park in the Dutch capital where a rally of the populist Forum for Democracy party took place.

Brief clashes

A small group of protesters briefly clashed with riot police as officers made efforts to clear the crowd from Museum Square.

Most people complied with the call to disperse, given via loudspeaker, from the square in front of the Rijksmuseum.

Before officers moved in, some people near the Van Gogh Museum unfurled a banner that read: “Less repression, more care.”

A group of people in white overalls and white masks held up signs, including one that said: “It’s not about a virus, it’s about control” on one side and “Freedom” on the other.

One person in attendance held up a “Trump 2024” flag.

The Netherlands is currently in a strict lockdown, which is expected to last until at least mid-January.

The cases have been on the decline since the country reintroduced lockdown measures in November, before tightening them further during the holiday season.

The local government in Amsterdam had banned Sunday’s protest, saying police had indications some protesters might be planning “violence.”

The municipality later issued an emergency order for people to leave the square. Riot police marched across the grass to clear the area, sending the demonstrators into nearby streets.

https://www.dw.com/en/amsterdam-thousands-protest-covid-measures-despite-ban-on-gatherings/a-60312490

Top photo – Police clash with demonstrators as thousands of people defied a ban Sunday to gather and protest the Dutch government’s coronavirus lockdown measures, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022. The municipality of the Dutch capital banned the protest, saying police had indications some demonstrators could be attending “prepared for violence.” (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Liz and Lee Heidhues 1.1.2022

The Crow is on Maleficent’s shoulder in Sleeping Beauty.

Crows are secretive and can count. Most Crows can count to three.

What are these birds up to?

Dressed as for a funeral, caw-caw-cawing, the Crows in our backyard have become tame. The Crows mess around in our dog’s water bowls.

The Cherokee word for Crow is “koga.” Koga acquired its black color in a futile attempt to acquire the first fire.

Loud, rambunctious, and highly intelligent, Crows are most often associated with a long history of fear and loathing. Crow’s black feathers associate them with Death.

Research has demonstrated Crows are actually very social and caring creatures and also among the smartest animals on the Planet.

The Crow also has a dark place in American culture. The 1994 film The Crow was forever cursed when Brandon Lee, son of martial arts icon Bruce Lee, died after being accidentally wounded by a prop gun during filming. The movie was released after his death and has become a Cult classic. This tragic accident has led many people to believe to this day the film was cursed.

The critical consensus states: “Filled with style and dark, lurid energy, The Crow is an action-packed visual feast that also has a soul in the performance of the late Brandon Lee.”^[

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crow_(1994_film)

The following photo montage shows The Crow in a more benign setting as a good neighbor and source of entertainment.

Photos – Liz and Lee Heidhues

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

December 30, 2021

Every Picture Tells a Story – Motorcycle down on the streets of outer San Francisco

Walking to the grocery store this afternoon I came upon this post mayhem scene in the outer Richmond District. I missed the moment of impact but it’s obvious that the motorcycle got the worst of it. 

The motorcycle rider was nowhere to be seen. The SFPD was out in force to survey and analyze the carnage at 36th Avenue and Geary Boulevard.

Photos – Lee Heidhues

The American media isn’t celebrating Patti Smith on her 75th birthday. It should. She’s an icon born in Chicago, raised in New Jersey and has become world reknown for her music and writing.  

Patti Smith has now reached the world of advertising and can be seen modeling for Rimowa luggage as she continues to reinvent herself.

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 12.29.2021

Some have called her the Godmother of Punk, others the Grande Dame of Alternative Rock. But what Patti Smith really is, deep down in her heart, is a poet. Her music takes second.

Born on December, 30, 1946, in Chicago, Smith grew up in New Jersey together with three siblings. While her father was an atheist, her mother was a Jehovah’s Witness, raising her kids to be religious.

She wanted to become a teacher. During her studies, she got pregnant and had the baby, but gave it up for adoption. Then she quit her studies, and – not even 20 years old – found her way to New York’s art scene where she got involved in art, drugs, parties and music.

Back then, her idols were the poets Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud, and the musicians Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones and Jim Morrison.

In clubs and bars, Smith opened for rock bands by reciting her poems on stage. She had her first big performance in February 1971. As part of a planned poetry series, Smith recited her work for New York stars like Allen Ginsberg, Andy Warhol, Lou Reed, Sam Shepherd and others, eventually publishing two volumes of poetry.

During that time she also jammed with guitarist Lenny Kaye and keyboarder Richard Sohl.

The three musicians kept playing around with Van Morrison’s song “Gloria” for a long time until Smith decided to work in her famous poem “Oath” into that song:

“Christ died for somebody’s sins, but not mine (…) Christ, I’m giving you the goodbye, firing you tonight. I can make my own light shine.”

The reference to her mother’s suffocating religiosity could not be overlooked.

In 1975, the Patti Smith Group was complete. The first album, “Horses,” was created with the help of producer and Velvet Underground veteran John Cale. On the cover, Smith appeared almost like an androgynous being with a wild dark mane – slim, delicate, clad in a men’s shirt and jacket, and wearing a black ribbon looking like a loose tie.

Reacting to Smith’s wild performances, the music world put her squarely in the punk box, and even called her the Godmother of Punk. In an interview with BBC, she later said she regretted having been given all kinds of titles, like “princess of piss,” or “wild rock ‘n’ roll mustang.”

After a fade in the 1980’s Bob Dylan brought her back into the limelight in the mid-1990’s. Smith reactivated her old band, and before they knew it they were opening for Dylan’s show. The audience was thrilled. Twenty years after the release of “Horses,” the band returned into the studio to produce the album “Gone Again” – a collection of somber and touching songs in memory of her deceased husband.

Smith still continues to produce music today. Her wild mane has turned grey but the power of her songs hasn’t diminished a bit. Whether she sings her old hits attempts to cover rock classics like “Smells like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, she remains a poet who transports her verses via music.

https://www.dw.com/en/patti-smith-poet-with-a-punk-heart-turns-75/a-36957499

Attn:  All Hands on Deck to preserve car free spaces in San Francisco.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit to force the opening to cars of The Great Walkway, JFK Drive and MLK Drive have filed a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction forcing the City to open these thoroughfares to cars IMMEDIATELY.

The Motion will be heard in Dept. 302 on January 31, 2022 at 9:30AM.

The Open the Great Highway Alliance is hoping the Court approves their Motion because it would put cars back onto these currently car free spaces while the lawsuit is litigated.

Motion for Injunction Open Great Walkway CPF-21-517641

You can visit the SF Superior Court website and look on the Register of Actions for case CPF-21-517641. It will provide you with all the activity in the lawsuit to date.

The City has yet to make a formal appearance in Court; i.e. an response to the Request for a Writ of Mandate filed December 16, 2021.

Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle Editorial 12.25.2021

JFK Drive is for people, not car commuters. Let’s keep it that way in 2022 and beyond

Before the pandemic, JFK was one of the most dangerous and deadliest streets in San Francisco. There were 91 crashes on it from 2014 through its 2020 closure. That’s mostly because 75% of people traveling on JFK had no intention of visiting the park; they were simply using it as a cut-through.

This would be a policy failure for any city; for a supposedly transit-first city like San Francisco, however, it was an inexcusable display of incompetence.

Few would object to a gentle street through Golden Gate Park that enables slow, but convenient vehicle access, especially for the mobility impaired, to the park’s amenities. But allowing the main thoroughfare of the city’s marquee park to become a high-speed commuter freeway — as it once was — was a gross and too-often deadly civic failure that can never again be allowed to repeat itself.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Editorial-Keep-JFK-Drive-closed-to-cars-in-2022-16726845.php

Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle Editorial 9.19.2021

SF jumped the gun in its Great Highway reopening. That can’t happen at JFK

Anecdotally, traffic on Chain of Lakes — one of the ostensible reasons given for the need to reopen the Great Highway last month, after it had been closed to cars for most of the pandemic — appears as bad or nearly as bad as it was before the reopening. Cars also still appear to be cutting through Outer Sunset neighborhoods in search of shortcuts — in defiance of another rationale given for the necessity of reopening the highway.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Editorial-SF-jumped-the-gun-in-its-Great-Highway-16469050.php

Photos – Liz and Lee Heidhues

Lee Heidhues 12.27.2021

The media has been trashing 49ers QB for his poor performance in the 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans last Thursday.

It appears there is  definitely a legtimate reason that Jimmy G did not have a standout performance. The Niners QB suffered a serious thumb injury during the second quarter.

Garoppolo may be done for the season. This means the 49ers top draft choice Trey Lance, who has warmed the bench all season, will be thrown into the spotlight against the Houston Texans this Sunday and the season finale against the Los Angeles Rams on January 9.

Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle 12.27.2021

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered an injury to his right thumb in Thursday’s loss to the Titans that has clouded his status for the rest of the 49ers’ season.

Though the team characterized the injury as a sprain, ESPN reported Garoppolo suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament (located in the lower thumb) and a fracture. Dr. Nirav Pandya, the associate professor of UCSF orthopedic surgery, said that surgery to repair such an injury involves a recovery timeline of four to six weeks.

Pandya was skeptical Garoppolo could play effectively through the injury if a brace was used to support his thumb. The UCL is key for stability and grip strength.

Asked if Garoppolo’s season is likely over, barring an unforeseen development, Pandya paints a picture in which fans should expect Trey Lance will be the 49ers’ starting QB on Sunday and beyond.

“That would be my guess based on what’s being reported,” Pandya said. “I think it would be very hard for a quarterback to either play at all, or play effectively, with this injury. That would be my educated guess.”

Rookie Trey Lance, the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft, will make his second career start if Garoppolo is unable to play against Houston on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. Lance hasn’t thrown a pass in a game since he started in a 17-10 loss at Arizona on Oct. 10, when Garoppolo was sidelined with a strained calf.

The 49ers (8-7), currently the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff chase, could need to beat Houston and the Rams in their regular-season finale to secure a postseason berth.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/49ers-Jimmy-Garoppolo-has-sprained-right-16732585.php

Lee Heidhues 12.26.2021

The San Francisco Chronicle published a lead editorial vigorously calling for JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park to be designated permanently car free. The predicatable push back from the spoiled Entitled motorists. I refuse to be cowed by these people who seemingly know no other way of life than a Car. Pathetic. The following is posted in the Chronicle reader comments section.

I am beyond fed up with Seniors who believe because of their age that the rest of the World owes “us” a favor. “Us”? My wife and I are setuagenarians Our modes of transit are bicycles, our feet and public transit. It has been that way for our entire relationship.

We raised a family in San Francisco and traveled to the Fine Arts Museum with no problems. The two of us still cycle on car free JFK Drive to attend the de Young as long time members.

For seniors to make their spurious claim they have a right and need to drive and park on JFK Drive is a total non starter. It is selfishness in the extreme. There are thousands upon thousands of others who are enjoying JFK Drive without the need to park their cars on this thoroughfare.

The Seniors, by this unrelenting wailing and faux sense of entitlement, are destroying the future happiness of current and future generations. Life is finite. Think about it and stop the complaining. This comment is directed specifically at never stop kvetching Seniors and their Entitled cheerleaders.

Glad to read the Chronicle is standing up to the Fine Arts Museum aristocracy’s and their camp followers wailing to have cars be permitted on JFK Drive to assist their corporate benefactors. To read The maudlin non stop Entitled motorists kvetch about 1.5 miles of road being car free in a City with 1200 miles of road to drive on. Nobody has a lifetime Permit to drive anywhere anytime irrespective of the faux message being pitched about inconvenience.

Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle 12.26.2021

Urban theorist Jane Jacobs wrote in her seminal book “Death and Life of Great American Cities” that “the destructive effect of automobiles are much less a cause than a symptom of our incompetence at city building.”

It would be difficult to find a better illustration of this point than San Francisco’s John F. Kennedy Drive prior to its closure to vehicle traffic in April 2020.

Before the pandemic, JFK was one of the most dangerous and deadliest streets in San Francisco. There were 91 crashes on it from 2014 through its 2020 closure. That’s mostly because 75% of people traveling on JFK had no intention of visiting the park; they were simply using it as a cut-through.

This would be a policy failure for any city; for a supposedly transit-first city like San Francisco, however, it was an inexcusable display of incompetence.

Few would object to a gentle street through Golden Gate Park that enables slow, but convenient vehicle access, especially for the mobility impaired, to the park’s amenities. But allowing the main thoroughfare of the city’s marquee park to become a high-speed commuter freeway — as it once was — was a gross and too-often deadly civic failure that can never again be allowed to repeat itself.

To ensure JFK remains a safe and enjoyable space, worthy of one of the most stunning urban parks in the world, it should remain closed to cars in 2022 and beyond.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Editorial-Keep-JFK-Drive-closed-to-cars-in-2022-16726845.php

Lee Heidhues 12.25.2021

Sad Surprises never stop. Even on Christmas Day.

I always believed Bambi to be a benign story about kind animals which was brought to life on the big screen by Walt Disney in the classic cartoon.

Now this fantasy story line has gone a glimmering and the story of Bambi will be put before the world in its originally intended fashion. A novel published nearly 100 years ago portrayed the Bambi tale in a more sobering dark light.

Excerpted from The Guardian 12.25.2021

A new translation of Felix Salten’s 1923 novel reasserts its original message that warns of Jewish persecution

It’s a saccharine sweet story about a young deer who finds love and friendship in a forest. But the original tale of Bambi, adapted by Disney in 1942, has much darker beginnings as an existential novel about persecution and antisemitism in 1920s Austria.

Now, a new translation seeks to reassert the rightful place of Felix Salten’s 1923 masterpiece in adult literature and shine a light on how Salten was trying to warn the world that Jews would be terrorised, dehumanised and murdered in the years to come.

“Bambi does not survive well, at the end. He is alone, totally alone … It is a tragic story about the loneliness and solitude of Jews and other minority groups,” said Jack Zipes, professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota and translator of the forthcoming book.

Far from being a children’s story, Bambi was actually a parable about the inhumane treatment and dangerous precariousness of Jews and other minorities in what was then an increasingly fascist world, the new translation will show.

In 1935, the book was banned by the Nazis, who saw it as a political allegory on the treatment of Jews in Europe and burned it as Jewish propaganda. “The darker side of Bambi has always been there,” said Professor Zipes.

“But what happens to Bambi at the end of the novel has been concealed, to a certain extent, by the Disney corporation taking over the book and making it into a pathetic, almost stupid film about a prince and a bourgeois family.”

Salten’s novel, Bambi, a Life in the Woods, is completely different he said. “It is a book about survival in your own home.” From the moment he is born, Bambi is under constant threat from hunters who invade the forest and attack indiscriminately. “They kill whatever animal they want.”

It soon becomes apparent that the forest animals are living out their lives in fear and that puts the reader constantly “on edge”: “All the animals have been persecuted. And I think what shakes the reader is that there are also some animals who are traitors, who help the hunters kill.”

After Bambi’s mother is murdered, so is his beloved cousin Gobo, who had been led to believe he was special and the hunters would be “kind” to him. Bambi is shot too, but survives thanks to the old prince, a majestic stag who treats him like a son (and may well be his father). But then, sadly, the old prince also dies, leaving Bambi utterly bereft.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/dec/25/bambi-cute-lovable-vulnerable-or-a-dark-parable-of-antisemitic-terror

The average American pays scant attention to the volatile and dangerous Middle East.  Or anywhere else in the world for that matter.

The typical American, an isolationist at heart, is too wrapped up in his own concerns about the Pandemic, trying to pay the bills and looking forward to the next football game.

This leaves little time to ponder what happens across the globe allowing the average American to  go blithely on believing events abroad have  no consequence or could have any impact on them.

Admittedly there is a sizable minority of Americans who keep informed about global events. Sadly these people are the exception to what should be the rule.

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 12.24.2021

An Iranian military chief said that the military exercises were a response to “massive but pointless threats” from Israel. The British government sharply condemned the missile launches.

Iran has previously said that it’s short and medium-range missiles can reach Israel, as well as US bases in the region.

Military drills conducted this week by Iran were intended to send a warning to Israel, the country’s top military commanders said on Friday.

Iran conducted these drills in the Persian Gulf amid concerns over possible plans by Israel to attack Iranian nuclear sites.

The war games included firing ballistic and cruise missiles. State television showed missiles flattening a target which resembled Israel’s Dimona nuclear reactor.

Why did Iran conduct the military drills?

Iranian Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami said this week’s drills were intended to send “a very clear message” and a “serious warning” to regional rival Israel.

“We will cut off their hands if they make a wrong move,” Salami said on state TV.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammed Bagheri said 16 ballistic missiles of different classes had been fired.

Bagheri said that the drill was an answer to Israel’s recent “massive but pointless threats” to Iran.

https://www.dw.com/en/iran-fires-missiles-during-drills-in-warning-to-israel/a-60253795