San Francisco
Lee Heidhues 4.3.2025
The April 3, 2025 Stock Market WIPEOUT.
Felon Trump’s now famous quote that “he couldn’t care less” about rising prices will haunt him and become the hymnal for his failure as President.
Top photo – Lee Heidhues
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/trump-tariffs-trade-war-stock-market-04-03-2025
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 3.30.2025
San Francisco billionaire Mayor Daniel Lurie may want the folks to believe he’s just one of the gang. Like everybody else. It ain’t true. The Levi Strauss & Co. scion is San Francisco economic royalty at his core.
San Francisco traded in London Breed, born and raised in the Western addition housing projects across the proverbial tracks from Pacific Heights, for a Mayor dripping wealth and entitlement from the moment he was born in that enclave of old school privilege.
It comes as no surprise that Daniel Lurie is buddies with the likes of JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. He keeps this relationship quiet as feasibly possible in the hot house cauldron of San Francisco political gossip.
Excerpted from San Francisco Standard – Power Play – 3.30.2025
MONTANA MAGA FEST: On Thursday, former political operative Yashar Ali tweeted what he said was a confidential schedule for a two-day JP Morgan Chase tech summit in Montana. The lineup, per Ali, was packed with MAGA all-stars: Elon Musk; AI and crypto czar David Sacks; Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick; Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum; and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Oh, and Tom Brady, of course.
In between talks titled “DOGE: Sources and Uses” and ”Decoding the Trump Playbook,” our very own Mayor Daniel Lurie and ex-Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were listed as speakers on a panel about “Rebuilding America’s Urban Glory,” moderated by actress and Goop CEO Gwyneth Paltrow.
But that wasn’t the weird part. Reached for comment, Lurie’s new communications director, Han Zou, stubbornly refused to say whether Lurie was taking part in the conference, even by video. A spokesperson for JP Morgan declined to confirm if Lurie took part in the summit.
It’s unclear if Lurie knew the reported JP Morgan event would feature so many Trump die-hards, but his love of JP Morgan is well-known.
In January, the mayor and his policy chief Ned Segal met with JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon at City Hall during the investment firm’s annual healthcare conference in San Francisco. In an interview that week, Lurie boasted to Mad Money’s Jim Cramer that he’d met with corporate bigwigs like Blackstone executive Jonathan Gray, pitching himself as a pro-business mayor eager to lure companies back to town.
So why the secrecy now? After all, just because Lurie reportedly joined a conference full of MAGA men doesn’t mean he is one. The mayor has had little to say about Trump’s attacks on immigrants, transgender people, the First Amendment, the judicial system, and federal workers — we could go on — but has pledged to stand up for San Francisco values.
At an event Friday honoring Wong Kim Ark, the San Franciscan who fought to enshrine birthright citizenship in the Constitution in the 1800s, Lurie offered pro-immigration platitudes and said people born in the U.S. “belong here.” Asked about the JP Morgan conference, Lurie said through an aide that he would only talk about Wong Kim Ark at the rally, declining to answer other questions.
Former Mayor London Breed and Jamie Dimon had a frosty relationship
J.P. Morgan is holding an invitation-only tech summit in Montana, targeting top clients, corporate and government leaders, and institutional investors, with notable conversations and panels including top Trump administration officials.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 3.25.2025
Who could have imagined in that just over 10 years a fringe far right party would have such a meteoric rise to to power in Germany?
It’s an unnerving reality that the far right Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) captured 152 seats in the 630 member German Bundestag. Making this party with thinly veiled neo-Nazi sympathizers and virulent anti-immigrant proponents the second largest group in the German legislature. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_for_Germany
The rapid ascendency of the AfD has me thinking of the Weimar Republic in Germany following World War I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic
With its 152 seats on the far right the AfD can expect to engage in fierce parliamentary battles with the two parties on the left. Die Linke (64 seats) and The Greens (85 seats).
The parties in the middle. Social Democratic Party (120 seats) and the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (208 seats) will inevitably form a coalition government. A tenuous coalition which will be buffeted from the right and left.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 3.25.2025
The far-right AfD has become the second-biggest party in parliament, winning around 20% of the vote in February’s election, but the other German parties have all ruled out working with them.
Even with this so-called “firewall” against the far-right party, they hold enough seats that they could prove to be a thorn in the side of any coalition government.
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 3.24.2025
Talk about being nervy and shameless. The current San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins is the same person who called herself a “volunteer” when in reality she was being paid over 150K as she joined the Recall against her one time boss Chesa Boudin.
This is the current DA who has been referred to the body which investigates prosecutorial misconduct for actions she took as an an assistant DA in San Francisco.
This is the current DA unhappy that a 15 year public defender and now Judge, was assigned to hear cases in criminal court. The Mission Local reported that the current DA has taken the virtually unheard of step challenging every criminal case to which this Judge is assigned.
This is the current DA who labeled legitimate protesters Hamas sympathizers when thousands marched on Market Street in October 2023.
“As San Francisco District Attorney it is my responsibility, and right, to share with the public the facts around what happens in criminal cases. Although some judges on the bench may not like transparency around their decisions, San Franciscans have asked for, expect and deserve to know what is happening at the courthouse.” SF DA Brooke Jenkins
Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 3.24.2025
Former Judge LaDoris Cordell, a prominent voice on criminal justice issues in the Bay Area, resigned from the San Francisco District Attorney’s Innocence Commission on Monday, blasting DA Brooke Jenkins’ criticism of local judges.
“The place for a prosecutor to disagree with a judge’s ruling is in the courtroom, not on social media and not in the streets, pandering to voters. …I cannot continue to associate myself with the office of a District Attorney who so flagrantly disrespects our judiciary.”
“I cannot continue to associate myself with the office of a District Attorney who so flagrantly disrespects our judiciary,” Cordell said in a letter to the commission’s chairwoman, Lara Bazelon.
She referred to Jenkins’ recent assertion that a majority of San Francisco judges “do not treat drug dealing as a serious crime.” When a judge sentenced a convicted auto burglar to four months in jail, Jenkins said local judges were allowing criminals “to use this courthouse as a revolving door.”
DA Brooke Jenkins. Catapulted into office by former Mayor London Breed.
In another case, Jenkins’ office recommended a felony prison sentence for a minor theft by a man who had a previous felony conviction, but Judge Gerardo Sandoval imposed a misdemeanor sentence punishable by no more than a year in jail. Jenkins accused the judge of ignoring not only her office but also “the clear will of the voters” who had passed Proposition 36 last November, allowing — though not requiring — prison terms in such cases.
Last year, Jenkins joined a protest by Asian Americans outside the courthouse of Superior Court Judge Kay Tsenin, who had suspended a sentence for a man who had stabbed a 94-year-old Asian woman on the street. Tsenin found that the defendant was mentally disturbed and ordered him to undergo five years of treatment after releasing him from jail, where he had spent 2 ½ years.
After the protest, Cordell said, Tsenin received death threats and was forced to hear cases remotely rather than in her courtroom.
“Judicial independence is the hallmark of a democracy. Anyone who has graduated from law school knows this, which is why District Attorney Jenkins’ recent and scathing public attacks on judges are shameful and unethical,” she said in her resignation letter.
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 3.25.2025
The revulsion at the continuing Israeli onslaught has people speaking out in the quiet outer Richmond District of San Francisco. At the intersection of 36th Avenue and Anza Street all four STOP Signs are emblazoned with a reminder to the neighborhood.
The quiet neighborhood is only one place where the signs of protest can be found. The Financial District and Golden Gate Park are sites of citizen activism decrying the Israeli ruination of Palestine supported wholeheartedly by the American military machine.
The Israeli consulate is downtown at 456 Montgomery Street. Artwork decrying the 18 month Israeli assault against the children, women and men of Gaza has become a Financial District fixture.
Following last week’s Israel assault against Gaza during which at least 400 people, including many women and children perished, security guards at the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco were quick to remove the street art decrying the Israeli war crimes.
Top photo: STOP STARVING GAZA across from Lafayette grammar school.
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 3.22.2025
TO ALL WHO WROTE LETTERS AND THOSE WHO PROVIDED MORAL SUPPORT. YOUR GOODNESS CHEERED THE BOTH OF US. WITHOUT YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT AND SUPPORT AND AN EXCELLENT ATTORNEY WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS.
WE ARE CELEBRATING THAT THE LAW WAS UPHELD. THE TRUTH HAS PREVAILED.
THANK YOU. LIZ AND LEE
Top photo: San Francisco Superior Courthouse – Lee Heidhues
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 3.18.2025
What I blogged 13 months ago has come to pass. Trump now has all the levers of power at his disposal as he attempts his fascist makeover of America.
The disgraceful Republican Party has totally surrendered any sense of fealty to American democracy.
The hopelessly divided Democrats are tearing each other apart.
The Courts are the only backstop to slow down the march to fascism.
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 3.20.2025
The Chinese government literally has a keep no prisoners when it comes to drug offenses. The government unapologetically kills them.
The world is aghast that the Chinese government has executed four Canadians for drug crimes this year. These people did not receive mercy despite a world wide outcry seeking their freedom.
I know someone who, several years ago, spent six months incarcerated in Beijing for a drug offense. This person was lucky. One morning this person was taken from jail. Transported to the airport and flown back to the United States.
Excerpted from The New York Post 3.20.2025
China executed four Canadian nationals over drug charges earlier this year, prompting strong rebukes from the Western country amidst an already rocky relationship.
China said the Canucks should mind their own business.
“Canada should respect the rule of law and stop interfering in China’s judicial sovereignty,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, claiming it treated all defendants equally regardless of their nationality.
It is unclear exactly when this year the executions took place, but Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Wednesday she and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to stop them — and are seeking leniency “for other Canadians that are facing a similar situation,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
The victims were described as “Canadian nationals” who held dual citizenship with China, though China does not recognize dual citizenship.
China treats drug charges with a notoriously heavy hand, issuing lifetime prison sentences for smuggling and sometimes even meting out executions — though they are rarely carried out against Westerners.
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 3.19.2025
Thank goodness America’s neighbor to the south has a President for all of The People.
The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, knows about human rights.
This is a Jewish woman who welcomes the Palestinian Ambassador to her country.
Mexican resident President Sheinbaum has received the Credentials accrediting Nadya Rasheed as Ambassador of Palestine…
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 3.18.2025
Flying the Hamas flag may be reprehensible to many. Before becoming too outraged don’t forget that the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan right to brandish the abhorrent swastika is protected speech in America.
Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 3.18.2025
“There’s nothing illegal about it,” said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
The First Amendment protects even speech that advocates for unlawful action, said First Amendment Coalition Legal Director David Loy. Speech turns into a crime only when it involves a threat to commit harm, he said.
“Speech alone cannot be a crime,” David Loy said.
A San Carlos resident’s decision to fly a Hamas flag outside their home in recent days has stirred outrage among some residents of the Peninsula city, who said they viewed the flag’s display as an endorsement of terrorism.
Some residents said they reported the flag to federal law enforcement officials and their counterparts in San Mateo County. The flag displays the Islamic oath and creed in white calligraphy on a green background.
Flying the flag is protected under free speech laws, legal experts said. It’s unclear whether the flag, flown atop a pole in front of a house on Crestview Drive on and off in the past two weeks, has triggered any kind of government investigation.
Despite the uproar, experts said the display of the flag amounts to symbolic speech protected under the First Amendment.
Lee's Perspective 