These people should get out of their cars and get some exercise
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 8.24.2024
Opponents of Proposition K staged a car rally on Market Street to decry the measure as a threat to San Francisco’s largely residential Westside. The Standard 8.24.2024
These people should get out of their cars and get some exercise.
Maybe, they wouldn’t be so uptight and stop their bloviating.
The Standard says it all about their political idiocy. Entitled motorists didn’t even know where to protest. On Saturday they polluted the atmosphere with their climate killing hunks of junk downtown.
Seven miles from the site of Ocean Beach Park.
These bitter people believe that cars come first. Forget it. They have lost at the Board of Supervisors, the ballot box and the courthouse Yet, they refuse to give up their misguided birth right. And continue this fight against the environment. It’s over.
Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 8.24.2024
Two rallies Saturday presented dueling visions for the fate of the Great Highway, San Francisco’s coastal boulevard at the center of a debate about how the city uses its streets and whether parks or cars should dominate.
About 80 community members at a Panhandle Playground rally listened as Sunset resident Josh Kelly called the campaign to create a Great Highway park “part of a long tradition of San Franciscans reclaiming space in their city for people and not for vehicles.”
“Closing (the highway) is not feasible, is not a good idea, and it wasn’t brought as a community-led compromise,” Sunset District resident Albert Chow, owner of Great Wall Hardware, said to a crowd of about 35 community members on Market Street.
‘Kamala Harris for the People’ stinging rebukes. Trump put on Notice
“My mother taught us never do something half-ass.” Kamala Harris
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 8.22.2024
It’s a proud night in San Francisco.
Oakland native, San Francisco District Attorney, California Attorney General, Vice President and now officially the Democrats’ presidential candidate possesses a big smile and contagious laugh.
Make no mistake this veteran prosecutor is all business when it comes to convicted Felon, sexual abuser, bankrupt businessman and pathological liar Donald Trump.
Kamala Harris told the world that she intends to expose the real Trump and win the election November 5th.
Liz and I had a watch party for two in our San Francisco Richmond District neighborhood. The streets were uncommonly quiet this evening as our neighbors wanted to view this historic moment. An Oakland/San Francisco native sister stepping onto the stage in Chicago to introduce herself to the world.
Excerpt from The New York Times 8.22.2024
Vice President Kamala Harris ceremonially accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president on Thursday night in a speech that alternated between calls for unity and stinging rebukes of former President Donald J. Trump as an “unserious man” whose return to the White House could have devastating consequences for the United States.
“With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past,” she said, casting herself as someone who can bring a deeply divided country together.
Like a prosecutor making a closing argument, Ms. Harris denounced Mr. Trump point by point, repeatedly accusing him of preparing to systematically erode the democratic values of the country if he returns to the White House.
“Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again,” she said, her voice rising. “Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol. His explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents, and anyone he sees as the enemy. His explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens.”
“Just imagine,” she said, “Donald Trump with no guardrails.”
Golden State Warriors icon Al Attles leaves the Court at age 87
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 8.22.2024
I was nearly in tears when I read of the passing of Golden State Warriors legend Al Attles at age 87. From the time I was 15 and the Warriors arrived in San Francisco I have been an avid follower.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Attles
Nothing better exemplifies Al Attles career than the 1975 game four NBA finals playoff between the Warriors and Washington Bullets (now the Washington Wizards). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_NBA_Finals.
The on court brawl in Landover, Maryland which found Al Attles being ejected is one of the all time classic moments in Warriors history. Following his ejection the incensed Warriors proceeded to rally and win the game 96-95 to complete a four game sweep and with it the NBA championship.
Liz and I were living on Waller Street in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Liz was pregnant with our soon to be born daughter, Atlanta. We did not have a television and listened to games on radio. Bill King was an audio television. His description of this moment is classic. It is attached.
Top photo: Al Attles, incensed that Washington Bullet Mike Riordan viciously fouled Rick Barry, argues with Richie Powers prior to his ejection from game four of the 1975 NBA playoffs
San Francisco cops takedown of jaywalker goes Tabloid global
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 8.14.2024
A story is major news when the British tabloids blast a story on the front page.
This is not the kind of publicity which shines a favorable light on San Francisco which sees itself on the global stage through rose tinted glasses.
The reality is totally different to long time residents who have experienced the venal nastiness of San Francisco officialdom. It begins with the Mayor’s office and slithers down into the agencies which oversee life on the streets in this densely populated City of 800,000 people packed into 50 square miles.
This incident of police overreaction is sadly too often a way of life in 2024 San Francisco.
https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-francisco-jaywalking-arrest-woman-injured
DA Jenkins prosecutorial abuse- Gaza protesters surrender to cops
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 8.12.2024
Shameless political creature San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins who compared legitimate peaceful protesters to Hamas terrorists is using her office to harass and abuse.
Indicting 26 citizens who are protesting the ongoing war crimes by Israel against the people of Palestine.
Seeking reelection this November Brooke Jenkins, an opportunistic political hack who destroyed her predecessor DA Chesa Boudin, owes her livelihood to Mayor London Breed. This malicious prosecution is nothing more than an election year ploy which needs to be seen for what it is.
An abuse of prosecutorial discretion. These indictments need to be tossed from the criminal court docket immediately.
Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 8.12.2024
On Monday morning, as the remaining individuals suspected of taking part in an April 15 protest that shut down the Golden Gate Bridge turned themselves in, demonstrators marked the occasion with another protest, calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and railing against the prosecution of those dubbed the “GG 26.”
Each of the suspected demonstrator’s cases includes 38 counts of false imprisonment, which accounts for the 37 victims named in the complaint. The 38th charge is a catchall for hundreds of others who were stuck on the bridge that day, officials said.
Twenty-one of the 26 people filed into the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office building downtown around 8 a.m., while dozens of others chanted, banged on drums and scrawled notes of support in chalk on the nearby sidewalk. One of the people charged raised a defiant fist as their group entered the building, prompting an eruption of cheers from the crowd.
“This is not about us, this is about what’s happening in Gaza, and we are demanding a cease-fire,” said Jeff Wozniak, who is part of a group of attorneys representing the defendants. “We are here trying to raise awareness of the ongoing genocide and that has always been the message, that has always been the reason for these actions.”
Top photo: Gaza protesters in San Francisco – 10.14.2023
Connie Chan’s political audacity using JFK Promenade as a prop
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 8.6.2024
Political audacity obviously has no boundaries at election time.
San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan facing a tough reelection campaign has wrapped herself in the garb of being a staunch supporter of the police. Which, understandably, is the road to drive on to be awarded a safe parking space from the electorate.
Connie Chan parked herself this week on JFK Promenade during National Night Out. The annual celebration lauding the cops.
This is the now car free JFK Promenade which Connie Chan worked feverishly to dismantle. This pedestrian and cycling oasis in historic Golden Gate Park. Meeting 14 times with lobbyists for the well heeled DeYoung Museum. Which expended money and its political power to bring cars back to JFK Promenade. Connie Voted against JFK Promenade when the Board of Supervisors voted to create JFK Promenade in April 2022. Connie opposed JFK Promenade in November 2022 when it received final approval with a 63 percent YES vote from the San Francisco electorate.
Connie Chan has also been a strident foe of Ocean Beach Park along the Pacific Coast shoreline. She supported the ballot measure in November 2022 which would have brought cars back full time to this roadway. It is currently car free on weekends. The measure was soundly defeated with a 65 percent no vote. Connie Chan now opposes the ballot measure for this November which, if passed, will make the area between Lincoln and Sloat Boulevards, approximately two miles, permanently car free.
Now, in a frenzied effort to have four more years in City Hall Connie hangs out with the cops on National Night Out, taking a seat on JFK Promenade. The pedestrian cyclist oasis she tried to bury. The hypocrisy is stunning as an obviously upset citizen posted the following after National Night Out.
Top photo: Liz Heidhues, lifelong cyclist and car free space advocate, parleying with Mayor London Breed at the fourth anniversary celebration of JFK Promenade – April 28, 2024. Mayor Breed signed the enabling legislation creating JFK Promenade on May 7, 2022. Mayor Breed also supports the November 2024 ballot measure which will create a permanently car free Ocean Beach Park. – photo by Lee Heidhues
GUILTY Trump in the ‘Hush Money’ docket – Supremes ok sentencing
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 8.5.2024
The Guardian 8.5.2024
Supreme court won’t stop Trump sentencing going ahead
The US supreme court has declined to halt Donald Trump’s upcoming sentencing for his conviction in state court in New York on felony charges involving hush money paid to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels, and a related gag order until after the 5 November election.
Waving goodbye to a convicted Felon
The decision by the justices came in response to a lawsuit by the state of Missouri claiming that the case against Trump infringed on the right of voters under the US constitution to hear from the Republican presidential nominee as he seeks to regain the White House, Reuters reports.
Trump is set to be sentenced on 18 September in Manhattan. He was found guilty in May of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a criminal hush-money scheme to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
He is the Republican party nominee for president in the election in November, facing Kamala Harris for the Democrats.
MAGA goes global. Far-right “thuggery” sets England ablaze
SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 8.4.2024
The anti-immigrant hate stirred up by Donald Trump in the past nine years has gone global.
The intolerance, xenophobia and racism spewed forth by the former and now wannabe president has found a receptive audience in Europe. Now Britain.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 8.4.2024
Police in the northern English city of Rotherham struggled to hold back a group of far-right activists on Sunday, who broke into a hotel believed to be housing asylum-seekers.
The disturbance is the latest in a series of violent protests by anti-immigration groups in British towns and cities this week after three girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport in northwest England on Monday.
Protesters can be seen storming the building and removing chairs from inside to use as weapons. Footage aired on British TV showed officers with shields targeted by a barrage of projectiles outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham, near Sheffield.
The riots began last week due to misinformation over a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party at a studio in Southport, a seaside town in northwest England.
Three children were killed in the knife attack, and 10 other people — eight of whom were children — were injured.
A 17-year-old boy, Axel Rudakubana, has been charged with several offenses, including the girls’ murder, which happened during a Taylor Swift-themed workshop.
Since the Southport attack, far-right social media channels have been awash with false claims that the suspect was an asylum-seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.
Police have emphasized that Rudakubana was born in Britain. He was remanded to a youth detention center and will next appear in court in October.
Close to 100 people were arrested after skirmishes broke out at far-right rallies in Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool and Hull, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland on Saturday.
In Liverpool, in the northwest, protesters threw chairs, flares and bricks at police officers. Manchester also saw clashes between officers and rioters.
In the city of Hull, protesters broke windows of a hotel that was housing migrants, the BBC reported.
In Belfast, fireworks were thrown due to a clash between an anti-Islam group and anti-racism protesters.
Opposing groups also faced off in the cities of Nottingham and Bristol.
In Leeds, anti-immigration protesters carrying British flags chanted, “You’re not English anymore.” They were met with counter-protesters shouting, “Nazi scum off our streets.”
On Friday, Sunderland saw violence erupt as a police station and an overturned car were set on fire.
In London, a pro-Palestinian demonstration was carried out as usual despite counter protesting nearby.
https://www.dw.com/en/uk-far-right-rioters-storm-hotel-housing-migrants/a-69851161
SF Mayor London Breed word to unhoused. Let ’em eat Shit
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
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