Articles Posted September 2011
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Class War Winners and Losers
There are official data over time called the Gini index or coefficient between zero and one that is a statistical measure of economic inequality. When it is zero national income is evenly distributed among all citizens, and when it is one all the income goes to one person. Obviously the Gini figure will be somewhere between zero and one. Some nations have very low values and others very high ones. In the high category is the US. But more important is that the index has changed over time, rising from about 1980 to current times, after it had remained fairly stable over several decades. That significant rise from about .37 to .45 shows unequivocally that the rich got richer as most of the population in the middle class and below lost ground.
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Senator Yee Alleges Central Subway
Waste, Fraud and AbuseAllegations of Central Subway financial improprieties were first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. A Civil Grand Jury report entitled “Central Subway: Too Much Money for Too Little Benefit” concluded the Central Subway project “should be redesigned.”
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Lee Blocked Yee from Garnering
DCCC Third-Place Mayoral Endorsement?As Fog City Journal reported last eve, the DCCC failed by a close 14-16 vote to vote for a third-place candidate endorsement. According to Stearns, the vote was derailed by Lee’s “operatives” on the DCCC, namely Arlo Hale Smith (brother of Ace Smith, Lee’s campaign consultant), Mary Jung, and Leslie Katz.
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Iran Releases U.S. Hikers
In September 2010, Shourd was released after $500,000 was paid. Bower and Fattal were convicted of illegally entering Iran and spying for the United States. We only have the word of the Iranian border guards that these hikers actually entered into Iran, and the world has yet to see the evidence supporting a spying conviction. On September 21, Bauer and Fattal were freed after $1 million was paid. Their release after cash was paid smacks of kidnapping for ransom, rather than an example of Islamic mercy.
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DCCC to Consider Third-Place
Ranked-Choice Mayoral EndorsementAt its August 17 endorsements meeting, the DCCC voted to endorse former Supervisor John Avalos (first) and City Attorney Dennis Herrera (second). The influential 32-member body could not muster enough votes for a third-place endorsement.
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Court Rules Prop. 8 Trial Tapes
Should Be Released to PublicJudge Ware agreed with Plaintiffs, stating, “Foremost among the aspects of the federal judicial system that foster public confidence in the fairness and integrity of the process are public access to trials and public access to the record of judicial proceedings. Consequently, once an item is placed in the record of judicial proceedings, there must be compelling reasons for keeping that item secret. In the course of the non-jury trial of this case, at the direction of the presiding judge, court staff made a digital recording of the trial. After the close of the evidence, the judge ordered the clerk of court to file that digital recording under seal. The trial record is closed and the case is currently on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.”
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Adachi Kick Off Tunes Message
of Integrity and Political IndependenceWith a star-studded line up of guest speakers that included former State Senator Quentin Kopp, Public Defender Chief Attorney and former Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez, Chinese for Affirmative Action chair and former California Department of Education Superintendent Henry Der, Deputy Public Defender Anne Irwin and SF Bayview publisher Willie Ratcliff, Adachi told an audience of as many as 300 supporters at the Verdi Club, “Where I want this campaign to be different is that we have to make the case that it’s time to elect a person who isn’t afraid to stand up against special interests.”
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San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
Announces Mayoral EndorsementsWith a membership of 12,000 and growing, the SFBC endorsement is considered significant, especially to Avalos who has been an active SFBC member for at least a decade and who is currently sponsoring legislation to increase indoor bike parking in the City.
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TNDC Saves 82 Units of Affordable Housing
TNDC acquired the properties in 2007 when it was learned the buildings’ Section 8 contracts were set to expire. The previous owner planned to sell the buildings placing the units at risk of converting to market-rate housing and threatening their removal from San Francisco’s affordable housing stock.
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Overheard in Fog City: Adachi and Davis
Reunited for Mayoral CampaignDavis, who was instrumental in Adachi’s campaign for Public Defender in 2002, is a win at all costs consultant credited with orchestrating former Mayor Willie Brown’s election and re-election to Room 200 in 1995 and 1999; Sheriff Michael Hennessey’s election in 1979; Quentin Kopp’s defeat of Democrat Lou Papan for State Senate in 1986; Frank Jordon’s defeat of incumbent Mayor Art Agnos in 1991; as well as winning voter approval for a new Giants ballpark in 1996 and Candlestick Park in 1997.
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9/11 Ten-Year Anniversary and The Power of Nightmares
Prior to 9/11, the threat of radical Islamism as a massive, sinister organized force of destruction, specifically in the form of al-Qaeda, was a myth perpetrated by politicians in many countries – particularly by American neo-conservatives in the Bush inner circle – in an attempt to unite and inspire their people following the failure of earlier, more utopian ideologies.
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Herrera Releases Analysis
of Central Subway Project EfficacyCiting design flaws, ballooning construction costs, anticipated cost overruns and impacts to an overstretched Muni budget, Herrera concludes, “On the basis of compelling evidence – and after discussions with project proponents and opponents alike – I have concluded that the Civil Grand Jury is correct in its assessment that the Central Subway should be redesigned.”
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This is currently a hot topic
Adachi Challenges Lee to Pension Reform Debate
In a letter sent to Lee, Adachi, the sponsor of Prop D, states, “I request you to join me in a public debate regarding the relative merits of our two pension proposals this month. As the two principals behind the competing ballot measures, I hope that we can work together to increase awareness of this important issue and work towards a better future for our city.”
The Hunger Site
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