I am sworn to secrecy with respect to our subtle and cunning plans to bring about the liberal-progressive eschaton by writing stuff for free on the internet.
However I received some assurances from Sco that he will be updating the .08 and Donkey blog very soon, as soon as his infant son gives back the "enter"' key from the family laptop.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
California Notes II
I think just possibly, the San Francisco Chronicle qualifies as the most trivial and useless newspaper in the USA. Wire service cop is copiously and badly re-written to cover stories emanating from the State Capital!
There is no discernible editorial page let alone any local or syndicated columnists. The whole paper is about as locally oriented as your average Starbucks.
Imagine "USA Today" with a prefrontal lobotomy and you'll have the Chronicle's style down pat. Opinions of any kind are non-existent which suits the whole "offend no one, inform none" editorial line. In five days of relentless tourism from the Haight to the Fish Pier I never caught a single native San Franciscan actually reading the damn thing.
San Francisco is a one newspaper town and it shows....the Chronicle is naught but an overgrown Shopper.
One hopes there is an active blogging community out there, otherwise how exactly the natives inform themselves on a daily basis remains a frightening mystery.
There is no discernible editorial page let alone any local or syndicated columnists. The whole paper is about as locally oriented as your average Starbucks.
Imagine "USA Today" with a prefrontal lobotomy and you'll have the Chronicle's style down pat. Opinions of any kind are non-existent which suits the whole "offend no one, inform none" editorial line. In five days of relentless tourism from the Haight to the Fish Pier I never caught a single native San Franciscan actually reading the damn thing.
San Francisco is a one newspaper town and it shows....the Chronicle is naught but an overgrown Shopper.
One hopes there is an active blogging community out there, otherwise how exactly the natives inform themselves on a daily basis remains a frightening mystery.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Fourth Middlesex senate district notes...
Jack Hurd a long serving selectperson in Arlington has announced that he will seek the democratic nomination for state senate this fall for the seat currently occupied by James Marzilli.
This is unfortunate but entirely predictable, most of Marzilli's career path in public life has been peppered by incessant primary challenges going back to 1990, a good 30 to 40 percent of the electorate in Arlington just won't stand by the guy for some reason.
Hurd is a personable low key guy from a storied Arlington political family. He has also been a town hall fixture since 1996 or with many friends town-wide, if he can solve the fundraising riddle then he will run hard come September.
There are larger questions about his candidacy though, to my knowledge Jack has never dealt with any questions relating to casino gambling, choice issues or same sex marriage. He also contesting the seat during what will be a hot presidential campaign which is bound to bring out a host of liberal voters who may not think much of his centrist democrat townie orthodoxy.
Moreover, Hurd served as chair of the Town Democratic Committee in the mid nineties at a time when the membership consisted of no-shows and dead-heads. Quorums were hard to come by especially on nights when the Red Sox were playing and an air of torpidity hung over the proceedings.
There are also some rumors abroad in Arlington to the effect that there is split within the ranks of the Town Hall Gang, this would be the faction that helped put Sean Garballey over as State Rep this winter. Clearly they'd love to go for a two-fer and eject Jim Marzilli their longtime bete noir from the senate but whether or not they have the unity on hand this time is an open question.
This is unfortunate but entirely predictable, most of Marzilli's career path in public life has been peppered by incessant primary challenges going back to 1990, a good 30 to 40 percent of the electorate in Arlington just won't stand by the guy for some reason.
Hurd is a personable low key guy from a storied Arlington political family. He has also been a town hall fixture since 1996 or with many friends town-wide, if he can solve the fundraising riddle then he will run hard come September.
There are larger questions about his candidacy though, to my knowledge Jack has never dealt with any questions relating to casino gambling, choice issues or same sex marriage. He also contesting the seat during what will be a hot presidential campaign which is bound to bring out a host of liberal voters who may not think much of his centrist democrat townie orthodoxy.
Moreover, Hurd served as chair of the Town Democratic Committee in the mid nineties at a time when the membership consisted of no-shows and dead-heads. Quorums were hard to come by especially on nights when the Red Sox were playing and an air of torpidity hung over the proceedings.
There are also some rumors abroad in Arlington to the effect that there is split within the ranks of the Town Hall Gang, this would be the faction that helped put Sean Garballey over as State Rep this winter. Clearly they'd love to go for a two-fer and eject Jim Marzilli their longtime bete noir from the senate but whether or not they have the unity on hand this time is an open question.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
If...
John McCain feels he must promise a temporary repeal of the gas tax in April...then what sort of malign utopian nonsense will he be spouting by October?
Dunno, but The Hero suddenly sounds desperate perhaps maybe even Mitt Romney desperate.
Shutting the gas tax down will cost the treasury ten billion in revenues most of wehich get sent to the states to subsidize public transport, speaking from personal experience the Red Line can ill afford such a sudden cut. Moreover, big oil pays the tax out of the price at the pump, nothing in McCain's current proposal ensures the savings will be passed along to the consumer.
But the big game is afoot, McCain is making promises no man is safe, it will be "Every Man a King" before labor day.
Dunno, but The Hero suddenly sounds desperate perhaps maybe even Mitt Romney desperate.
Shutting the gas tax down will cost the treasury ten billion in revenues most of wehich get sent to the states to subsidize public transport, speaking from personal experience the Red Line can ill afford such a sudden cut. Moreover, big oil pays the tax out of the price at the pump, nothing in McCain's current proposal ensures the savings will be passed along to the consumer.
But the big game is afoot, McCain is making promises no man is safe, it will be "Every Man a King" before labor day.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
California Notes...
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger after much hemming & hawing came out against a proposed anti-SSM ballot initiative, the local wowsers all screamed like stuck babcon and vowed to do awful evil things to him post-haste.
Schwarzenegger is still listlessly talking up repealing "no foreign born citizens" requirement to the Presidency, but you can tell the wind has gone out of his political sails. I mean does Orrin Hatch even call him anymore?
Arnold looks old and tired, coping with the recession sired by his pal George Bush must take up a good sixteen hours of his day.
A mere two years ago the man was the GOP's best hope going forward...now he is a hack and worse a hack caught between witchburners and small gummint fanatics.
He tried governing as a conservative, that gat no heat now he is discovering that the GOP centre is pretty stony ground all of itself.
So be it, the man seized power in a legal coup engineered by the late Enron Corp, he should have problems.
Schwarzenegger is still listlessly talking up repealing "no foreign born citizens" requirement to the Presidency, but you can tell the wind has gone out of his political sails. I mean does Orrin Hatch even call him anymore?
Arnold looks old and tired, coping with the recession sired by his pal George Bush must take up a good sixteen hours of his day.
A mere two years ago the man was the GOP's best hope going forward...now he is a hack and worse a hack caught between witchburners and small gummint fanatics.
He tried governing as a conservative, that gat no heat now he is discovering that the GOP centre is pretty stony ground all of itself.
So be it, the man seized power in a legal coup engineered by the late Enron Corp, he should have problems.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Note to the Laity
from Pastor Elias, I'm on vacation starting tomorrow thru Tuesday next. Updates will be at best sporadic and capricious, however since I'm going to San Francisco the change in the air might inspire some writing, yez never know.
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