Daily Archives: November 7, 2007

Bay Area, Environment, San Francisco

Ship Hits Bay Bridge: Oil Hits SF Shores

2 Comments

Updated with more pics

So after hearing the news that a container ship ran into the Bay Bridge, I figured I’d go see if there was any visible damage. So on the way home from a meeting, I walked out Pier 7 in San Francisco. I was shocked at what I saw when I looked over the sides of the pier. Here are exclusive photos (sorry about quality, shot from my iPhone).

The story linked above said:

Coast Guard officials said fuel leaked from the gash at the port side of the bow for about half an hour before the Cosco Busan’s crew managed to close off the damaged tank and transfer fuel to another part of the ship.

Rob Roberts, a lieutenant with the state Department of Fish and Game, said the 140 gallons of fuel that spilled from the ship will take about a month to clean up. By midday, some fuel had already reached Pier One in San Francisco.

He said the spill is “something we’re worried about. . . . One hundred-forty gallons is 140 gallons too much.” He said private companies hired by the ship owner will perform the cleanup.

More pics after the jump.


More from three hours later…

California

Dianne Feinstein attached electrodes to my conscience and then hit the power switch

If torture is something that “shocks the conscience,” and Dianne Feinstein has come out in favor of someone who refuses to make a clear statement about waterboarding being torture, then let’s use that language in our response back to her, and in discussion about what she did.

Dianne Feinstein attached electrodes to my conscience, then she hit the power switch.

Her vote for Mukasey is a vote in support of this administration’s shameful ambiguity about using torture. Dianne Feinstein has embraced this administration’s ongoing debasement of the pride and humanity and moral standings of a nation founded in the rule of law.

Uncategorized

Writer’s Strike: Day 3

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Other labor leaders are coalescing around the writer’s strike because they know that a hig-profile action like this will have positive benefits for them, and might actually start a conversation about union representation in America.  If the adage of “If it’s not on TV, it didn’t happen” holds true, then “If it’s stopping TV, it’s REALLY happening” holds even truer.  Joss Whedon explains:

“The trappings of a union protest…” You see how that works? Since we aren’t real workers, this isn’t a real union issue. (We’re just a guild!) […] this IS a union issue, one that will affect not just artists but every member of a community that could find itself at the mercy of a machine that absolutely and unhesitatingly would dismantle every union, remove every benefit, turn every worker into a cowed wage-slave in the singular pursuit of profit. (There is a machine. Its program is ‘profit’. This is not a myth.) This is about a fair wage for our work. No different than any other union. The teamsters have recognized the importance of this strike, for which I’m deeply grateful. Hopefully the Times will too.

I love the cross-union solidarity that this strike has engendered.  It’s not just the Teamsters; Steve Carell single-handedly shut down The Office, for example.  And now Hillary Clinton has joined other Democratic Presidential hopefuls with a strong statement of support.

“I support the Writers Guild’s pursuit of a fair contract that pays them for their work in all mediums. I hope the producers and writers will return to the bargaining table to work out an equitable contract that keeps our entertainment industry strong and recognizes the contributions writers make to the success of the industry.”

No talks have been scheduled, as the studios appear to be preferring a “bleed them out” strategy, despite the WGA already conceding on expanding DVD residuals.  While I still feel that jurisdiction and expanding membership should be a strong part of any final deal, clearly the writers deserve a fair share of the profits they are instrumental in creating.

Health Care

Video Reports of Speaker Nunez and Sen. Perata on their plan

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Feelings are running pretty high, but this video gives a decent recap on the plan despite the fact that it was produced by the author of the plan’s staff. So, some bullet points on the plan (other Admins should feel free to edit this list):

  • Individual mandate requires all Californians to buy health insurance If it is affordable (<6.5% of income)
  • Employers now pay 6.5%, down from 7%.
  • Some cost control provisions including hospital transparency
  • Some preventative care, but no indications of any emergency dental care. Mental health care would likely be included due to the “parity” rules in the state, although that’s not clear.
  • There are, of course, big questions about the validity of this program because of ERISA. It would immediately be challenged, much like the SF plan has been challenged.
    • California

    Catholic Democrats: Bishops doc on Faithful Citizenship due Nov 15.

    The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will be voting to approve the latest edition of its quadrennial guidance on how the Church and the Faithful should participate in politics. It renders its guidance by asking and answering four questions.

    The first question is “Why does the Church teach about issues affecting public policy?” In fact, Scriptures and the teaching of Jesus teach us much that informs our public policy. This includes showing us what is true and good, that all human beings are in God’s image, and are endowed with dignity and rights. This becomes the foundation on which our well-formed conscience is based.

    The second question is “Who in the Church should participate in public life?” The Catechism is quite clear: “As far as possible, all citizens should take active part in public life.”(1913) But the Church also calls us to engage in a way that seeks to recognize the “dignity of every human being, the pursuit of the common good, and the protection of the weak and vulnerable.” We should be guided more by our well-formed conscience than by any political party or interest group.

    The third question is “How does the Church help the Faithful to speak about political and social questions?” The Church does this by helping the faithful develop well-formed sciences, through its writing and teaching. It also fosters a spirit of prudence, whereby we attempt to discern true good in every circumstance. It also assists us in its teaching role providing a framework what allows us to make difficult moral choices.

    The fourth question is “What does the Church say about Catholic social teaching in the public square?” The document concludes with seven key themes about its social teaching. The first theme is the consistent ethic of life, from conception until natural death. The second is the Church’s call to family and participation in society. The third is the human rights and human responsibilities. The fourth is the principle of having a preferential option for the poor and needy. The fifth is on the dignity of work and the rights of workings. The sixth theme is solidarity and an end to racism, divisiveness, extreme poverty and disease throughout the world. The final theme is about the care and stewardship of God’s creation.

    The document is a worthwhile read for all Catholics of voting age, and should be available shortly after the November 12th-15th meeting.

    Coachella Valley

    Election 2007: Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley Turning Further Blue

    6 Comments

    Well, it looks like the totals are now in this a.m.  This was an excellent day to be a Democrat in the Coachella Valley!!!  Democrats easily won the race for Mayor in Palm Springs, one of two City Council races in Palm Springs, one of two City Council races in Desert Hot Springs, and one of two seats on the Desert Water Agency.  In addition, No on C easily won as well.

    What these wins mean is that progressive Democrats have gained control of Palm Springs City Council and now have a presence on both the Desert Hot Springs City Council and on the Desert Water Agency.  This is evidence of the continuing surge of progressive Democratic leadership in the Palm Springs and Coachella Valley!  Next step?  Solidify the wins and take over the CA 80th Assembly District where Democrats now outnumber Republicans by 13,000 voters!  Congratulations to all candidates, volunteers, and their supporters for fighting the good fight!

    Regarding irregularities, a poll watcher reported that in some instances, the chain of custody was not completed with at least four vans arriving at the central location with only one occupant.  Less serious concerns involved the ‘packaging’ of some of the cartridges as they were not in clear plastic bags as apparently required. 

    Concerning campaigning and mudslinging, Republican candidates and/or their backers issued a mailing over the weekend that was a smear campaign clearly aimed at either suppressing or redistributing the vote.  Republican candidates had also been consistently attacking Pougnet, Hutcheson, Williams, and Mahlowitz as minions of ‘Ma Foat,’ hardly an effective approach to winning.  (Ginny Foat is a City Councilwoman who during the 2005 election received the largest vote totals for any Councilperson ever and remains highly popular in Palm Springs).  Republican candidates and their lackey, The Desert Sun also engaged in subliminal homophobic attacks against the above candidates, calling for a ‘balanced’ City Council.  Most recently, City Council included three openly-gay members including Mayor Ron Oden, Foat, and Pougnet.  If Pougnet, Hutcheson, and Williams all won, then four of five councilmembers would be openly-gay.  (Presently, three of five Councilmembers in Cathedral City are also gay, though only two openly).  ‘Balanced’ is now the code word amongst the Republicans in the Coachella Valley for electing White Republican heterosexuals.  Another concern is the developing story involving the alleged ‘illegal activities’ of the General Manager and CBS affiliate Channel 2.

    As expected, Steve Pougnet (D) won handily.  In its editorial endorsement, the Desert Sun predicted him to win about 75% of the vote, and he almost met that estimate with 71.07%.  Arlene Battishill, a resident who divides her time between Palm Springs and Los Angeles, garnered 17.73%.  It is clear that Pougnet has a mandate for his first term.  With this election, Palm Springs now has a Democratic mayor who will actually vote according to Democratic principles.  Congratulations, Steve!!!

    I’ll have to check these total versus totals from prior year elections in a future post to shed further light on these amazing wins.

    More below the flip…

    Palm Springs Mayor (NP – Non-Partisan)
    36/36 100.00%

    Vote Count Percent
    NP – BILL FERRA 458 4.93%
    NP – JOHN TYMON 210 2.26%
    NP – ARLENE BATTISHILL 1,647 17.73%
    NP – STEVE POUGNET (D) 6,601 71.07%
    NP – DON COOK 372 4.01%
    Total 9,288 100.00%

    The overall numbers for Democrats in the races for Palm Springs City Council are impressive.  Of the 18,056 votes, 11,506 or 63.72% were given to Democrats (Hutcheson, Williams, Mahlowitz, and Gainer).  Unfortunately, at least thus far, the votes were diffused between the four Democrats, and as a result, we did not thump as clearly.  Rick Hutcheson (D) is a clear winner with 25.23% of the vote.  John Williams is a close second with 20.08% of the vote, but trails Lee Weigel by 104 votes!  Although these votes mimic the Vote By Mail totals that I cited earlier today, they may not include the late Vote By Mail or the provisional ballots.

    In an early assessment, it looks like the major contributing factor is the fact that the major Democratic Clubs in Palm Springs did not coallesce on two candidates.  The Riverside County Democratic Central Committee cited this as the deciding factor in its decision not to endorse for Palm Springs City Council.  Other factors also probably include the negative campaigning conducted by Republican candidates and the sandbagging of Williams by the Desert Sun once again on a non-issue for most of Palm Springs residents (i.e., that so-called pornography had been filmed at his Warm Sands hotel.  When last we looked, pornography was legal and protected by the U.S. Constitution as an expression of Freedom of Speech).

    Nevertheless, Hutcheson and Williams both need to be proud of their positive and issue-based campaigns, and Congratulations to Rick! and hopefully to John as well!!

    Palm Springs City Council

    36/36 100.00%
    Vote Count Percent
    NP – ROXANN PLOSS 1,128 6.25%
    NP – RICK HUTCHESON 4,555 25.23%
    NP – LEE WEIGEL 3,729 20.65%
    NP – JOHN WILLIAMS 3,625 20.08%
    NP – SHEILA GRATTAN 1,442 7.99%
    NP – ELOISE GARCIA-MOHSIN 251 1.39%
    NP – VIC GAINER 880 4.87%
    NP – BOB MAHLOWITZ 2,446 13.55%
    Total 18,056 100.00%

    In the race for Desert Water Agency, Craig Ewing (D), unseated a Republican incumbant and came in second with 32.31% of the vote.

    Dir, Desert Water Agency
    94/94 100.00%
      Vote Count Percent
    NP – TOM KIELEY, III 7,469 38.63%
    NP – CRAIG A. EWING 6,247 32.31%
    NP – WILLIAM ”BILL” BYRNE 5,619 29.06%
    Total 19,335 100.00%

    Regarding Measure C, an attempt to open up the Chino Cone for more unrestricted development, No on C won 60.03% of the vote.  Proponents of Measure C spent $750,000 in a failed attempt to change development code.  Congratulations to activists involved in furthering reasonable and measured development on and near the Chino Cone!!!

    Measure C – City of Palm Springs

    36/36 100.00%
    Vote Count Percent
    Yes 3,822 39.97%
    No 5,741 60.03%
    Total 9,563 100.00%

    In Desert Hot Springs, Adam Sanchez (D), barely lost to Yvonne Parks by 113 votes!

    Desert Hot Springs Mayor

    14/14 100.00%
      Vote Count Percent
    NP – ROBERT ”BOBBY” BENTLEY 266 14.89%
    NP – ALEX BIAS 252 14.10%
    NP – ADAM SANCHEZ 578 32.34%
    NP – YVONNE PARKS 691 38.67%
    Total 1,787 100.00%

    On another positive note, Karl Baker rebounded from his earlier loss in the election for the City Council seat of the late, great Gary Bosworth by winning his first term as Desert Hot Springs City Councilman with 17.87% of the vote.  Congratulations to Karl!!!

    14/14 100.00%

    Vote Count Percent
    NP – RUSSELL BETTS 906 26.80%
    NP – KARL BAKER, JR. 604 17.87%
    NP – MARY K. STEPHENS 359 10.62%
    NP – SHARON SANDISON 344 10.18%
    NP – TERRY SCHEURER 395 11.69%
    NP – AL SCHMIDT 400 11.83%
    NP – HENRY J. ”HANK” HOHENSTEIN 372 11.01%
    Total 3,380 100.00%

    Uncategorized

    Election Results?

    3 Comments

    As silence mentioned earlier, yesterday was election day in several municipalities across the state. I would givs eyou results for SF, but so far we’ve only got the absentee results. You see, our voting machines were out of compliance, so we’ve got to go through the ballots manually.  While the Mayor, Sheriff, and DA were all easily reelected, with large enough margins that you can call the race. However, several ballot measures are still up in the air. But the one thing that is clear? Turnout was abysmal. Even garnering about 75% of the vote, Mayor Newsom may not get to the tally for the loser in the Dec 2003 runoff. Heck, turnout in total may not get that high.

    So, what about your area? Any fun election results?

    Coachella Valley

    Coachella Valley, Palm Springs Election Results

    1 Comment

    Elections results have been painfully slow in coming in.  Thus far, as of 1:44 a.m., apparently only the Vote By Mail ballots have been counted and released to the news media.  The tallies are as follows:

    Mayor of Palm Springs:  Steve Pougnet (D) leads with 71.61% of the vote.

    Council of Palm Springs (Two Seats Open):  Rick Hutcheson (D) leads with 26.26% of the vote counted thus far; John Williams (D) is in third place with 19.86%; Bob Mahlowitz (D) is in fourth place with 12.68%.

    Desert Water Agency (Two Seats Open): Craig Ewing (D) is in second place with 32.70% of the vote

    Proposition C:  No on C votes lead with 62.02% of the total vote

    Re full disclosure, BBBz is a supporter of Pougnet, Hutcheson, Williams, Ewing, Sanchez, Baker, and No on C and is a member of Desert Stonewall Democrats.

    More details below the flip…

    Palm Springs Mayor
    6/36 16.67%

    Vote Count Percent
    NP – BILL FERRA 279 5.59%
    NP – JOHN TYMON 102 2.04%
    NP – ARLENE BATTISHILL 824 16.50%
    NP – STEVE POUGNET 3,577 71.61%
    NP – DON COOK 213 4.26%
    Total 4,995 100.00%

    Pougnet was endorsed by the Desert Stonewall Democrats and the Palm Springs Democrats.  BlueBeaumontBoyz wonders about the Democrats of the Desert Democratic Club decision to not endorse for mayor and to only endorse for City Council.  BBB would like to be a fly on the wall when Pougnet meets next with the leaders of the DoD.

    Palm Springs City Council
    6/36 16.67%

    Vote Count Percent
    NP – ROXANN PLOSS 670 6.89%
    NP – RICK HUTCHESON* 2,554 26.26%
    NP – LEE WEIGEL 2,063 21.21%
    NP – JOHN WILLIAMS** 1,931 19.86%
    NP – SHEILA GRATTAN 692 7.12%
    NP – ELOISE GARCIA-MOHSIN 124 1.28%
    NP – VIC GAINER 458 4.71%
    NP – BOB MAHLOWITZ*** 1,233 12.68%
    Total 9,725 100.00%

    *Endorsed by the Desert Stonewall Democrats, the Palm Springs Democrats, and the Democrats of the Desert.
    **Endorsed by the Desert Stonewall Democrats and the Palm Springs Democrats.
    ***Endorsed by the Democrats of the Desert.

    Hmmmm.  Again, DoD seems out of step not only with the other Democratic Clubs but also with the results thus far.  It will be interesting to see how voters split their ballots.  If Mahlowitz siphoned votes from Williams, then one could argue that DoD cost the Democrats the election.  (As a reminder, DoD leadership endorsed Mahlowitz and Gainer for Palm Springs City Council, but the membership voted to endorse Hutcheson and Mahlowitz.  In addition, the Riverside County Democratic Central Committee declined to endorse in these races since the DoD endorsements did not correspond to the DSD and PSD endorsements.)

    Dir, Desert Water Agency
    60/94 63.83%
      Vote Count Percent
    NP – TOM KIELEY, III 4,584 37.64%
    NP – CRAIG A. EWING 3,982 32.70%
    NP – WILLIAM ”BILL” BYRNE 3,613 29.67%
    Total 12,179 100.00%

    Ewing (D) was endorsed by the Desert Stonewall Democrats

    Measure C – City of Palm Springs
    6/36 16.67%

    Vote Count Percent
    Yes 1,952 37.98%
    No 3,188 62.02%
    Total 5,140 100.00%

    Proposition C:  No votes lead with 62.02% thus far.  Yes on C spent approximately $750,000 while No on C spent about $50,000 on the respective campaigns.  Desert Stonewall Democrats voted to endorse No on C.

    Desert Hot Springs Mayor
    13/14 92.86%

    Vote Count Percent
    NP – ROBERT ”BOBBY” BENTLEY 263 14.79%
    NP – ALEX BIAS 252 14.17%
    NP – ADAM SANCHEZ 574 32.28%
    NP – YVONNE PARKS 689 38.75%
    Total 1,778 100.00%

    Sanchez was endorsed by the Desert Stonewall Democrats for Mayor of Desert Hot Springs.

    Desert Hot Springs City Council
    13/14 92.86%

    Vote Count Percent
    NP – RUSSELL BETTS 901 26.78%
    NP – KARL BAKER, JR. 600 17.83%
    NP – MARY K. STEPHENS 357 10.61%
    NP – SHARON SANDISON 343 10.19%
    NP – TERRY SCHEURER 394 11.71%
    NP – AL SCHMIDT 398 11.83%
    NP – HENRY J. ”HANK” HOHENSTEIN 372 11.05%
    Total 3,365 100.00%

    Baker was endorsed by the Desert Stonewall Democrats for Desert Hot Springs City Council.

    Blog Roundup, Health Care, San Francisco

    November 6, 2007 Blog Roundup and Open Thread

    8 Comments

    Today’s Blog Roundup is on the flip. Let me know what I missed in comments, or just use this as an open thread.

    To subscribe by email, click
    here and do what comes naturally    .

    Read This

    When you have a union of
    writers, what do you think you get when they strike?

    What to do about McNerney?

    Health Care

    Mike Carona

    Local

    Everything Else

    Uncategorized

    CA-44 Democratic candidates show real class in response to GOP smear

    4 Comments

    For those of you who don’t know, I manage the campaign of Ron Shepston in CA-42.  This post does not address, or otherwise represent, that campaign.  Instead, it’s about CA-44, one of our neighboring districts that is also part of the “Triangle of Corruption” represented by Gary Miller (CA-42), Ken Calvert (CA-44), and Jerry Lewis (CA-41).

    On Sunday, someone whom I think we can assume was a GOP smear operative (high UID with no previous diary or comment history) posted a troll diary on Daily Kos.  You can read it here: http://www.dailykos…..  This was a scurrilous and baseless attack on Bill Hedrick, the candidate who has raised the most money, leaving open the inference that it was posted by a supporter of 2006 nominee Louis Vandenberg.  The diary quickly rose to the top of the Google charts for Bill Hedrick, which suggests that it was part of a Republican Googlebombing strategy.

    What did Hedrick and Vanderberg do after this attack?  They should true class and cooperated in producing a joint statement that appeared today on DKos: http://www.dailykos….

    The first comment to today’s diary asked that it be cross-posted to Calitics (which I know is generally a wise idea.)  My sense, though, is that the diary author (an infrequent participant) probably didn’t get the message.  As I was contacted yesterday and asked to help out as I could, I’m going to take the initiative to post it here on their joint behalf.  Because the diary content was styled as a press release, I am reprinting here in full.  (If the proprieters here consider that improper, please go ahead and spike this, but know that I’m posting it in good faith.)

    This is a joint statement by California 44th Congressional District Democratic Candidates Bill Hedrick and Louis Vandenberg regarding postings on the California Inland Empire Craigslist and the Daily Kos.  The Daily Kos posting is entitled “Democratic Candidate for Congress Accused . . . and I am Pissed.”  The link to the diary posting is: http://www.dailykos…..  Together, we condemn this posting as nonsense and baseless slander.  Our statements follow:

    Statement of Louis Vandenberg:

    I reject any assertion or suggestion that Mr. Hedrick acted improperly with respect to the incident cited in a DailyKos diary posted on November 4, 2007.  In my view, Mr. Hedrick behaved honorably and professionally in the execution of his duties as the leader of the Rialto Teacher’s Union.  It is the responsibility of a person in such a position to address personnel matters in a manner which is as fair and objective as possible to all parties.  The accused teacher, regardless of the accusations, was not convicted in a court of law.  To my understanding, no criminal or civil charges were ever brought in this matter.  Therefore, it would have not been appropriate for Mr. Hedrick to have stated anything other than the facts of the case, which is what he did.  This is standard practice. No responsible person would have done anything differently.  Although I am a political opponent of Mr. Hedrick’s in the 44th congressional race, such a smear deeply offends my sense of justice and fairness.  I reject it, and I believe we all should.  This campaign should be and must be about real issues that matter to real citizens in the real world. And this is not real.

    Statement of Bill Hedrick:

    Normally, this type of dirty trick does not merit a response.  But when false allegations like these impugn the ethics and due diligence of an excellent school district and outstanding police force, this goes beyond personal slander of a political candidate.

    As an educator, student safety is my highest priority.  All employees of the Rialto Unified School District-whether the superintendent, the union president, or clerks, custodians, or teachers-are mandated reporters of any suspicion of child abuse.

    Rialto Unified and the Rialto Police Department are diligent in investigating every allegation involving student safety.  In the incident cited, both agencies vigorously and thoroughly performed their investigative duties with the full participation of the teachers’ association. 

    As a teacher, my first professional, legal, and moral obligation is student safety.  Also, I work to ensure due process and the rule of law-something all citizens deserve in our democratic and free society.

    It is unfortunate that posting such baseless allegations damages the credibility of school districts, law enforcement agencies, and teacher associations, all of whom are committed to ensuring the safety of children.

    Again, we together, as Democrats and as candidates, seek honesty in our political dialog at this important time.  Therefore, we have taken this unique step–political rivals coming together to condemn and reject obvious smear and slander.  We trust that you will too.

    Sincerely,

    Bill Hedrick
    Candidate for United States Representative in Congress
    California’s 44th CD
    www.hedrickforcongress.com
    November 5, 2007
    Corona, California

    Louis Vandenberg
    Candidate for United States Representative in Congress
    California’s 44th CD
    www.vandenbergforcongress.com  (site update coming soon)
    November 5, 2007
    Riverside, California

    Because I am working on a neighboring campaign, there’s a sense in which my candidate is in competition with both Hedrick and Vandenberg for attention, money, volunteer time, and the like.  Let me echo the generous spirit in which they have acted with their joint statement by saying: to hell with that.  I am honored to be part of the same network of Southland Democratic challengers as they are.  I hope to have their back, and the back of anyone else similarly situated, when the GOP slime machine raises its head, and I hope to hear the same from them.

    Our political opponents include desperate and rotten people, and if we can’t stop them from telling lies, we can at least make their doing so painful and counterproductive.  Public support for both of these men, who compete in one sense and cooperate in another, is the only way to show these oh-so-clever GOP slimeballs that their efforts will blow up in their faces, as they have done across the country.  I hope you’ll join me in expressing that solidarity.