Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Close to Home — What it’s like on the street where you live
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Thanks JF, for returning us to the topic. You wrote that there is a 50% under staffing, and suggest that this can only be overcome with increased spending. I suggest it could be overcome by recognizing that many of the jobs and functions assigned to very expensive union firefighters could easily and cheaply be performed by others. In fact, there'd be lines of applicants for those jobs. But the union won't allow this, and instead clings to their "entitlement" to as much money as they can get out of a city that is now broke. It simply won't work. There's no money left. But fire danger is increasing along with climate change and encroachment on wildfire prone habitats. So we need more fire protection...but we can't afford to pay you to do it anymore. Well, when that happens an alternative must be found. The alternative is opening up the firefighting ranks to a lot more people, at substantially lower pay. In essence, we'll have to "do it ourselves". If you think the future holds some other scenario...one where the city has lots of money any time soon...let us know. Otherwise, let's deal with how we're going to face this crisis so that we'll be neither bankrupt nor burnt out of our homes. Oh yes, I agree that TOT should be raised (and the TOT that goes to the bogus hotel owners assessment needs to be repealed immediately!) and that water and sewer rates will inevitably rise further. I think we should pay for trash service like any other city. I'd support higher taxes on cars and fuel too, along with increasing the top rates of taxes, especially those who earn over $150k annually. I'd additionally support furloughs for city staffers, as well as demanding that top managers take immediate pay cuts. It's scandalous that Sanders pays former UT political writer Braun over $140k to put out glowing press releases. Plus, who isn't angry that we're paying for Spanos and Moores' stadiums? I'd support all these changes AND cut fire and police salaries and pensions so that they again reflect the true nature of the work. I'd also suggest that public employee unions be prohibited from influencing municipal elections, like yours so notoriously does to the detriment of us all. So, really, JF, I think we've got a lot of common ground and are both wanting to help San Diego. The difference is that I'm not on the public payroll, and you are. I think that actually makes me a better judge of the value of your services. Best, Fred— January 6, 2009 3:38 p.m.
Jeff Moorad, Former Players' Agent, Says He Has Reached Agreement in Principle to Purchase Padres
John Moores and Alex Spanos should follow the example of this honorable businessman: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM…— January 6, 2009 2:46 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
JF, I never said firefighting is easy, only that the difficulties are exaggerated. Like when you seem to be claiming that you're working 12 on and 12 off seven days a week for 30 years without any break. You're not. Yet even this is really beside the main point. The city cannot afford to continue paying such high salaries and pensions. It just can't. Since you're a bit too chicken to reveal your real name here (thanks for looking me up on facebook) I don't know what you're paid, but I'm confident it's not sustainable. We all know this. We can come together and do something about it, or ignore the problem and make it worse. Unfortunately, you're correct that the majority of people so lionize public safety workers like yourself, that you and your union have a very unfair advantage in the negotiations. In addition, the fact that your union is very active and generous in local political campaigns means you've got beholden members of the council who will do what the union says...not what's good for San Diego. With all this propaganda and political weight unfairly tipping the scales in your favor, I'm bound to dispel the myth that your job is so dangerous and difficult that nobody else can do it. In fact, according to most dangerous jobs surveys, being a taxi driver or store clerk is far more deadly than fighting fires or arresting criminals. Yet we don't pay them a risk premium in San Diego, bankrupting the rest of the city and robbing everyone of basic infrastructure. Ron Saathoff, though you disavow him, remains under indictment for his role in bilking the city. He was the firefighter union boss for many years, and along with McGrory came up with MP-I, starting the fire that consumed our city finances. You cannot disclaim him, while still claiming all the money, JF. Something's got to give. Let's talk about that instead of how manly and admirable you are for fighting fires for a living. Okay? Best, Fred— January 6, 2009 2:44 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Jamesems, welcome aboard. My firefighting training is actually quite irrelevant to the question under discussion. That's the absurd levels of pay and pension the city has been duped into paying firefighters and police. I only described my experience in rebuttal to JF's absurd and offensive notion that ONLY firefighters are qualified to have any opinion on their job. In fact, if I were a disabled grandmother I'd still be very much able to describe how the firefighter's union has done a disservice to San Diego. Although firefighting is dangerous and requires training, it is not SO dangerous and difficult that we should pay $200k a year for the job. Don't you agree? Best, Fred (P.s. On both the Kitty Hawk and Carl Vinson, the hours while at sea are 12 hours on, 12 hours off every day, plus watches, plus drills, plus extra-duties as assigned. There are no days off, and no excuses. You sleep in a rack, amidst the noise and smells with 40 other guys. You eat what you're served. The pay is crap. Firefighters are living a very luxurious life in comparison, JF and Jamesems...just to let you know.)— January 6, 2009 1:48 p.m.
Leaving Off the Airplane
Sure, Josh. So if some unknown white male commits a crime, you and I should be perfectly willing to be thrown on the ground, have a gun pointed to our head, endure interrogation and humiliation, and chance being killed... ...after all, if someone who looks anything like me did something wrong, I'm deserving of suspicion and potentially guilty of the same crime...right? We'd have nothing to complain about after this treatment. After all, we might have made someone feel "uncomfortable", so therefore we must suffer the consequences. Collective guilt and punishment is what makes America great! Josh, you're still not getting it. Go read that Constitution again. Do you see a provision for preemptive collective punishment? No? Then maybe it's not something we should be doing? Maybe that 14th amendment guaranteeing equal protection under the laws is there for a reason. We DON'T judge people guilty by their appearance alone in America. Or at least we didn't used to. But eight years of Bush and Cheney have swindled good people like yourself into buying the argument for collective pre-emptive punishment...and then you feel justified chuckling that "they deserved it". That's not just anti-American, it's morally disgusting. Think about what you're saying, Josh. Your arguments are more suitable for Putin's Kremlin thugs than for someone who believes in America.— January 6, 2009 12:44 p.m.
San Diego Super Chargers
1. Sport's place in society: Game playing is wonderful. It can be healthy, promote teamwork, and I'm all for having fun. For these reasons, amateur sports, played locally, sponsored and paid for by the members of a club for example, should be encouraged...maybe even subsidized by the city in extreme cases. Professional sports is something entirely different. It's not healthy. In fact, the overwhelming majority of pro-football players are permanently injured by their 30s. It doesn't promote teamwork, but is a purely commercial activity with the star players demanding and getting enormous payoffs with no consideration for the team-mates who they'll gladly leave behind for more money. It may be fun to watch, but it also produces dozens of fights every weekend. What other business regularly requires police resources, yet gets no fine from the city? Imagine if every theater show resulted in at least one brawl...we'd make theaters illegal. But here's the worst of it...it's a big and very profitable entertainment business, yet it claims to be a public service and therefore worthy of our tax dollars. That's just plain wrong. 2. Schools and Sports: America's sports training and finance system has perverted the purpose of education. Other countries do it very differently, and allow schools to concentrate on education rather than games. Look at SDSU, where over $3 million is wasted every year on football that nobody cares about. That money is far better spent on academics...it would fully fund 70 additional classes for students. Instead, it's wasted on pampered jocks who never belonged in a university in the first place. High schools similarly DO NOT need sports. They need academics. Have you noticed how low we're scoring on international comparisons? Maybe it's because things like football are given a higher priority than education in our system. DO NOT equate arts programs with sports. They are totally different. Arts require intellect and aesthetics, whereas the sports taught in schools require nothing more than obedience, agility and strength...not brains. Even worse, when budgets get cut, arts are always the first to go while the football team rarely gets even dented. 3. Cities and Pro-Sports: You are totally wrong in your last assertion. In fact, there is a negative correlation to sports teams and city revenues. Cities that host a team LOSE money on the deal. Yes, they lose money even when they go to the super bowl! Who says so? How about a whole slew of economists and peer-reviewed researchers? Have a look: http://studentwebs.coloradocollege.edu/~m_auguste… That's just a sample of the information that's out there if you're willing to turn off the sports fan, and turn on the brain. Think about it...how COULD a city possibly profit on an industry that produces NOTHING but entertainment, but costs a fortune in subsidies?— January 6, 2009 12:32 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
JF, I was trained in shipboard firefighting and damage control when I was deployed on aircraft carriers. At sea, there is no one to call. You put out at-sea fires, or you die. They're considered the most dangerous fires of all to confront, especially when you add live ammunition to the mix. So I've already met, and exceeded, what you suggest I must do before you'll generously grant that my opinion might be considered as valid. While I was in the military, I often endured far worse conditions than any firefighter in San Diego. Yes, I went without sleep (not just for days, but weeks and months), worked very long hours at physically demanding jobs, all in a far more dangerous environment than you've ever experienced. But years before any of that, when I was barely a teenager, a massive windblown wildfire threatened our home. I was out there on the line chopping firebreaks. Yes, it was hard work, but I wasn't the only one out there and none of us died for our efforts. On the contrary, we saved not only our house, but built such an effective fire break that several other houses were also saved. No, JF, fighting fires is NOT that difficult. What is difficult is navigating the system to ever be hired as a firefighter in the first place. There are hundreds, if not thousands of people in San Diego who could do this work -- especially Navy vets who underwent at-sea firefighting training. But the extraneous requirements and politicization of the work prevents them from joining the department. Your union is a big reason for this. JF, it's not at all necessary for me to become an official San Diego firefighter to have standing to criticize how your union and the city has actually worked to decrease our overall safety by squandering scarce resources, all the while claiming some sort of moral superiority by virtue of your job title. Your job is honorable and important...yes. But it doesn't make you some kind of superman who can whip out a firefighter's badge, and thereby be beyond all questioning. It doesn't work that way. Since you claim not to focus on the who, then simply answer my arguments rather than attacking me for not being a firefighter and daring to have an opinion. Again...firefighting is NOT that difficult a job. Many others can and will do it for far less pay, but your union, with the connivance of the city, has set up a lot of road blocks to protect your jobs, creating a false scarcity and driving up the price. Do you agree, or not?— January 6, 2009 12:07 p.m.
Leaving Off the Airplane
No, Josh, you're wrong. This was a very blatant case of profiling, paranoia, and prejudice. That's why it made the news, Josh. They were NOT talking about bombs and crashes. They had the exact same conversation ANYONE who has ever flown might engage in. The conversation was perfectly innocent, and with two air marshals apparently already on the flight, there was never any hint of danger. The fact that one of them was a lawyer is irrelevant, and I think you threw that in out of pure laziness. Your tone, and your absurd comment about "don't be surprised if you're escorted off a plane. Or having police bother you" shows a real lack of understanding of both American values and the Constitution. When an otherwise reasonable person like you writes drivel like this, indeed the terrorists have won. You're only too happy to trade the illusion of security for freedom. Aren't you ashamed? Listen to your girlfriend. She's right, and you're wrong. Come on! Would any REAL terrorist make ANY kind of comment like this? No. Would any REAL terrorist dress in traditional Arabic clothing? No. The officers determined in minutes that this was a misunderstanding, and the airline shamed itself by not doing the right thing. Now you're shaming yourself, and disappointing your fans (like me) by trying to provide them cover and justification for their injustice. I want your girlfriend to write the blog for awhile. She seems to have more sense about these issues than you. Best, Fred (who remains your fan, and for precisely this reason is giving you a hard time for writing utter drivel)— January 5, 2009 4:42 p.m.
San Diego Super Chargers
Josh, I'm upset at the Chargers season... If they go on to win many more games, it means the knuckle-draggers are going to be demanding we give Spanos another billion dollar stadium subsidy. Anyone who loves San Diego CANNOT love the Chargers or Padres after what they've done to this city. Sorry, but ENTERTAINMENT is NOT important Water, sewers, public safety (you know, basic infrastructure) is VERY important. Every time the Chargers win, it increases the likelihood that we're going to be cheated yet again. That's why I'm not at all pleased these overgrown children playing with balls look likely to do well with their moronic game-playing. It's bad news for San Diego.— January 5, 2009 4:22 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
JF, I hope you'll succeed in pushing the Firefighters union to be better civic citizens. Under Saathof, you and your colleagues were used as a front to feather his own nest, along with other high union and city officials. Nobody doubts that firefighters and police are vital. What we're all beginning to resent is the fact that your work has been so over-glorified and over-paid for so long. Because of exclusionary policies, and an ingrained hostility against "civilians" in both police and fire ranks, many public spirited and capable people have been blocked from joining the ranks or assisting as volunteers. This has to change. Putting you fires is NOT as difficult or dangerous as the media and your union would have us believe. So the large salaries and pensions are really unjustified, and now completely unaffordable. Public safety is a top priority, but it's not the ONLY priority, especially when there are others who are ready to step in and do the job nearly as well for a fraction of the current costs. The union can recognize this, work to change the mentality of so-called "public servants", and do a lot to improve our immediate future in San Diego. The first step is concessions like those you are working towards, and I applaud your efforts. I urge you to run for union office if you can, so that you'll have a seat at the table. After reading your posts for so long, I'm confident you would do a much better job than the current union bosses who seem to hold the rest of San Diego in contempt. Best, Fred— January 4, 2009 1:10 p.m.