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Lepine Drops Harassment Suit, Receives No Payment. Will Campaign Now Focus on Goldsmith's Domestic Uproars?
Best of all, watch the video...here's Moon Unit Zappa mouthing her way through her then hit, Valley Girl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M9aY7hXjGU It brings back memories... I dated girls with just those hair styles. Please, America, forgive my generation for what we did to the ozone layer. Viva Zappa!— July 18, 2008 7:15 a.m.
County Retail Sales Dropping Sharply; Tax Receipts Will Feel It
McGrory isn't 100% responsible for MP2. It was done in 2002, while he left to work for Price and the Padres in 1997. However, his MP1 sham was the inspiration for the second much worse deal that followed. Was he consulted by his former underlings when they concocted the new brew known as MP2? Jack sure knew how to stew the books...and he's just a phone call or cozy dinner away in his swank La Jolla digs. Who's to know? But as far as the public record goes, MP2 belongs to Jack's well-groomed successors. Best, Fred— July 18, 2008 6:59 a.m.
County Retail Sales Dropping Sharply; Tax Receipts Will Feel It
JF, I suspect the case is languishing because Carol Lam was ousted from the US Attorney's office for prosecuting this type of political corruption. Seems Saathoff has been indicted by just about everyone in law enforcement EXCEPT Mike Aguirre. None of us normal citizens can go to every council meeting. We have jobs. So do journalists. Journalists, with the exception of Don Bauder and a very few others, DIDN'T do their job. They didn't tell the story as it was happening, instead boosting every cockamamie project Golding and her cohorts promoted. The well known facts are that former City Manager McGrory notoriously shifted funds about in a fiscal slight of hand that no one else understands to this day. Ron Saathoff participated in these schemes instead of protecting the interests of his union membership. He was handsomely rewarded. The money McGrory freed up went to boondoogles like the Chargers ticket guarantee, the GOP convention, and of course the downtown ballpork fiasco. Ron Saathoff was one of the insiders who could have blown the whistle on how the pension and health for our city employees was being drained to fund these giveaways. Instead, he was a cheerleader for these deals, helping to sell them to the public. Further, as the unquestioned boss of of the firefighters union, he has personally directed hundreds of thousands of dollars towards city council campaigns, ensuring the election of patsies. Saathoff has a lot to answer for. He took the good name of the firefighters and dragged it through the mud. His complicity in the repeated betrayals of public trust are behind many of our problems today. Best, Fred— July 16, 2008 6:23 p.m.
More Wall Street Socialism: SEC Wants to Thwart Short Selling of Fannie, Freddie, Brokerage Stocks
How can any of you forget that July 8th was proclaimed Sempra Energy Day* in America's Finest City of San Diego? The UT editorial was just joining in the celebrations. Sniveling twerps like Don Bauder will bow down to mighty Sempra if he knows what's good for him. Respectable journalists write proper hagiography when it comes to the overwhelming magesty and goodness of Enro...ooops...Sempra. Now you all shut up, spend the day on the beach, and let us get back to the business of running San Diego. We're the smartest guys in the room. Nothing to see here... Move along! Fred Williams Chairman and President Sempra Appreciation Society (* If you missed the fun on July 8th, don't worry. In San Diego, every day is Sempra Energy Day!)— July 16, 2008 6:12 p.m.
Gaylord Stock Tanks; Outlook for Business Group Bookings Weakens Sharply
Video conferencing over the net is great. There's also some nifty software out there that allows me to share what I see on my screen with anyone anywhere in the world. Couple this with a phone call (VOIP preferably) and you can get a lot done that used to require face to face meetings. Compared to Gaylord how are the companies that make video conferencing equipment...? Cities that have overbuilt tourism and convention facilities may be in for a rude awakening. Building more in this economic climate is just foolish.— July 16, 2008 6:02 p.m.
County Retail Sales Dropping Sharply; Tax Receipts Will Feel It
Jim is correct. There were few meetings, and those that were held obfuscated rather than explained what was going on. This was deliberate. It was orchestrated by the likes of McGrory and corrupt firefighters union boss Saathoff. JF, you cannot seriously contend that this was not an underhanded deal conducted without meaningful disclosure or public input. It took Shipione to bravely come forward with the facts and she was attacked for it. Unfortunately, funding the ballpork bonds was more important than revealing the truth about these deals, and even members of the so-called Blue Ribbon committee knowingly covered up the true financial status of our city. Saathoff, your very own fire fighters union chief for all these years, is who you should be going after, JF...not those who are simply trying to save the city from insolvency. The rank and file was misled and abused by the union bosses, and we have to renegotiate the corrupt deals of the past. It's that simple. Remember what actually happened... http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/07/national/07dieg… We need to find a way out of this mess, rather than bicker about its origins. Best, Fred— July 16, 2008 3:02 p.m.
San Diego Spends Less Per Capita on Fire Protection Than Orange and Los Angeles Counties
Apparently, NORC has to do with either the notorious Chicago School... http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/channels ...or the evil IBM super computers of the past http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/norc.html :-)— July 16, 2008 2:51 p.m.
Lepine Drops Harassment Suit, Receives No Payment. Will Campaign Now Focus on Goldsmith's Domestic Uproars?
Zappa's "Envelopes" as played by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PATt_StWt64 I very much prefer the earlier rock music and all his political/sociological commentary...like his legendary appearance on crossfire in '86. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ISil7IHzxc Or his 1985 congressional testimony: http://downlode.org/Etext/zappa.html (Just a little taste...) Senator EXON. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. Mr. Zappa, let me say that I was surprised that Senator Gore knew and liked your music. I must confess that I have never heard any of your music, to my knowledge. Mr. ZAPPA. I would be more than happy to recite my lyrics to you. Senator EXON. Can we forgo that? Senator GORE. You have probably never heard of the Mothers of Invention. Senator EXON. I have heard of Glen Miller and Mitch Miller. Did you ever perform with them? Mr. ZAPPA. As a matter of fact, I took music lessons in grade school from Mitch Miller's brother.— July 16, 2008 2:12 p.m.
Booze and electricity
Sempra Appreciation Society 1234 Greed Street San Diego, CA 92101 July 9th, 2008 Dear San Diego, Yesterday was quite a celebration everyone! To mark Sepra Energy Day, we ran an extension cord across our neighbor's backyard. Since we're very good friends with important people in the city and county, no one objected. Unfortunately, there was this big fire that our neighbor now claims was started just because we ran this little unprotected wire over his yard during a windstorm. No worries. We always party on! We've hired some well-connected lawyers to take care of that, and if lawsuits fail we've got our good friends in the state and federal government to call on. Sure, it costs a lot of money to celebrate Sempra Energy Day. We have to contribute to lots and lots of political campaigns, hire plenty of former government employees to work for us, and put embarrassing sunshine and butterfly commercials on KPBS...but it's well worth it. The subsidies, rigged markets, and special deals keep rolling in. Plus, we always get what we want, no matter what our neighbors say. Now that's something to celebrate! Actually, in San Diego, every day is Sempra Energy Day. San Diego is the best friend a secretive energy trading company could have since Houston chummed up with Enron. We all have fond memories of what we did in Texas, and sure do hope we'll be able to do the same right here in the land of sun and fun. Thanks San Diego! Fred Williams Chairman and President Sempra Appreciation Society— July 16, 2008 1:55 p.m.
Out and about
Brown determined that the obstruction of justice committed when Sanders and Landsdowne refused to serve a search warrant lawfully served by a judge was perfectly okay. Brown also included unsubstantiated claims by known liar and Sanders spokesman Fred Sainz that Aguirre somehow attempted extortion by actually following the law and investigating clear breaches of the city's ethics codes. Now Sanders' wealthy friends give lots of money to Brown's campaign. Yep, business as usual in America's finest city.— July 16, 2008 1:40 p.m.