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Fred Williams

Was Dan Broderick Really a Model of Integrity?

Me? Sarcastic? Noooooo! You know I've got nothing but love for you Don, but stay away from those 'ludes, dude. They're bad news. However, you might want to try medical marijuana for some of the aches and pains of age. It's great for appetite...even better than wheat grass for a night cuddling by the fire with the missus. Seriously, we all might be better off switching away from the alcohol to something far more benign. Everyone knows of "nasty drunks", but the only thing a pothead attacks is a bag of cheetos. As the SDSU drug raids news trickles out, we find that in fact the number of arrests is similar to previous years, and that the lion's share of these persecutions are for simple possession of pot. The media is slowly cluing in to the real story...the DA's office wild inflation of the numbers to justify their violent battering-ram raids. How is it that in an investigation lasting a year they netted so very little? Weed has always been ubiquitous at SDSU. Yet somehow SDSU is recognized as the premier research university in the CSU system. Maybe there's a correlation. Great schools like UC Berkeley are also well known for heavy pot consumption. Perhaps pot heads are better researchers, and more independent thinkers, than mere beer guzzlers. I'd be interested in seeing the Reader interview some of the low level "offenders" to tell the story of how anti-pot laws destroy lives. Clearly the "drug" itself is NOT the problem. After all, you can smoke up a lot of weed as a young man and still be elected President of the United States. Ask Bush, Clinton, or Obama... Best, Fred Williams
— May 14, 2008 8:50 a.m.

Psssst! Wanna Make 90 Percent a Month? Those Who Bit on Escondido Ponzi Scheme Got Taken to the Cleaners

If you think this is an unbelievable scam, listen to this one... A sports-entertainment business proposes that it will have the city borrow hundreds of millions of dollars, blowing its good credit, and saddling it with debt until 2037. This money will be used for stealing land and buildings from productive businesses and residents downtown. Once they are pushed aside, the city will build a ball park for the sports-entertainment business. While the city "owns" 70% of this structure, it will have NO say in how it is run. Also the sports-entertainment business will pay only token rent of 500k per year, while the city must provide police and traffic services for each and every event. In addition, the city must give away all the surrounding property to the sports-entertainment business and its JudiciousManagementInstitution (JMI). Not to worry, "tourists will pay" for this deal. Even though the TOT has been firmly directed right back into the hotelier's hands, and the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of very expensive bonds are now paid for out of the general fund...until 2037. Okay, surely this couldn't be real. Nobody would agree to a deal this dumb. I mean, to finance such a boneheaded blunder you'd have to do something criminal like...I dunno, raid the pension fund. But certainly, the staffers and the city manager Jack McGrory would blow the whistle...unless maybe they get something like wildly expensive benefits or fat jobs promised to them to keep quiet, huh? I mean, even so, voters would never go for it, would they? Huh? What? Oh. Welcome to San Diego. Enjoy that ballpork... (Isn't it time to sue John Moores for our money back?)
— May 14, 2008 7:25 a.m.

Celebrities Have Donated Money to Jerry Sanders, Including a New Celebrity: Marie Walsh

LeFevre illustrates how out of whack this country has become. A 19 year old girl, going along with her friends, dabbles in drug distribution. When she's set up by a narc, she gets busted. Then she's sentenced to 10-20 years in prison. Now that's an outrage. (Fortunately, some of these laws have been changed and she wouldn't be sentenced so harshly today for the same kind of first offence.) But it's not as outrageous as the fact that wealthy sports-club owners like Spanos and Moores have bribed public officials in order to steal well over half a billion dollars from this city in the last decade. The direct result of this was the loss of life due to out of control wild-fires. We spent the money on football and baseball instead of fire equipment and other infrastructure. Their accomplices in this crime, including Susan Golding, Jack McGrory and Casey Gwinn, far from being apprehended and facing trial, are still lauded by the UT and other media outlets as great leaders and visionaries. Yep. What a great country. We'll throw 19 year old girls in prison for what seems to be mere stupidity. We'll ignore vastly greater crimes right under our noses simply because the perpetrators are wealthy and well-connected. It's a shame, however, that LeFevre is associated with an executive of Waste Management and Edco. If you look at the city's plans, we're going to be giving fat privatization contracts to these types of countries. It appears LeFevre's "unknowing" spouse had the job of greasing palms to make sure his interests were put in front of the tax payers. He even got his poor wife to make "campaign contributions" to ensure his interests are served when we fire the long serving city trash-haulers and replace them with poorly-paid Edco/Waste Management workers. Of course, the debate will rage about how LeFevre should do hard time for her youthful indiscretion, and no body will notice that we're losing our city. I'm beginning to think Rev. Wright is correct, and God has damned America.
— May 4, 2008 6:18 a.m.

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