Quick Thoughts on Politics

I will admit to not paying much attention to national politics anymore. The game is just silly at this point. As long as there is a free flow of money in campaigns we will never have an honest system. That our political system is a business just typifies all that is wrong with the country in general.

Not EVERYTHING needs to be a business.

But beyond that I will say this: Democrats didn't get slaughtered because of President Obama's policies, or anything President Obama did. They got slaughtered because they refused to stand behind the things that he has done, and in some cases even going so far as to not being able to admit voting for the man.

In the state of Kentucky, the Affordable Care Act is helping so many people get insurance, and therefore live more productive lives. In light of this, Candidate Grimes chose to act as if Obama is the problem, rather than embrace it. Someone like this deserves to lose when they cannot acknowledge the benefits of a program she herself supports. If you cannot standby your record, then you're not worthy of any office.

While it may be true President Obama doesn't do enough to help candidates, these candidates have not wanted it. The economy has done well, but not for regular folks. And yet people voted for Republicans. That an amazing mistake. Because Democrats couldn't capitalize in numbers. The health care bill will go down as revolutionary. Check the numbers. He didn't start the wars; the Republicans did. And yet the candidates bailed on him; not the other way around.

It's not an indictment of President Obama, or his policies. It's an indictment of candidates who, like their counterparts, chose to stand for nothing.

Meanwhile, I'm glad I live in a progressive place, run by Democrats, and is the most successful region in the world. It's not an accident.

How I'm Voting

My thoughts:

Prop 1: YES - Water Bond - While it is a corporate giveaway, I've come to realize in America, all things are. More important to me that people who don't have access to clean drinking water, get access to it.

Prop 2: NO - Gov Brown Rainy Day Fund - I don't think so. It's currently raining, and we need money on things happening now.

Prop 45 - YES - Initiative to regulate insurance rates - Forces insurance companies to justify hikes. Medical and Insurance account for 20+% of the US Economy. That's disgusting. And these companies are too rich.

Prop 46 - YES - Higher Med Malpractice Penalties/Drug Testing Doctors - Haven't adjusted penalties for inflation in 40 years. And while I think it's wrong to drug test doctors, I am voting for this because I want the drafters to recognize they have support on part of this issue. Do away with the drug testing part, but change the rates issue.

Prop 47 - YES - Smaller Sentencing for Non-violent Criminals - This is such an obvious issue. It's time to rollback years and years of racist policies enacted throughout the 80s. Plus, it cuts costs to taxpayers, and helps take away money from the prison INDUSTRY.

Prop 48 - NO - Referendum on Indian Gaming - While most labor groups support this, I am vehemently against it. Yes, these things create jobs. BUT Casinos are terrible for society across the board, and do nothing to help municipalities become better places to live. All they do is move money from one area to another, and leave a wake of the dead behind.

Show me a classy town that has gambling as it's primary source of income.

Mayor: Jean Quan.

I've seen all the pretty ads, and the new faces, etc. etc. I like Libby Schaff, Joe Tuman, and others. But when I think about it logically, Oakland continues to become a place people want to be. All around me things are getting better. None of these candidates is going to change the direction for the better, imo, so I may as well stay with the horse that got this town where it is now.

She ain't perfect, but she isn't causing any real problems.

Cheers.

Getting Fired Kinda Blows

I think the headline probably gives this away, so yeah, my radio station cut me loose.

I'm fine with it. I had been contemplating quitting for a number of weeks, so now that decision was made for me.

I really came to like a lot of people at Cumulus-SF. I think I developed a personal relationship with nearly everyone in the building, and that means something to me. For I liked nearly everyone there, and made it a point to get to know people. I'm truly interested in other peoples' lives, and trying to be a positive influence in their lives, even if I show it in strange ways.

Paul Hosley, Jared Hart and Ron Escarsega gave me a chance to do something I love very much, in a big market. And while I was not always the easiest person to work with, I really did appreciate that they are/were professional radio people who truly love the medium. We had our ups and downs, but creative people will.

When the people who gave you a shot leave, or get blown out, it's usually not a good sign for yourself.

For the sake of the employees at the station(s), I hope it works out for them too. The radio business these days is not what it was when I began, and on many levels it's hard to watch it change from the inside. That said, I believe in radio, and think the right people will find solutions to what has become a self-created problem. But please, stop hiring the people who helped caused the problems, and tasking them with fixing the problems. It is not going to work.

As for now, I probably need to take a step back and focus on my writing (things are late; people are angry). Maybe I'll continue the pursuit in radio, but the more I think about it in light of the environment, the less appealing it seems to me. But maybe that changes when the dust settles? We'll see.

Thanks for listening (if you did) and being supportive.

And thanks to all the people who wrote, called, and reached out. It's appreciated. But believe me, I'm okay with it. I was resigned to this weeks ago.

Been Awhile...

Sports:

Rutgers vs Ohio State

It would not cause me much pain see Rutgers beat Ohio State this weekend. Growing up Rutgers did not have a good football program. I went to 3 games, of which Bryan Fortay started two of them, of which he was replaced by Ray Lucas in one of them. I never believed RU should strive to be a major college football player, but they did. On the back of Rikki Cook they were going to make it happen, even if it was a few years later when they landed their best all time recruit Anthony Davis.

In short, there was never a reason to take Rutgers football seriously, and on many levels, there still is not.

It took me attending Ohio State for a couple of years to recognize what college football truly is, and I've remained a steadfast fan ever since. Although my love has certainly waned in recent years.

All that said, when the two teams square off this weekend for the first time (at least in my life time), I won't be rooting for either team. Whichever way it ends up I will certainly be satisfied in the end. Yet at the end of the day there would be something satisfying about watching my hometown team win in Columbus.

It won't happen.

FSU

Jameis Winston is a rapist. Florida State is trying to figure out how to cut bait without landing a lot of influential people in the shark's mouth. That's the reason for the delay, in my opinion.

To this day I ask: what was the women's motivation? Winston was not yet a star. Winston hadn't won a Heisman trophy. Winston wasn't even the starter on the football team when she made the accusation. Winston has no money, or at least he didn't then (at least no money you could win through a lawsuit).

There was no motivation. Her life is forever scarred.

Winston seems like the type of kid who has never known responsibility. The way he acts on the football field gives off the impression he believes someone will fix this for him. Someone always has. He knows no punishment, so he just goes about being him.

The NYTimes piece on Winston and FSU is an indictment of Winston, Tallahassee, the process, the NCAA, and college football. I'd suggest reading it.

Again, they're looking for a way to move on to the clean cut white kid from New Jersey.

Who didn't choose Rutgers...

Todd Gurley

He's a moron.

It's absurd that he can't do what he did, but he can't. And he did.

The rules are terrible, the process is terrible, the injustices abound. But he's a moron.

All that said, Gurley is a wrecking ball. Every carry he makes, and has made, has taken off days from his NFL career. Players used to rarely play as freshman and sophomores, but Gurley has, and it has taken a toll. The concept of the NFL not allowing kids into the league until they are juniors has officially become unfair, especially to running backs who are still growing. Players at other positions don't take nearly the level of beating a running back does, and these kids are still growing.

I have no proof of this, but I believe the body has finite growth, and recovering from injuries in itself is a form of growth. When you have 18 year old kids going against 300 pound men it will stunt some form of growth. And with that it stunts the careers of people like Toddy Gurley.

It's unfair. It's wrong. But...

He's a moron.

Fantasy & NFL

Justin Hunter is not yet the player I thought he'd be.

Odell Beckham is. He was in college, and will be in the NFL. Can't wait.

Sucks about Victor Cruz. Tough to watch. But he makes a lot of money, so he'll live.

Jeremy Hill is one of the 10 best Running Backs in the NFL. You'll see.

I don't know who's going to be in the Superbowl, but I know who won't be: The Cowboys.

I figure Demarco Murray has about 6-7 games left this season.

Mission Soccer

If anyone heard my show this past weekend you know I'm passionate about the gentrification situation in San Francisco, which was on full display because of the Mission Playground Soccer field.

As I mentioned, that field should never be rented. Yet since it was available to be rented, certain adults, many of them white, took advantage of it. This ended up being a bad scene/situation.

Go listen to my show if you want to hear my take on it. In summation, watching gentrification play out in a public conversation, that isn't a protest, is very uncomfortable. The primary reason is there seems to be a gap between the two groups; one that the largely Latino group is never going to cross. That's not necessarily true across the board, but that's the emotion I felt THEY sensed when I watched the video.

Jerry, Nixon, Barry and Dubya

First things first, today is the 19th anniversary of the man who is arguably America's greatest musician; at the very least, most influential modern musician.

Jerry.

As he affected my life, for without Jerry it is highly unlikely I come to live here. Which means so many things, like having never met my wife, just to name one. But in truth countless friends of mine, and friends of theirs, made their way to this coast because of Jerry. Much of my life has been affected by his, a man I never came close to meeting.

He transcends music, and was representative of so much what San Francisco and the greater Bay Area have come to mean. I am hopeful the Bay Area retains some semblance of what it was like when Jerry lived and breathed in these parts.

There will never be another.

On the other side of all that was good, it's the anniversary weekend of the final act of another famous Californian, the disgraced President, Richard M. Nixon. It was August 8, 1974 when he resigned from office.

There's not much I can say about Nixon that has not been said already, so I won't bore you in an area I'm not completely versed in.

However, I will bore you with something else tangentially related, which if you follow the news, read facebook, or engage in message board banter, you likely encountered the last 24 hours or so. The puppet-like refrain from idiot conservatives who say things like, "Obama is worse than Nixon ever was!"

It is to be expected. It is stupid. It is ignorant. It is to be expected. If conservatives are one thing, it is predictable (and dumb).

I'm not going to point out how false comments like these are because it only furthers a pointless conversation that is a waste of time, which is what conservatives hope to achieve. The debate itself gets them closer to a hoped for equivalence. But I will point out WHY this is said, if it's not entirely obvious already.

Conservatives look at politics as a money making opportunity, when not being used as a vehicle to advance some religious ideology (yes, these things often go hand in hand as well). They have been on the losing end of most political scandals in modern times, which is why you'll always hear about blowjobs in the oval office, and other not-so-scandalous scenarios. In fact, every false-scandal is raised up to the level of a high crime in the HOPE something can come of it. It's like death by a thousand cuts, and guilt by association. For if you can accuse people of everything, and one thing does stick, they all the other accusations have to be RECONSIDERED! That's their game. Unfortunately for the part of the moronic, their guy Nixon committed a major crime, and left the White House in disgrace. Since that time everything has been labeled Thisgate, Thatgate, Othergate, which is so incredibly annoying, but probably even more so for the party responsible for the Watergate burglary, and all that comes with it.

Republicans have tried for years to even clear the names of those involved with Nixon and Watergate, even going so far as to make G. Gordon Liddy an American hero and patriot in more modern times. It's embarrassing. They want to scrub the past cleaner than a Ben Roethlisberger bathroom. And can you blame them? Politics is a money-making business to them, which is usually what gets them into trouble in the first place, but that's hardly the point.

The point is this: Republicans gave us Nixon. They gave us Reagan. They gave us George W. Bush. With these presidents have comes a lot of debts, deficits, wars, and lies. Tax cuts don't work, wars don't create democracies, cheaters get caught, the rich get richer, etc. Yet most recently they gave us Bush, who was by far the worst President/Leader of any first world nation I can think of. And since the conservatives/Republicans KNOW he's the cause of most of our problems CURRENTLY, they have needed to lash out in defense. They want revenge for being told how awful they are for voting Bush in. They want revenge for being called morons. They want revenge for taking it on the chin as long as they did, even if they deserved it. They are angry Democrats and liberals constantly pointed out how awful Bush was/is. So they want revenge. They want their turn. Even if it's not warranted or earned. They they believe they have a right to give it back just as hard as they took it, even if it's illogical. Yet logic has never been their game.

Whether the revenge is deserved, or the ire comparable, is not relevant to them. Facts don't matter. What matters is simply revenge. I cannot say it enough. Wanting to make politics a game. Wanting to make sure they can steal dollars from constituents bank accounts. They need Obama to be worse than Nixon. They need Obama to be worse than Bush. They need this because it's their industry, and it's their ego.

They need their puppet-like minions to become keyboard warriors, tackle facebook and twitter, slam Obama, compare him to Hitler, make him worse than Nixon. They need all of it. Any of it true? Of course not. That's hardly relevant, or the point. They'll have the fights on social media, but not one of them could truly engage in hard facts regarding what would make Obama worse than Nixon or Bush. They can't do it because it's wholly untrue. It's laughable. They're laughable.

So when you hear some shmuck saying "Obama is worse than Nixon" or "Obama is worse than Bush" , recognize you're talking to a sad, butt-hurt, likely white, male, and angry human being, who cannot face up to the realities of this world. A world where his kind is still in charge, but not enough for their liking.

A person who is so jaded and clueless as to not be taken seriously.