A newsletter of
opinion and analysis
Established 1987
On the Web since 1995
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A newsletter of opinion and analysis Established 1987 On the Web since 1995 |
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November 3, 2008 JOHN HUTCHISONTime for Obama to Show Some ClassWhat does it augur for the future that the Republicans have come up with some comic book inanity that casts Barack Obama as a socialist? I suspect that it will further amplify the conclusion the media reached in midsummer when they finally woke to the realization that Obama was in fact a conventional, decidedly centrist politician, harboring the timeless characteristics of caution, expediency, ambition, vanity and no little tactical ruthlessness.
September 19, 2008 BETSEY CULPTiger by the TailIt has been reported frequently that George W. Bush is concerned about his place in history. His worries are over. He’ll have one. Bush will be remembered as the American president who dragged the rest of the world into an expensive and destabilizing “war against terror.” As the American president who fiddled as the globe heated up. And now, as the American president whose disregard for the sensible monitoring of his country’s financial practices is threatening economies all over the planet. September 19, 2008 Choose People, Not Barriers For the 48 to 50 million dollars that it would cost to create a physical barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge, why not better spend money creating a new job description?
September 15, 2008 BETSEY CULPNoodling on the News — How the West Was WonOn the third planet from the sun, the following appeared in the New York Times on September 14:
Elsewhere, in a parallel universe, a group of men sat around a campfire, tired from riding the range all day. One of them spoke. “Did you ever hear the story of how John McWayne rescued Sarah Paleface?"
September 15, 2008 Topping the Bell Tower Locally, it’s known simply as “the tower.” San Francisco tour buses stop in the 900 block of Fulton so that tourists can get a good look. On the site for many years, it changes with every season. Here’s a look at the latest incarnation. My tower in the front yard is a prayer tower of peace built to Saint Francis of Assisi, the namesake of San Francisco and the patron saint of animals. In many cultures both present and ancient, it is believed that prayers are sent out with bells ringing or prayer flags flapping in the wind. The tower is covered with bells and sound-makers and the San Francisco flag flies at the very top.
September 11, 2008 BETSEY CULPWhen Patriotism Is the National PastimeYesterday the fog lifted in the middle of the day, and I headed down to the Ballpark That Dare Not Speak Its Name to watch the Giants battle the Diamondbacks. It was perfect baseball weather, and the young San Francisco team was in fine fettle. (No photos — sorry! I took my camera, but my sieve-brain forgot to load the memory card.) Out in the bay a cluster of yellow kayaks swung through McCovey Cove and paused briefly, perhaps for old times’ sake.
September 10, 2008 BETSEY CULPLiving on the Edge of RipenessOver Labor Day weekend, Slow Food came to San Francisco. That’s Slow Food, capitalized, as opposed to fast food, lowercased. Its arrival was preceded by a petition calling for a “New Vision for a 21st Century Food, Farm & Agricultural Policy,” which begins:
September 9, 2008 BETSEY CULPKilling StreetsA headline in today’s San Francisco Chronicle reads Shooting victim dies — another Mission fatality That makes seven in the past three weeks. Did you cringe when SFPD chief Heather Fong laid out the position of the police, and presumably of the City, at a press conference on September 5? September 8, 2008 BETSEY CULPDoing the Palin PolkaHey, guys! John McCain really did a number on you when he selected Sarah Palin as his running mate. And he’s been jerking your chains ever since. Why did you let John McCain jerk your chain last week? There’s been a whole lotta jerkin’ goin’ on. And y’all did a cute little dance in response, jumping up and down, back and forth. September 8, 2008 North Beach Library: Politics Trumps Reason The City’s attempts to modernize a branch library are shaking up North Beach. The seemingly innocent endeavor has all the earmarks of back-room dealing: secret meetings at the highest level, coercion of the uninitiated, naïve blundering. Its ripple effect touches every one of the 28 libraries in San Francisco. What started as an effort to deliver a cutting-edge library to the neighborhood has devolved into a boondoggle that could tie up library funding for years to come. The ultimate fall guys: library patrons and the taxpayers.
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