Slash and cap NO ON C&D

SF BAY VIEW National Black Newspaper

November 4, 2011

Dear Editor:

Vote No on both measures C and D, pension reform, and consider a more sustainable revenue source.

Look at the $1.4 billion city management salaries. Two stand out: One is the $516,000 a year salary for the deputy police chief. The other salary is $425,558, given to the second deputy police chief (‘09 figures).

There was a time when we had volunteer firefighters. There was a time when working for government was an unpaid or low paid privilege, thought of as a community service. There was a time when candidates for the Board of Supervisor competed for a salary of $28,000 a year. So how did we get to point of paying one deputy police chief more money than the president of the United States and even the mayor of San Francisco?

To save money, the city needs to cap salaries and pensions. One hundred thousand dollars is a nice round number for any city manager. Pensions should be a small percentage of the $100,000.

Let’s get back to working for the city as a civic duty, not a cash cow. And quit blaming the ordinary city worker for the financial woes they did not cause.

Denise D’Anne,

Photo: Robert B. Livingston

http://sfbayview.com/2011/our-readers-write-slash-and-cap/

WHAT TO DO WITH DEMOCRAT PARTY

The PROGRESSIVE POPULIST
June 15, 2011

GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT

Being in the Democratic Party is like being in an abusive relationship — one that is hard to break off. While Obama falls in the right-wing spectrum, we keep on making excuses for him and rally for his 2012 presidential bid. Note his giving away trillions to the super rich, escalating the war on Afghanistan and its neighbor Pakistan, calling for more nuclear power plants, more oil drilling in sensitive areas, possible backing of gutting Medicare and Social Security, etc. Either we fight like hell to get him on the right track or we wise up and build a viable third party, something on the order of a Labor Party. Or we vote Republican to rally the left-wingers to fight against a recognizable enemy.
Denise D’Anne
San Francisco, Calif.

OUR SOCIALIST PRESIDENT?

BACKWARD STEP FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Rainbow Grocery Disappoints

When San Francisco Rainbow Grocery Store was first inaugurated, socially and environmentally conscience citizens were overjoyed. Here was a grocery store, employee owned, where one would be assured of getting organically grown produce and other groceries with less packaging than most supermarkets.

Rainbow started out by not providing paper or plastic bags at the checkout counter. It encouraged people to bring their own containers and bags for its array of bulk products, such as cereal, grains and ground coffee. It was not known for selling bottled water either. Now there are whole sections for bottled water in plastic containers. At the checkout stand one can now pick up paper bags to package groceries. The store is awash in plastic bags for bulk produce. There is not even one sign encouraging people to bring their own bags or containers.

One product that was astounding to see was a sort of flavored ice Popsicle in a hard plastic with silver lining that is squeezed in order to eat. Totally un-recyclable. How many other product such as this “Popsicle” is something someone should peruse. Letters highlighting this unconscionable contribution to the slow destruction of our environment go unanswered.

The high prices of food products sold at Rainbow are not affordable to most San Francisco shoppers. Perhaps eschewing some of the one-time use packaging and other environmentally unhealthy and destructive products, the price of all of its products may come down allowing more people to shop at Rainbow Grocery.

WHAT OBAMA FAILED TO SAY IN HIS STATE OF UNION

He failed to say that Social Security has a two-and-a-half trillion dollar surplus and that it is earned, not given away. What is called a "cut" would actually be theft from those who have paid into it over a lifetime. He needs to go on the offensive on Social Security, not be defensive. The same on Medicare. He failed to mention that it works and has the lowest operating cost of any form of health care by far. He failed to say that pensions are delayed earned payments for work already done, and that the conservative move to allow states and cities to declare bankruptcy is really a move to eliminate pensions for public employees and eliminate as much of public service as possible. He failed to say that "privatization" doesn't eliminate government, but institutes government by corporation for corporate profit not the benefit for citizens. He failed to say that we should have gratitude for immigrants -- with or without papers, educated or not -- who work hard at low pay to make possible the lifestyles of the middle and upper classes. He failed to defend the right to unionize as the foundation of fair working relationships. GEORGE LAKOFF 1/28/11

THE DARK SIDE OF PRESIDENTS

A fan of Obama and a friend of mine sent me a series of pictures of Obama and family. She noted that Obama had a room-lighting smile. And that apparently covers all sins he committed especially the one where he, believe or not, had more people killed with drones than even President Bush. What makes Obama different from Bush is that we expected more of him. As Commander-in-Chief he could halt all wars, bring the troops home from the 800 or so bases around the globe that are not only oppressing people but also draining our treasury. How can Americans cheer on this president or any other president who think nothing of the horrendous damage done to people in other countries with killing and maiming? I have seen pictures of children without arms caused by our bombs. This to get one person, no less, the excuse to invade Afghanistan. Would we tolerate such goings on on our soil, or would we be called insurgents for fighting the invader.

As my friend responded when I said Obama’s dark side is his escalation of the Afghan war and the darkness brought to the innocent Afghans. We have read of the hordes of people who used to roam around the world killing and destroying, they were called barbarians. Well, what are we? My friend responded to me “All of us have to accept responsibility for what we do or don’t do – not just the president.” I don’t know how that statement relieves the president of his role in pure murder but there is a kernel of truth. We are passively standing by and pretending that wars are the sole responsibility of our presidents and they can do no wrong. Otherwise, why are we not in the streets on a continual basis as in some other countries demanding no more wars?

I have a recurring dream that I killed someone. I feel my heart is going to stop from the thought of my being a murderer. I just wonder do all those presidents from our dark past ever have such frightening dreams?

PROGRESSIVES ILLUSIONS: Democrats doing the Republican’s dirty work

The Clinton Years

NAFTA – Sending millions of U.S. jobs into Mexico and sending millions of Mexicans into the U.S. after destroying Mexico’s local agriculture and businesses.

GATT – Lowering tariffs worldwide but mostly in favor of the U.S.

SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAQ – Periodic bombing to distract from Clinton’s penchant for unzipping his pants for genital exposure. Killing millions of children with no apologies from our first female (gentle females?) Secretary of State with this comment when interviewed for 60 Minutes by Lesley Stahl on 5/12/96: On U.S. sanctions against Iraq: We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it? Albright’s response: I think this a very hard choice, but the price—we think the price is worth it. The periodic bombing had the effect of softening up Iraq for the Bush invasion.

DEFENSEOF MARRIAGE – prohibiting gays from having their marriage recognized.

DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL – destroying countless lives of gays in the military.

WELFARE REFORM – Requiring mostly women with children into poverty jobs by denying them federal aid, causing neglect of their children and driving them further into poverty.

GLASS-STEAGAL ACT (GSA) - 1933 legislation to separate investment and commercial banking activities. This was to stop speculation with banking customer’s funds. Clinton signed the repeal of this act on November 12, 1999 leading to the financial crisis of 2008, which is still devastating our economy today.

Can any amount of good legislation out of the Clinton White House make up for the lives of half million children? Can any good legislation in Clinton’s time make up for the devastation of millions of lives due to this financial debacle?

2008 and Beyond

MORE DEADLY WEAPONS -Under Obama nuclear weapons has increased by 40% larger than what the U.S. spent for nuclear weapons activities during the height of the Cold War.

OIL DRILLING – Obama could not resist Drill Baby Drill and was about to open our coasts to drilling. Despite the tragedy of the Gulf Oil Spill we may see drilling along our coasts.

DRONE ATTACKS – Under Obama instead of getting out of Afghanistan he increased drone attacks killing more people in his first 9 months than Bush did in last 3 years. As Commander and Chief, he could and should have stopped the war in its tracks and not escalate.

HEALTH CARE – Turned over our health care 100% to the very private insurance companies that caused our health care crisis. He refused to give a platform to those who wanted to suggest Single Payer instead he had them arrested. This right out of the fascist playbook.

SOCIAL SECURITY – Obama set up a Deficit Commission and appointed right-wingers from both parties whose underhanded mandate is to gut social security and Medicare (something the Republicans could not do). The commission mandate was to deal with the country’s fiscal problems. Since Social Security is legally prohibited from ever spending more than it has collected in taxes, it cannot under the law contribute to the deficit. It now has a surplus of $2.5 trillion. Letter writer, Katherine W. Rylaarsdam of Baltimore, Md. calls this a brazen attempt at grand larceny.

COLUMBIA – Where unionist are killed routinely for trying to organize. The U.S. has 600 military advisors in the country. Obama made a deal with its president to grant U.S. access to seven military bases in the country. You just gave $7 billion of your tax dollars in military aid to Columbia since 2000 and Obama is continuing the tradition.

IMMIGRATION – More deportations are taking place under Obama than any other administration, 388,000 while spending more than $3 billion more than Bush. So much for Obama being a Socialist.

PAUL KRUGMAN - a New York Times columnist and a professor of Economists and International Affairs at Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, had this to say of the Obama administration: “But progressive disillusionment isn’t just a matter of sky-high expectations meeting prosaic reality. Threatened filibuster didn’t force Mr. Obama to waffle on torture; to escalate in Afghanistan; to choose, with exquisitely bad timing, to loosen the rules on offshore drilling early this year.”

Shall we go on, now we have the brilliant idea from Obama to dismantle public education with the Race to the Top program by expanding charter schools; linking teacher’s pay to student test scores; enabling districts to dismiss entire staffs of failing schools; weakening teacher tenure; and testing and tracking student performance even more stringently.

Then there are extrajudicial killings and targeted assassinations we thought we left behind in the Bush administration only to be continued and refined under Obama.

There is just too much more to tell but this is a good start so as not to overburden my readers. As a staunch Democrat I know says: “What do you want me to vote for a Republican”. Well, my dear you could do worse. But how about holding feet to fire and establishing a third party.