CA College Republicans hold their Convention 3 blocks from my apartment

So, yesterday some friends of mine came up to me, a little scared. “They’re are Republicans wearing red T-shirts all over the place. What did you do, Ed?” was something I heard more than once. I had nothing to do with it, I explained to them, because the California College Republicans were having their convention at the Fisherman Wharf’s Hyatt. The convention featured speakers such as Steve Poizner, Meg Whitman, David Horowitz and Greg Gutfield. I popped in Saturday night to see how things were going. I talked to a couple of guys from SF State who had helped organized the event. They told me some protestors had showed up earlier that day, that their banquet was so popular they had to turn people away, and held a tax protest down on the wharf. I showed up in time to share some cigars with some of the students and CA RNC rep and former CRP Chairman Shaun Steel, who was impressed to find that we have such a strong YR group here in SF. Hats off  to the CRs for throwing such a great event here in San Fran!

I Spoke Against Props 1A-1E

So on Thursday, the Richmond District Democratic Club held its special election endorsement meeting. Speakers included representatives from State Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and State Senator Leeland Yee, the League of Women voters, the managing editor of Beyond Chron, and myself. I was surprised by the lack of debate at the event; Yee’s rep was fairly quiet, and the rest of the sentiment of the room was against these props. The interesting thing was how the left and right arrived at the same conclusion by VERY different routes. I am against the props because of the tax increases in an already too highly taxed state in the middle of a recession, the reckless borrowing and smoke and mirror accounting instead of real solutions to lower spending. Those on the other side of the spectrum didn’t like the fact some tax increases were temporary, other tax increases or new taxes were not included, the spending cap, and education funding levels. I think Props 1A-1E are going down, and then a real budget battle will begin.

US Senate Candidate Al Ramirez Visits SFYR Happy Hour

At this month’s SFYR Happy Hour, we were honored to have as our guest speaker Al Ramirez, who is running for California’s 2010 Senate seat. Addressing a crowd of about 40 at our usual Happy Hour location, Ramirez shared with the crowd his reasons for running for Senate. Ramirez cited his want to effect real change and make California and America a better place. Ramirez also spoke on President Obama’s recent trip to Europe, saying that he doesn’t feel that the President should be getting down on one knee and asking for forgiveness. “There is no need to apologize for being an American,” Ramierz said. Ramirez capped off the night by giving away campaign T-Shirts, and then joined the SFYRs for some after happy hour karoke. Thanks for stopping by, Al!

SF Attorney to Head the New CAGOP Major Networks Initiative

Okay, I’m going to show you guys the coolest thing you have even seen: On April 16, the California Republican Party announced the launch of a new, permanent Networks program. Harmeet K. Dhillon, a San Francisco attorney and recent State Assembly, has been selected to lead the party’s new Networks Leadership Committee. The Committee will consist of new network leadership groups throughout California’s ethnic, occupational and interest-based communities.

Network and coalition building is as old as politics itself, so what is the big news here? Currently, both Democrats and Republicans spend the months before an election quickly building up coalitions. And these coalitions are usually candidate driven, along the lines of “Lawyers for (insert candidate here)”. Once November comes and goes, these coalitions fall to to the wayside, only to be rebuilt from scratch next election cycle.

The CAGOP’s new program is aimed at building and sustaining these coalitions for long periods of time. “As the nation’s largest, most diverse and most dynamic state, Republicans must permanently extend our reach into communities throughout California if we are to bring the benefits of Republican leadership statewide in 2010 and beyond,” said CA GOP Chairman Ron Nehring. “That requires a fundamentally new and innovative approach.” 

Get me some lighter fluid, a waffle iron, and one of Dewey’s stuffed animals, the furrier the better: I think Harmeet K. Dhillon was a good choice for this position (disclaimer: I managed her 2008 State Assembly campaign). In her campaign, she did the better than any Republican in her district since 1994 by reaching out to new groups, raised a record $115,000, and used most of the electronic strategies a lot of Republicans are now running over themselves to learn. The electronics part is especially important. I spoke with her about this position, and she told me she a made a point to use the phrase “networks” instead of “coalitions” to emphasize that all networks building initatives, electronic and traditional, will be utilized by the CAGOP. Dhillon’s proven ability to reach out to groups and gain their support will also be a huge asset in this position.

Dhillon is also joining the ranks of Bay Area residents who are rising to leadership positions within the CAGOP. One wouldn’t expect the liberal Bay Area to produce Republican leaders, but it has. Current CAGOP Vice-Chair Thomas Del Beccaro is a Bay Area native. All three Republican gubernatorial candidates, Steve Poizner, Meg Whitman and Tom Campbell, all hail from the Bay Area. Whitman, like Dhillon, is a product of San Francisco, an area not exactly known for its conservative ideals. I’m not shocked; let’s face it, if you’re a Republican in San Francisco (or other parts of the Bay Area), its not exactly a causual decision. Bay Area Republicans are serious Republicans, the kind that choose to be leaders.

I am excited to see how well this initiative goes. Unlike most political actions, the success of this push will not be measurable by the results of just one election, but the results of several. This is a long-term policy, which should hopefully yield great long-terms results for Republicans. This will not replace candidate-driven coalitions; a key part of a campaign is a candidates ability to reach out to groups on their own (think Democrats for McCain). This will stregthen the party and allow resources to be dedicated elsewhere come election time because a good deal of the coalitions are already built.

Weren’t the Giants supposed to have good pitching?

So, Lil’ Timmy got rocked on Easter. Randy Johnson got yanked yesterday in the 4th, and Orlando Hudson become the first Dodger since 1970 to hit for the cycle, and the first player to hit for the cycle in Dodger stadium since 1964. What’s going on here? The Giants were supposed to have good pitching this year. Last year’s Cy Young winner has yet to make it to the 5th inning, and yesterday Randy Johnson was doing his best Jamie Moyer impression. (Interesting sidenote: I was watching Moyer pitch on one TV, Johnson pitching on another. It is very eerie to see Johnson throwing 64mph and Moyer throwing 80 at the exact same time.) Right now, Barry Zito is the ace of the staff.

So what’s Lil’ Timmy’s problem? Is he cracking under the pressure of defending his Cy Young award? Did those creepy video game commercials cut into his off season training schedule? Is he scared cause his voice is starting to change and he’s growing hair in new places? Or is it as simple as he is just off to a slow start? Remember folks, we’re a week into the season. Lil’ Timmy has only made two starts. If his next two starts don’t show a return to form, then its time for Giants fans to worry.

When did Randy start throwing junk in the 60s? He still has a good fastball in the high 80s. If he was constantly throwing the fastball in the high 80s, and then threw a 65pmh breaking ball, yeah, thats an effective way to throw off a batter’s timing. But from what I saw, the low speed stuff was Johnson’s bread and butter on Monday. Maybe that is why even pitchers can go yard on Johnson. Randy, you need 5 more wins to hit 300. Break 70 and you might do it.

Harry’s last “Outta Here”

I’m glad the last game he called was a win. I’m still shocked.

CRP Press Release: PAYING FOR FRAUD WITH YOUR TAX DOLLARS

Toby Keith doesn’t want to be fed: The CRP issued a press release today in reaction to recent news reports concerning fraud in California’s “In Home Supportive Services” program. News reports cite cases of flagrant fraud in the program, with a budget of over $5.4 billion, which include people receiving funds for caring for dead people, time card fraud, incarcerated prisoners recieving fund for providing care despite being in jail, and fake disabilities. The CRP goes on to state that the Democrats charged with oversight of the program are purposely overlooking fraud. the CRP cites the fact that anyone who receives funds from this program must pay union dues, and since CA Democrats receive lots of union campaign donations, they don’t care about the fraud because it keeps union dues and campaign contributions up. The CRP cited comments byState Senator Mark Leno, a member of the committee that oversees the program and SF’s State Senator, in which Leno has said the amount of fraud money that has been recovered is “one one-thousandth” of the program’s total spending. The CRP is taking this as a sign that Democrats are not serious about the fraud in this program. 

Toby Keith wants to hunt: California, you just raised our sales tax, income tax, car tax, and anything else that ends in tax, cause the $100 billion we already gave you wasn’t enough. So, if you have stories of massive fraud and the state is giving lots of money to people who aren’t supposed to be getting it, STOP GIVING IT TO ‘EM! Especially if, according to Leno, you’re really bad at getting it back. Stop asking us for more money if your being irresponsible with the cash we already gave you!

Daly Sets Sights on Democratic Party Organizing Role

Please be honest with me. Tell me this is the first time this has ever happened: SF Supervisor Chris Daly has made clear his intentions to run for Region 4 Director of the California Democratic Party in 2010, when he is termed out, in a letter written to the 140 delegates who will be deciding the race. Daly would be running against August Longo, who has held the post since 2003. Daly cites his roots in community organizing and desire to bring progessive values to the California Democratic Party in his desire to run. Daly expressed his desire to create community organizations similar to the apparatus Pres. Barak Obama created in South Carolina in the 2008 race. Daly also cited Longo’s voting record, which Daly believes has been aligned with the “conservative faction” of the DCCC as a reason to run. When told about Daly’s letter, Longo wished him lucked, and said that he had personal relationships with just about all 140 of the delegates. District 4 includes Assembly Districts 12, 13 and 19, which inlcudes all of San Francisco and most of San Mateo County.

Well, do you want me to be honest or do you want me to tell you this is the first time?: Though this will not be a high-profile race, it should be an interesting one. In San Francisco, the progessive faction of the Democratic Party (which includes Daly) and the moderate (for lack of a better word) faction of the party (which would include Longo) have been battling to take control of the San Francisco Democratic Party. The 2008 election had mixed results; progessive David Chiu was elected to the SF Board of Supes (and later Prez) from District 3, but most of the progressive citywide Props failed to pass. With Daly’s announcement, this will be a test to see how the rest of California’s Democrats react to the progressive faction based in San Francisco. San Mateo is not San Francisco; you can also be sure many of those 140 delegates will look at the Prop 8 race and the Gavin Newsom ad. Pundits on both sides of the aisle credit that ad for the late, sudden swing in that race, and Daly considers Newsom to be too conservative. Those delegates will certainly be keeping that in mind before they vote on this position which has state wide implications.

Rest In Peace, Harry

Beloved Philadelphia Phillies announcer Harry Kalas passed away today. Words cannot describe the place Harry held in the hearts of Philadelphia fans. In 2008 and 1993, I muted the TV and cranked Harry’s broadcast, because watching those games without Harry would have been sacrilege. You will be missed Harry.

Example of Past Banter

The following was written on 7/31/08 by Allan Thorp. It is the last known example of banter Allan has written.

My street cred is taking a hit because I haven’t been publishing any updates.  Many lost souls are crying out for my brilliant abuse.  Well, be careful what you wish for.  As Mr. Liu has stolen the term “Banter” to be used in a more appropriate manner on the on line tool,  I have decided to call my witty commentary “The Cranky Commish”.   So instead of “where’s my banter, Allan?” it will be “Where’s my Cranky Commish, you opinionated fat drunk bastard?”   See,  that’s much better.
 
The Cranky Commish
 
Manny being Manny has got to be the lead story.  I will miss him.  Great hitter.  But I can assure you that the Fenway faithful that pay premium bucks to support their team, were about to grow extremely hostile to a cry baby making 20M per year.  We want to win baseball games.  Period. His behavior may have been directed at Red Sox management, but there comes a point when the fans just want the game and not a side show.  Mr. Ramirez should be careful to realize that.  Grow up and play ball.
 
On the business side of this, I do not understand the deal.  Did the Red Sox get anything besides Jason Bay.  We GIVE Manny to LA and pay his salary.  We lose Hansen, Moss and a minor leaguer.  And we get the force that is Jason Bay.   I hope Manny is paying attention.  We had to give away the farm just to get someone to TAKE you.
 
Enough of that.  Story title from the SF Chronicle today:  “Saudi Arabia Tough on Pets.  Islamic religious police in the capital of Riyadh ban the sale of dogs and cats as pets.  The reason: to stop men from using them to attract women.”    Thanks.  What do we do now?  I guess we have to go back to roofies.  (That’s a joke, ladies)
 
The Leaderboard
 
Too Early for great praise or insults.  Wait, is it ever too late for insults?  Hmmmmm.
 
In first place there is a tie between CJ and Team Ireland, a conglomerate from a think tank of 3 Irish gentlemen that never win nothin.  Good luck and congrats on you 5 seconds of fame.
 
Bozzy R Bar is in 3rd.  Despite the shameless plug, the team is a well balanced attack.  But trust me, Ryan Howard and Pujols will change things in this pool.
 
First half 2nd place winner Sean Gray is back with Gray2 in a tie for 4th with Michael Herbst’s Hotdoggie.  Great start guys.
 
Bottom News
 
We have a tie for last place.  These are two newcomers and they are both girls.  Welcome to the pool!  This is the part of the update where we pick on the last place teams.  Una Fedoration’s Bay Street Seals and Christine Cooke’s Cocoa0029 are tied with a whopping 11 home runs.  Ladies, did you read the fine print?  The idea is to accumulate home runs.  When you select players like Pedro Feliz, John Bowker and Joey Votto,  it makes that goal ever so much difficult.  I wish you luck.  But please get out of the cellar.  There are teams that I really want to brutalize.

Did the Phillies just use SMALL BALL?

On the day the Phillies recieved quite possibly the biggest piece of bling ever designed for a ring finger, the Phillies came back from a 10-3 deficet to win 12-11. The Phils won more than 30 games last year in the come from behind fashion, so I am not surprised that they came back for a win. What surprised me is how the homerun happy Phils won it. They scored 8 runs in the bottom of the seventh (plus a VERY important insurance run in the eighth) to get the win, and they did with singles, walks and sacrifices. That’s right, the Phillies put up in 8 runs in an inning using SMALL BALL. Hitters were patient at the plate (Matt “I only try to hit homeruns” Stairs walked on 4 pitches), baserunners were smart (Matt Stairs did not try to score from second on a single, and even debated trying to score from third on a single), and Ryan Howard even took one for the team (even though he’s a much smaller target than Matt Stairs). This is a great sign, as the Phil’s biggest weakness last year was its dependence on slugging.

Important game notes

-Pat Burrell, Geoff Jenkins and Adam Eaton, on the 08 squad but not the 09, were present for the ring ceremony
-Adam Eaton got booed
-No one was shocked Adam Eaton got booed. Including Adam Eaton
-Today marked Lidge’s 1st 2009 save, and 45th save in a row, dating back to 2008
-Today marked the 45th time Lidge gave a Phillies fan a heart attack by letting the other team flirt with a comeback and then shutting them down, instead of just shutting them down. I guess Brad Lidge just knows drama
-ESPN Gamecast gave Atlanta a 98% chance of winning going into the bottom of the 7th. It gave Philly an 86% chance of winning 3 outs later.
-Each World Series ring has 103 diamonds, representing the Phils 92 regular season and 11 post season wins in 2008
-The Phils World Series rings are therefore worth more than Adam Eaton
-So are Crackerjack Decoder rings
-Joe Blanton blew his chance to homer in two consectutive starts for the first time in his career

U.S. Attorney Joe Russoniello at the California Chinese American Republican Association

So, I saw U.S. Attorney Joe Russoniello speak tonight at the California Chinese American Republican Association’s annual installation dinner at the New Asia Restaurant. Russoniello took a casual tone, joking with the audience. Apparently he addressed the SF Young Democrats earlier in the day, and used that as a launching point for the rest of his remarks. I was unaware that in his younger days, Russoniello was a Democrat, a fact he told the SFYD, as well. He used the story of his changing political affiliations to reaffirm his why he believes Republican thought is still relevant and needed today. And of course, the food was great, and the company at my table was second to none.

Thoughts on Giants Opening Day win

2008 Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum only lasted 3 innings and giving up 3 runs in his 2009 debut, something that didn’t happen once in 2008. But insider sources chalk it up as an isolated incident; apparently, someone forgot to give lil’ Timmy his juicebox and snack before the game, and he got a little cranky. Lil’ Timmy’s nanny has apologized, and has promised it won’t happen again.

However, the Giants actually had a good day at the bat. The Giants belted 2 doubles, 1 triple and 3 homers while racking up 10 runs. Even Lil’ Timmy had a hit. The downside, of course, is that the Ginats used up all the homers for the month of April. Don’t get greedy guys; you may feel good now, but talk to me after you’re big month long offensive drought.

Cops already back tracking on the Big Wheel race

As you may have read in my previous post, the SFPD had said they were going to issue tickets to anyone who tried to go down Vermont Street at this Sunday’s annual Big Wheel race, known as Bring Your Own Big Wheel. Thanks to loyal blog readers, the Chronicle wrote about the situation in today’s paper. Now, police officials are “reviewing” the race and are undecided on issuing tickets. Just like the bru-ha-ha over the Bay to Breakers rule changes, people’s reactions are what is going to undo this STUPID decision by the SFPD. Click on the link above to forward the stories to friends and comment on it. The more traction the story gains, the more quickly SFPD will back off.

SFYR Board Meeting Recap, April 2009

Tonight’s meeting was productive. We voted to oppose Props 1A-1E, and endorse Prop 1F. We finalized our plans for this month’s Happy Hour, which will featured U.S. Senate Al Ramirez, who is running for Senate here in Cali in 2010. We discussed our thoughts on this April’s Tea Party, and getting our members out there to protest high taxes and uncontrolled spending here in Cali. We also decided to go ahead with our Facebook and Twitter challenge. Turns out, we have 104 Twitter followers compared to the SF Young Democrats 51, and we have 168 folks in our Facebook group, compared the 184 in theirs. So we are challenging our members to keep our Twitter lead and get the Facebook lead by inviting people to join both. And finally, we found out that one of the 5 people Mayor Gavin Newsom blocked on Twitter is one of our members. Turns out, Gavin can’t handle bad hair days or criticism.

Bring Your Own Big Wheel Vs SFPD Tactical?

So I emailed the guy who organizes Bring Your Own Big Wheel, the annual Big Wheel race held on the easter the past 8 years, and then checked out the website, updated today. Apparently the underworked and very bored SFPD (didn’t the murder rate go up last year?) has announced that they will ticket anyone who partakes. How stupid is that? I swear I will be out there. I did this race last year, and have been modifying my new Big Wheel for this year. It should really fly, so I say, “Catch me if you can coppers!”

Having done this last year with a group of my friends, I can say that this is an event that San Francisco should not be hampering. Its is good old fashioned fun. It even made ESPN last year. So I’m gonna show up at 4pm at Vermont and 20th. I hope everyone else does too.

Now, remember the uproar over the Bay to Breakers rule changes? I bet we can get the cops to go away if we get some media attention. Heather Knight (hknight@sfchronicle.com) and Marisa Lagos (mlagos@sfchronicle.com), for the SF Chronicle, and Brent Begin (bbegin@sfexaminer.com) for the SF Examiner, all wrote about the Bay to Breakers rules changes and uproar. So, please write them all, telling them what a great event it is and how San Francisco should not kill it by allowing the SFPD to to issue tickets. Its Easter; let those cops spend it with their families.

Helmet Cam Footage from last year.

Signs there’s still life in the leaderless GOP

Are you crazy? Don’t go between them!: So SF Political Examiner Arthur Bruzzone cites some polls that show despite recent set backs to the GOP, and the fact the Republican Party is viewed as leaderless, the GOP has surpassed the DNC in two key categories: congressional approval ratings and national fundraising.

A Rasmussen poll shows that 81% of Americans think that Congress, in Democratic control since 2006, has not improved life over the past year. What Bruzzone finds really shocking is that 41% of those polled indicated that they would vote for the Republican in their district, while only 39% would vote for the guy with the D next to his name.

The leaderless GOP also kicked some donkey in the fundraising department. In Feb ‘08, Democrats raised $3.26 million compared to the GOP’s $5.1 million. DNC reporting showed they have $8.6 million in the bank and $7 million in debt, compared to the GOP’s $24 million and $0 in debt.

Go between them! Are you crazy?: $0 in debt? Where has this GOP been? Its the GOP that I want. Whoever pulled that one off, you’re the type of Republican that elected Republicans are supposed to be. Unmask yourself so we can elect you!

Other than that, I’m not surprised. America is a right of center country, and is of course reacting negativly to House and Senate Democrats no longer hiding their liberal beliefs, but instead legislating them. People are really scared about the massive borrowing and spending that’s going to affect social change when all most Americans want is the economy back on track. And their ticked about the arrogance and lack of perspective that people like Nancy Pelosi and Rahm Emanuel are showing; these two are both on record saying that this their opportunity to force through their viewpoints, while Americans just want an end to the recession. Expect more and more good Republican news to keep popping up as Pelosi & Company keep pushing their agenda.

No more Conway Twitty on Family Guy

It was funny the first time you did. Now its just as annoying as vaudeville duo Vern and Johnny. Kill off the Twitty clips just like you killed off those two. Whenever you wanna throw in a Twitty cut away, stop what you’re doing and give us a chicken fight instead.

Thoughts on Phil’s Opening Day loss

Ok, we lost 4-1, now making us 0-3 against the Braves on Opening Day. I’m not worried. Lets look at a little history here. As per a prior post of mine, the Phillies are not an April team. And they’re even worse on Opening Day. The Phillies Opening Day record now stands at 60-65-2. Yeah, two ties. The Phils haven’t won an Opening Day since 2005. It doesn’t matter wh owe seem to play, we are just bad at Opening Day. There are only 7 teams haven’t lost to on Opening Day: the Boston Bees, Boston Doves, Detroit Wolverines, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Houston Colt .45s, LA Dodgers, and Washington Senators. If 5 of those teams still existed, we probably would have lost to them, too.

So here is what important to take away from the game. Brett Myers showed a level of maturity today. You’re shocked reading it, I’m shocked writing it. He got pounded for 3 homers in the first two innings. Instead of losing it and letting up more runs, one of the reasons why he had to spend in time in Allentown last season, Myers settled down and went on to pitch 4 scoreless innings after that. The fact that Brett Myers didn’t get rattled and went on to pitch well is a good long-term sign for the team.

My only real concern (besides the loss) is where Uncle Charlie has Werth and Victorino hitting. Werth has more power, Victorino has more speed, so why is Werth batting second and Shane sixth? Shane should be getting on base and being driven in by guys like Werth.

Spoke with the Noe Valley Democratic Club PAC today

The Noe Valley Democratic Club PAC met today to come up with special election recommendations for their membership. I was there to represent the oppose view for Props 1A-E. It was quite the different affair than the Repub CC meeting on Wednesday. The Noe Valley DC meeting was held in a private residence with about 10 people in attendence. We are all sitting, giving the meeting a after-dinner discussion feel. I gave my 15 minute pitch, and spent another 15 fielding questions. Everyone was polite, and the questions were intelligent. I also was recruited to do the same thing on April 23 at the Richmond Democratic Club. Thanks for having me!