This was no unity event, it was a Libertarian Republican event to which Matt Gonzalez was invited and spoke.

There is a difference between an individual jonseing for a microphone time and movements coming together as peers.

The US Dollar has run its course as a fiat global reserve currency since Nixon cut it loose from gold. There is just too much wealth to be backed with too little gold, we can't go back. But we can go forward, and part of that is going to involve reclaiming the role of the Federal Reserve and bond investment banks in the form of public credit.

The Guardian supports public credit at the local level. It would look somewhat different at the national level. Paul's flawed inclination on this is healthier than the status quo.

Paul is also right on when he points out that we've got to get a handle on what US conduct might have led to 9/11 instead of framing it as a clash of cultures, they hate us for our freedoms. Petraeus seems to get this at some level, in spirit anyway, when he points out that burning Korans might enrage Muslims in areas where the US is active militarily.

Are Bruzzone and Dennis really against the war?

-marc

Matt Gonzalez is one of the few politicians or journalists in San Francisco who is willing to think outside of the knee-jerk leftwing-rightwing box.

He doesn't see the world as eiither (A) the people pining for social justice and equality VS. the big-business robber barons and environmental rapists, or (B) businesses and their employees paying all of the taxes VS. slothful lefties and poor people.

Another creative thinker is Matt Smith of the SF Weekly, who supported Gonzalez's mayoral campaign, and supports the Baview/Hunters Point redevelopment plan. Ditto Jeff Adachi, a fighter for the poor and for public-sector pension reform.

Some people just can't be pigeon-hole by ideology. All power to them.

Lucretia, you now pay NOTHING for healthcare. We are merely asking you to pay a monthly premium. Yes, this will now cost you just over $200 a month to cover yourself and your family.

But count your blessings. You will still be payiing much less than most people. You have job security. You have a job. We are living through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Time for you to buckle-up and make some sacrifices like the rest of us.

We, the citizens of San Francisco, are tired of cuts in services, cuts at Park & Rec, cuts at hospitals, cuts in in street cleaning, etc etc., just because your pension/healthcare costs are rising.

The public does not want you to suffer. We are not sadists. We are merely tired of forking over funds to cover your pension perks at the expense city services.

We are already paying $60 per 2 week pay period for Blue Shield health insurance.

That has risen from less than $10 five years ago.

Our copayments have risen from $5 to $20 in six years. New medications cost $35 per month.

Estimated costs for Blue Shield under Prop B would be about $500 per month per dependent.

Are you saying that this is a more conservative approach than even Obama care, that I will have to go broke in order to keep my current doctor who I like and the specialists who I've seen for years know the state of my health? Will I need to forgo a provider which is proximate to home and transit in order to go to the centralized denier of health care like Kaiser?

Ehrlichman : "We have now narrowed down the vice president's problems on this thing to one issue, and that is whether we should include these Health Maintenance Organizations like Edgar Kaiser's Permenente thing." President Nixon : "Let me ask you, you know I'm not too keen on any of these damn medical programs." Ehrlichman : " This is a private enterprise one." Nixon : "Well, that appeals to me." Ehrlichman : " Edgar Kaiser is running this permanente thing for profit. And the reason he can do it... I had Edgar Kaiser come in, and talk to me about this... And I went into some depth... All the incentives are toward less medical care, because the less care they give them, the more money they make." Nixon : "Fine." Ehrlichman : " And the incentives run the right way." Nixon : "Not bad."

Jeff Adachi, Matt Gonzalez and Richard Nixon, together at last!

Ripping up continuity of care is an attack on quality health care.

-marc

Actually we don't have a spare $500 in our monthly budget to cover all of this.

Count me in for Healthy San Francisco, which will cost the City nothing.

Actually, I think that most San Franciscans are not as mean and vindictive as those egging us all on to a race to the bottom.

If you've got to choose between dirty parks and sick kids, you've gotta wonder who's going to screw the kids to death so that some kids might have clean playgrounds.

-marc

marc

Someone brought this to my attention so I am responding now. First of all, why would anybody go back and dredge up this nonsense. This is provocateur behavior. You posted:

"I mean, Gonzalez allegedly endorsed Krissy Keefer against Pelosi in 2006. But not only did Gonzalez refuse to lift a finger to help her, he scheduled fund raisers for Chretien on the same night and even had his Dorenkott try to rustle up a "run, matt, run" for CD8 at the same time."

Gonzalez had nothing to do with the fact that people circulated an online petition urging him to run nor did I. I did sign the "petition" -big deal! Why not? Matt would have been a better candidate against Pelosi. He almost became Mayor; he is an experienced campaigner and would have run a stronger campaign.

Are you suggesting that I have to have permission or orders from Matt Gonzalez to sign a petition?

As it turned out Matt supported Krissy everytime he was on the radio or asked about the campaign. As for Matt doing fundraisers with Chretien; I don't know about any scheduling conflicts, but I do know that he traveled to southern California for Chretien at his own expense, doing fundraisers with Peter Camejo.

By the way, do you remember how much support he gave Keefer on the Green 960 Willie Brown show? Matt was interviewed about the website. He repeated his endorsement of Keefer and said he wasn't running. Somehow this public statement wasn't enough as some die-hard Keefer supporters actually demanded he take down the website as if he had put it up. I guess people making that demand had forgotten how in his mayor's race hundreds maybe thousands of people did their own thing, and didn't do it because he told them to.

This is what you marc can't seem to understand. That people do things on their own and they are not necessarily following orders. Too bad. With that lack of imagination no wonder we can't build a decentralized united front.

Is Mr. Hall related to Yogi Berra? " politicians who use politics" ranks with "it's so populat no one goes there anymore."