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RandySF

RandySF's Journal
RandySF's Journal
October 1, 2014

Forget about the NFL. The next Bush to be elected to office is a stalker.

Back when he was a Rice University student, Bush was investigated for burglary and criminal mischief related to a 4 AM visit to the Miami home of his ex, Cristina Cohen, and her parents.....

According to Cohen, Bush--wearing black shorts and no shirt--arrived at the residence and “went to his daughter’s bedroom window,” pulled it open, and “pushed the screen inward.” As Bush was “climbing in the window,” Murry Cohen awoke and spotted the trespasser. A neighbor of the Cohens also spotted Bush trying to get into the residence and began to argue with him.

With his intrusion thwarted, Bush “backed out of the window.” Cohen reported seeing Bush then “jump into a vehicle and flee.” But he would not be gone for long.

Bush returned to the home 20 minutes later and drove his car through the Cohens’s yard, causing damage to about 80 feet of the lawn.

When police arrived at the residence, the Cohens identified Bush as the perpetrator. Cristina Cohen explained that she used to date Bush, but that they “have been separated for 1-1/2 years.” She added that Bush “has been a problem ever since they broke up.”


http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/george-p-bush/george-p-bush-stalking-758409

October 1, 2014

Politico: It's Obama's fault if his life is in danger.

Agents tell me it’s a miracle an assassination has not already occurred. Sadly, given Obama’s colossal lack of management judgment, that calamity may be the only catalyst that will reform the Secret Service.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/09/obamas-life-is-at-risk-111501_Page2.html#ixzz3EsEg7aDa

October 1, 2014

Armed contractor with criminal record was on elevator with Obama in Atlanta

A security contractor with a gun and three convictions for assault and battery was allowed on an elevator with President Obama during a Sept. 16 trip to Atlanta, violating Secret Service protocols, according to three people familiar with the incident.

Obama was not told about the lapse in his security, these people said. The Secret Service director, Julia Pierson, asked a top agency manager to look into the matter but did not refer it to an investigative unit that was created to review violations of protocol and standards, according to two people familiar with the handling of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The incident, which took place when Obama visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to discuss the U.S. response to the Ebola crisis, rattled Secret Service agents assigned to the president’s protective detail.

The private contractor first aroused the agents’ concerns when he acted oddly and did not comply with their orders to stop using a cellphone camera to record the president in the elevator, according to the people familiar with the incident.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/armed-former-convict-was-on-elevator-with-obama-in-atlanta/2014/09/30/76d7da24-48e3-11e4-891d-713f052086a0_story.html

October 1, 2014

This sure isn't the Secret Service I remember.

One afternoon, twenty years ago at around this time late September/early October, some friends and set up a union hall for a rally at which then-Vice President Al Gore was to speak on behalf of the local Democratic ticket. We came up with the stupid idea of setting up candidates' yard sign (along with the metal wiring) along the front of the stage and that was QUICKLY shot down (no pun intended) by the Secret Service agent that was watching us. He was polite, but a firm look in his eyes made it clear he was not to be fucked around with. So, we complied, taking the signs off the wires taping them up. This was hardly a memorable moment in the history of the agency, but such care over a small detail like that makes the White House infiltration all the more baffling and makes me wonder if somebody there just didn't give a shit about this President's safety.

September 30, 2014

CA State Assembly: David Chiu and David Campos to debate in food-focused forum

San Francisco supervisors David Chiu and David Campos, who are battling each other for a California Assembly seat, have been quizzed on many issues so far, from higher education funding to the Twitter tax break.

Now a group of San Francisco organizations is holding the two candidates accountable for their positions on food and farming. On October 6, Campos and Chiu will debate one another at “Your Food, Your Vote,” an event organized by CUESA, the San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance and the SF Marin Food Bank.

This isn’t the first food-focused political debate in San Francisco, according to SFUAA platform committee co-chair Keith Tanner; mayoral candidates participated in a similar forum in 2011. However, it is one of the first times in California (if not the very first) that candidates for a state legislative office have participated in a food-focused public debate.

Tanner says that the questions have not yet been finalized — all three organizations are coming up with their own — but the topics addressed may include the drought, jobs in the food sector, San Francisco’s commitment to end hunger in the city by 2020, and ballot initiatives like the soda tax. (If you’d like to suggest a question, email [email protected].) The debate is part of a statewide effort coordinated by the California Food Policy Council. Some local groups are submitting questionnaires to candidates, while others are organizing public forums.

http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2014/09/24/david-chiu-and-david-campos-to-debate-in-food-focused-forum/

September 28, 2014

Pa. Man Shoots At Neighbor's Home Because Only Way He Knew How To Unload It

A Pennsylvania man fired two bullets at his neighbor's home on Friday and later told police that was the only way he knew how to unload a gun, according to the Bucks County Courier Times.

A Middletown, Pa. resident heard gunshots outside of her home in Friday afternoon. She then discovered that a window on her porch door was shattered, according to the Courier Times.

She then saw a man fire a gun in the direction of her home and run back into his house, police said.

Police inspected her home and then the home of George Byrd IV. They found two bullet holes in the fence separating Byrd's home from that of his neighbor.

When questioned by police, Byrd at first denied that he knew anything about the gunshots. Police then found multiple guns and rounds of ammunition in Byrd's home.

Byrd later told a judge that he fired the gun into the ground because he was unfamiliar with guns and didn't know how else to unload one, according to the Courier Times.


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/pennsylvania-man-shot-neigher-home-unload-gun

September 28, 2014

Another example of why even many liberals hate the San Francisco School District.

The San Francisco school board decided Tuesday night that a bevy of educational bells and whistles might not be enough to lure families to have their kids attend a brand-new Bayview middle school when it opens in the fall.

So they sweetened the pot.

The board unanimously voted to give students who attend Willie Brown Jr. Middle School for all three years their pick of city high schools.

That doesn’t include Lowell High School or School of the Arts, which require a separate application process to assess academic and artistic abilities, respectively.

The enticement would expire after the 2019-20 graduating class at Willie Brown Middle School, although the board could renew it at that time.

Still, it’s a powerful enticement — a golden ticket — given the cutthroat lottery for the district’s most desirable high schools. Board members said they hope it will encourage families to consider Willie Brown Middle, which they believe will be a great school in what is historically a low-income and high-crime neighborhood.

“We know this will be a fabulous school,” board President Sandra Fewer said.

But the new school sits on the same site as the demolished Willie Brown Jr. Academy, which was severely under-enrolled and had some of the lowest test scores in the state.


http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/S-F-school-board-passes-golden-ticket-perk-5776508.php

September 24, 2014

This election is feeling like 1986 in reverse.

In 1986, Democrats picked up the Senate but lost a handful of governorships. This year, it looks like we may lose the Senate but pick up governorships. That's because there is no wave. The competitive senate races are in red states while most vulnerable governors are in the blue. Maybe both parties will have something to point to in November.

September 23, 2014

'F*ck It, I Quit' Reporter Explains Why She Left News For Pot Advocacy

The Alaska television reporter whose live, on-air resignation on Sunday has since gone viral is now offering a more detailed — and less profane — explanation for her career move.

In a three-and-a-half minute video posted Monday on YouTube, Charlo Greene said "there comes a time in each and every one of our lives when we must choose to continue to spectate, or stand up for what's right."

For Greene, that moment apparently came on Sunday night, when she revealed on Anchorage-based CBS affiliate KTVA that she is "the actual owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club." In that capacity, she said she "will be dedicating all of my energy toward fighting for freedom and fairness, which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska."

"And as for this job, well, not that I have a choice but: Fuck it, I quit," she said before walking off set, leaving her news anchor colleague flustered.


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/charlo-greene-explains-why-she-walked-off-set-marijuana-legalization

Profile Information

Gender: Male
Hometown: Detroit Area, MI
Home country: USA
Current location: San Francisco, CA
Member since: Wed Oct 29, 2008, 02:53 PM
Number of posts: 58,770

About RandySF

Partner, father and liberal Democrat. I am a native Michigander living in San Francisco who is a citizen of the world.
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