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VOICES…mine and theirs… The point of this part of Baghdad by the Bay is to vent and try to articulate feelings both positive and negative about current events and the unimportant things I give power to by taking a position one way or another, knowing it simply won?t matter tomorrow. I still get angry just thinking about the mergers that have taken away the traditional image of San Francisco as the Wall Street of the west. What happened to Bank of America? Why did Chevron leave? I remember being promised that cable television was going to be a bonanza for San Franciscans, and that it was a cheap and valuable service that would enhance the cultural opportunities for all of us and was protected only because the investors needed the opportunity to recoup their investment and then we?d have cheap and reliable cable service. That was a huge lie and every politician I'm aware of has profited and will continue to profit richly from the ongoing sale and resale of telecom companies and ever escalating prices for those same services that are often very shabby. To add insult to injury, please take a look at the addresses we have sent our cable TV subscription checks to the last 30 years. Never is that work done, or even the payments processed, locally. Our political leaders sell us out and then enrich cities far away with the work of operating these information technology companies. How about the perils of buying goods and services on the web, only to find out that the merchant offers no customer service. Or when I decide to purchase a new suit or sport coat, and as a big and tall man I want to accessorize my costly new garb only to find the merchant eager for my high ticket purchase doesn't respect me enough to carry those accessories in my size. Perhaps you're galled as I am by the energy crisis manufactured by the suits who rip off their customers in every possible way they can, and then pay themselves enormous bonuses as they file bankruptcy. I remember neighborhoods having characteristics that drew me to them, and today about the only remaining part of town that retains its unique identity is North Beach and it's because there are activists with roots willing to fight for traditions and values against all the hucksters and fast buck schemers. The Mission still has some sizzle, but many of the great old neighborhoods are memories lost to the wrecker?s ball or developers yoke. How do these changes evolve and what part do our elected leaders play in this evolution? Where do all the new immigrants come from and why do they get Social Security, taxi scrip, food stamps and subsidized housing when citizens who have worked all their lives don't? Why is San Francisco so dirty? Why is Muni so miserable? Why has Market Street never been a great Boulevard? Is our architecture mediocre? Who mandates and masters our priorities? For all my ranting and raving, I just can't leave this City, I love it! |
Click on a title below to read the article. |
| Backroom Deals Still Reign |
| Blood On The Red Carpet |
| Citizen Accountability |
| Clean Streets, Dirty Minds and Good Wishes! |
| Coke or Pepsi |
| Current Events |
| Getting Away: Lake Tahoe Provides Spring Break Fun |
| How Many Disabled Placards Is Enough? |
| My favorite things, the short list? |
| My Teflon Doesn’t Fit! |
| Newsom Signs Off On Public Advisory Boards |
| What happened to all the movie theaters in San Francisco? |
| What’s wrong with SF’s cable franchise agreement? |
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