In case you missed it, President 25% Approval Ratings was able to ram through some legislation revamping all those FISA laws you keep hearing about. It's hard to make heads or tails of what the bill says as the administration, in a surprise to no one, won't tell anyone what it says, but it involves making warrants kind of unnecessary, the monitoring of anyone suspected as a "terrorist" and-- get this-- the oversight by one Alberto "Fredo" Gonzalez. That's more than letting the fox guard the hen house, that's letting Michael Vick run the SPCA. more ›

Things have changed since our last post about Presidio Terrace. Go on, take a look at the old post - we'll wait for you. Now, instead of one Yellow Man inside the gate, it's a bunch. And they've brought a few friends along as well in a kind of virtual demonstration, as you can see in the screenshot above. Oh my! more ›

The after-shocks of the announcement on Friday that the 49ers were thinking of heading south continue to reverberate. Niners fans in the city are pissed, the Olympics in 2016 movement are stunned, Diane Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi stopped celebrating to pitch in, and Gavin and John York are throwing spitballs at each other. It's gotten so bad, John's wife, Denise DeBartolo, had to ride in and come to her hubby's rescue. more ›

Recently, the Senate voted on the Republicans biennial attempt at saving America from the horrible threat of flag burning. Goodness gracious, imagine the hullabaloo if a bunch of gay Mexicans ever decided to burn a flag. Anyways, we hoped that the bill would fail miserably and the Democratic Party would have nothing to do with it but it didn't happen. Instead it came a vote short of passing. We did happen to notice, however, that the bill was labeled as "bipartisan" as it was co-sponsored by a Democrat. And the particular Democrat who cosponsored it? Our very own Diane Feinstein. Which we knew about but totally forgot because what with the war still raging, government eavesdropping programs going unfettered, and our complete and total obsession with "Battlestar Galactica," had moved onto bigger and more important things to concern ourselves with. more ›

-The Mayor of San Jose, Ron Gonzales, was censured last week by the San Jose City Council for sheninigans involving a contract he negotiated with Norcal Waste Systems. The censure was the first in the city's 155 year history. Breaking with political tradition and going against every rule in the political book, Gonzales accepted responsibility for the censure and said that he "wholeheartedly'' accepted it, adding "it is my obligation to earn back that trust" that he lost over his actions. In calling for censure, however, the City Council also voted to end the independent investigation into the contract because they don't want to "wallow in our shortcomings.'' They also voted to take away some of the Mayor's powers and to consider booting him off several committees. more ›

Orrin Hatch. Oh, the humanity. more ›

As Boston takes stock after the shock of the recent Democratic National Convention and New York braces for impact in preparation for the soon-to-hit RNC, EssEffist recalls that twenty years ago it was San Francisco's turn. The DNC descended into the depths the still young Moscone Center July 16 to 19, 1984, bringing with it such luminaries as Presidential nominee Walter Mondale, Vice Presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and New York State Governor Mario Cuomo. If you know what's good for you, you'll listen to Jackson's "Rainbow Coalition" speech. If you know what's really good for you, you'll listen to Cuomo's "A Tale of Two Cities" keynote address. more ›