New Boss Same as the Old Boss

When I graduated from college 34 years ago, my diploma bears several signatures, including that of Governor of California, Jerry Brown. When I travelled to Europe, worked for two years in Germany, lived in North carolina for a year and returned to California and started graduate school, guess who was Governor...that's right, Jerry Brown.

And now here he is again. Governor Brown

Edmund Gerald (Jerry) Brown Junior was born in 1938 and has held one form of elective office or another since 1970. A full 40 years in politics, no private sector jobs, no business experience, just government.

Frequently in discussion with my government clients, I get crazy looks from them when I am amazed by how they have worked for government their whole working life. I think there really needs to be something that say civil servants and politicians have to take a break in government service and get back out there in the real work world.  How could it hurt, to have people be able to relate to real jobs (where your "career" is measured by accomplishment more that how long you stick it out at one place?

Jerry made a lot of promises about how he was going to put all that experience to work. Having lived in this state under his leadership, I know his record. He signed into law the Dills Act, enabling California State employees to organize into unions, he worked for approving the unionizing of farm workers:

 "Jerry Brown becomes California governor. In response to the strikes and boycotts?as well as mounting pressure from the supermarket industry growers agree to a state law guaranteeing California farm workers the right to organize, vote in state-supervised secret-ballot elections and bargain with their employers. With help from Gov. Brown, the UFW wins passage of the landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act."

Thanks Jerry. You are a true union hero. OOPs, but I ain't in a fricking union, am I.

 

 

Giants win the Series! Giants win the Series!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 Games to 1!!!

World Series -

I love the S F Giants, have since I stayed with my grandparents at age 11 for the summer, and every other day grandpa would say "There's a Giants game on, lets go listen", and we would sit in the parlor and listen to the radio like he had for probably 40 years...

I think about that as i watch the games on my HDTV, although I think the play by play was better years ago on the radio...

So i was really kind of shocked when I spotted this ad online

Wed, Nov 03 2010 4:30 PM
AT&T Park - San Francisco, CA
World Series Game 6
1798 ticket listings offered from $536 to $95419 each.

 Are you kidding me? almost a 100k to watch the world series live? Even 500 is a lot, and those are bleacher seats...

 

Still, I love the Giants...

World Series

I won't be online much...I'm a SF Giants fan!

China and the US- CAGW ad

Baseball

Friends and occasional readers...

I am following the National League Championship, rooting for who else...

Foreign Funding of Political Activities in USA

Lately the news has been buzzing with the Obama admin claim that the US Chamber of Commerce is using foreign funds to run anti-democrat ads. They have provided no evidence, only allegations. Its a "prove you are not doing it" situation, a version of guilty until proven otherwise...Democrtas are playing w fire here.

Back in the Clinton presidency ...(from Wiki)

“Chinagate” was a Department of Justice investigation that found the People's Republic of China tried to influence domestic American politics during the 1996 federal elections.

The issue first received public attention in early 1997, with news that a Justice Department investigation had uncovered evidence that agents of China sought to direct contributions to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in violation of U.S. laws regarding foreign political contributions.[1] The Chinese government denied all accusations. Twenty-two people were eventually convicted of fraud or for funneling Asian funds into the United States elections, and others fled U.S. jurisdiction.

The plan, according the Senate report, instructed Chinese officials in the U.S. to improve their knowledge about members of Congress and increase contacts with its members, the public, and the media. The plan also suggested ways to lobby United States officials.

Ultimately, Justice Department prosecutors secured the conviction of several fund-raisers for various offenses. John Huang served 500 hours of community service and paid a $10,000 fine. Johnny Chung served 3000 hours of community service. Charlie Trie served four months of in-home detention. Maria Hsia served 90 days of home detention and paid a $5,300 fine. Indonesian billionaire James Riady was fined $8.6 million. Ernest Green served three months home detention. Michael Brown served 150 hours of community service and paid a $5000 fine. In all, the Justice Department task force secured criminal convictions against 22 people by 2001. Several of these were associates of Bill Clinton or Al Gore.