Public Comment

SMIITHEREENS: Reflections on Bits & Pieces: Kamala, Clubbers & Collectibles

Gar Smith

Saturday August 24, 2024 - 03:36:00 PM

Breaking Down The Walz
In the run-up to the Democratic National Convention, the HarrisWalz campaign mass-mailed the following memo, accompanied by several snapshots:
"Get a hold of this: Donald Trump is telling his MAGA base that Tim Walz will 'unleash hell on Earth.'

What a bunch of baloney.

In case you missed it, here's [a photo of] Coach Walz at the Minnesota State Fair holding a baby pig.... Sculpting a school bus out of butter… And riding the Slingshot with his daughter…."

Looks more like a case of good-hearted "ham on Earth."

Harris' Coins Dem's MAGA-meme: WWFWW
A large concern for voters is whether Harris's foreign policy will deviate from Joe Biden's "angry grandpa" reliance on billion-dollar proxy-wars-for-empire, his willingness to facilitate genocide in Gaza, and his readiness to raise tensions by invoking the use of nuclear weapons.

Somehow, the democratic ticket has not taken steps toward de-escalation nor is the party showing signs of mounting a peace platform. Far from it. The Harris/Walz signature campaign slogan remains: "When We Fight, We Win"—a line that also sits well with inhabitants of the Trumpiverse.

Seriously, Sierra Clubbers?

And it's not just political parties that approach problem-solving with fists clenched. A fund-raising letter from the Sierra Club just arrived and the two-page solicitation contained no less than 15 solicitations to violence by invoking the following language; "we fight for the environment" because "every battle matters" in critical "legal fights" that "we need to fight to win." Maybe instead of tote bags, the Club could echo it's name by offering donors hand-crafted cudgels.

Have Some Fun Raising Funds for Measure EE

With 40% of Berkeley's roads in poor or failing condition, community activists went knocking on doors to get measure EE on November's ballot. Now the local pro-paving group has organized a community fundraiser to finance the Fix the Streets and Sidewalks ballot campaign!

This Saturday, Friends of Hopkins Street (FHS) will be hosting a neighborhood yard sale on Hopkins Court and Albina Avenue to raise money to fund the yard signs, advertising, buttons, and flyers needed to support the initiative.
The event is set for August 24, from 1-4 p.m. on Albina Avenue (near the Monterey Market, off Hopkins). Jeanne Schuman and her blues band Midnight Kitchen will be performing from 2-3:30 so "plan on doing some driveway dancing!"

FHS has put out the word to "scour your closets, basements, and garages to see if you have treasures you no longer need that you would like to see find a new home." And, "Who knows? You may find a treasure you can’t live without!" The donation site is now overflowing with kitchenware, tools, electronic equipment, antiques, clothing and oddities (like a combination radio/record player and a huge 3-D poster of Bob Marley).

Measure EE will finally make it possible to get Hopkins paved, "at least in its worst segment between Gilman and Sacramento," says FHS. "We worked hard to get the measure on the ballot. Let’s work just as hard to get it over the finish line!

Fashion Plates
Personalized license plates spotted around Berkeley.
MZDAMBN
2SEXY4U
CATTMOM

IMRIGHT
THX ELON (on a Tesla)
4 G+VEN (Forgiven)
SPDTRXE (Speed Trixie?)
ARTPL8 (Art Plate)

Bumper Snickers
Trump 20-24 Years in Prison
I Did Not Vote for the Bigot
I'm Anti-Trump Because I'm Anti-Stupid
Trump Lost. Get Over It
Pro-America Anti-Trump
TUCK FRUMP

Pole Posters
There are a lot of posters pasted on utility polls in Berkeley. Always have been; always will be. Most feature photos of missing kittens, notices of estate sales or pleas from tutors looking for students. But here's one neatly printed posting that really stood out from its perch on a neighborhood pole.

Nick Frabasilio for Berkeley Mayor

Appoint a police chief who will defend the citizens of Berkeley from Organized Crime.
Fire organized crime employees.
Conduct the autopsy.

Nick Frabasilio has been attacked by organized crime for the past seven-plus years, for being an activist. Nick has been attacked mostly by fascist satellite technology; which has included an audiovisual broadcast to his brain, daily physical attacks on his body, and disappearing and damaging his personal property.

The audiovisual broadcast has included being sexually abused all day and night, for the past five years, by a queer "Rapist," [A well-known name has been deleted to save Nick F. from a defamation lawsuit], a crime agent whose death was faked in the City of Berkeley last year. Nick is straight. The Berkeley police haven't helped Nick after 15 contacts, and won't even conduct an autopsy.

Nick also hasn't found help anywhere else in the country, not from any police, hospitals, etc.

Nick Frabasilio for Berkeley Mayor

Waiting for Kamala's Campaign Song
When Bill Clinton and Al Gore paired up in their bid to run the country, their theme song was "Don't Stop Thinking about Tomorrow." When Elizabeth Warren was making a presidential bid, her campaign song was Dolly Parton's "Nine to Five." When Trump's campaign learned that Harris would be using Beyoncé's "Freedom," the GOPers tried to co-opt the song. But Beyoncé banned The Donald from stealing her lyrics and made sure the song was bequeathed to Kamala.