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Hey fellow San Franciscans,

I know you’ve been bombarded with local and state political information and requests. Not to mention the important task of electing Obama and fighting a marriage ban in California. But, I felt compelled to share with you a little glimpse into SF politics that I’ve recently experienced.

You probably know that our city’s government is bitterly divided between Newsom and Daly. This year Daly and Newsom are each supporting a candidate for District 11 Supervisor. Each of these powerful politicians has purely political reasons for supporting their respective candidates. Newsom wants Asha Safai to win so that he can override a veto by the Board of Supervisors. Whereas Daly supports John Avalos so that he can all but ensure a veto of Newsom’s policies. You may have a personal preference of which way you’d like to see the power dynamic swing. But what’s sad is that outside this battle, the residents of District 11 are losing out.

Because these two candidates have deep-pocketed political machines behind them, you may not even know that there are other candidates in the race. One of the more interesting candidates, imho, is Randy Knox. Randy is a long-time resident of District 11 (over 20 years) and has raised his kids there. I went to his kick-off volunteer rally last Saturday. As Randy spoke I was inspired by seeing someone running for office who actually wants to make real change happen in his community. What was even more impressive was when all 70 volunteers went around the circle, introduced themselves, and identified how they knew Randy. Everyone (except me and one other friend-of-a-friend) knew Randy personally and was compelled to come out and help get him elected. That’s the true face of community-based politics.

After a few short speeches, it was time to hit the streets. We all took fliers and well-organized volunteer packets and started knocking on doors. It was my first time canvassing for a candidate, and at first I was nervous. But then, the folks who lived in one of the first houses I talked to actually knew Randy. We had a great conversation about what Randy wanted to do, why he was different than the other candidates, and why they should support him. With that great conversation under my belt, it was even easier to walk up to the next house, and the next.

So my friends and fellow San Franciscans, I urge you to consider supporting Randy Knox. I have donated to his campaign twice now, because I’m tired of partisan politics slowing down progress at City Hall. (You don’t have to live in District 11 to donate to Randy, btw.)

I know you’ve got a lot of other worthy causes to support — I’m financially supporting them too. But Randy has opted for public financing (which is the way all politics should operate, in my opinion). So if you can contribute to Randy, he’ll get a matching amount from the city. As I always say: Every little bit counts.

If you can’t contribute and you don’t live in District 11, then I encourage you to investigate the political motivations of the candidates running in your district. Vote for the candidate who isn’t one of the Daly or Newsom pawns. We need supervisors who get things done. Like, for example, Bevan Dufty who is the Supervisor in my district and is particularly awesome at responding to the requests of his constituents. It took only one message to Bevan about my streetlight being out for several weeks, and 2 days later it was fixed. It may seem inconsequential to you, but it proved to me that there are supervisors who still care about their neighborhoods and not just city politics. We need more supervisors like that. Supervisors like Randy Knox.

I nearly passed by this little dirty tidbit. In fact, I printed this article a week or so ago and forgot to read it. Basically, the McCain camp has been hiring folks to write ghost-write fake letters to send to newspaper editors around the country. Reeks of Rove

Read about at Salon here and here.

Um, is it too late to ask for a belated birthday present? I want this book in real bad way. It takes me back to my days as a kid growing up on the cattle ranch. Dayum, cowboys are just so freakin hot. Check out a few steamy examples of what’s inside this book:

OMG. I had a nerdgasm when Lene sent me this link. A Hal Jordan Green Lantern movie would make me so so so so so so happy.

According to a script review — spoilers! — posted earlier this month at Latino Review, “The structure adheres closely to what I call — the ’superhero origin movie paradigm.’ Our hero, in this case Hal Jordan has a fear, limitation, block, or wound at the beginning of the story which he has to overcome (his character arc) or have some control by the midpoint of the script which is usually the time he becomes the superhero for the first time ie: Batman Begins.”

Sure, it may cost millions, but how freakin cool does this look?!

Newsom says:

“San Francisco’s Civic Center sits at the core of one of the most visited cities in the world. What better way to educate the world on sustainability than by transforming that core to showcase how we can use water more efficiently, promote food security, and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. San Francisco has always been a leader – willing to think differently and act boldly. And now, our Civic Center will stand as a global model for how we achieve a more sustainable future.”

Thanks to Lady Leblanc for sharing. This is beautiful. (And a couple of the dudes are hawt!)

Sarah dear, please just stop talking. You’re not good at it. Know when to stop. Then actually stop.

Couric: And when it comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?

Palin: I’ve read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.

Couric: What, specifically?

Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.

Couric: Can you name a few?

Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn’t a foreign country, where it’s kind of suggested, “Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?” Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.

An awesome Obama t-shirt that I’m super tempted to buy. (Get it?? Super tempted…!)

From my buddy Reg over at Mitchieville. So so so true.

This is sort of mean. But funny:

ANCHORAGE. Conservative Republicans are in shock after it emerged this morning that vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, currently a self-proclaimed hockey-mom, used to be a pitbull-human hybrid. It was also revealed that shortly after accepting the Republican nomination she began to evolve rapidly into a 90-year-old man with one testicle and a Georgia cotton plantation.

Ms Palin, who has promised to keep wearing her popular rimless spectacles despite the rapid changes that will see her face become even squarer than it is, apologized to her party for proving Darwin’s theory of evolution.

“I am gutted that I have let the American Right down like this,” she said at a tearful press conference this morning, surrounded by her collection of stuffed polar bears in the den of her Anchorage home.

“Our primary argument for Creation and against the communist satanic onslaught of evolution has always been: ‘Well I’ve never seen a chimp turn into a man’ or ‘Show me a gorilla giving birth to a human baby and I’ll believe in evolution’…. (Click here for more mean-spirited hilarity.)