One to grow on...

Richmond is headed into the last weekend before Election Day, and we at the Tazer wanted to give all of you something for your brains to chew on before making up your minds. Seriously, this is the FUTURE of Richmond we're talking about, and your vote IS important. We trust that the people of Richmond have the knowledge and wisdom to do what's right; Richmondites who visit Tazerville even more so.

You should be so aware, informed, and knowledgeable when you step into the voting booth that when you come back out, you can tell everyone you meet that YOU made the right decision. Nobody had to convince you, subject you to peer pressure, you had to guess, or you did it because it "felt" right. Your decision was active, conscious, and borne of a mental process that took into account every scrap of information you could feed it. We at the Tazer feel that supplying the knowledge that we can is our duty, that our opinions are secondary, and if you happen to agree, all the better.

Thus, we feel obligated to instruct the public about something that at least one candidate for Mayor is unwilling to discuss. At candidate forums where the party affiliation of Mayoral candidates is queried, Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin declines to state hers. We at the Tazer wonder why this is.

Incumbent Mayor Irma Anderson is a Democrat, and so is former Councilmember Gary Bell. The Democratic Party is the other of the two major political parties in the United States, the ones that nominated John Kerry for President in 2004, and Al Gore in 2000. Phil Angelides is their Gubernatorial candidate in California this year. George Miller, Loni Hancock, Don Perata, John Gioia, and Pete Stark are also Democrats.

Now, this may seem obvious and redundant to many of you, but bear with us. Some things are less obvious, such as why Candidate McLaughlin declines to state her party affiliation.

Gayle McLaughlin is a member of the Green Party.

We at the Tazer can't answer WHY she won't tell you this when you ask at a candidate forum, but we can tell you WHAT the Green Party is.

Though not officially organized in the United States until 1996, the Green Party's roots extend back to 1960's German environmental socialism and anti-capitalism. German Green Party founders Rudi Dutschke, Heinrich Boll, and Petra Kelly were all avowed Marxists, while more modern members of the party, such as Joschka Fischer, have had experience in labor-related and/or anti-nuclear Communist movements.

In turn, the German Green Party has its roots in German national socialism, aka Nazism. Richard Walther Darre, a leading "theorist" with the Nazis, promoted the preservation of "Blood & Soil" during World War 2. His book "Peasantry As Life-Source For The Nordic Race" advocated government-controlled land and resource management, and was an inspiration to SS and Gestapo chief Heinrich Himmler. Although he was originally a PhD in agriculture, specializing in animal breeding, he extended his ideas on breeding into eugenics. As Director of Race and Settlement, his plan for "Race & Territory" led to the annihilation of millions of undesirable non-Germans. The underlying goal was protection of resources from undesirable groups of people through guardianship by the state.

Today, this link still exists, literally as Internet hyperlinks...

1) http://www.nazi.org
/community/links
/orgs

2) http://www.greens.org
/na.html
/elections

3) http://216.92.191.78/elections/candidates.php?candidateId=1984&electionId=&year=2006

4) http://www.gaylemclaughlin.net

In less than 6 degrees of separation, dots are connected from the remnants of national socialism...to the global Green Movement...to Green Parties of North America...to the Green Party of the United States...to Gayle McLaughlin, candidate for Mayor of the City of Richmond.

True, anyone can link to anything, but the basis of their common ideology is that they don't believe in the equality of understanding different people can have over a particular issue AND that this inequality must be addressed through government control.

We at the Tazer couldn't disagree more. We believe that these differences in understanding are the tools with which all solutions will be found. Through debate, compromise, and consensus in public forums, common goals will be accomplished. However, government itself cannot and should not mandate this agreement. It has to be sought and wanted, never forced.

So, when someone tells you that you have "freedom of choice," tell them they're wrong. Freedom IS choice!

From Tazerville to you, we have faith that you will use your choice wisely. Remember to vote on November 7th, and earn the Mayor you deserve.

Another poll, but a clearer view

Once again, as rising members of the new media, we've gotten hold of another press release on another poll...

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THE FUTURE OF RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 1, 2006
CONTACT: info@doublelenterprises.net

A new poll on the Richmond, CA mayoral, conducted in mid-October by media relations/political consulting firm LL Enterprises LLC shows the choices crystalizing distinctly for leadership of the city. This poll was commissioned by the Gary Bell for Mayor Campaign, using similar questions and methodology to LLE LLC's previous poll, but with the approved Internet assistance of "zoomerang.com".

The responses to this survey can be viewed HERE: "http://www.zoomerang.com/web/SharedResults/ SharedResultsPasswordPage.aspx?ID=L22RSWSBB2W2".

Results indicate that if the election were held today, former Councilmember Gary Bell would win with 33% of the votes. He would defeat current Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin by 9%, and incumbent Mayor Irma Anderson by 13%. Undecided voters account for the remaining 23%.

"As speculated in our previous poll, the candidates are getting their messages out," LLE Managing partner Wesley Westfall says. "People are getting off the fence and taking a stand. Some of that may simply be the approach of Election Day, but many voters are actually making decisions. They've been deciding based on more recent news items, campaign mailers, and, yes, word-of-mouth. Richmond is sufficiently small and still interpersonal enough for the 'rumor mill' to have sway. They are very opinionated!"

Indeed, respondents to the poll, when asked if they lived in a city with "Pride & Purpose" were given the option to comment, and 60 of the 232 did so. A vast majority of the open-ended responses could be characterized as negative; only 2 could be characterized as positive.

"I think that's the malaise we detected from our original poll," Westfall adds. "Most of the comments referenced crime, poverty, and disenchantment with city government. There's a tremendous disconnect that these people feel when it comes to city services, especially regarding public safety."

Q10: Please rate your opinion on how serious a problem crime is in the City of Richmond as a whole...

Very serious: 91%
Somewhat serious: 9%
Not too serious: 0%
Not at all serious: 0%

Q11: How serious a problem is crime in your community where you live?

Very serious: 23%
Somewhat serious: 24%
Not too serious: 40%
Not at all serious: 12%

"Once again, we find a tremendously poor perception of the problem, but still anecdotal evidence that the problem is real," says LLE Managing Partner RC Williams. "We believe that these impressions are resounding to the current administration. Certainly to Mayor Anderson, but perhaps also to Councilmember McLaughlin as well. Candidate Bell may be sufficiently outside the negative fray, and capitalizing."

"Most respondents have lived in Richmond for longer than ten years, are in their 30's or older, and are highly likely to vote," Williams continues. "We're confident that this sample data is an accurate reflection of Richmond residents who will actually go to the polls and cast ballots on Election Day. They're concerned and they want to see their city take a turn for the better."

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We at the Tazer are surprised there haven't been more of these. Is this LL Enterprises the only outfit in town performing polls? Whatever happened to the Times, the Post, and the Globe, or aren't they interested in news anymore? Sure, it's paid for by the Gary Bell campaign, but until someone else comes along this is apparently all we've got.

The data looks in line with the previous poll, as well as with what we figured as far as attitudes towards crime. Around Tazerville, we've heard the buzz, and it's really not pretty at all.

Wakey wake, politicians! You have a LOT of unhappy citizens when it comes to crime and violence. We'd ask what the candidates' plans are, but 2 out of 3 of them look like they're planning to lose...

We told you, Tazerville: WE ARE LEAVING THE LIGHTS ON, SO DO NOT SLEEP!

This time, with feeling!

We had an anonymous socko in here a minute ago running its mouth, so right after this newsbreak, we'll be telling you what you ought to be thinking...

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Sikh cabbies fear for safety
EL SOBRANTE: Recent slaying sparks forum; concerns include hate crimes, actions of local authorities

By Tom Lochner
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Whether the motive is robbery or hate, Sikh taxi drivers at a safety forum in El Sobrante on Sunday reiterated long-standing complaints that they are frequent targets of crime in the greater Richmond area.

Officials -- whom drivers and their longtime advocate, Harpreet Sandhu of the Richmond Human Relations Commission, have accused of indifference -- said they are listening and ready to act, although their proposals still require approval and financing.

Richmond Councilwoman Maria Viramontes, speaking at Gurdwara Sahib Sikh temple, promised to push her council to match some $30,000 previously allocated to help equip the city's 60 or so licensed cabs with surveillance cameras, bulletproof partitions and global positioning devices. Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus and Contra Costa sheriff's Lt. Donny Gordon proposed safe drop-off points for cabs that are shared by several drivers outside a planned new Richmond police station and the sheriff's Bay Station.

John Rudolph of the West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee said he will try to enlist other cities in a regional safety effort.

Sunday's forum came two weeks after Musharaf Poswal, 48, of Rodeo was shot and killed in Richmond, but Sandhu and the drivers have been vocal about safety since two earlier crimes in Richmond.

On July 2, 2003, Gurpreet Singh, 23, of Hercules was shot dead in his cab near 21st Street and Carlson Boulevard. On July 5, 2003, Inderjit Singh, 29, of El Sobrante was shot in the jaw on Roosevelt Avenue near 13th Street, where a dispatcher had sent him to pick up a fare.

Gurpreet Singh, no relation to Inderjit Singh, had money, jewelry and a laptop computer when he was found. Sandhu said he believes Gurpreet Singh was the victim of a hate crime.

Inderjit Singh's assailants never asked him for money, his brother said in 2003.

"They will shoot you if you have money and they will shoot you if you don't have money," said Harjit Bains, owner of a Richmond cab company.

Drivers at Sunday's forum said their job is risky because they carry cash and work alone at all hours and in high-crime areas. But Sikh drivers, as well as non-Sikhs who look South Asian or Middle Eastern, also get attacked because of their appearance -- even more so, they said, since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The situation puts them in a particularly dangerous subcategory within an inherently dangerous profession. Nationwide, taxicab driving in 1995 had the highest rate of occupational homicide, 21 times the national average, according to a federal study that year. And the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said taxi drivers had a high risk of dying on the job from any cause in a 2002 report.

Bains said Richmond officials' pledges to enhance cab driver safety are offset by high fees for annual inspections and orders to fix nicks and dents unrelated to safety.

Drivers at the forum told of numerous other violent encounters, both reported and unreported. Nirmal Rangi, speaking in Punjabi with Sandhu translating, said a man approached him at the Richmond BART station three weeks ago, saying he needed to get to Vallejo and would get the money at his destination. The man gave Rangi a telephone number to call; a woman answered and promised to pay the fare.

In Vallejo, the man got out and told Rangi to leave. Rangi said when he balked, the man beat him on the head and bit him.

Rangi, who displayed a bruise over his eye and a large scab on his arm, later identified a suspect from a police photograph of parolees but said he has not heard back from authorities.

Viramontes promised to follow up with the Vallejo police chief.

She also said she would seek federal prosecution for people suspected of using a weapon in a crime against a cabby -- although the power of the City Council to bring that about was unclear. Magnus and Gordon promised to be more aggressive in identifying hate crimes.

Reach Tom Lochner at 510-262-2760 or tlochner@cctimes.com.

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It's great to hear that the City of Richmond is being responsive to community needs, but why is throwing money at the problem the first thing Maria Viramontes thinks of?

For $30,000 twice, Richmond should probably think of getting into the taxi racket itself. Heck, why not get RPD to do it? Most cabs are old police cruisers anyway, complete with at least some of the safety equipment they're talking about. With lights and sirens on they could charge a premium for speed. What fare in his/her right mind would dare to rob an RPD "cabbie"? While providing such a useful service, they're out patrolling AND helping to pay for a brand new Hall of Justice.

Spending money that isn't yours is one thing. It's expected from pols, but then add the fantasy promise of FEDERAL prosecution for using a weapon in a crime against a cabbie when the City Council has no way to make it happen and what do we have?

POLITICAL PANDERING!

We realize that this is an election year, but "tell the people what they want to hear" ought to have a limit. Around Tazerville, it's called THE TRUTH!