Your (California) high-speed choo-choo update

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We had to cut short a post of a couple of days ago regarding California's high-speed rail system and the absurdity of the "alternate" use of the same for fear of sending our readers into a irreversible state of depression.

Having had a couple of days of rest and recovery, let's tread forward together in a slow and orderly fashion and pick up where we left off at the same linked article from the L.A. Times.


Certainly, Jerry Brown is under pressure from Big Labor, Big Green and Big Construction to begin building this monstrosity but what is the form of the pressure he is receiving from Washington D.C. and their partial funding of the project? In response to changing construction plans so that the high-speed rail system could be built first in urban areas* where it might actually be used instead of the Cental Valley:

At a recent hearing by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in Washington, key California legislators asked if the construction plan could be changed. But Joseph Szabo, the Obama administration's chief of the Federal Railroad Administration, said California has no flexibility to rethink the project.

"The ability to shift dollars is not there," he said.

Kind of like interior design decisions that cannot be changed when you made the decision to let the in-laws help out just a little too much with the down payment on the home. That skin in the game that was so welcome at the time has now become a mill stone.



Tax-dodging billionaire, Warren Buffet has been in the news of late for the windfall he stands to gain from shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline project as oil from the North Dakota fields (now the nation's fourth biggest oil producer and climbing) will have to be shipped southward on old slow freight trains. Burlington-Northern trains. Burlington-Northern trains that happen to be owned by Berkshire-Hathaway, Buffet's firm.




Now, back to California:

Roelof van Ark** , the project's chief executive, insists the bullet-train corridor will not become a white elephant.

He has conceded, however, that re-routing Amtrak would be relatively expensive for the benefit.

The federal government has set aside $108 million to link the high-speed segment to the track used by Amtrak, which it shares with freight hauler Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. High-speed rail officials say that's enough for the job.

But a number of rail experts said that more money will be needed to integrate the two systems, and it's unclear how the financially struggling Amtrak system would pay any difference.

(as if you needed the italics)



We almost feel sorry for Jerry Brown. We thought his pragmatist-centrist I'm just too old to give a damn campaign approach was brilliant and would strike a tone with indies and moderates. But here we are: he has allowed himself to be painted into a corner by a progessive coalition of labor unions, greenies, big city mayors and a corrupt adminstration pursuing a two-pronged attack of their unsustainable green agenda and a crony capitalism that is staggering in both its size and sheer audacity to build the greatest boondoggle known to mankind and which will ultimately define his political legacy.






* Also a dubious plan as San Francisco and L.A. both have light rail systems making high-speed choo-choos in those same areas completely redundant.


** Our German scientists are better than their German scientists. Sorry, it was just too easy.

Free the Panda!

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We're a little late to the party as this story has been blowing up on the conservative interwebs this past week and rightly so because it really is the free-market feel-good story of the year.

Recall the Happy Meal ban put in place in San Francisco where McDonald's was prohibited from including any toys with said meal.

Don't get us wrong. We despise McDonald's. Not for their ubiquitous success nor for their LSD-inspired characters but simply because they serve up the worst hamburgers known to mankind. We haven't had one of their burgers in probably 15 years such is the revulsion with which our digestive tract greets them.

Having said that, we are pleased as punch with respect to this free-market end-around to the benevolent liberal fascism being imposed on the citizenry of San Francisco.

A ban against toy giveaways with high-fat meals doesn’t seem to have fazed San Francisco McDonald’s franchise owners. They’ve found a way to circumvent it.

Instead of doing away with the small Happy Meal toys that usually come free with each Happy Meal purchased, San Francisco McDonald’s owners will now charge 10 cents for the trinket. They say the extra money will go toward the Ronald McDonald House, a McDonald’s charity that supports sick children and their families.

Scott Rodrick, owner of 10 of the 19 McDonald’s in San Francisco, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the 10 cent cost “complies with the letter of the law.

“This law is not what my customers wanted or asked for, but the law’s the law,” he told the newspaper.

Your dern tootin' it's the law and there are unintended consequences to such laws that are solely about politics and not public health as so ably demonstrated by Mr. Rodrick.



And cue the nanny state whining:

But Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Center, supports the toy ban, saying that the toys and the trinkets “clearly goad children to prefer and request less nutritional meals.”

He said the 10-cent charge shifts the toy, and less nutritious meals, from default mode and into parental decision-making.

Without any goading whatsoever, we would've preferred Fruit Loops and Skittles at every meal while growing up but Mom and Dad had other ideas. Slouching off parental responsibilities upon corporations is counter-intuitive, counter-productive and completely misses the point.

The government leveraging the law to alter the menus of fast food restaurants as a replacement to sound parenting makes about as much sense as it sounds.


Thank you, Mr. Rodrick, you've made our week.

Your high-speed choo-choo update

We've chronicled some whopper boondoggles on these pages but for its concentrated scale and sheer audacity, this one is worthy of being ranked right towards the top.

Who's up for $1 billion/mile rail line in San Fran that doesn't even hook up with the BART line and isn't near being fully funded yet?

This near two-mile railroad to nowhere will cost $1.6 billion and we all know the costs of these types of projects never... repeat, never go down, only up.


They're funded to the tune of $700 million, currently and the city thinks they can scratch together $500 million from other sources but that still leaves them almost another $500 million short.

Not to worry. This is Pelosi country. They'll get the cashe under some such gimmickry like infrastructure stimulus. Take it to the bank.

MAXED OUT: Day 3 In San Francisco

The San Francisco Maxalogue continues. Sir Maximus...?

Ok, you crazy kids, so far I have reviewed a few beer bars that I visited on this last San Francisco trip, as well as airport bars in
general. Today I’m gonna review a few more, and in the next couple
days a few more, as well as put a big fat bow on the whole trip.
Honestly though, if you want to know what to do or where to go in San
Francisco I am a self-proclaimed master tour guide in the city by the
bay, so hit me up if you do find yourself heading there.

So, on the fifth of July, I rounded up 20 fine folks to attend the
Giants/Padres game in the most beautiful stadium that these little
eyes have ever seen. But first we had to do an epic beer bar tour,
right? I mean come on, it just makes sense. First stop: Toronado
San Francisco. Sos the game starts at 7pm and obviously that means
that it’s a good idea to start drinking at noon, right? Toronado San
Francisco is a world reknowned beer bar located in the Lower Haight
district on the corner of Haight and Fillmore, to be exact. The
bartenders are typically, ummm, not friendly, which was pleasantly not the case on this occasion. Johnny was our barkeep and was most
helpful. I’m almost positive that everyone that I was with got to
enjoy Moonlight Brewery’s Reality Czech, a perfect example of a Czech-style pilsner from a tiny, itty-biddy little brewery just south of San
Francisco. Oh, and Toronado itself is just this average, tavern-looking bar with stickers all over the walls and the smell of rank
beer and sausage in the air. But the draft list alone is worth it.
Some 50 beers on draft, every one of them better than the last. And
the reason for the sausage smell? Rosamunde’s Sausage Grill is two
doors down and you can bring their AMAZING food back to Toronado. A
MUST! And a little local secret is that they have burger Tuesdays,
which is the only day that they make some of the best burgers you’ll
ever have. When did we go? Ya, that would be on a Tuesday.
Service: (Typically) D. Ambiance: D. Beers: A+. Overall: A-…. Yes
it’s just a must see/experience.

After filling our bellies with sausages, hamburgers and beer we
decided to skip a little Nano-Brewery called Magnolia and start
heading toward the stadium. Next stop Zeitgeist, baby! Originally, a
bike messenger bar, Zeitgeist has turned into a local favorite on warm
summer days. When you walk in it just looks like a dinky little punk
bar but when you walk onto their outside patio you realize what all
the fuss is about. Their patio is about the size of a football field,
lined with picnic style benches and umbrellas. And we lucked out with
the weather, as it was 75 with a slight breeze. Can you say
PERFECT!?!??! They only have about 12 beers to choose from, but their line-up has a few decent beers to choose from available both in the
pitcher and by the pint. A round of pitchers it is then! Oh, and
they too have a grill with some of the least nutritious burgers on the
planet. Right up my alley. If you find yourself at the edge of the
Mission district on one of the few warm days in San Francisco, I
implore you all to check this not so little gem.
Food: B+. Beer: B-. Service: B. Ambiance: A+. Overall: A-

But we had to make our way to the stadium, so after a few beers at
Zeitgeist we moseyed on over to 21st Amendment, a Micro/Nano-Brewery
just a few blocks from the stadium. They once collaborated with Stone
and Firestone on a beer called El Camino (Un)Real Black Ale, a 9.5% American Strong Ale, which gives them some cred in the beer biz. The restaurant itself is a little too polished for my liking, and on game
days (which is, of course, when we went) can be far too crowded (which
it was.) Their beer is preeeeety good, not great. I had their house
IPA which is a fair representation of a West Coast IPA and hung out
on their side patio. I was feeling pretty saucy at this point, so I
don’t have much else to report on this joint but would still recommend
your checking it out if you happen to be on a beer tour of San
Francisco.
Beer: B+. Ambiance: B-. Service: C+. Overall: B, but worth checking out.

Alright kiddos, stay tuned for my review of Hemlock Tavern, Lucky 13,
and Blackbird, which will be the first non-beer related establishment
that I will have reviewed. Why? Because it is that freakin’ amazing.

Until next time my beer loving brethren, have a beer for me.

MAXED OUT: Airport Bars

Admit, it. You missed the kid. Max was up in San Fran with some friends and doing his thing last week so naturally he wanted to regale us with all his adventures in the city by the Bay.

So on our way to San Francisco, Steele and I stopped by the airport bar… I know, shocking. I’m sure most of you reading this have been to San Diego’s airport, but holy crap! Can you get with the times people? First off, trying to find an outlet in this joint is like
trying to find a hipster without a mustache. Mission: Impossible. So,
the charging of any electronic device is out of the question. I
digress. The bar in the airport is quite an interesting place to
visit. Doesn’t really matter which airport I’ve visited, there always
seems to be some crusty demon behind the sticks (tending bar) and the
beer is almost as big of a rip off as it is at a football game. We
elected to sit out in the “restaurant” section of ‘Bloody Mary’ and
got a hot lil’ 60 year-old Pilipino woman as our cocktail waitress.
It was unfortunate for us because there were 7 other people in her
section, so it took about a half an hour for us to get our first beer.

So the funny thing about airport bars is that they always have the
same exact beers on draft: Bud Light, Stella Artois, Blue Moon and
Sam Adams. First beer that is from a local brewery, in this case was Karl Strauss’ Tower 10 IPA, last time it was Stone Pale Ale and
in San Francisco you can almost be assured that it is Anchor Steam.
Sometimes you get another local beer, in this case it was Karl
Strauss’ Red Trolley. So for two Tower 10s and two Bud Lights
(WHAT?!?! THEY HAVE DRINKABILITY!) and a french dip sandwich we
spent $50. Holy macaroni! Oh well, I’m on vacation. Suck it.


MAXED OUT – The Arrival

So I elected not to drink on the plane ride to San Francisco which
turned out to be a good thing. We arrived in San Francisco and split
a taxi with a cute lil’ blonde from Sweden to our hotel. Good start
to the week says I! From there we met up with our cohorts and headed
directly to Visuvio, which is a bar on Columbus Avenue at the tip of North Beach also known as the Italian district. Visuvio is a bar located directly next to City Lights Book Store, which is known as the main hub of the “Beat Generation.” This bar is so old and dilapidated that it feels as if at any moment you may fall from the top floor to
the bottom. Did I mention how AWESOME this place is? It really is.
And what better beer to welcome us into the “city by the bay” than
Anchor Steam? This malty treat’s recipe “steams” back to 1896 and has
a rich history in the bay area. As the original of the steam beer
category, its rich aroma and amber color provides for a delightful
beginning of the evening beer. So between the six of us we enjoyed 2
pitchers and headed on to our next destination: TO KENNEDY’S! I’m
going to leave you all on a cliff hanger-until next time, however,
because I want to lump both experiences at Kennedy’s into one blog.
And stay tuned for my review of Toronado San Francisco in future MAXED OUT installments. Also 21st Amendment, Zeitgeist, Lucky 13 and Blackbird. That’s right, kiddos, immabouta knock yo socks off! Only getting started.

Until next time my beer loving brethren, have a beer for me.

(ed. note: Airport bars are indeed odd places. Captive audience, thirsty patrons and because of byzantine taxes (we're assuming), strange prices (86 cent change?))

That train don't stop here

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We hate public transportation. There, we said it. And, yes, we probably are drowners of little baby kittens and enemies of Gaia to boot but we cannot shake that innate feeling that whenever we step onto a bus or a trolley it is, to us, a demoralizing, demeaning and dehumanizing experience.

Of course, we're somewhat products of our environment in this respect as we have spent all but 4 years on this planet living in Southern California, the hands-down capital of car culture in America and the world. As such, instead of familiarity it is indeed unfamiliarity that breeds our contempt.

Having to comply with someone else's schedule when we deal with that enough as it is... fear of hopping onto the wrong train or bus... fear of missing our stop... being mildly claustrophobic... just not getting there freaking fast enough... have you ever been able to double-back on a bus when you see a pretty girl walking down the street? (in our youth... in our youth)... no choice in the matter of traveling companions... not being able to figure out the token machines... having ZERO control over the radio


... the list goes on.

In short, public tranportation is the antithesis of freedom. Your individual desires and wants are secondary to that of the collective and central planning which is why it such an anathema to us.

Well, you'd be singing a different tune if you lived in a densely populated metropolis, champ?


Would we?

Click on over to our blog-buddy Harrison's place, here, and listen to his tale of woe being car-less in that statist paradise of San Francisco.





Related: On the way home from work yesterday, our beloved hoopdie ('99 Toyota Tacoma) rolled over.

Look at her. Our freedom rider. 200 large and only a clutch and timing belt replacement to show for it. Could you ever love a bus in that way?

* That's the view entering Monument Valley from the south out of Kayenta, Arizona.

You see the darndest things

Where you going to find Truthers, gay rights protesters, anti-war protesters, ass-bearing liberals and tea partiers all in the same place at the same time? In San Francisco (where else?) for a Presidential fund-raiser yesterday.

And down here in San Diego, a far more tame affair as the congregation gathered for an Eco-Tyranny Tea Party down at the Star of India and which had a special guest, Tina Fey. For reals.

Temple of Mut and The City Square cover both events here and here.

ODS

In San Francisco, some religious figures are just more socially acceptable than others.

Nuance...

“Rural Whites”… “Ethnic Conservatives” … whatever PC-gobblydegook we were attempting to get-over in our election coverage here and here, the San Francisco Chronicle clears up with surgical-like precision: Dumb-ass crackers don’t buy Obama.

H/T: Weasel Zippers

"If it saves just one life, then it was all worth it."

The old adage of “bad examples make for bad policy” has always been a refrain of ours but one which we would never suggest to Sgt. Anita Shaw of the United States Army who was serving this country in Iraq when she lost her teenage son, Jamiel when he was gunned down by an illegal immigrant in L.A. in March of this year.

But come to think of it, why would deportation be bad policy? For all the hand-wringing of an economic collapse due to mass deportations and whining over breaking up the family units of hard-working, family-oriented illegal aliens because of the same, would it be too much to ask that we at least kick-out the bad actors? Check out Jamiel’s Law, here.

Is it too much to ask our elected leaders to grow a spine and possibly (gasp) ruffle some Mexican and central American feathers by rightly making these people their problem instead of ours? Is it too much to expect our elected leaders to actually uphold the law of the land to which they have sworn an oath? Don’t hold your breath.

In fact, expect just the opposite. The same inane “sanctuary city” policies that cost Jamiel his life are being pursued in a much splashier fashion by San Fran mayor, Gavin Newsome who has embarked on an $83,000 tax-payer funded city-wide program that seeks to welcome illegals with open arms.

Boy Blunder, you may recall, is the same person who decided on his own 4 years ago to abrogate Prop. 22 which banned same-sex marriages here in California by ordering the city clerk’s office to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Newsome was widely criticized by fellow Democrats for giving George Bush a stick to beat John Kerry about the head regarding this issue. Nice work, Gav. We’re hoping this stunt has a similar effect in further galvanizing all us racists and nativists.

...and makes us feel we've been targeting the wrong people with all this deportation talk.