City of Oakland parking tow sting harms Oaklanders

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As Oakland Councilmembers like Jean Quan remind you that on Tuesday they voted to roll back parking enforcement times from 8 P.M. to 6 P.M., a terrible and really hurtful act is being done by the City of Oakland and its harming a lot of Oaklanders.

The City of Oakland's instructed parking enforcement staff to just check license plates on cars to make sure the registrations' up to date. If it's not, even if the car's legally parked and regardless of the records error the driver is fighting, they will tow it. This is happening every day and now it happened to me.

I had a DMV registration charge that I proved was too high from 2008. My 2009 costs were paid already but this complex matter has been in dispute and we finally resolved it and at a cost I could afford. Meanwhile I was barely using the car for obvious reasons, and staying around the neighborhood. But, late for a lunch meeting on Thursday, I parked on the street, paid the meter ticket, and when I came out less than the time I had paid for, the car was gone.

That was a punch in the stomach. Fortunately I am able to pay DMV on Monday, but I learned the City of Oakland's towing cars on what many, many people have described as a "sting" operation. I've walked by random Oaklanders who say they can't afford to get their car out of the tow yard and they were legally parked.

That's terrible.

Yes. We can all say that we should work to keep our registration up to date, but in the past the City of Oakland would give you an "expired tag" ticket which at least gave one time to get the money to fix the problem.

A lot of people are without work - no job at all. No money coming in to pay for anything or just barely getting by. I overheard one man say he had to spend almost $2,000 for his car. A friend of mine on Facebook posted that she owed $1,400 in tickets. Fortunately she, like me, has a job.

But the problem is the City of Oakland's parking records are faulty and don't reflect if a payment for a ticket was made through DMV (as I do) in a timely fashion. In other words, it could take years for the payment of a ticket to show up in the City's records.

Does that mean if you paid DMV registration which covered a ticket two years ago, the City of Oakland's records may not reflect that - and you could pay twice?

Yes.

This is an outrage of massive proportions because it comes at a time when people need their money just to make ends meet. I'm happy to be in the position I'm in and have money coming in, but I feel for those I just happen to over hear on the street or the gym or talk to.

It's a rampant Oakland parking tow sting operation.

Some people don't like to talk about it which is why it goes "under the radar" while the City Council pats itself on the back for rolling back parking times. Big deal. I'm blogging about it because I'm no different than anyone else except I do have a "big mouth" and I'm using it to help those less fortunate.

City of Oakland, stop this sting operation, NOW. Please. You're hurting a lot of Oaklanders in a city who's unemployment rate is at around 25 percent or more in some areas. It's not right to try and balance the budget on the backs of Oakland's poor. They need their cars just to get to whatever job they may find; now you take that away from them for your own money needs.

That's not right at all. Help Oaklanders, don't hurt them. Some cold folks out there may jump for joy over the misfortune of others because they are "anti-car" but that's really selfish. Some of those same Oaklanders have no problem asking a person with a car for a ride home. Now if that person doesn't have a car, the anti-car person's stuck too, right?

Geez.

City of Oakland and City Administrator Dam Lindheim, how about a more civil way of handling this? Or does it have to happen to you before you get what others are feeling? I hope not.

Lee Corso Stroke, Eddie Robinson, and Cal v. UCLA - college football today

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Today marks the sixth week of a rapidly moving 2009 NCAA College Football Season. I didn't know ESPN College Football Analyst Lee Corso suffered a stroke in May of this year, but apparently he's returned to form in fine fashion today, still carrying a full load at 73 years of age. (My Mom still insists on working at 75.) I don't always agree with Corso's picks but I enjoy his enthusiasm for the game.

Lee Corso of ESPN 

Today also marks the anniversary of late Grambling Coach Eddie Robinson's 324th win in 1985, pushing him past legendary Alabama Coach Bear Bryant as the winningest coach in college football history. Coach Robinson. It's hard for me to think of him as gone; his presence is just that powerful.

Coach Robinson gave us some of the greatest players in history, including Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams, who led the 'skins to victory in Super Bowl XXII, becoming the first and still the only African American quarterback to win a Super Bowl and gain the MVP award.

Cal v. UCLA a must win big game

And my beloved but suffering California Golden Bears have a must win game against UCLA down there today. Unfortunately, given the way UCLA was manhandled by Stanford last week, this Pac-10 battle's a must win for them too.

I will hold out hope that Cal's offense actually scores a touchdown or five for the first time in three weeks. Will Cal Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludwig take the advice I gave him on Monday? We shall see. I still say GO BEARS!

Giants Should Rest Eli because this could be a “Jungle Ambush”

Giants Should Rest Eli because this could be a “Jungle Ambush” By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Executive Editor-Football Reporters Online

Why risk it? That is what I would think If I were Coach Coughlin. So the guy started 82 strait games. It’s not like he has Brett Farve’s ego. New York Is 4-0(again), and can’t afford to loose Eli now that he’s probably playing his best football, at least since the championship run, to date.

In case anyone hasn’t noticed, they play Oakland this weekend. They have been one of the worst teams in the NFL since they lost to Tampa Bay in the Superbowl. In the official media speak coming out of Giants land, Eli is “questionable” for Sunday’s contest. “A Game time decision, if the medical staff think he can play he will play” said Coach Coughlin on Friday. The coach also said he was “encouraged” by the way manning looked in practiced. But there are other considerations. This would be the one regular season opportunity to let David Carr show how much he has learned from “Real” NFL offensive coaches, and having the benefit of playing behind a real NFL offensive line. It would also be a good time to get rookie Rhett Bomar into the game if the Giants are at least 2 scores ahead in the 4th quarter.

It’s true that Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell is making progress towards being the Quarterback everyone expected him to be coming out of the NFL Draft From LSU in 2007. It’s also true that the Raiders are actually trying to build a team around him. What we have yet to see is Oakland put it all together in one game this season. If the Giants come Into this game thinking that Oakland is an easy win, If they play as unfocused, with as many miscues as they did last week at times against Kansas City, then this could become the mother of all trap games for New York. A Real Nightmare of the kind you would have the night before you proposed marriage to your Girlfriend (what if she says no?).

The Raiders are a team in turmoil, as most people would expect of any recent Al Davis led effort. Head coach Tom Cable is facing arrest for punching out one of his assistant coaches, and the team isn’t sure who would take over in that event. I know I’m going to be on the Flatbush Avenue hit list here (the street in Brooklyn NY where Davis is from), but it’s really time for Mr. Davis to go play some shuffle board at the retirement home, and leave the day to day operations of the franchise to his Children and whomever they hire to run things. I’d be glad to serve on a search team to find a real “Football man”, a manager to run things. I’m not the first person who feels that way either. At least one person I know very well is still the object of harassment by Raiders’ front office personnel to this day.

Football, like Soldiering, Is a young man’s game or at least for the young of heart and mind. You can’t tell me at 83 that Davis isn’t driving himself into the ground watching 4-5 hours of tape a day, as some report he still does. Yes, even until as far back as 15 years ago he was still one of the sharpest minds in all of Pro sports, not just football. But everyone looses the edge with age. Even though the Raiders won’t regain theirs until some changes are made, a dull knife can still kill someone.

Obama Nobel Peace Prize reveals American ignorance of elite politics

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Someone wrote a comment on my YouTube video - those are the only one's I read because they're a mix of the stupid and the great, but seldom psychotic - regarding President Obama's winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize that essentially speeches are meaningless.

I chuckled.

I immediately recalled the teachings of my favorite book on politics the "Irony of Democracy" by Thomas R. Dye and L. Harmon Ziglar. Dye and Ziglar take an "elites versus masses" lens to view politics and come away with a view that's worthy of study itself. Essentially, the elite ruling class exists as a needed counter to the chaos of democracy and "mob rule". From this perspective there's little difference between Democrats and Republicans.

(As an aside, I'm an elitist who believes that such a "ruling class" is not only necessary but desired if only to give the masses as set of "human guidelines" on how to conduct ones self. Thus, anyone who's racist or any "ist" is not part of this class and considered a socially unacceptable part of mass culture. While some may claim that elitists are sexist, elite culture is not immune to inclusive change; women and minorities make up a far greater part of the overall power structure today than in the past.)

Dye and Ziglar instructed me that, far from just a figurehead, a president sets the tone and moves policy more often than not just by a speech or a statement.

That presidential comment is picked up by the media and spread to the masses for consumption in such a way that the President essentially commands what we as a society pays at least some attention to. In Obama's case this has been global warming, nuclear proliferation, race relations, and United States and Muslim relations.

The awarding of the Nobel Prize to Obama has catapulted him into a rarefied air that makes him almost untouchable. President Obama has been anointed an elite leader on a World scale and is now someone who must be heard not just because he's President of The United States, but because he's one who's Nobel Award says his actions and way and person signal positive change for the World.

The Nobel Foundation has set the table for Obama's emergence one the World stage as a difference maker. This puts the GOP in a double-bind: to oppose him now is to go against one of the most important leaders in the history of the free World and one who's America's leader. The Nobel award is a massive repudiation of several decades of Republican "Cowboy" diplomacy.

On Friday, some rather droll White House reporter was ranting on asking White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs why Ronald Reagan didn't gain such an award. The answer's easy: under President Reagan one had the uneasy feeling he could push the red button and get us all blown to hell at any time. He was trying to reduce what was then called "The Soviet Empire"; one doesn't get a peace prize of any kind for that objective.

Reagan's constant saber-rattling against the Soviet Union had many of us considering moving to Canada just to be out of the way of the possible results of his reckless abandon. While in the end Reagan essentially broke the economic back of Russia, he did so by paying the heavy price of having America considered the World's then-new bully.

President Clinton, for all of the attention he paid to the Mideast, didn't reach out to enemies in the diplomatic way President Obama has. And Clinton was so busy playing Neo-liberal to counter the Republicans in Congress he didn't fashion the kind of diplomatic strategy Obama has done. And while Clinton was called the First Black President, it's obvious that Obama's the real black president, but also part white, bringing a unique life experience to bear on the problems of America and the World.

Obama's Nobel Prize win, as much as Conservatives want it to be, is no accident. It came from the Presidents risk-taking work in making daring speeches and visits to dangerous places to bring disparate people together. Obama has done this over and over again.

David Letterman Stephanie Birkitt affair a setback to women? What about "The Office?"

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Over at Huffington Post I read with great interest and some initial agreement on David Letterman and Stephanie Birkitt, Julie Menin's blog entitled "Letterman: A Setback for Women", then I thought yet again about all the workplace romances I've seen over the years, be it equals or boss female with employee male, and so on and was reminded yet again of what I call "The Big Lie" and last night's episode of "The Office".



This is going to be misunderstood on some fronts, but it's worth getting out there because really Julie has a rather cartoonish and black and white idea of what happens in the workplace. It's no wonder that one study on office flings estimated that 40 percent of workers dated co-workers at some point over the years. That's almost one out of every two people.

I was reminded of that just yesterday at Oakland's great tavern Cafe Van Kleef when I wound up in a conversation with two patrons, one male and the other female who were new workers at a government office in downtown Oakland. This was their third week on the job and decided to go out for a beer or two - it was two.

At any rate, it was obvious that he was interested in she because he asked her what her plans were for the night or words to that effect, and she said "I'm supposed to meet friends. I'm a woman in demand" to which we all started laughing.

Now I never got the idea that he was her boss, but then I didn't ask. We did talk about the David Letterman issue and they said basically that while its not good to date someone in the office, it does happen a lot. After some more chatting, they left. She to meet her friends, and he to contemplate what he wanted to do with her.

That scene replays itself again and again. Sometimes it leads to a one-night stand on those sales trips workers go on. In other cases, it leads to marriage, even on "The Office."

Last night's episode, the wedding of Jim and Pam, was classic. As a momentary aside, I've always been interested in The Office, but that one caused me to be a fan. It was funny in such a "real" way that I could pick out scenes from my own life in it.

But the fact is that Jim and Pam worked together. That's how they met: in the office. No one moved them to separate rooms or anything like that, and America became obsessed with the "Will they or won't they" question, which was finally answered.

Would it have been different if they were boss and employee. Maybe. Depends. I know of a good friend who's wife was at one point while they were dating his assistant. As things heated up, he moved her to a different department of the the firm they worked for. Of course that was a decade ago; they're happily married and with kids.

There are so many stories of successful office romances that it's really horrible to take David Letterman's situation and say its a "setback for women" as if every woman really is effected by it, let alone really cares. In reality it's just another example of how men and women are meeting, hooking up, and marrying in "The Office."

Mangini May Yet Help The Jets Win A Super Bowl(or Not!)

Mangini May Yet Help The Jets Win A Super Bowl
By Jon Wagner Sr. Writer at large Football Reporters Online

Everything was going along fine for the NFL’s youngest head coach when he first arrived in New York in 2006, and even more so, two years later, when New Yorkers uttered the names “New York Jets” and “Super Bowl” in the same sentence, and actually meant it.

Yes, former Jets’ head coach Eric Mangini, the disciple of the highly successful Bill Belichick, was often called “Man-genius” after turning the 2005 Jets, who finished 4-12 under Herm Edwards, into the playoff-participating 10-6 Jets of 2006, during Mangini’s rookie season as an NFL head coach.

And, even after losing to Belichick’s New England Patriots in an AFC wild-card playoff game that year, and suffering through a huge falloff right back to 4-12 the following year, Mangini wasn’t criticized as much as he was praised for exposing Belichick in the highly publicized Spygate scandal involving the Patriots illegally filming and stealing Jets’ defensive signals.

A year later, during the very short-lived Brett Favre-as-a-Jet era in 2008, Mangini’s Jets handily beat the then-undefeated, 10-0 Tennessee Titans to go 8-3, causing many in the New York area to dream realistically of a potential Jets-Giants Super Bowl matchup, as both New York teams were very serious contenders in their respective conferences.

Yup, Mangini was the right coach at the right time to lead the Jets to their first Super Bowl in nearly four decades, and he would keep them highly competitive thereafter, for years to come.

However, then came the huge collapse.

Favre, who had 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions during the Jets’ 8-3 start last year, threw just 2 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, hampered by an injury to his throwing shoulder over the final five games last season. The Jets lost four of those games to finish 9-7, and they were very fortunate to get their lone win during that stretch, being outplayed by the Buffalo Bills in a 31-27 victory at home.

Mangini’s in-game decision-making and motivational skills were scrutinized in a way only the pressure of performing in the New York fish bowl can provide. The Jets went from Super Bowl bound to missing the playoffs, and the “Man-genius” suddenly didn’t know what he was doing anymore.

After being fired by the Jets the day after the 2008 season ended, Mangini has since faced similar, perhaps even worse condemnation after an 0-4 start in Cleveland this year.

So, what have the Jets done in that time to get back on track toward being a contender since Mangini’s departure?

Well, after cutting ties with Mangini, they released Favre after he retired yet again, before recanting again, and continuing his career with a 4-0 start to the 2009 season in Minnesota.

Quickly, the Jets have begun to put key pieces into place. First, the brilliant defensive mind of another rookie head coach, Rex Ryan, was added in the offseason. Then, USC star quarterback Mark Sanchez, with a seemingly huge upside, was acquired in the 2009 NFL draft. And now, this week, finally, the Jets get a long-awaited, big-play, deep threat in Braylon Edwards, via a trade, giving Sanchez a legitimate number one option at the wide receiver position.

So far, Sanchez hasn’t been spectacular, and he’s made some typical rookie mistakes, especially in the Jets’ only loss of 2009, in New Orleans last week. However, Sanchez overall, has already exceeded expectations and has for the most part, played winning football while leading the Jets to a 3-1 record so far this season.

Now, Sanchez and the Jets should get even better with Edwards. While he’s a risk with some reported attitude issues and off-the-field incidents (mostly recently this week, allegedly punching a friend of Lebron James outside a Cleveland nightclub), Edwards, getting a fresh start, leaving one of the NFL’s worst teams, coming to a contender in New York, might change the controversial receiver for the better.
In fact, he’s already at least saying all of the right things, as he disclosed to Associate Press reporter Dennis Waszak. “It can definitely take the joy out of the game,” Edwards said of losing in Cleveland. “It weighs on you. Coming here to a team that’s doing well with a new head coach that has them going in the right direction and just freeing myself of the situation and coming to another situation, I think it’s a fresh start and a clean slate.”
Football-wise, there’s no denying that the 26-year-old, 6-foot-3, 215-pound former first-round pick by the Browns with 238 career receptions for 3,697 yards, and 28 touchdowns in 5¼ seasons is a previously missing piece that the Jets sorely needed to ultimately contend for a Super Bowl -- whether that happens this season or if it takes longer.

And, whom might the Jets have to thank for their good young foundation on which to build their passing game, possibly for the next several years?

You guessed it, the former “Man-genius.”

Without the earlier Mangini era in New York, the Jets might have been able to trade their number 17 pick to Cleveland for the number five pick in the first round of last April’s draft, in order to grab Sanchez. And, they might have been able to work out a deal to bring in Edwards for seventh-round pick, wide receiver Chansi Stuckey (with 43 career receptions in 19 games) plus undrafted linebacker Jason Trusnik (with 24 career tackles and no sacks in 17 career games out of Ohio Northern), and a couple of undisclosed draft picks.

But, don’t count on it.

It’s a lot more likely that the Jets used their ties with Mangini to swing both deals, first to land Sanchez in April, and this week, to seemingly steal Sanchez’s brand new primary target.

You have to feel for Mangini. It’s been pretty rough for him ever since last year’s Super Bowl talk in New York ended. But, through his dealings with his former team from his new home in Cleveland, he may yet, even if unintentionally, deliver that Super Bowl for the Jets.

FRO’s FANTASY FIXX week 5

FRO’s FANTASY FIXX
(Target Practice) By David Ortega for Football Reporters Online

“Craving more fantasy football notes and numbers, get your weekly fix here.”-Thee Prodigy


Week Five in the NFL

We are always in search of knowledge and more importantly that all important commodity information. If you are planning on setting a winning fantasy football lineup for week 5, then you better be in the know and certain which players are going to perform this week.

Now that we are a quarter of the way into the season, we can start to discuss trends, note tendencies, but more notably recognize that numbers don’t lie. This week’s focus for the fantasy fanatics is more target practice. If you are looking for much needed help heading into week 5, you’ve targeted the right place and we’ve got your fix.

Who’s worried….
The numbers are down somewhat at the moment, but fantasy owners should not panic when it comes to the Falcon’s wide receiver Roddy White. In his first three games this season he has been targeted 26 times, indicating it’s just a matter of time before he’s back on track. Taking into account White’s late arrival to camp, he’s sure to have shaken the rust by now, so owners can expect to see better production from him soon.

His first two games were quiet, just 61 yards receiving, but over the past two weeks it appears the Bronco’s playmaking receiver Brandon Marshall is starting to come to life. In the past two weekends Marshall has grabbed nine balls for 158 yards and scored two touchdowns. For the season Marshall has been targeted consistently (28 times) and it finally looks like he’s starting to heat up. Fantasy owners can now look forward to seeing more great things from “Baby T.O.”

One of the newer additions to the Titan’s passing game this season is former Steeler’s receiver Nate Washington. He was brought in to give quarterback Kerry Collins and the Titan’s a legitimate deep threat in the aerial attack and while things haven’t quite panned out as planned fantasy owners shouldn’t get too nervous. While Washington does only have 14 receptions for 135 yards, he’s had plenty of opportunity with 31 targets this season indicating the prospect of a much better second quarter of the season.

Another pass catcher off to a disappointing start that should not be overlooked is the Bear’s tight end Greg Olsen. With just 10 receptions and only 94 yards, it becomes very easy for owners to give up on the former Miami Hurricane; mistake. In the team’s first four games, Olsen has been consistently targeted and has seen a total of 25 balls thrown his direction. The numbers aren’t there yet, but give it time he and his quarterback will soon be on the same page.

Keep your Eye on these gems…
If you caught the matchup between the Bengals and Browns this past Sunday, sure it was a marathon of a lot of nothing, but after taking a closer look it’s hard to avoid the emergence of rookie receiver Mohamed Massaquoi. The kid snagged eight balls for about a buck and a half, but the more compelling factor were the 13 balls thrown his way. With Derek Anderson now in the huddle, Massaquoi looks like he’ll be the favorite by far.

After seeing only one pass in his direction in week one, the Jaguars receiver Mike Sims-Walker is quickly regaining some of the notoriety he earned in small stints a year ago. In his past three starts Walker has seen a total of 30 balls thrown his way and he has delivered with fantasy-like production; 19 receptions, 278 yards, 3 touchdowns.


Here is the breakdown for fantasy pass catchers (targets) this season;

Through four weeks:

Top-30 Targeted Pass-catchers

Player Targt
Smith, Steve-WR, NYG 45
Moss, Randy-WR, NE 44
Burleson, Nate-WR, SEA 41
Johnson, Calvin-WR, DET 40
Wayne, Reggie-WR, IND 40
Houshmandzadeh, T.J.-WR, SEA 38
Johnson, Andre-WR, HOU 38
Ochocinco, Chad-WR, CIN 36
Smith, Steve-WR, CAR 36
Gates, Antonio-TE, SD 35
Holmes, Santonio-WR, PIT 35
Cotchery, Jerricho-WR, NYJ 34
Clark, Dallas-TE, IND 33
Mason, Derrick-WR, BAL 33
Ward, Hines-WR, PIT 33
Carlson, John-TE, SEA 32
Cooley, Chris-TE, WAS 32
Manningham, Mario-WR, NYG 32
Sims-Walker, Mike-WR, JAC 31
Washington, Nate-WR, TEN 31
Gage, Justin-WR, TEN 30
Ginn Jr., Ted-WR, MIA 30
Murphy, Louis-WR, OAK 30
Winslow, Kellen-TE, TB 30
Clayton, Mark-WR, BAL 29
Driver, Donald-WR, GB 29
Fitzgerald, Larry-WR, ARI 29
Jackson, Vincent-WR, SD 29
Moss, Santana-WR, WAS 29
Daniels, Owen-TE, HOU 28


Check back every week for more “Fantasy Fixx”