Oakland Mayor's Race: Terrance Candell vs. The Sierra Club

Earlier, Kent Lewandowski, volunteer Chairperson Northern Alameda County Group of The Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay Chapter, wrote a rather, and this blogger will state again, stupid email to the Oakland Mayor's Race candidates Kent says aren't "viable."

Which is why this blogger's not returning from Georgia in time to attend it:



If you've not seen the email from Kent representing the Sierra Club, here, again, it is:

from Kent
to candell1@yahoo.com,
dluvcan@yahoo.com,
candidate@macleay4mayor.org,
info@arniefields.org,
info@harland4mayor.com,
mhodge@peralta.edu,
LL.Young@prurealty.com
cc zennie@zennie62.com
date Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 12:41 AM
subject Green Oakland Mayoral Forum - Sierra Club
signed-by gmail.com
hide details 12:41 AM (21 hours ago)
Dear Candidate,

Thank you for your interest in participating in the "Green Oakland"
forum sponsored by the Sierra Club. We made the decision to invite
the 3 candidates who are considered by all accounts as the "most
viable" in the race. The decision which candidates are considered
"viable" has to do with a number of factors, which includes the
elected office they may have held in the past (if any), their ability
to raise money for the campaign, and the level of organization of
their campaign.

We have only 90 minutes of time to discuss our issues, and hope to
include members of the community in the discussion. Thus there simply
isn't enough time to incorporate all 10 or more mayoral candidates in
this forum.

We understand your disappointment, but felt this was the best decision
in the interest of having a productive and informative event.

Sincerely,

Kent Lewandowski, volunteer Chairperson
Northern Alameda County Group
Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay Chapter

The email upset a number of the candidates in the Oakland Mayor's Race, but no one more than Dr. Terrance Candell, who's wife Dyan issued her own blistering email just three days ago, and on the same issue.

But Dr. Candell's email below was far more hard-hitting, perhaps too much so, because he refers to Kent Lewandowski as an "elitist pig," and a "bigot," which is going way, way, way too far.

Terrance Candell is pissed off 

As I wrote to Kent, I understand the raison d'etre of Terrance email and tone, but I don't support it at all. It also causes the entire discussion of fairness in the Oakland Mayor's Race to take a bit of a detour.

The bottom line that must be restated before the email is presented, is that there are people in the media and within some groups who think that only "certain" candidates in the Oakland Mayor's Race are "worth talking to."

In the case of the reference to "the media," about two months ago, this blogger received a phone call from one reporter who asked if any candidate other than Don Perata, and Councilmembers Jean Quan and Rebecca Kaplan were "worth talking to." The response here was that as media players our job is to talk to everyone, if possible, yet state our biases in an effort to give complete information.

The reason is that people just don't read print so much any more. Weekday circulation at the San Francisco Chronicle, for example, is down from 251,282 in 2009 to 241,330 as of this writing. The San Jose Mercury news wasn't even in the top 20 in circulation until it declared the Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times as editions of the Mercury News, so that it's in the top 8 now.  That masks the fact that print is falling.

Meanwhile, we have more online choices for the passage of information in websites and blogs and social networks, and microblogs, and video channels, and the list of them grows each quarter.  But in the case of neighborhood websites, some that were once active, in some cases don't exist or are not consistently maintained.

The point is, information in Oakland is fragmented and scarce, so when a media maker has a chance to inform an electorate in full, it should not be irresponsible.  The Sierra Club was just that.

Here's Terrance:

Kent,

You sent me this letter, somehow indicating that I am disappointed, because I was not invited to your little elitist dog and pony show, where you can justify giving money to your friends. I am not. It would sicken me just to be in your presence.

The only thing that disappoints me is that the people of Oakland lose again because of elitist pigs like you. As far as your attempt to insult, indicating that I am not "viable", well, you people (the wealthy) have said that about us people (the poor) for a long time, and we've still won elections. I guess we'll see, won't we.

THIS IS MY CITY! IT'S TIME FOR BIGOTS LIKE YOU TO LEAVE!

Pass that on to your board.

I will pass your letter on to the person who wrote you.

Oh, and have a nice day.

Dr. Terence Candell, Ph.D.

Kent was not allowing that without a response, and to that I say good for him. Terrance owes Kent an apology here. But, regarding the issue in total, this is what Kent wrote to me:

Zennie,

Of course I know you are not a candidate. I read your post on SFgate.com, which is why you were cc'd. I was hoping to dispell some of the things you wrote. It is pretty hyperbolic to suggest that the Sierra Club is somehow seeking to "rig an election." (I believe
Terence wrote this.) Our members in Oakland count around 4,000, by my count. We haven't endorsed any candidate in this race, and I'm not certain that we will endorse.

We are simply seeking to put on an informative event - and to highlight some of the issues we care about (the environment, and climate change.)

Kent

(As an update, at least one of the "not-viable candidates" plans to have his (a hint) own "thing" before the Sierra Club event.)

So where are we with all this? In a state of semi chaos with left-out, pissed off candidates, other candidates who are elected officials calling them "minor," and upcoming forums with just 24 percent of the total field represented.

Rod Blagojevich guilty of one count of 24; lying to the FBI

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was convicted of just one count of 24 counts in the trial to determine if he did everything from lying to the FBI to racketeering, wire fraud, and other charges in the issue of allegedly trying to sell the U.S. Senate Seat for Illinois formerly held by now-President Barack Obama, according to CNN.

The jury hung on 23 counts and on the one, lying to the FBI, Rod Blagojevich was found to have violated just one: a false statement he made to the Feds on March 16th of 2009.

While CNN Analyst David Gergen went off and called Rod Blagojevich a "loser" and a "sleaze bag," the bottom line is the Federal Government lost.

They scored on just one of the 24 counts. And so, according to CNN, the Feds are going to retry him on some of the counts they lost on.

Some people are sore losers. Blago won; the Feds should stop wasting the taxpayers' money on this.

Brett Favre just flew in to Vikings; was Steven Slater the flight attendant?

Image via Wikipedia

Brett Favre as a Viking

The news has spread all over Twitter that Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Brett Favre is on an airplane to Minnesota to return to the Vikings.

But the way the Brett Favre saga has gone, it's reasonable to ask if JetBlue Flight Attendant Steven Slater is crewing Favre's flight. If Brett comes off the airplane using the escape chute with a couple of cans of beer, that will be a clue.

As this blog post is written, Brett Favre has just landed in Minnesota, according to The Jim Rome Show.

Former New England Patriots Linebacker and now football analyst Teddy Bruschi raised a great point: did the three Minnesota Vikings players - Jarrod Allen, Steve Hutchinson, and Ryan Longwell - who flew down to talk to Brett Favre beg him to come back or did they just check to see where his head was at? Bruschi, overall, doesn't see much of an upside with Brett's return.

NFL Analyst Antonio Pierce is somewhat more measured in his analysis, saying he has a lot of respect for Favre, and he hope he's coming back for the right reasons.

Personally, I disagree with former Pats great Teddy Bruschi. Brett Favre has, just like Tim Tebow, that something. That "it" factor which makes each team he's a part of that much better.

Favre's on the way to Vikings' camp in a black SUV. (Seems it's always a black SUV now.) Stick around.

Dr. Frank Ryan : Heidi Montag plastic surgeon dead in car accident

Image via Wikipedia

Dr. Frank Ryan 

According to TMZ.com, Dr. Frank Ryan, the plastic surgeon who performed 10 plastic surgery procedures on reality star Heidi Montag in a one day, passed away after being in a horrible car accident.

Dr. Frank Ryay, who resides in Beverly Hills, was driving along Pacific Coast Highway Monday. David Weintraub, Ryan's manager, said to TMZ that Dr. Ryan "I've known Dr. Ryan for ten years ... he's never drank, never smoked, he's never done drugs."

The Ventura County Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy.

On Twitter, Heidi Montag tweeted:

FYI Dr. Ryan never drank, never smoked, he's never done drugs this was something everyone knows about him. He was always on call 24/7.

about 1 hour ago via web

And here's in this link is the full post of what Heidi Montag offered about Dr. Ryan on Twitter.

Heidi Montag "devastated" to learn of Dr. Frank Ryan's death

UPDATE: News on Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt

UPDATE: Heidi Montag's boob pops out of bikini in Costa Rica.

Heidi Montag was Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon Dr. Frank Ryan's most famous recent patient. Dr. Ryan performed 10 plastic surgery adjustments in one day on Heidi Montag, dramatically altering her appearance.

Here, Dr. Ryan talked with Bonnie Hunt on The Bonnie Hunt Show about the procedures:

Dr. Ryan died in a fatal car accident while driving along the Pacific Coast Highway according to TMZ.com. Here's what Heidi Montag shared on Twitter @heidimontag (Tweets in reverse order to show the message Montag intended to send.)

I am devastated to hear the news of Dr. Frank Ryan's death. He was the most amazing person I have ever known. He was an angel and changed my

life and the lives of everyone he met. He was the most brilliant talented surgeon who will ever exist. Dr. Frank Ryan changed the world.
about 3 hours ago via web

My thoughts and prayers go out to his mother, family, friends, and anyone who was ever blessed enough to meet him. He is in a better place.
about 3 hours ago via web

FYI Dr. Ryan never drank, never smoked, he's never done drugs this was something everyone knows about him. He was always on call 24/7.
about 1 hour ago via web
Reply Retweet

Michael Douglas has throat tumor - update

Legendary actor Michael Douglas has a throat tumor, but it seems the cancer issue is being downplayed online today, Tuesday.

This is either by some news person or the actors publicist, or both.

But the initial report was that Michael Douglas had throat cancer.

Still, the star of Wall Street and the upcoming Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, in September, has to undergo radiation and chemotherapy to get rid of the tumor.

The wonder is how will he do that and be able to market the new Wall Street movie?

Regardless of the spin, Zennisters everywhere wish Michael Douglas well.

Eli Manning gets 12 stitches By Nikky Raney

Eli Manning, New York Giants quarterback, was crushed by Jets Linebacker, Calvin Pace on Monday, August 16.

Pace somehow managed to get Manning's helmet taken off. Manning's head bounced off Jim Leonhard's face mask which resulted in a lost of bleeding from Manning's head.

The bloody three-inch gash on Manning's head required 12 stitches.

Manning tells NY Times, "It’s not really an injury. Nothing serious. I feel like I could go back out and play right now if I had to."

Tom Coughlin, Giants coach, gives his explanation on what happened:

"There was a run called and Eli just went for the fade ball with the wide receiver without really making any type of an alert or changing the play so he was just going to go ahead and communicate with the receiver and throw the ball. The only problem was that the play that had been called was a middle burst by Brandon Jacobs and Brandon thought he was getting the ball."

The Giants beat the Jets 31 to 16 in the preseason game at New Jersey stadium.

Video: Dr. Christina Villarreal discusses educational steps in becoming a Clinical Psychologist

Ever thought about going back to school to become a therapist? Psychologist?

Part 2 of a 3 part series featuring Dr. Christina Villarreal, a Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Oakland, CA. In this segment, Dr. Villarreal discusses her drive and passion for psychology, and her road map for pursuing a career in clinical psychology. She discusses how she overcame the academic hurdles of pursuing a doctorate, how she utilized other professional Latinas and African American women as mentors. Dr. Villarreal outlines the various aspects of her private practice which include providing psychotherapy, cognitive and personality assessment in a forensic capacity, and teaching doctoral students in clinical psychology. Further, she breaks down the specific, individual steps it takes to acquire a doctorate in this field.

The show host is Bay Area native Kymm Wilson of Ground Level Perspective, which he began as an online radio show based out of Oakland, CA, which he expanded into a television series broadcast on U-Verse channel 99, Comcast East Bay channel 7/28 featuring Peralta TV. The producer/director is James Calhoun, a former producer of R&B/Hip-Hop music. James is a prominent producer in the video/film industry earning local Emmy nominations in 2009.

WE.G.I brings positivity back to rap By Nikky Raney

WE.G.I brings positivity back to rap

Article by: Nikky Raney

WE.G.I is a New York rap group determined to bring positivity and motivation back to rap.

WE.G.I stands for "we go in." When brothers Rico Brown and Black Magic sat down with their sister Storm they figured the name fit well since they "go in and go hard."

The rap trio has been inspired by their family to continue working hard to get their music heard.

"Music has always been in my family, and my parent's didn't get their chance to shine," Black Magic says.

The members of WE.G.I want to bring rap and hip-hop back to the way it was during LL Cool J and Tupac's time.

"If you listen to the industry you will see it. You can tell it's really poisoned and negative right now. When you turn on the radio and hear the songs there's too much promotion of negativity. You got females that want to be other females and it isn't even about music anymore," Brown explains.

The rap group is currently unsigned, but they hope to get a deal with Shady records; if that does not work out they will try to start their own record label with the rest of their family. The group would also love to have their own reality TV show.

"My Business" is their latest single and the group members are trying to get a ring tone deal so that the song can be appreciated nationally. They really want their music to be heard all over.

"We want to bring it back to talent and motivation - not about money and fame. It's dark in the industry - we are trying to give it some fresh air," Brown continues. "We perform at many open mic shows. I was in a group with my cousins and we opened in Atlanta for T.I, but I left because I didn't have the drive and dedication I do now."

Storm is currently in the Dominican Republic promoting WE.G.I. She sees a bright future ahead for the group.

"[The] goal is to be known worldwide for our unique sound; make WE.G.I a brand," she says. "We have ideas for reality TV shows, a clothing line, cartoons etc. We are all versatile and different, but when fused together we're unstoppable."

WE.G.I has been compared to the Black Eyed Peas, according to the members.

The group has performed for Source Magazine, Thisis50.com, and has an upcoming performance on August 29, 2010 for underground artists that are unsigned.

WE.G.I. has been nominated "Respect Da Grind" award at the Indie Elite Artist Awards 2010 in Brooklyn NY, August 29, 2010.

An album for WE.G.I will be coming out in the near future; right now they are waiting for their single to be up on iTunes.

Oakland Mayor's Race: Sierra Club sends awful email to Zennie

Sierra Club thinks Joe Tuman isn't "viable"

The Oakland Mayor's Race just gets more interesting. As a reminder, before we continue, The Oakland Mayor's Race has thirteen candidates: Tim Brown, Terrance Candell, Arnold Fields, Sharika Gregory, Greg Harland, Marcie Hodge, Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, Don Macleay, Niki Okuk, Don Macleay, Councilmember Jean Quan, Joe Tuman, and Larry Lionel Young Jr.

Got that?  Ok.

In all of the years this blogger has lived in and been involved in politics in Oakland California, there has never been an email sent that was as awful as the one you're about to see, by the Volunteer Chairperson of Northern Alameda County Group, Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay Chapter, Kent Lewandowski.

It's the Sierra Club's way of saying they just see three Oakland Mayor's Race candidates - Rebecca Kaplan, Jean Quan, and Don Perata,  when there are 13 candidates:

Apparently assuming that Zennie Abraham's running for Mayor of Oakland, which is not the case, Kent Lewandowski, sent this email to several Oakland Mayor's Race candidates - and to me - on Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 12:41 AM PST, which reads:

Kent
to candell1@yahoo.com,
dluvcan@yahoo.com,
candidate@macleay4mayor.org,
info@arniefields.org,
info@harland4mayor.com,
mhodge@peralta.edu,
LL.Young@prurealty.com
cc zennie@zennie62.com
date Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 12:41 AM
subject Green Oakland Mayoral Forum - Sierra Club
signed-by gmail.com
hide details 12:41 AM (3 hours ago)
Dear Candidate,

Thank you for your interest in participating in the "Green Oakland"
forum sponsored by the Sierra Club. We made the decision to invite
the 3 candidates who are considered by all accounts as the "most
viable" in the race. The decision which candidates are considered
"viable" has to do with a number of factors, which includes the
elected office they may have held in the past (if any), their ability
to raise money for the campaign, and the level of organization of
their campaign.

We have only 90 minutes of time to discuss our issues, and hope to
include members of the community in the discussion. Thus there simply
isn't enough time to incorporate all 10 or more mayoral candidates in
this forum.

We understand your disappointment, but felt this was the best decision
in the interest of having a productive and informative event.

Sincerely,

Kent Lewandowski, volunteer Chairperson
Northern Alameda County Group
Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay Chapter

Thinking this was a prank, the first move was to Google the name "Kent Lewandowski" and the email kentlewan@gmail.com. The results revealed that the person indeed was Kent Lewandowski, of the San Francisco Bay Chapter of The Sierra Club.

So, this email reply was sent and to Mr. Lewandowski and all of the candidates:

Hello,

Kent, is this really you? Or someone else?

Zennie

Then this follow-up was sent:

Hello Kent,

This is, if it's real, without a doubt the most awful email I've ever seen in Oakland politics. First, I'm not running for Mayor of Oakland. Second, I'm a video-blogger, which means I intend to make the transmission public. Third, do you realize that the reasons stated for having just three candidates at the "Green Forum" add up to a silly, giant, unfunny joke on the people of Oakland?

The Sierra Club has no business sticking its nose in Oakland politics to try and rig an election. Oaklanders deserve to see and hear from each person running for Mayor of Oakland.

Those persons have taken the time and gotten the signatures to file to run for the office. In an Internet age, "money" is not the powerful political element needed, and in an economy so bad it's compared to The Great Depression by some, with people losing jobs and an Oakland unemployment rate that's over 20 percent (that's one of every five people), for the Sierra Club to send the kind of message communicated in this email - that money is all that matters - is both awful, insulting to the other candidates, and completely stupid.

Sorry to be insulting of the Sierra Club's business practices, but that's my view. I'm sure you, yourself, are a decent person. The email does not reflect what you're capable of, I'm certain.

It is possible to have a forum that's two hours long and gives 13 candidates an ability to present their case to be Mayor of Oakland.

That The Sierra Club, that great organization that seems to pride itself on intellect or at least has cultivated such a brand identity, can't solve this math and logistics problem presented is both hilarious and sad.

It's your duty as a so-called non-profit organization to figure out a solution to the problem. It's not your duty or obligation to dictate who Oaklanders should vote for at any level of office.

This blogger certainly has his favorite candidates in some races (not this one), but never deliberately refuses to talk to another candidate or give them exposure. It's not fair and its not right for organizations or people who have communicative reach to do that.

The best move for The Sierra Club is to cancel the ironically titled "Green Oakland Mayoral Forum " - ironic, because the only "green" is in the implication that it takes "green" to win the Mayor's race - as planned and rethink the idea. Or, if The Sierra Club is not intellectually capable of solving the riddle of hosting a comprehensive forum for the people of Oakland, just don't do one.

This video - blogger will close by saying he knows the answer, and, no, it's got nothing to do with video. 

Best,

Zennie Abraham

Then, as it was sent late at night and I'm three-hours ahead, I went back to sleep.

Stay tuned, Zennisters. There's more.

NYers Ticket Terrorism to higher taxes? by Suzannah B. Troy

I don't know what budget crisis hell you are going through in California but the forecast here in NYC is things are going to get worse.

I wrote this blog posting this morning...

Thanks to Mark for sending me this article on how the State of New York are ripping off dead people from The New York Daily News.

Dear New Yorkers:

Get ready to be ripped off some more....

City of New York

1) Mike Bloomberg has kicked off the "ticket terrorism" program

If our local head king Mike can find a way to unfairly and wrongly ticket the middle and working class and small businesses the king will find away...after all he has to subsidize the infrastructure expansion for all his rich ruling party class including developers like Donald Trump, NYU and Cooper Union supersizing busting through zoning and weighing heavy on our old infrastructure -- plus the zone busting hotels that followed the mega dorms down 3rd avenue in to the Bowery....

Also don't forget Columbia University abusing eminent domain and forcing an entire neighborhood Manhattanville for their expansion!!!!

Here is a hint for you Mike --- the people of New York are furious about the excessive and wrongful ticketing and maybe this will be the last straw that causes a revolution here since 1776.

A word to the wise -- lighten up because Suzannah B. Troy is hearing lots of complaints from all over NYC about this.

the East Village lower East Side looks like a bomb was dropped thanks to Bloomberg's reckless expansion.

2) Higher taxes...?

3) Fire houses shutter

4) Lay-offs and pay cuts...?

5) City Council votes themselves a raise, accepts lulus and steals tax payer money and appoints there wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, mistresses, sisters, life time partners -- yes Christine Quinn gave slush money to an org that her partner sits on as I recall.....but who cares -- no one is paying attention....

But maybe they will when crime rises, the street condition and sidewalks grow even worse, even more people lose their jobs....

By the way last time I check Albany still has not balanced the budget....9.2 billion dollars and every day they do not -- it was do April 1st - the budget crisis becomes a great catastrophe.....not that anyone seems to be worried but at this rate if these clowns do not do something than we can expect a budget crisis a kin to a terrorist attack.

*Any loyal blog readers know I believe Dave Paterson rumored to be a habitual liar is guilty of intimidating a victim of spousal abuse in to silence.  It is a no brainer.  What was he doing having staff, state troopers etc. contacting her?

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/08/17/hearing-set-on-alleged-ethics-violations-by-gov-paterson/

Honesty and integrity are not his strong points...

we have such lousy leadership...we are doomed.

Note:  Suzannah B. Troy's theory on while your Con Ed bills are so darn high....Con Ed forcing you to pay for all the massive infrastructure expansion they can't even keep up with -- part of the Bloomberg reckless tsunami of development that crushed and displaced our communities.... Pox on socialite mega millionaire Amanda the people's Burden the worse city planner ever.

A revolution is highly recommended....

It is a beautiful day....enjoy the day... pray for miracles of all kinds, all sizes and shapes welcomed.

Tila Tequila attacked - Tila and Juggalos cult get attention

Tila Tequila via last.fm

It's now day four in the wake of the episode that saw Tila Tequila attacked by a mob of angry people who call themselves Juggalos at the Gathering of The Juggalos festival in Illinois Saturday morning, and still it's one of the hottest topics of Internet conversation.

Certainly, for all of the things she's done to gain attention, Tila Tequila didn't think - could not have thought - it was going to happen like this. (Of course, a contrarian view is she did plan it, but even if that were the case, it's hard to think she would want that level of harm to come to her.)

Now, the Internet video this blogger created has gained 285 comments, and about 40,000 views. Some of them pro-Juggalos and not Tila, and many the opposite. But it's something drawing attention:



Why? Because, in part, and sadly, some people want to see Tila harmed. The same people don't stop to think of what their reaction would be if harm cam to them. Some of the videos express a level of hatred for Tila Tequila that's almost psychotic.

The Juggalos are not beyond blame here, either. And in that case, some Juggalos were written to have been attacking others, if only to show that their behavior is not desirable.

Stay tuned.