The San Francisco Chronicle has the story:

Thanks to a maze of bureaucratic indecision and historic restrictions, taxpayers may shell out $100,000 per foot to make the Board of Supervisors president’s perch in the historic chambers accessible to the disabled.

What’s more, the little remodel job that planners first thought would take three months has stretched into more than four years - and will probably mean the supervisors will have to move out of their hallowed hall for five months while the work is done.

“It’s crazy,” admits Susan Mizner, director of the mayor’s Office on Disability. “But this is just the price of doing business in a historic building.”

Supervisor Jake McGoldrick said Tuesday that the issue went to the heart of liberal guilt that often drives the city’s decision making. He also choked on the price tag, and asked that the board take some more time to come up with an alternative, like maybe just getting rid of the president’s elevated seat.

This is a prime example of the waste and inefficiency of government. $1 Million for a ten foot ramp is absurd. Very few people will ever use this ramp. There have to a dozen cheaper ways of making the appropriate changes.

“I deserve equal access to every part of the chamber,” Alioto-Pier told her colleagues, adding that ending discrimination is worth the $1 million.

I don’t know the exact situation of when they updated the building in the 1990s, but I highly doubt the contractors got together and said “Hey, let’s discriminate by making everything except this one platform accessible.” I would hope elected officials would think of what is best for their constituents and prevent such a gross abuse of city resources.

If they want a slightly cheaper solution, they can use a big flat piece of metal that can be laid over the steps. I saw this implemented in a historic building to great effect when I visited the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles several years ago. I guess fiscal conservatism and resourcefulness are in short supply in city hall.

Unfortunately, San Francisco City Hall is not fully wheelchair accessible, but it is 100% idiot accessible.

William F. Buckley, Jr.
1925-2008

Photo by Pictorial Parade/Getty Images

William F. Buckley, Jr., conservative icon and founder of the National Review passed away today at the age of 82 . He inspired many Patriot writers, past and present, by giving us the intellectual firepower to combat political and cultural liberalism. His work is immortalized by the many generations of Americans who have passionately continued the conservative movement.

I received my first copy of the National Review from my sixth grade history teacher, who may or may not have been conservative, but took profound interest in my political education. Through his columns, Buckley became my virtual instructor in Conservatism 101.

Catch up on your Buckley reading here.

And then watch this great clip of WFB taking on Gore Vidal in 1968. America needs more unapologetic patriots like William F. Buckley.

The International Herald Tribune wonders- “Muslim Students: How American should they be?”

It seems that Muslim student groups in US colleges are wrestling with the question of inclusion, which is coming into conflict with their faith. Efforts at broadening the proverbial tent have met resistance in several cases. At UC Davis, for example:

Some members push against the rigidity. Fatima Hassan, 22, a senior at the Davis campus, organized a coed road trip to Reno, Nevada, two hours away, to play the slot machines last Halloween. In Islam, Hassan concedes, gambling is “really bad,” but it was men and women sharing the same car that shocked some fellow association members.

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Hassan said. “I am chill about that whole coed thing. I understand that in a Muslim context we are not supposed to hang out with the opposite sex, but it just happens, and there is nothing you can do.”

The rest of the article has more interesting anecdotes, including this one about the Muslim Student Association of UCLA:

Judgment can also come swiftly. Ghayth Adhami, a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, recalled how a young student who showed up at a university recruitment meeting in a Budweiser T-shirt faced a few comments about un-Islamic dress. The student never came back.

Never came back! Was he imprisoned? Was he stoned? The article’s author never explains what happened to that young student, leaving us only with that silly nail-biter. The student probably just went back to his dorm room and got in his novelty Coors pajamas.

To many, the strict interpretation of Islam among some MSAs seems a bit too extreme. But don’t worry, says one UC Berkeley Professor, because the MSA at your college campus isn’t affiliated with an anti-American Wahabbi sect…anymore.

Hamid Algar, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said that in the 1960s and 1970s, chapters advocated theological and political positions derived from radical Islamist organizations and would brook no criticism of Saudi Arabia.

And what is a modern feminist to to? If she speaks out against the poor treatment of women under Islam and supports the “Americanization” of college Muslims, she will be accused by her progressive peers of promoting American cultural imperialism. If she turns away, she gets to call herself an advocate of tolerance and sensitivity. During Islamo-fascism awareness week, we saw many self-proclaimed feminists at Cal follow the latter path.

The East Bay Express has the story from today:

Cody’s Books is moving late next month to downtown Berkeley, where it will occupy the Shattuck Avenue/Allston Way corner formerly occupied by the Eddie Bauer store.

One wonders, what business changes will they be making?

“We are going to divest ourselves of the things that aren’t doing that great in the retail book world these days — computer books, for one. The something-for-everyone model is dead and gone,” she says. So the staff will, instead, “curate the sections that we feel the strongest about: history, politics, current affairs, and literature.” Cody’s will continue to carry children’s books, young adult literature, travel books, cookbooks, reference titles, and more, along with a new “Green World, Green Living” section.

The green world and green living section has to be a success. However the business climate in Berkeley has been brutal to Cody’s in the last few years. They closed their flagship store on Telegraph in 2006 and are being pushed out of their established Fourth Street location by higher rents. Combined with the recent closure of their short lived San Francisco store, things are not looking good for Cody’s.

There was a Barnes and Noble several blocks down Shattuck that closed last summer. While they were not as close to downtown as Cody’s will be, they had parking which is quite scarce. It would be nice if Cody’s could be prosperous, but I am not very optimistic.

Recently the Berkeley College Republicans and the staff of the California Patriot have been holding demonstrations next to the Marine recruiting center on Shattuck.

Since Code Pink is out in force on Wednesdays with the help of their free parking spot, BCR members have been meeting downtown to support the Marines and their presence in Berkeley.

It is a fun atmosphere, with singing of God Bless America and the Marines’ Hymn along with various chants. Our side would chant “Hell no, the Marines won’t go,” while the other side (with their megaphone) would say things like “1, 2, 3, 4, we don’t want this stinking war, 2, 3, 4, 5 bring our soldiers home alive.” Sometimes the pro-Marine people even outnumber the crazies of Code Pink.

Even if there is rain, we will be out there to support the Marines. Stop by and show your support tomorrow at noon or any other Wednesday. There will be a few flags and signs, but bring any you might have.

This exciting news from the San Jose Mercury News:

“The numbers of tree-sitters having dwindled to a hard-core few, we had an opportunity to address some safety and sanitary concerns with minimal risk to people,” Mogulof said. Only about three protesters were in the trees when police arrived shortly before 7 a.m.
Mogulof said the arborist also cut the traverse lines - ropes strung between trees that tree-sitters used to move from tree to tree. At least two people have fallen from the lines and been injured since the sit-in began.

The university over the last few months has put up two chain-link fences to prevent people from going in and out of the tree grove but tree sitters have set up an elaborate rope and pulley system to get food, water and other supplies into the grove. Some of those ropes were also taken down.

Items removed and tossed to the ground also included rain tarps and other gear.

Doug Buckwald, who has been involved with the tree sit since it started, said two men climbed into an oak tree and a redwood tree and tossed food, water and other supplies used by tree sitters onto the ground. The tree sitters yelled “extraction, extraction” as the goods fell to the ground at least 40 feet below, Buckwald said.

I am glad the University is taking measures to end the tree sit. Even if no one was pulled out of the trees, every little bit of their stuff that is removed is a step in the right direction.

I hope the hippies will soon leave the trees and this embarrassment will be over.

Security and crowd control around the Berkeley City Council meeting on Tuesday required spending $93,000. From the San Francisco Chronicle’s report:

About 140 Berkeley police officers worked at the protest, which drew more than 2,000 demonstrators from around the country, said Mary Kay Clunies-Ross, public information officer. There were four arrests, all misdemeanors.

The protest was over the City Council’s Jan. 29 statement that the Marines, who have a recruitment center downtown, are “unwelcome intruders.” After 3 1/2 hours of public comment and debate, the council voted early Wednesday to back down from the statement.

This money could have gone toward education or any number of services people say needs funding more then the military. Instead it was squandered as a result of a political statement the City Council backed down from. It also infuriated countless people and gave others a free parking space.

The City Council knew when it passed the original statement last month it would cause a stir. They are no strangers to political controversy and should have been very careful to articulate their stance of support the troops and stop the war, if that is what they wanted to say in the first place. Instead, the City Council opted to call the Marine recruiters “unwelcome intruders” and start a storm of public protest. I wonder, what is the next great piece of legislation to come out of Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission?

Tuesday should have been called “How un-Berkeley can you be?” day. Thanks to Move America Forward, Berkeley Civic Center Plaza was filled with normal, decent patriot Americans. Led by KSFO talk-radio host Melanie Morgan, members of Move America Forward rallied in support of the besieged Marine recruiting center. Combat vets, families with sons and daughters serving in Iraq, and members of the Berkeley College Republicans were on the scene to face off against Code Pinko, truant Berkeley High School brats, and a slew of Berkeley regulars who have never seen an American flag that wasn’t on fire. Take a look:

Pro-troop demonstrators line MLK.

A message to the Berkeley City Council:

The opposition- students from Berkeley High School. I asked many of them if they could name at least one country that neighbored Iraq, and none of them could. They could, however, recite the evidence that suggested 9/11 was an inside job.

And check out this video of the BHS students providing the most articulate defense of their anti-war stance.
Still not convinced? Well how about story time, or a game of duck-duck-goose for peace!

Berkeley Police in riot gear hold back the anti-war crowd. The word “pig” was thrown around so many times, I had to grab a ham sandwich after the rally.

Members of Code Pink finally decide to become Human Shields in the middle of Martin Luther King Boulevard.

This was the most inspiring scene of the day. The Veterans suspended their heated exchanges with Code Pink to salute the flag as the National Anthem was played over the loudspeaker. Meanwhile, the Berkeley High students continued to curse America over the crescendo of the Star Spangled Banner.

And our flag was still there…

Whether or not you are hanging out near city hall, you can observe Darwin Day today. From their official website:

Darwin Day is an international celebration of science and humanity held on or around February 12, the day that Charles Darwin was born on in 1809. Specifically, it celebrates the discoveries and life of Charles Darwin — the man who first described biological evolution via natural selection with scientific rigor. More generally, Darwin Day expresses gratitude for the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge, acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity, has contributed to the advancement of humanity.

Picture source.

UC Berkeley is even having its own celebration, with many events including a Darwin Day “Tree Party.” Their website is sparse on the Tree Party details, but at least it is happening at Wellman Hall and not the oaks by Memorial Stadium.
I first heard about Darwin Day this past weekend. As a friend of mine was leaving church some people from Revolution Books, a local communist bookstore, were passing out flyers. They were saying progressive Christians should support Darwin Day.

If you feel left out finding out about this great holiday when so much of the day has passed, fear not. Next year is the bicentennial of Darwin’s birth and you have a whole year to plan your celebration.

While Darwin has done great scientific work, there is one other person who should not be forgotten this day. Another great man was born on February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln.

Picture source.

This article from the SF NBC website which made The Drudge Report details Berkeley standing down from its measure to ban the Marines.

A choice bit from the article:

“Subtly stated in the resolution is perhaps an impugning of the soldiers fighting for us in Iraq and other places,” Berkeley City Councilman Laurie Capitelli. “And that was never the intention but that really needs to be cleared up. As I walked to my car that night I realized I regretted it and I had made a mistake.”

The institution that called the Marines “uninvited and unwelcome intruders” claims this was PERHAPS a subtle impugning. It wasn’t perhaps or subtle, and it was greater than impugnment. It was pretty heinous. Now that the city is threatened with the loss of 2.3 million in federal revenue it is backing off, and who knows if it learned a lesson or not.

Here’s another one:

“Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Barbara Lee said they plan to fight the Republican bill”

Good luck with that, ladies! I’d love to see that day on the House/Senate floor. Also, Wozniak, one of the original dissenters, made a comment that was meant to be an olive branch but does nothing to hide Berkeley’s other forms of crazy:

“Berkeley is supposed to celebrate diversity and free speech and we welcome homeless people here. We welcome illegal immigrants. We give them sanctuary. We should welcome the Marines. I mean they’re basically dedicating their lives to protect their country.”

I’m sure February will provide the community of crazies and those who live with them a wholly new outrage to keep our spirits up. This is one thing that Berkeley has done for me–I won’t expect that anything will ever be strange again.

A while ago our friends over at SFSU got in a brouhaha over some Hamas flag-stomping, and their case shows up in a recent Foundation for Individual Rights in Education video, made by another one of our friends, Indoctrinate U director Evan Maloney. I know the SFSU case is a dead horse, but the video has some other amusing bits on campus speech codes and sexual harassment policies. The main idea is that no one is or should be protected from being offended while in college, which is something I think we can all agree with.

The video can be viewed here.

As anyone who has had any contact with the outside world should know, today is Super Tuesday. I am watching the returns come in with my roommates.

On campus today, Obama stuff and people were everywhere. There was chalking on the sidewalks, people with stickers and tables set up. I would have snapped a picture of people holding signs at Telegraph and Bancroft, but my camera keeps saying lens error 12, 14, or 22.

Beetle offers some more on campus reporting.

Check out Time’s cover. It has Berkeley students.

In the back on the left is the Patriot’s own editor in chief Alisa Farenzena. In the middle row on the right is consistent Patriot writer and Berkeley College Republican Executive Director Alex Marlow. Even BCR’s External Vice-President Kyle Tibbits made it into the back row. And let’s not forget ASUC External Affairs VP Danny Montes in the back right.

The article talks about the importance of the youth vote. However, the Berkeley students on the cover don’t get any mention in the text of the article, only a couple of lines in the caption of pictures of them hanging out around campus. The picture of Alex does a great job of capturing the dark weather we have had for the last two weeks in Berkeley.

I’m not going to steal Chris’s thunder about the Time magazine cover, but I wanted to mention something in the same vein. The SF Chronicle did an audio slide show of the Berkeley College Republicans and some of their campaign work, featuring some of our compatriots and fellow campus conservatives.
View it here, showcasing our friends Kyle and Ross, who speak very well on behalf of our organizations. Go take a listen! I’m also in there photographically, but the pictures are hardly flattering.

Stay tuned for Super Tuesday updates. Unfortunately I still vote in a state that has a Feb 19th primary, so I won’t have much to add, but Chris and others should have plenty to say about the vote today.