The Machiavellian Politics of London Breed

On Dec. 14, 2021, San Francisco’s quixotic mayor authored a blog post that served as a policy statement (slightly more literate than Trump’s policy by Tweet) entitled, “A Safer San Francisco.” It stated, “San Francisco is a compassionate city, but our compassion cannot be mistaken for weakness or indifference.” The mayor’s one liner was a prelude to the announcement of a “series of initiatives to create a safer San Francisco.” The initiatives were itemized as follows: Executing an Emergency Intervention Plan in the Tenderloin neighborhood Securing emergency police funding Amending our surveillance ordinance Disrupting the illegal street sales of stolen . . .

President Biden hands a pen to Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) during the signing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act in the East Room of the White House. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

Witnessing the Selling Out of Juneteenth Right Before Our Eyes

the militant and uncompromising spirit of the Juneteenth celebrations I grew up with has been replaced by a dominant “can we all get along” party atmosphere that uplifts symbolic progress while hammering the message that the absolute only legitimate form of struggle that is morally acceptable is that waged through the capitalist electoral process on an individual basis. . . .