The Health of the Nation

Early Wednesday evening there was a demonstration in Civic Center that was part of a nationwide effort to hold rallies across the country demanding health care reform.



It really shouldn't matter if one is an arch conservative or a demonized liberal like the ACORN group above.



The health care system in the United States is so obviously screwed up that it ought to be one of the few issues on which everyone can agree.



The problem, of course, is the organized crime syndicates that run the health insurance industry in this country, and the fearmongering they have been fostering among people who are already paranoid.



Their administrative costs make up over 30% of the revenue paid out for health care, and not one penny of that money is going towards actually healing anyone. The fact that they own most of the legislators in this country just makes the situation even more depressing.



Jan Adams at "Happening Here" has a few practical suggestions for lobbying, and Matthew Hubbard at "Lotsa Splainin to Do" insists that it's important to keep the message simple and ubiquitous.



Personally, I'm feeling more like Princess Sparkle Pony, who just shut down his/her brilliant blog this week. The penultimate post was entitled, "I Used to be Amused, Now I'm Disgusted."

The Sharp Little Fox

Certain environmental groups have been trying to shut down Sharp Park Municipal Golf Course, which is in the center of the small beach town of Pacifica, claiming that there are endangered species which are being negatively impacted by the golf course.



This has provoked a spirited defense from the mostly working class citizens who actually use the golf course, and they've created a website called the "SF Public Golf Alliance."



Part of the real pleasure for me on this inexpensive muni is the sheer profusion of wildlife that feels comfortable around humans, from huge herons to garter snakes to the fox who kept appearing at various holes on the back nine yesterday.



I'd never really had a chance to be near a fox before, and since I despise zoos and putting animals in cages, getting a chance to watch one in the wild was a rare joy.



Though foxes look more like dogs than cats, there is a distinctly feline element to their movement and the way they were interacting with humans.



"I'm enjoying the view next to the eighteenth green," it seemed to be saying, "so play around me."

Tangobaby at Tedda Hughes

There is a "gallery boutique" on Polk Street between Sacramento and Clay Streets called Tedda Hughes...



...where they sell art and colorful clothes and god knows what else.



On Saturday evening, they were hosting an opening for a variety of artists, including fellow San Francisco photoblogger Tangobaby (below center).



Gazing at her in admiration were birthday boy Greg Dewar, on the right, who publishes The N-Judah Chronicles about that beleaguered Muni line, and Donald Kinney (left), who publishes "a photo a day" which is an extraordinary photo chronicle of Marin County and San Francisco. It was a treat seeing all of them in the flesh.

The Wedding Photographer

One of the surreal joys of walking through San Francisco's City Hall is that couples in wedding costume are usually posing decoratively in halls and stairways, often accompanied by a photographer.



This particular pose, however, probably wasn't the best idea, because the diminuitive groom suddenly looked like the bride's little boy.