Newt's personal fantasy isn't much different than ours in San Francisco

​After Newt Gingrich trashed-talked the Bay Area, specifically San Francisco, we gave the  polyamorous Republican five really good reasons that he might fancy our fair city, despite the fact we are open to all things good.

Of course, we didn't think he would take that as an actual invite, but alas, here Gingrich comes.

Okay, so the mashed-potato snowman won't actually be stepping foot in our "fantasy land" as far as we know, but he will be close enough to give us the chills -- 20 miles down south in Burlingame where the average male resident also proudly dons a toupee.

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Leland Yee likes all types of soup

​State Sen. Leland Yee, the enigmatic San Francisco politician known for his past brushes with the law and diverse array of stances on major policy issues, positioned himself last year as an opponent of a ban on shark fin soup, the Asian delicacy that depends on grisly fishing methods. That turned out to be a lost cause, as the ban became state law the first day of this year.More >>

Gavin Newsom

​UPDATE, 11:35 A.M., 2/3/12: Newsom spokesman Francisco Castillo responded to the below story with an e-mail, stating, "The Lt. Governor never said he thought press coverage was 'unfair,' nor did he suggest that domestic violence charges not be treated with extreme seriousness -- any suggestion otherwise is sloppy and just plain wrong."

ORIGINAL STORY: California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco's former mayor, said on a local radio program today that he feels news outlets are being unfair to Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who is facing charges of domestic violence.

On KQED radio's Forum talk show, Newsom expressed a surprising degree of sympathy with Mirkarimi, a former political rival who is facing trial on charges that he abused his wife. In particular, Newsom called into question the frequent news stories that have appeared about Mirkarimi's case, coverage spurred by a second woman's decision to come forward with allegations of physical violence against the sheriff.

"It's a little indulgent, in terms of just the day-to-day pounding in the media," Newsom said to host Michael Krasny. "There's got to be something else to talk about, as important as this is. So I understand his frustration, feeling he's being picked on. But trust me, I've been there, we all have, and such is the nature of responsibility in the public realm."

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Ross is still fighting ... to see his family

​Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi will return to court again on Friday to try and win back his right to see his 2-year-old son, Theo. Twice, a judge has denied his request to lift the stay-away order, which has barred him from having contact with his wife, Eliana Lopez, and his son, after an alleged domestic violence incident.

But Mirkarimi's lawyer, Lidia Stiglich, filed paperwork in court Monday, arguing that the only trauma in this relationship is that Theo has been torn away from his father, whom he misses dearly.
The stay-away order was issued last month after Mirkarimi was charged with three misdemeanors, including battery, child endangerment, and dissuading a witness. Mirkarimi has denied he abused his wife during a New Year's Eve dispute.

Regardless, Stiglich told reporters that Mirkarimi has taken counseling classes, and is taking these allegations "very seriously."

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The sheriff's mug shot

​The case against Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi is looking grimmer after prosecutors filed a motion in court today claiming the sheriff isolated his wife for more than 18 hours after he allegedly abused her during a domestic dispute.

Mirkarimi has been accused of physically abusing his wife, Eliana Lopez, during a New Year's Eve domestic dispute where he allegedly pushed her and left a bruise on her bicep. He has pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor charges, including battery, endangering a child, and dissuading a witness.

Prosecutors are now arguing that Mirkarimi kept his wife inside for more than 18 hours after the incident to keep her from contacting police or talking to anyone about the abuse. "He kept her silent, kept her from telling anyone, and kept her behind closed doors."

Of course, Mirkarimi's attorney brushed that off as "absurd."

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Nancy Pelosi

​Members of Congress are taking up legislation this week aimed at dealing with allegations that a form of "insider trading" is taking place among lawmakers whose knowledge of pending bills could give them a leg up in the stock market.

The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act would bar members of Congress from using non-public information -- for instance, about pending laws that would affect the financial-services industry or other sectors of the economy -- to make decisions on stock investments. It would also require them to disclose such investments within 30 days.

The bill comes in the wake of a 60 Minutes report last fall exploring whether House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi helped craft legislation that might have benefited stock investments by her husband, San Francisco businessman Paul Pelosi. The news program also examined investments by House Speaker John Boehner.

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What's her problem?

​After that insane finger-wagging Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer gave President Obama on the tarmac in Phoenix the other day, it's no wonder the president would prefer to be campaigning in San Francisco, where we don't mind gays or immigrants, and we would never think to make a creepy, bullet-riddled T-shirt with Obama's face on it.

Word in the blogosphere is that President Obama and the First Lady will make yet another appearance in San Francisco next month, where he's holding a campaign fundraiser and dinner for his 2012 presidential bid.

This trip to our fair city is reportedly part of a three-day swing across the West Coast, where Obama plans to also stop in Los Angeles and Seattle.
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​When it comes to the mayor's monthly "question time" session with the board, Supervisor John Avalos has been outspoken about the boring, pre-screened, softball questions lobbed Mayor Ed Lee's way.

But while he's an avowed foe of softball questions, Avalos has engaged in some questionable softball. The strong-armed and athletic former high school catcher hasn't tasted victory on the diamond in 20 years. "We got close," notes the supe.

Avalos is planning to venture once more into the breach several years after playing the Kyle Williams role in his star-crossed squad's attempt to win a game.

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Mitt Romney, looking at something more interesting than his book.

​Mitt Romney is all set to be the Republican nominee for president, except for one stubborn hitch: Republican primary voters -- like most people -- don't like him, perhaps because he's actually an actor playing a presidential candidate on a soap opera in 1986.

Instead, lately, lots of Republicans seem to prefer mashed-potato snowman Newt Gringrich, not because they like him, per se, but because he's really good at hating the things that Republican primary voters hate, like immigrants or Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco, both of which Gingrich is invited to go on TV and yell at anytime he wants. (Then he yells at TV for being "liberal" and suppressing the viewpoints of people like Newt Gingrich, which is hilarious.)

Romney has none of these skills. In fact, he's so clueless about tapping into the talk-radio Tea Party anger that animates his party's base that he's trying to win Republicans by teaming up with embodiment of everything they hate: Pelosi herself.

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Ross ... in happier times.

​Yesterday we told you about how Ross Mirkarimi's lawyer, Bob Waggener, wasn't doing the sheriff any favors by calling him a "tyrant" to the press.

Apparently, Mirkarimi didn't think so either.

Media outlets are reporting this morning that Mirkarimi and Waggener "parted ways" yesterday afternoon. No word on why the two decided it wasn't working out, but we can only imagine how Mirkairmi felt when he read in the story where his own attorney acknowledged that he was a bombastic and temperamental.

Mirkaimi has since hired Berkeley-based defense attorney Lidia Stiglich, who is expected to appear in court with Mirkarimi today.
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