On this edition of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D chops it up with Tim Redmond of 48 Hills about the political theater swirling around San Francisco from Dreamforce optics to displacement wars and right-wing culture plays. Redmond starts with Salesforce: yes, the convention brings bodies, hotel bookings, and late-night parties (Davey even DJd one). But he blasts CEO Mark Benioff for amplifying calls to bring in the National Guard, framing it as a classic billionaire move to socialize security costs for a private event. Redmond notes San Franciscos homicide rate is historically low and Moscone is already swarming with police; adding troops would escalate risk, not safety and neatly fits a Trump playbook that thrives on provocation and scary TV clips.

From there, the pair track the new mayor, Daniel Lurie. Redmond says Lurie has been notably cautious nominally rejecting troops while avoiding strong pushback against Trump or Benioff. He contrasts that with firmer stances from Chicago leadership. The Board of Supervisors, elected amid heavy tech money, is split: a few members are visible on ICE picket lines; many arent.

The deeper fight is housing. Redmond warns that state-backed upzoning along transit corridors championed by Sen. Scott Wiener is primed to turbocharge market-rate development on the citys west side, threatening small, often Asian-owned businesses and rent-controlled units. That, he argues, replicates the Missions displacement pattern and may finally unite east-side communities of color with west-side voters around a shared let us stay agenda.

They zoom out to tech power and culture battles: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison once branded as socially liberal now enabling or aligning with Trumpist currents while platforms police speech unevenly (e.g., Palestine content throttling vs. tolerance for bigotry). Against the backdrop of attempts to sanctify Charlie Kirk (street namings, Kirk Day) and minimal consequences for vile speech from youth conservative circles, Redmond calls this what it is: the right embracing its own cancel culture.

The hour closes with a call to refuse normalization naming the hate, demanding accountability from perpetrators and the silent bystanders alike and a plug for the 48 Hills fundraiser at El Rio, reminding listeners that independent media and community radio survive on people power.