First Cuppa Coffee – Monday, January 30, 2012

Things You Might Want To Know

Corporate Personhood Understood… Canvas for a Cause will be hosting a teach-in at Freedom Plaza (Civic Center) this afternoon at 4pm.  Rachel Scoma and Holly Hellerstedt will be discussing how corporate personhood affects progressive movements and grassroots activism, including Target’s lawsuit against Canvass for a Cause, a group that solicits public support for Progressive causes.

Latest SDPD Crime Initiative: Illegal Chalking…  Those Occupy San Diego folks continue to find new and creative ways to get arrested. A young woman was arrested yesterday at the Civic Center for drawing with Crayola Sidewalk Chalk. Bail was set at $5000. Likely she won’t actually be charged with anything in court, but if she wants out of jail, it’ll cost her $500. Here’s the video that she made.

Here’s three stories that you missed this weekend if you relied on the SDUT for “News”:

Who “likes” Syria?  Apparently the Russians do. “The Kremlin has put itself in conflict with the West as it shields Assad’s regime from United Nations sanctions and continues to provide it with weapons even as others impose arms embargoes.”

Where’s Ron Paul? With the national press focused on the Florida primary and the slugfest between Newt and Mittens, little notice is being taken of Paul’s stealthy plans up north.  On CNN’s “State of the Union Sunday,” Paul told host Candy Crowley that “after spending two days plus up in Maine, I was very encouraged. The turnouts were fantastic. Usually overflow crowds, tremendous enthusiasm. The other candidates aren’t paying much attention.”

Nuclear Plant Construction  No U.S. nuclear construction permit has been granted since 1978, demand for electricity has stagnated, and reactor meltdowns in Japan last March stunned the world.  But that hasn’t stopped Shaw Group Inc., a Fortune 500 firm that started in 1986 as a pipe fabricator, from pressing ahead with plans for new reactors in South Carolina & Georgia.

Wingnuttia…

Hedgecock’s Brand of Paranoia…  Part of the new era at Papa Doug’ SDUT apparently includes regular contributions from former San Diego Mayor and right wing radio talk show host Roger Hedgecock.  We wonder if the paper will be picking up on any of the themes that their latest op ed contributor weaves into his regular column over at World Net Daily, home to birthers and conspiracy freaks of the right.  Like this week, for instance, where he tries to gin up the meme that we need to fear the “growing dictatorship of Barack Obama”.

Can’t Beat Him? Impeach Him!  Meanwhile, some of Hedgecock’s brethren are considering the possibility that the circular firing squad—also known as the GOP primaries—might actually be hurting the GOP’s chances come November, 2012.  Sen. John McCain took a break from being cranky this weekend to proclaim on Meet The Press, “Enough with the debates, because they are driving up our candidates’, all of them, unfavorability. We have enough of that. They’ve turned into mud wrestling instead of an exposition of all our candidates views. And it’s time to recognize who the real adversary is, and it’s not each other.”  Activist Grover Norquist told the National Journal that conservatives already have a plan in place to impeach the President should he win the election.

That’s today’s report… Send along those press releases and state secrets to Cuppa c/o OBRagBlog@Gmail.org.  Tomorrow: Fun Stuff in Baja