October 2010

WHY GIVE OUT HOMEWORK? – a poem by Judi Curry

October 13, 2010 by Judi Curry

I have a 14 year old granddaughter that’s driving her parents

wild,

No one would ever have suspected it of this child.

A swimmer, a junior life guard to boot,

When it comes to homework she doesn’t give a hoot.

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Proposition 25: A Simple Majority Vote

October 13, 2010 by Doug Porter
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Politics, in case you haven’t noticed the fact, has become rabidly partisan in recent years. It’s not that we haven’t had ideological divides in the past, because there are always multiple points of view about what’s best for the country, but these days the positions have hardened to the point where compromises are not even on the table for discussion.

Our political system, which by its very nature encourages two (and only two) political parties, has historically yielded an incremental approach to change.

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SEIU wins in expensive battle for Kaiser workers, rival appeals

October 12, 2010 by Source
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By David Moberg / In These Times / Originally published Oct 8, 2010

One union came out on top this week at California’s Kaiser Permanente facilities.

In a much-anticipated showdown over the future of healthcare unionism in California, a substantial plurality of the 43,000 members of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers-West at Kaiser Permanente facilities have voted to remain with the Service Employees union …

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Socks for the Homeless

October 12, 2010 by Brenda McFarlane
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My Experience Volunteering to Help the Homeless

I’m not very grateful for socks, sorting and matching them are the worst part about doing laundry, I often leave them unsorted at the bottom of the basket and match them as I go. I recently learned the value of nice clean fresh socks by volunteering for 1st Saturdays, an informal group of people who gather to help the homeless on, …

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San Diegans scramble to find venue to “join” Jon Stewart and Steve Colbert rally in DC on October 30th

October 12, 2010 by Staff
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Some San Diegans are trying to find a San Diego location for reasonable and progressive leaning people to gather to rally/watch the Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Washington D.C. rallies on October 30th. The event will be broadcast from 9 am to noon west Coast time. [SEE LINKS INSIDE}

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National “Call-In Day” to Stop FBI Harassment – October 12th

October 12, 2010 by Staff

Also: Sign the Petition to Stop FBI Harassment – [see below]

Join peace and solidarity activists all around the country today in the National “Call-In Day” to stop the FBI harassment of this community of American activists. October 12th is the day.

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The Next Glass Ceiling

October 12, 2010 by Source
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by Krystal Ball / Huffington Post / October 11, 2010

[Krystal Ball is the Democratic candidate for Virginia’s 1st District]

When I was fifteen-years-old, I watched Hillary Clinton during the difficult times she faced when her private life and President Clinton’s private life became public. Nevermind that the people conducting the impeachment hearings were having multiple affairs and oozed hypocrisy.

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Are We Adding More People to the Homeless Population?

October 11, 2010 by Judi Curry
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I noticed today, on my way out of Ocean Beach, that the ARCO station has, once again, raised the cost of gasoline over last weeks price. I noticed today, while shopping at Ralphs, the cost of meat has gone up over what it was last week.

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350.org events celebrated 7,347 times

October 11, 2010 by Source
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by Bill McKibben / 350.org / October 11, 2010

How do you say ‘thank you’ 7,347 times?

People got to work yesterday in at least that many places around the world — the planet has never seen anything quite that widespread. Or quite that beautiful.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to visit 350.org to look through some of the thousands of pictures that we have managed to sort through so far:

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Proposition 24:Undoing Arnold’s Backroom Deals

October 11, 2010 by Doug Porter
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OB Rag Fall Elections – Part 7

As part of a series of back-room deals made by Gov. Schwarzenegger in 2008 & 2009, last year’s budget plan included a series of tax breaks for businesses. They were needed to get the Republican votes necessary to get to the two-thirds vote threshold to pass the budget. These tax breaks had been considered by the legislature in previous sessions but had failed to pass.

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What about the olives?

October 11, 2010 by Source
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by Olive Guy

What about the olives I asked? No one knew what to say. Our front yard has two large olive trees, each with weighted down branches, full of black and green oval fruit – and every shade in between. In fact, one large branch was so heavy, it cracked and dangled close to the ground. Both trees had begun to shed its fruit – that ancient delicacy.

I wanted to harvest the dozens, no hundreds of olives that were ripening and wasting their lives by falling to the hard earth below, where they would become mashed down with everything else. But no one else in the house either liked olives that much or knew what to do with them.

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Proposition 23, The Really Big Lies of Really Big Oil Companies

October 10, 2010 by Doug Porter
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OB Rag Fall 2010 Elections – Part 6

Proposition 23, which would suspend AB 32, the Global Warming Act of 2006, is the big bucks ballot box initiative this year. Proposition 19 (legalizing marijuana) may be getting the interest (at least that’s what our web stats show) and the initiative (Prop 25—coverage coming next week) changing the constitutional requirement to a simply majority for passing a budget may have the biggest long term impact, but the real slugfest is all about Proposition 23. Slick tv ads? Check. Mega-corporate war chests vs grass roots environmentalists? Check. Vote either way and the economy will shed a gazillion jobs? Check.

For those of you unfamiliar with the law that Proposition 23 is addressing, AB 32 requires …

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350.org’s Worldwide Invitation to Global Work Party on 10/10/10

October 9, 2010 by Patty Jones
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MANY SAN DIEGO EVENTS – LISTED INSIDE

From the 350.org website:
Dear World,

It’s been a tough year: in North America, oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico; in Asia some of the highest temperatures ever recorded; in the Arctic, the fastest melting of sea ice ever seen; in Latin America, record rainfalls washing away whole mountainsides.

So we’re having a party.

Circle 10/10/10 on your calendar. That’s the date.

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Your OB Rag Needs You! We are celebrating our 3rd anniversary this month!

October 8, 2010 by Staff
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OBceans and other citizens of the world:

Your OB Rag needs you!

As we cruise into our Third Anniversary as a blog – we began in October 2007 – we are celebrating the fact that we’re still here – and mostly because of those who have been supporting us over these few years – and of course because of our talented writers and bloggers and photographers and techies.

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The Agenda of ‘No’

October 8, 2010 by Andy Cohen
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Strange are the times we live in. Never has this nation been in more desperate need of cooperation, but never before has this nation been so completely and totally divided (at least not in my lifetime). The November 2nd midterm elections are upon us, and they are sure to profoundly shape the immediate future of the United States, both politically and economically.

So what can we expect to see if the Republicans manage a coup?

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Proposition 22 : Welfare For The Wealthy

October 8, 2010 by Doug Porter
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OB Rag Fall 2010 Elections – Part 5

These are tough times in California. Social services, education and basic services like police and fire departments are looking at another round of cutbacks as the latest budget proposal (2011) makes it way through the legislature. Proposition 22, “The Local Taxpayer, Public Safety, and Transportation Protection Act”, seeks to constitutionally protect monies normally set aside for “funds that are allocated to local government, public safety, and transportation”. Gosh, it sounds okay, doesn’t it?

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A Response to post about the October 6th OB Planning Board meeting

October 7, 2010 by Source

Editor: The following was a response by Seth Connolly, a member of the OB Planning Board, to Dan Morales’ post about the October 6th Board meeting (“Class bias dominates OB Planning Board discussion” ).

I always appreciate Dan’s perspective, but as someone who serves on the OBPB and who was at the meeting last night, I am just going to offer a few thoughts mostly in counterbalance… speaking only for myself as a community member, of course, and not for the OBPB or in that capacity.

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Class bias dominates OB Planning Board discussions

October 7, 2010 by Dan Morales

The Ocean Beach Planning Board as the steward of the local community plan has been making a grave strategic mistake. Although the October 6th meeting was both informative and entertaining it was also revealing in terms of class perspective.

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“Yes” on Prop D – or your library and Rec Center will be permanently closed!

October 7, 2010 by Anna Daniels
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That is pretty much the choice we face in voting thumbs up or down on a five year one half percent sales tax increase on Prop. D in November. Also throw in reduced Fire and Police services, which also concerns us, if D doesn’t pass.

Last month Mayor Sanders announced that the City was facing a $72Million budget deficit in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011. As you all know, yearly and sometimes twice a year budget reductions have been going on for a long time- four years in fact.

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Once again the “skunk” has taken the poster off my fence …

October 7, 2010 by Judi Curry
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What is it about this poster that is a threat to others? And, more importantly, why can’t I put a poster on MY fence, on MY property, and have it remain where I have put it as long as I want it there. Who is the skunk that thinks he can foul my yard and violate my privacy. (Of course, if you read the poster you can KNOW what the skunk thinks.)

I have had three signs removed by a “skunk” in the neighborhood. He has smelled up my yard several times since the election began. BUT…this poster is not about the election. This poster is about tolerance, understanding, and acceptance.

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Does America’s Finest City Care About People like Tyler Clementi?

October 7, 2010 by Ernie McCray
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I can’t shake the sadness I feel for Tyler Clementi, the 18 year old Rutgers University student who recently took his life by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after a classmate broadcast his intimate encounter with another man online.

My goodness, how many more gay people must die due to society’s hateful attitudes towards them? Tyler wasn’t the only gay youth to end his life in September. There were about seven ….

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Proposition 21- Save the Parks! (Or a blood sucking politician will evict your granny)

October 6, 2010 by Doug Porter
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OB Rag Fall 2010 Elections – Part 4

So it’s come down to this: either vote to add an $18 annual fee to your car registration or we’ll close the State of California’s 278 Parks. This reminds me of that old National Lampoon magazine that ran with the cover art of a gun pointing at a dog and the headline: “If You Don’t Buy This Magazine, We’ll Kill This Dog”. Californians love their parks. …

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Michael Moore: Eisenhower was right!

October 6, 2010 by Source
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by Michael Moore / OpenMike blog

So … it turns out President Eisenhower wasn’t making up all that stuff about the military-industrial complex.

That’s what you’ll conclude if you read Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s War.

In fact, after you read Woodward’s book, you’ll split a gut every time you hear a politician or a government teacher talk about “civilian control over the military.”

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Ocean Beach Planning Board Agenda for Oct 6, 2010

October 6, 2010 by Staff
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Here is the agenda for the OB Planning Board meeting for Wednesday, October 6, 2010. The meeting will be held at the OB Rec Center at Santa Monica and Ebers, and begins at 6pm.

(Go inside to read the agenda.)

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Interview with “Terriers” Gretchen Character

October 6, 2010 by Source
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While you may recognize Kimberly Quinn from her guest spots on House, Two and a Half Men, CSI: NY, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager, it’s her current role as Gretchen Dolworth on FX’s critically acclaimed new series Terriers that is turning into her coming out party.

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Mothers Rally Outside DA Dumanis Office to Pressure Her to Support Prop 19 – Marijuana Legalization

October 5, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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MSNBC has reported that a group of local mothers rallied outside DA Bonnnie Dumanis’ downtown office today to galvanize the district attorney to support Prop 19, the marijuana legalization initiative on November’s ballot. The group, called Moms United to End the War on Drugs, believe that legalization of pot will bring a halt to the waste and violence of this so-called war on drugs.

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San Diegans in Big Sur’s Court

October 5, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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It was a rainy and humid day when we packed up and headed for Big Sur last Thursday. Patty had never driven the famous Highway 1 – Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), nor had she ever seen Big Sur, and had never been to Hearst Castle. And I aimed to change all that. With camping tent, propane stove, food for 4 days and 2 plastic chairs, we packed up the PT Cruiser and headed out of town with a big sigh – ‘finally’- !

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The Down and Dirty Side of Democracy: Propositions 20 and 27—Drawing Lines in the Sand

October 5, 2010 by Doug Porter
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OB Rag Fall Elections – Part 3

Once upon a time, there was this country whose founders that had the idea that the people ought to have some say in their governance. They’d had a rather bad experience with this monarchy/colony deal and felt that there had to be a better way. It was a very radical idea at the time. There were founding fathers that feared that the rabbled masses would wreak havoc, so compromises were reached to insure that the elite, landed classes of the time ….

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Uncle Sam says “No fear!”

October 5, 2010 by Staff
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(Tip o’hat to Judi Curry) Poster by Dennis Nyhagen

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School dropouts – What we aren’t doing for them…

October 5, 2010 by Judi Curry
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by Judi Curry

I am a high school dropout that went back to school and ended up as an assistant professor at local colleges.

I went back and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Educational Teaching and followed up with a Masters Degree in Elementary/Secondary Education Administration. I was an Assistant Professor at SDSU and UCSD, Extension, working with new teachers in developing curriculum to meet the needs of their individual students. I was a teacher; a Vice Principal; a Principal; A Director of Education and Vocational training as well as a Deputy Director of a Job Corps site shortly before retiring in 2004.

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