Month: September 2018

I remember back, maybe
when I was in junior high,
neighbors talking in hush-hush tones
about a man
who had drowned himself
in the night.
“Hey, why y’all whispering?”
I wanted to know,
all wide-eyed
and mystified
and horrified.
“Shhh, boy, he died of suicide.”

After the Climate Action Summit, Commitments Emerge Amidst Growing Disaster

Corporate execs, career politicians, and environmental activists converged on San Francisco for the Climate Action Summit.

by David Helvarg / The Progressive / September 17, 2018

The Global Climate Action Summit held in San Francisco September 12 through 14 felt both urgent (as Hurricane Florence began to soak the Carolinas and Typhoon Mangkhut battered the Philippines), and hopeful. More than 500 commitments were made to speed up the transition to carbon neutrality and to remediate the growing impacts of climate change.

Public Service Announcement: Riding Electric Scooters on the Sidewalk Is Against the Law

Next time you see someone riding an electric scooter on a sidewalk, please politely remind them that it is illegal and ask them to get into the street. They can use the bike lanes.

Is Trump barreling towards a high-stakes confrontation with the FBI and Department of Justice?

A confrontation that could unfold within the next several days is about to overtake the news cycle and signal yet another abuse of power move by Trump. But this one could be the trigger – as FBI Director Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein – decide how to respond to the president’s latest attempt to subvert the investigation into whether the Russian sabotage of the 2016 election included Trump and his people.

Did you miss the memo on the latest installment in the continuing American constitutional crisis? On Monday Trump ordered the FBI and the DOJ to release – without redaction

We now know something about Christine Blasey Ford, the Palo Alto University professor, who has accused Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of attempted rape. Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegations, and has even denied being at the party – despite Ford not being specific about the party itself.

Republicans say both Ford and Kavanaugh will testify in a re-opening of the Judiciary Committee’s hearing on next Monday, Sept. 23, although Prof. Ford has not confirmed this. Democratic leaders are demanding the FBI investigate the allegations prior to any hearing.

Meanwhile, here is the transcript of the letter Prof. Ford sent to Senator Dianne Feinstein

Hey OB – got flies?

Several weeks ago, I was having dinner with a group of friends in Point Loma – and we were eating outside. The hosts apologized numerous times for the flies that seemed to be trying to enjoy our food. Later, I thought, we’ve eaten outside many times before at their house – which is just a few blocks from OB – but never have the flies been this bad.

Then just this weekend, I was visiting with friends who live down in the flatlands of Ocean Beach. We were sitting outside in their back yard – and there was no food around – but there were flies. As my friends were lighting a whole bunch of incense sticks and placing them around the patio in an effort to ward off the flying nuisances, they told me the flies have never been this bad since they’ve lived here – over 10 years now.

So – have you been bothered more than usual this year by flies? Just why are there so many at the beach?

Musing From the Old Broad

Last week I said that I was boycotting “In and Out Burger” and listed the various reasons for that action. This week I am boycotting the Miramar Air Show for a number of reasons. I realize that this will be an unpopular decision for many of you, but I have several strong reasons for the boycott, and glorifying war is one of the strongest.

I want to quote the “Veterans for Peace” comments because they can say it better than I can:

“ . . . we ask that you question why our government continues spending an increasing amount on the military while reducing spending on programs such as health, education, and infrastructure, programs that benefit out citizens. Our tax dollars can serve us better than by funding war and its implements.”

Warner Springs: A Cultural Landscape and Land of Broken Dream

Join the Ocean Beach Historical Society presentation on the story of Warner Springs with Richard Carrico.

Warner Springs and the surrounding area is a microcosm of the history of southern California. Situated at the foot of Hot Springs Mountain, the highest peak in San Diego County, the sprawling valleys and hills have been the scene of massacres, insurrections, murder, alleged curses on the land, exploitation of native people, and land development focused on the sulphurous hot springs.

Richard Carrico, a well-known local author and lecturer

The Ocean Beach Pier Pancake Breakfast is a fun and popular tradition in OB that kicks off the big fundraising season for the OB Food and Toy Drive and all of OBTC’s Holiday events.

This year we will hold the 20th Annual Pier Pancake Breakfast on the Ocean Beach Pier from 7:30 am till Noon on Saturday, September 22. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children for an amazing breakfast over the ocean.

All proceeds go to benefit the Annual OB Toy and Food Drive,

Fentanyl-laced cocaine has taken the life of one OBcean and killed two people in Pacific Beach recently. Two other people survived an overdose. The identities of those affected are not known.

No details have been reported about the death in OB but the 2 PB victims who died – between 30 and 47 years old – were found in a home after relatives grew concerned of the lack of communication from one of them. However, the toxicology results show the victims ingested cocaine laced with fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be deadly even in very small doses, as it is 50 times more potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

Recently I had the pleasure of speaking to the La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club about the Lincoln Club and the history of the American Right. In that presentation, I noted how the ultimate aim of the Right was to dishonestly promote deeply unpopular policies through stealth politics that take advantage of the general public’s naiveté about their agenda.

Locally, groups like the Lincoln Club do their best to intervene in Democratic primaries and shift the landscape in their favor so they can win elections and promote policies that further enrich the elite. As I have written in this space, that’s how San Diego’s “shadow government” has rolled for decades.

By Jordan Beane

On September 13th, the Union-Tribune released their interviews with our District 2 candidates, Dr. Jennifer Campbell and current District 2 City Councilmember Lorie Zapf. In Zapf’s interview, there were a lot of specific questions about the Climate Action Plan, it’s goals and more.

However, I believe the UT should have asked her a simpler question: Do you, Councilmember Zapf, believe in climate change?

Our Republican representative wants you to believe she cares about this existential threat and its impact on San Diego. She, along with the rest of the city council, voted to approve San Diego’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) in 2015.