Author: Frank Gormlie

In the fall of 1964, over 60 years ago, the young students on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley found themselves in an untenable situation. Campus activists had set up information tables in Sproul Plaza on campus and had solicited donations for causes connected to the Civil Rights Movement. Some of them had traveled with the Freedom Riders and had worked to register African American voters in Mississippi that previous summer.  At the time, however, existing rules for fundraising for political parties was limited exclusively to the Democratic and Republican school clubs.

In mid-September, a school dean announced that existing University regulations prohibiting advocacy of political causes or candidates, outside political speakers, recruitment and fundraising by student organizations would be “strictly enforced.” Two weeks later, a graduate student sitting at one of the civil rights tables refused to show his identification to campus police and was immediately arrested and placed inside a campus police car on Sproul.

Suddenly and spontaneously hundreds of students who witnessed the arrest, surrounded the police car, sat down and refused to budge. While the graduate student sat in the backseat, student activist leaders mounted the car and began to give speeches on free speech and against political restrictions. Students remained around the car for 32 hours and at one point, there were an estimated 3,000 students blocking its movement. People used the car as a speaker’s podium and held a continuous public discussion on rights, free speech and student liberties. This continued until charges against the graduate student were dropped.

It was the first mass act of civil disobedience on an American college campus in the 1960s and was the birth of the Free Speech Movement.

By Erwin Chemerinsky / The Sacramento Bee / September 30, 2025

If there is a path toward authoritarianism for the United States, this is it. The indictment of former FBI Director James Comey is just the latest outrage and effort to use the power of the federal government for the sake of retribution.

As we enter just the ninth month of President Donald Trump’s second term, it is essential to recognize that what we have seen is unprecedented in American history.

Trump, by his words and actions, has governed as if there are no checks on his authority. He quoted French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte on the social media platforms Truth Social and X, writing “He who saves the country violates no law.” At a televised press conference on August 26, the president discussed his use of troops for law enforcement, saying “(I have) the right to anything I want to do. I’m the president of the United States.”

Historic presidential overreach
Trump’s assertions of presidential power are broader than any other president has claimed. No president before has ever claimed that he can fire everyone in the executive branch of government or claimed the ability to eliminate agencies created by federal statute. No president has claimed the authority to massively cut off federal spending appropriated by Congress. (President Richard Nixon impounded funds, but not nearly on this scale).

From Mission Hills Heritage

Just recently, we learned that the City of San Diego has scheduled a “Preservation & Progress” Virtual Workshop for Wednesday, October 8 at 2pm.

We are uncertain whether this meeting will be a genuine “workshop,” given that staff has indicated it will be presenting pre-determined proposed changes. And they are not waiting for the independent consultants at PlaceEconomics to release their fact-based report with crucial information that would inform the City and the public.

The City’s proposed changes are as follows:

• Proposed changes to the Historic Preservation Element of the General Plan
• Updates to the Historic Designation Appeal Process
• Amendments to the Complete Communities Housing Solutions program
• Proposed changes to the use of the Historic Preservation Fund

By Ryan Adamczeski / The Advocate – Yahoo / October 6, 2025

The home of a judge in South Carolina burned down over the weekend shortly after she had reportedly received death threats in the wake of her ruling against the Trump administration.

Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein, 69, was walking her dogs on Saturday morning when her home in Edisto Beach caught fire. Her husband, former Democratic state lawmaker Arnold Goodstein, 81, and their son, Arnold Goodstein II, were still in the house with other guests when the blaze began and had to escape through the upper stories into the marshes below, where emergency responders rescued them via kayak. The two were hospitalized alongside a third, unidentified person.

South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice John Kittredge told FitsNews that it was an “apparent explosion … that resulted in a fire that destroyed the home.”

“Judge Goodstein was walking on the beach when the fire started,” he wrote. “Her husband, Arnie, was in the house with children and perhaps grandchildren. The family had to escape by jumping from a window or balcony. I’m told there were injuries from the fall, such as broken legs.”

On Saturday afternoon, October 4, a 58-year-old man riding an electric scooter was injured when he lost control of the vehicle and was ejected. He sustained an open fracture to his fibula, necessitating immediate transportation to a local hospital for treatment.

Both news stories on this incident reported it occurred in “Point Loma Heights.” But it wasn’t — it occurred in Mission Valley. The accident happened at approximately 3:22 PM along 2100 Hotel Circle South. Both reports mentioned this address.

The headline from 10News: “58-year-old man injured, ejected from electric scooter in Point Loma Heights”.

The headline from Hoodline San Diego: “Man Suffers Serious Leg Injury in E-Scooter Accident in Point Loma Heights, San Diego”.

Most observers can tell right away that the 2100 block of Hotel Circle South is not in Point Loma Heights.

Editordude: Many Americans have been affected by the mainstream media blackout of this and have been unaware of the humanitarian flotilla that was bound for Gaza. In contrast, people in Europe are totally aware of it and are protesting the Israeli military’s interceptions. 

By Alastair McCready and News Agencies / Aljazeera – English / On 3 Oct 2025

The Israeli military has dismantled an entire humanitarian flotilla seeking to break its siege on war-ravaged Gaza, arresting hundreds of activists from dozens of vessels.

Livestream video showed Israeli forces forcing their way onboard the last vessel Friday morning. The Polish-flagged Marinette, which reportedly has a crew of six, was the final boat of the Global Sumud Flotilla – once a 44-strong fleet – to be seized by Israel.

The International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza also announced in a statement that several detainees arrested by Israeli forces had “entered an open-ended hunger strike from the moment of their detention.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry says it has already deported four Italian citizens who joined the flotilla and is preparing to deport the rest of the activists. “Israel is keen to end this procedure as quickly as possible,” the ministry said in a post on X.

Ground-breaking begins for controversial Rose Creek Village

Shovels overturned some dirt in eastern Pacific Beach. It was the ground-breaking for a controversial 5-story apartment building that will reverberate throughout San Diego’s coastal zones, called the Rose Creek Village at 2662 Garnet Avenue.

It’s controversial because it’s the first development allowed to breach the sacrosanct 30-foot height limit in the coastal zone — and the City and County of San Diego along with the State of California have all conspired to allow this to happen. And all these levels of government are doing this for the grandiose purpose that the building once completed will offer 60 homes earmarked for seniors, families, and individuals earning between 30% and 60% of the area’s median income, along with the dedication of 18 units specifically for homeless veterans.

Now who wouldn’t allow this? Who would oppose this worthy project?

Our simple answer: the tens of thousands of San Diego voters who approved the 30-foot height limit for the coastal zones in 1972.

At one point, about a year ago, San Diego City Councilmember Joe LaCava, who represents the Pacific Beach community, sought to kill the project.

By Gillian Mohney / SFGate / Sep 15, 2025 

Officials at UC Berkeley have sent over a hundred names of students and staff to federal officials, who are looking into allegations of antisemitism as part of an ongoing federal investigation.

The names of 160 students, faculty and staff were sent to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights after the office demanded documents related to complaints of antisemitism and discrimination at the university.

[See below for “Backlash”]

“The UC systemwide Office of the General Counsel (OGC), in compliance with its legal obligations to cooperate with the agency, directed UC Berkeley to provide those documents to the federal agency,” Janet Gilmore, the senior director of strategic communications at UC Berkeley, said in an emailed statement. “Numerous documents were provided over recent months to OCR, including the names of individuals in those reports.”

Gilmore added that the individuals were notified last week if they were named in the documents sent to the federal investigators.

It is very true: top officials in the Trump administration — including Vice-President Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, White House senior advisor Steven Miller — and Trump himself — are using the horrific killing of Charlie Kirk a week ago as America’s version of the Reichstag fire that broke out in Berlin, Germany in 1933.

What’s this? you may ask. What was the Reichstag fire?

Turning immediately to Wikipedia, we find the following:

The Reichstag fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building, home of the German parliament in Berlin, on Monday, 27 February 1933, precisely four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. …The Nazis attributed the fire to a group of Communist agitators, used it as a pretext to claim that Communists were plotting against the German government, and induced President Paul von Hindenburg to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree suspending civil liberties and pursue a “ruthless confrontation” with the Communists.This made the fire pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany. …

After the Fire Decree was issued, the police – now controlled by Hitler’s Nazi Party – made mass arrests of communists, including all of the communist Reichstag delegates. This severely crippled communist participation in the 5 March elections. After the 5 March elections, the absence of the communists allowed the Nazi Party to expand their plurality in the Reichstag, greatly assisting the Nazi seizure of total power. Wikipedia

On Charlie Kirk’s killing: the Left — condolences and calls for gun reform; the Right — calls for war against the Left