Author: Source

By Carolyn Zellander / Special to San Diego Free Press

Following is an interview Michael T. Pines, a Carlsbad attorney who made national headlines for advising clients to “occupy” foreclosed homes.
Michael T. Pines was one of the first few attorneys with in-depth knowledge of the truth surrounding the near collapse of our economy caused by Wall Street. Michael has been painted (in some circles) as that crazy, foreclosure lawyer who needs to be in a mental institution, or worse, jail, especially by those in powerful positions.

By J. G. Robinson / Special to San Diego Free Press

This is the first column I will write for the San Diego Free Press, so let me introduce myself. I am an activist, a sociologist, a college professor, a San Diego resident for over 25 years, and I will be looking at San Diego through all of these perspectives. The academic in me means that I have a gut level commitment to the importance of data, reason, and a complex notion of truth. I do not believe that advocacy is merely yelling louder or not admitting the truths held by people with whom I disagree.

By Kelly Mayhew / Special to San Diego Free Press

A line of chatting parents greets the hurly burly crowd of small ruffians storming out of school at 3:40 on a Wednesday afternoon. I stand among these folks, basking in the sunshine and marveling at the mix of families and kids, waiting for my son Walt to make his way through the gate. McKinley Elementary in North Park is a bright, vibrant, neighborhood school that has an International Baccalaureate program. It is also public, which is why we chose to send our son there.

By Kimberley Beatty / Special to San Diego Free Press

Republicans feign outrage over “Operation Fast and Furious,” ensure more illegal firearms flood the streets.

The National Rifle Association (NRA), one of the most powerful lobbies in the US, has relentlessly tried to destroy the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) since it was created in 1972. They came close under Ronald Reagan in 1981, when the NRA pushed legislation to abolish the agency. Realizing that federal gun law enforcement would transfer to the then much esteemed Secret Service, the NRA scuttled the proposal.

Republicans like to denounce the so-called extremism of the liberal Warren Court. But the 5-4 decisions of the Roberts Court are the most divisive in American history.

by Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast / Jun 21, 2012

As we gather in our respective bunkers awaiting the white smoke from the Supreme Court, I thought a little history discussion might be in order. We’ve heard conservatives say many times that the Warren Court overreached, legislated from the bench, and divided America.

By Miriam Raftery / East County Magazine

Ocotillo – Neither blistering heat nor blowing dust dissuaded Native Americans from at least four different tribes from taking part in a five-day occupation in Ocotillo last week. They came to be with the spirits of their ancestors. They also aim to show that desert devastation occurring with construction of the Ocotillo Express wind facility is wrong and must be stopped.

by Janet Lavelle / U-T San Diego / June 21, 2012

Nearly 12.8 million Americans, including 1.9 million Californians, are expected to benefit from rebates on their health insurance this summer as part of the federal Affordable Care Act, officials announced Thursday.

by Mrs. Grundy

The word “prude” comes from the French. Traditionally, it meant something along the lines of “honorable woman.” Today, dear Wikipedia explains that “prude” refers to a person of any gender who is “concerned with decorum and propriety, significantly in excess of normal prevailing community standards.”

By OB Joe

Since Doug Porter moved over to the San Diego Free Press, I’m left here at the OB Rag to strut my stuff. That’s fine by me, cuz there’s lots of news that you missed while you were surfing or baking or just sittin on the couch, and I’m here to set you straight.

Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative In San Diego City Falls Short Of Goal

Chicano Park Murals Restored

San Diego Foreclosures Fall to Five-Year Low

… and much more – come inside.

By Catherine New / Huffington Post / June 20, 2012

Dory Hayes’ credit card complaint started with an honest mistake. And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau agreed. When she bought a new couch at Jennifer Convertibles in April 2011, she financed it by charging $500 on a GE Money Card, which had an annual percentage rate of 0 percent.

By Lucas O’Connor / San Diego Free Press

By now, most of us agree that the concept of treating corporations as people has, in practice, been a disaster. The flood of corporate money into elections since Citizens United has been just as bad as advertised, deference to the supremacy of corporate health as national health continues to rise, and still the very concept remains just as laughable now as it’s always been.

Wall Street “Quant” Alexis Goldstein Joins the Opposition

By John Lawrence / San Diego Free Press / Will Blog For Food

Wall Street recruits young, just out of college computer science majors and mathematicians to become “quants” whose skills are used among other things to predict when pension funds are going to make huge trades so that Wall Street can jump in ahead of them and do deals effectively raising the price the pension fund must pay or lowering the profit they might make.