Category: Politics

Editor: The following post by Frances Zimmerman looks at recent manifestations of attacks – both local and national – on our rights as citizens by the government.

by Frances O’Neill Zimmerman

This week City Attorney Jan Goldsmith has brought charges against a former Occupy protester named Jeff Olson who wrote criticism in colored chalk on the public sidewalks outside three mid-City branches of Bank of America. The trial was under way since Wednesday and conviction carries the possibility of years in prison under a California anti-vandalism law.

Superior Court Judge Howard Shore has prohibited Olsen’s defense attorney from mentioning the First Amendment, …

San Diego Columnist is elated over marriage equality rulings but dismayed by court’s ruling on Voting Rights Act

By Mark Gabrish Conlan / East County Magazine

The sun is shining this Wednesday, June 26 and it’s a beautiful, if rather hot, day in San Diego. I sent my husband Charles off to work this morning after we both got up early to watch MS-NBC broadcast news of the United States Supreme Court’s rulings on two cases involving the rights of same-sex couples to marry each other. It was a personal story to us because Charles and I are legally married.

We got hitched on July 4, 2008, during the four- and one-half month “window” …

The vast majority of San Diegans disapprove – way more than approve – the job performance of the U-T San Diego’s publisher, “Papa” Manchester.

A new joint OB Rag – San Diego Free Press poll showed that 77% of over 100 respondents disapproved of Manchester’s job performance by giving him an “F” for failing while only 9% gave him an “A” or “B”.

Seven per cent gave Manchester a “D”, while 3% gave him an “Incomplete” and 3% said “Other”. Combining the “D’s” with the failing and incomplete grades gives Manchester an 87% disapproval rate.

By Evan McMurry/AlterNet

It was Texas Representative Michael Burgess’ turn on the GOP’s Bullhorn of Crazy this week. “You watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful,” Burgess said during a congressional debate on the House Republican’s absolutely pointless bill outlawing abortions past 20 weeks. “They stroke their face. If they’re a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs. I mean, they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to think that they could feel pain?”

Burgess’ prenatal masturbation musing is only the tip of the melting iceberg of Republican science denial. Here are seven battier things they believe, from trees causing global warming to fetuses in your Pepsi.

1. Abortion Leads To Cancer, Birth Defects, And Everything Else

Burgess’ absurdity actually masked a very serious GOP belief. The “fetus pain” theory,

It is official now. San Diego’s daily has declared open warfare against the city’s most liberal mayor in history – Bob Filner.

Over the weekend, the U-T ran its new weekly poll, but this poll displays this aggression against Filner, as it asks readers to judge Filner’s job performance. Those who have been observing, know “Papa” Doug Manchester to be a reactionary, homophobe.

We in the progressive media world were so outraged by this naked demonstration of partisanship by the editors of San Diego’s monopoly press that both the OB Rag and the San Diego Free Press have polls on the homepage asking readers to judge “Papa” Doug Manchester’s job performance now that he has owned the U-T for over a year and half. So far, he’s received a majoritarian grade of “F” for failing.

Restore the 4th Protest Planned for San Diego in Balboa Park – July 4

Public support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is growing across the country in leaps and bounds.

Already over 62,000 people – as of 10:30 am 6/20/13 – have signed an online petition in support of Snowden. The petition can be accessed here.

The online petition at RootsAction states:

Thank NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden

Our country is in the midst of a struggle between the growing surveillance state and our precious civil liberties. Now a whistleblower has boldly stepped forward to expose the National Security Agency’s vast spying on our phone records and online communications.

Explaining his actions, the 29-year-old computer expert said:

“I can’t in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building.”

By Jackie Tortora/AFL-CIO Blog

Some say the press is the fourth branch of government. It serves as a “check and a balance” to our elected and non-elected leaders and informs the public of news for the greater good. But what if that was compromised by a corporate power grab?

That’s exactly what the panel “Should the Koch Brothers Own The Tribune Newspapers?” will examine next Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. As we’ve covered on the blog before, David and Charles Koch have expressed interest in buying the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun and other leading newspapers owned by the Tribune Co.

We the People have now learned that all three branches of government have furtively conspired for seven years to violate our privacy—so, no, we don’t trust any of them.

By Jim Hightower / NationofChange / June 19, 2013

It’s back. The Patriot Act — that grotesque, ever-mutating, hydra-headed monstrosity from the Bush-Cheney Little Shop of Horrors — has risen again, this time with an added twist of Orwellian intrusiveness from the Obamacans.

Since 2006, Team Bush, and then Team Obama, have allowed the little-known, hugely powerful National Security Agency to run a daily dragnet through your and my phone calls — all on the hush-hush, of course, not informing us spyees. Now exposed, leaders of both parties are piously pointing to the Patriot Act, saying that it legalized this wholesale, everyday invasion of our privacy, so we shouldn’t be surprised, much less upset by NSA’s surreptitious peek-a-boo program.

U-T Editorial Blasts Pacific Beach Group as “Spiteful” and Urges Filner and Goldsmith to Save OTL

With all the crises in the world and at home here, the editorial board at the U-T San Diego found it necessary today to wade into the brouhaha between “Over-The-Line” organizers and a social networking group out of Pacific Beach, called FreePB.org . The editorial called the PB group’s effort to hold an even with the exact same conditions that OTL is allowed by the City and police and threatening to go to court “a spiteful maneuver” and begged:

“This is not the kind of dispute that should ever end up in court. We urge Mayor Bob Filner and City Attorney Jan Goldsmith tdo work together to assure that the OTL is not derailed.”

Of course, this is the same Mayor Bob Filner who is vilified daily by the newspaper, its editorial board and political cartoonist. … More inside …

Here’s Doug Porter’s excellent take on the issue from yesterday’s column at the San Diego Free Press.

Lawsuit Seeks to Shut Down Over The Line’s Boozin Beach Tournament; Preferential Treatment Claimed

By Doug Porter

A non-profit group has filed suit against the City of San Diego, seeking to block approval of a special-event permit for the 60th Annual World Championship Over-The-Line Tournament (OTL), scheduled for two weekends in July.

Let this moment be a educational one so let’s have the Debate that the President calls for

By Frank Gormlie

What a dastardly crazy last week and half it’s been.

Beginning Thursday, June 6th, with the Washington Post and the Guardian in London both running with the explosive news about the National Security Agency surveillance programs, we’ve been hit with daily revelations – that are still continuing every news cycle – that have created quiet a long list of whistle blower-delivered disclosures about what the government and the NSA are and have been doing to us – the American people.

By Norma Damashek / San Diego Free Press

I took a mindful walk through downtown La Jolla this morning. It was my version of a meditative exercise that’s supposed to smooth your soul and clear your mind.

Here’s how it’s done: you put one foot in front of the other in the usual way of walking while you notice what’s around you.

First you notice. And then you let it go.

Notice…and let it go.

These are some of the things I noticed on my mindful walk:

Editor: The following is the News Release straight from Mayor Filner’s office on the passage of his budget on Monday, June 10th.

CITY COUNCIL ADOPTS MAYOR’S FRAMEWORK
FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS IN THE YEAR AHEAD!!!

Mayor’s First Budget Focuses on Economic Recovery and Includes a Five-Year Labor Deal that Provides the City with Financial Stability

Mayor Bob Filner’s balanced budget and financial priorities were adopted by the San Diego City Council late this evening. A 7-2 majority of the Council sided with the Mayor and made an unequivocal commitment to fiscal responsibility and enhanced city services for the coming year.