OB Rag

by Jonathan Schell / The Nation / November 10, 2010

The Army intelligence analyst Pfc. Bradley Manning, 22, now in a military detention center charged with having leaked classified documents related to the Iraq War, once explained why he was contemplating his deed. (He is additionally suspected of having leaked the 390,000 documents made public by the whistleblowing solicitor WikiLeaks, but he has not been charged with this.) Manning was not yet in prison or in the media spotlight.

Most reviews of Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s Wars, focus on the perceived failures and incompetency of Barack Obama, or on the in-fighting between the generals or within the White House staff, or intellectualize on the over-all abilities and shortcomings of Woodward as a chronicler of modern American history. And in doing so, they miss the point.

So….Buddy and I are walking south on Sunset Cliffs on the east side of the road when we are met by three dogs and their owner, unleashed, that looked as close to being wolves as coyotes look like large dogs.

Wait a minute. That’s unfair. Only two of the dogs looked like wolves. The third dog, a teeny weenie one was on a leash. It was the other two that were not.

Thanks to the paper-version of the San Diego U-T this morning, we have the grateful news that in the vote…

by Karla Peterson / SignOnSanDiego / November 13, 2010

When he talks about San Diego as the perfect scene for his TV crimes, actor Donal Logue likes to toss out a W. Somerset Maugham quote about the French Riviera. The geography is off, but the sentiment is a straight shot to the dark heart of our golden city.

PHOENIX — A measure that would legalize medical marijuana in Arizona pulled ahead for the first time Friday, with both supporters and opponents saying they believed the proposal that went before voters on Election Day would pass.

Proposition 203 was ahead by 4,421 votes out of more than 1.63 million votes counted. The measure started out losing by about 7,200 votes on Nov. 2 and the gap gradually narrowed in the following 10 days.

President Obama appointed 18 people to come up with suggestions for lowering the deficit. Yesterday, when Pres. Obama is outside of the country and will be until Sunday, they released their suggestions. I won’t go into detail about all of the things, but will mention two in particular that have me up in arms:
1. Social Security – raise the retirement age and lower the benefits

I am so mad that they are using SS as part of the reason for the budget problems.

State law requires public review of potential impacts before proceeding

The Sierra Club San Diego Chapter on Thursday, Nov. 9th, asked the City of San Diego to comply with state law requiring public review of likely environmental consequences before taking the dramatic step of privatizing the city’s only public landfill. Turning over the Miramar landfill to a private operator, as the City proposed in a request for bids issued in July, could cause significant environmental damage and expense.

I’m getting really, really sick of it. Everywhere I turn – there’s Sarah Palin. Not her really, of course, but another image of her, another post, another comment, another article, another scoop, ….

HELP!!!!!!!!!!

Am I the only one who is so sick of seeing her that I’m getting ready to throw up???

The OB Rag and the City of San Diego’s urban forester have come to a temporary agreement about the towering – but leaning – giant Torrey Pines tree on the 4600 block of Long Branch Avenue.

We have been following the story that the City wants to either drastically trim or even cut down this magnificent beauty.

I hate the idea of getting old. I hate “remembering” the way things “used to be” and comparing them with the way things are now.

For example: I remember when education used to be free. The public schools provided books, pencils, papers, crayons, glue, scissors, etc. so that we could learn without the stress of the teacher saying “we can do this if you bring in some paper and pens.”

I remember when school used to be safe for the students, the staff and anyone entering the premises.

There Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down

Johnny Cash recorded American VI, which included this song, at the end of his 71 year old life. It was released posthumously to mixed reviews. This video is noteworthy because it provides exquisite crowd sourced, collaborative images as a visual accompaniment to Cash’s spare and deeply moving rendition.