OB Rag

by Noam Chomsky

The U.S. midterm elections register a level of anger, fear and disillusionment in the country like nothing I can recall in my lifetime. Since the Democrats are in power, they bear the brunt of the revulsion over our current socioeconomic and political situation.

More than half the “mainstream Americans” in a Rasmussen poll last month said they view the Tea Party movement favorably—a reflection of the spirit of disenchantment.

The grievances are legitimate. For more than 30 years, real incomes for the majority of the population have stagnated or declined while work hours and insecurity have increased, along with debt. Wealth has accumulated, but in very few pockets, leading to unprecedented inequality.

Terriers has been consistently awesome all season and tomorrow [Wed – Nov. 10] night’s episode is no exception. We have some clips and a trailer for the episode to share with you!

Last month, I said Terriers was one of the best new shows of the fall season. Having seen the final four episodes of Season 1, I feel comfortable saying that this series isn’t just one of the best new shows this fall, it’s also one of the best shows on TV right now.

There are a number of Torrey Pines trees in Ocean Beach, as any resident worth their salt can tell you. We have been concerned about one on the 4600 block of Long Branch Avenue – and are following that story so watch for an update.

Meanwhile, there’s an entire “forest” of them on the 4600 block of Saratoga Avenue. Beginning this week, the City of San Diego has a crew out there doing trimming. Here is what Drew Potocki, the city’s “urban forester”, had to say about that work in an email to Thyme Curtis of Councilman Faulconer’s office:

By Rocky Neptun

Next March will mark the 57th anniversary of Anne Frank’s death. Branded an illegal alien of the occupied Netherlands because she was Jewish; she and her young friends had to hide in fear of the black-shirted fiends known as the Protective Squad (Schutzstaffel) or SS as it was commonly called.

Roaming through neighborhoods they were the enforcers of ethnic purification. Their unspeakable atrocities against human beings in the name of the law still lacerate our sense of humanity. And while the ends of their sickening purposes still surface occasionally in places like the Sudan, Rwanda and Bosnia; their means continue to be used as weapons against targeted peoples like today’s Department of Homeland Security thugs.

This is the question. People who frequent the national cemetery out at Ft. Rosecrans are reporting that someone is cutting down the trees. And some of these people are not happy at all.

There is a rumor that the new director out there feels they must be chopped down due to dangers caused by the rain-soaked grounds.

I just had to post this headline. I think it’s great. Prop 19 got more votes – 3.4 million – than Meg Whitman for governor – 3.1 million. Yes, it failed by 55% to 45%. For comparison, look at the outcome of the 1972 version of Prop. 19, which would have legalized possession and cultivation of marijuana, but not sales. That proposition failed overwhelmingly, 66.5% to 33.5%.

Here’s some more thoughts on Prop 19:
Three Reasons California’s Pot Legalization Effort Failed …

My First and Last Article for the Union Tribune

by Katherine Sweetman / It was in the U-T until pulled / Nov. 8, 2010

An Introduction/ Resignation (A Small Gesture)

In an effort to step up the appearance of supporting the visual arts, The Union Tribune has graciously offered a handful of artists, scholars, and arts professionals the opportunity to write for them– requiring only one blog post per week (52 per year). And the pay? Oh… no pay.

Arts are very important to the Union Tribune but… so is money.

CalTrans wants to expand I-5 along a 27 mile stretch of freeway between La Jolla and Oceanside. They want to add 8 to 10 new lanes, plus more HOV lanes. They want to pour more concrete to allow for more vehicles in order to shave dozens of minutes off the average commute at peak times. It will only cost between $3.4 and $4.5 Billions, depending on which of the four options are chosen.

The new freeway expansion would potentially cause damage to only six coastal lagoons, only a mere 32 acres of wetlands and a pittance of 74 acres of coastal sage.

by John Lawrence/Will Blog for Food

I can think of no more apt metaphor for what voters did to themselves than the title of this post. Dissatisfied with the economy, voters voted in a party dedicated to the destruction of the economy as far as the middle class is concerned. They voted for a great economy for Wall Street bankers and billionaires. Obama, despite his failure to get the economy back on track in two years and despite his Republican lite tendencies and seeming inability to take a strong stand, is vastly preferable to the Republicans who now control the House. Obama, who already was governing from the right of center, is continually accused of being a left wing socialist and told by Republicans that he now must move to the right. If he moves to the right any further, he might as well resign from the Democratic party and join the Tea Baggers.

The third Ocean Beach forum on homelessness will be held on November 16th.

This one – in a series that began as a response from local churches to all the heated controversies surrounding the homeless – will be at 7pm in the fellowship hall at Point Loma United Methodist Church, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.

I was speaking with Mindy Pellessier the other day – she and her partner Jane own and run the Dog Beach Dog Wash on Voltaire Street.

Mindy is really concerned that with the defeat of Prop D, the City will be so hard up for cash, that it will seriously consider corporate advertising on public facilities at Dog Beach and other areas of the sand. This will be the subject of a later post – but what really amazed me was how much her business has spent over the years on keeping Dog Beach and another park clean!

Welcome back, brave souls who’ve endured my first three rambling diatribes! I see no reason to bore you with much off-topic banter, so let’s launch into Fustercluck, the fourth installment in the new Terriers series.

If you’re new and lost, click on my name at the top of the article and you’ll be linked to previous articles that will bring you up to date, along with other things I’ve written that, due to the quality of content, should not be viewed by anyone.

We open to Hank, sleepless at half past four, trying to catch the rats that he’s been hearing scurrying around in the night and presumably eating all his food. Bummed out with his kill rate of zero, he cruises down to the Old Townhouse Restaurant to meet Britt for breakfast.