OB Rag

Originally published 9/22/10

The recent sticker “wars” in Ocean Beach have reminded me of just how much a student of bumper stickers I really am – and one of my favorites was circa 1969. Highlighting the political tension in America back in the late Sixties and early Seventies, this one was quite famous: “America: Love it or leave it.” It had the flag either in the background or on the side.

Editor: “Terriers” is not the only new TV series that has an uber-local connection. There’s a new CBS series that starts Thursday, September 23rd, based on the twitters of a young man from Point Loma – Justin Halpern – who wrote down the spicy and witty sayings uttered by his cranky 74 year old father, a retired doctor. And William Shatner is playing the dad.

Controversy has surrounded potential management plans for the Children’s Pool at Casa Beach since seals formed a rookery on its shores more than a decade ago. One of the most recent attempts at regulating interactions between humans and seals has been hiring a park ranger using private funds secured by District 1 City Councilwoman Sherri Lightner’s office.

Randy Hawley, who became the city of San Diego’s first park ranger in 1989, interrupted his retirement to supervise the area as a provisional employee while the city searches for a full-time ranger.

Democrats are in trouble come November. If current polling is any indication, Republicans have a good chance of reclaiming a majority in the House of Representatives and perhaps even the Senate (though the Senate is a less likely prospect). That’s not because people are wildly excited about Republicans. In fact, a recent poll shows that registered voters rate the GOP’s performance as worse than the Democrats’. But the enthusiasm gap between the parties gives the GOP an advantage; a nine-point advantage among likely voters, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll .

The California Beer & Beverage Distributors is spending money in the state to oppose a marijuana legalization proposition on the ballot in November, according to records filed with the California Secretary of State. The beer sellers are the first competitors of marijuana to officially enter the debate; backers of the initiative are closely watching liquor and wine dealers and the pharmaceutical industry to see if they enter the debate in the remaining weeks.

The opposition to pot among beer makers, however, is not unanimous among the CBBD’s membership. …

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have cast their faux dueling Washington rallies as a kind of grand satire of the current state of media and politics.

“It’s just like everything they do – it’s really for the joke,” said one person familiar with the planning of the October 30 event, who asked – in the spirit of the “Daily Show” – to be described as a “senior administration official.”

by Jim Grant

Ocean Beach is known for being Ocean friendly and aware of the community and environment. And the association between the two. Surf Rider Paddle Out’s…Beach Clean Up’s and the like are very common in Ocean Beach. People come from all over San Diego to watch the sunset ……From Dog Beach to Ladera Street, the Cliffs and Beach is packed with people coming to enjoy the sunset.

By Marjorie Cohn / Huffington Post / September 19, 2010

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking military secrets to the public. This week, his supporters are holding rallies in 21 cities, seeking Manning’s release from military custody. Manning is in the brig for allegedly disclosing a classified video depicting U.S. troops shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in Iraq in July 2007.

By Rocky Neptune

Every human right has had to be fought for against powerful interests who profit from the subjugation and misuse of their fellow persons. The right to vote was opposed by kings and emperors and is still occasionally nullified by millionaire judges, …

By Michael Stetz / Union-Tribune / September 18, 2010

Not every homeless person pushes a shopping cart full of clothes, blankets and second-hand possessions. Not all are haggard, drunk and smelly. Not everyone is an adult, and some choose to stay on the streets.

Some things in life are a given, and right up there with death and taxes is the fact that San Diego’s talented stable of brewers will bring home the hardware at Denver’s Great American Beer Festival (GABF). The largest annual beer competition in the U.S., …

by Jeremy Scachill / The Nation / (current issue – October 4, 2010)

Over the past several years, entities closely linked to the private security firm Blackwater have provided intelligence, training and security services to US and foreign governments as well as several multinational corporations, including Monsanto, Chevron, the Walt Disney Company, …