OB Rag

A line wrapped down the block and around another one in Hillcrest Tuesday morning. If you didn’t know, you would think they were handing out free money not free nectarines and bread.

One after another, young and old collected plastic bags filled with fresh produce — bread, cantalope, nectarines, bananas and potatoes — from volunteers.

by George Mitrovich

At the tribute to Senator Ted Kennedy Friday night at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, Mr. Kennedy’s closest friend in the Senate, told a story of how he recently underwent prostate cancer surgery and when he came out of recovery his first phone call was from Mr. Kennedy, who said, “Given the choice between prostate cancer surgery and going to town hall meetings, you made the right choice.”

It is beastly hot in my tiny house eight miles inland from Ocean Beach and I have just spent a number of hours culling through the news online and I am really really grumpy.

I’ve printed out a copy of Robert Reich’s recent posting The Guns of August: How the Republican Right Fired on Health Care …

OCEAN BEACH, CA. This is the OB Rag’s weekly Community Bulletin and Discussion Board. Discuss anything that is bugging you, or exciting you, or of interest. Do it in the comments section. Not only that, if you or your buds are having a meeting or event you would like to inform the rest of us about, do so here.
Come inside for each of these sizzling stories …

* GO INSIDE FOR OPEN THREAD FOR DISCUSSION

OCEAN BEACH, CA. We were finally able to meet Chris Bowd after all this time. Patty and I went to his OB home and presented him with this OB Rag T-shirt that a friend had bought him. Chris is the OBcean knocked unconscious July 4th during a mystery assault.

The arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. by Cambridge police again raised the issue of racial profiling of People of Color in North America.

As evidenced in President Obama’s attempt at a ‘teaching moment,’ the idea of racial profiling produces heated debate.

Most African Americans remain convinced that law enforcement agencies routinely use their race as criteria in criminal investigations while a majority of Whites and police vigorously dispute this claim.

OCEAN BEACH, CA. This news web/ blog is always responsive to our readers. There has been much complainin’ of late among you lefties about the lack of a progressive movement to get the country moving again, to fight for health care reform, to fight the right-wing crazies funded by the health care insurance companies, to generally acknowledge that on November 4, 2008, the country moved from a center-right nation to a left of center nation. We want to save our democracy by ending the empire.

In order to get it right, er, left, uh, … I mean … we need a T-shirt that says it all.

Residents of Ocean Beach appear to be divided on the issue of having film and video crews in Ocean Beach. We have recently heard a number of complaints about the loss of parking, the rudeness of the security guys for the film crews, and so forth.

So, for a week, starting on August 21st, we ran a poll:

Do you carry a credit card balance? You suck. Don’t worry, I do too, and so does my girlfriend, my mom, my sister…but hopefully you’re trying to stop your spending and are hacking away at that balance with the rare nickel and dime left over from the shrinking paychecks …

by Rocky Neptune

Mexico last week, in an historic, enlightened, humane move, legalized personal drug use throughout the country. The government also announced that drug addiction would be treated as a medical problem rather than a criminal offense.

by Anna Daniels

Over 700 people in yesterday’s town hall meeting with Susan Davis chanted “Health Care for All,” while another 300 people chanted “Just Say No!”

Doesn’t that say it all—that the majority of people want health care coverage extended to all citizens? President elect Obama campaigned on this issue, was elected for his position and is now addressing it. That’s called moving forward.

The “Just Say No” minority is frozen in time, …

by Frank Gormlie

SPRING VALLEY, CA. I knew I was in trouble with that phone call from ace OB Rag reporter Doug Porter. It was noon. “Where are you?” he asked impatiently. I stumbled for words. We were finishing up our morning business when he called, and I felt like a busted teenager. “We’ll be there real soon,” I mumbled, trying to brush away my hang-over.

Your OB Rag news blog had planned to send our troops to the Spring Valley Town Hall meeting, …