OB Rag

Are We About to Witness Trump’s “Saturday Night Massacre”?

President Trump will meet with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein this Thursday, September 27, in the White House after rumors and speculation swirled today, Monday, through Washington DC and the mainstream media that Rosenstein was about to be fired today.

Rosenstein did go to the White House today – and initially the White House reported he was coming to resign – something the Department of Justice at the same time denied. Trump is in New York attending the United Nations conference. Rosenstein also attended a previously scheduled “Principles Committee” meeting at the White House in place of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Rosenstein did meet with Chief of Staff John Kelly –

After failing to prop-up Antonio Villaraigosa’s flagging gubernatorial campaign last June, Michael Bloomberg apparently spent the summer pondering whether it would be wiser for him to personally save the United States rather than waste his time trying to rescue California by proxy. Last week the New York Times reported that Bloomberg was mulling a run for the Presidency as a Democrat because that represented the most viable path to victory. As the Times story observed, while Bloomberg has engaged in some good work on guns and the environment, many of his other positions might not be very likely to win over the liberal base of the Democratic Party.

Before a good-sized audience of at least 80 people who had assembled in the old pews of the Water’s Edge Faith Community church, Richard Carrico – the well-known archeologist, writer and lecturer – entertained with his stories of Warner Springs Thursday evening, the 20th of September. Carrico appears in Ocean Beach once a year to give lectures – mostly about the native peoples of San Diego County – and this time was no different. Accompanied by a slide show, Carrico and his knowledge and wit held the audience for over an hour and half.

The Original Cupeños and Warner Springs Ranch

Carrico explained he was hired 4 years ago by the new owners of the Warner Springs Ranch

By Thomas Ultican / Tultican

The destroy public education (DPE) movement is the fruit of a relatively small group of billionaires. The movement is financed by several large non-profit organizations. Nearly all of the money spent is free of taxation. Without this spending, there would be no wide-spread public school privatization.

It is generally recognized that the big three foundations driving DPE activities are The Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation (Assets in 2016 = $41 billion), The Walton Family Foundation (Assets in 2016 = $3.8 billion), and The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation(Assets in 2016 = $1.8 billion).

It really was inevitable that the San Diego City Council would approve – as they did – the Community Plan for the Midway District earlier this week on Monday, Sept. 17. Being touted as the next best thing to sliced bread, as my old man used to say, its proponents claim it will bring thousands of jobs, needed development of the old red light district, thousands of new homes to help alleviate San Diego’s housing crisis – and heaven on earth.

The plan – over the next couple of decades – will enable the population of the area to increase from between 3000 and 4600 to 27,000.

With concerns over water quality and warming ocean water increasing, Surfrider Foundation San Diego is working to raise awareness on the challenges we’re facing together. So, this Sunday, Sept. 23, the chapter will host its 27th Annual Paddle for Clean Water in which hundreds of San Diegans will paddle out to the water in Ocean Beach.

This is one of the organization’s largest fundraisers, it is free for all, and seeks to raise awareness on the importance of water quality.

Come inside for detailed agenda of event

Beautiful Sunset Cliffs claimed another victim, Wednesday, September 19. A woman was found dead out on a stretch of rocks off Point Loma Avenue in south Ocean Beach.

About 2:30 pm, a call came in to lifeguards, reporting a woman appeared to be stuck on the rocks. But by time first responders got to her, she had already passed. She was then covered, placed on a stretcher and hoisted up the bluffs using a lifeguard cliff rescue vehicle. A purse was found next to her body.

At this point, she remains unidentified and the cause of her death is yet unknown.

I remember back, maybe
when I was in junior high,
neighbors talking in hush-hush tones
about a man
who had drowned himself
in the night.
“Hey, why y’all whispering?”
I wanted to know,
all wide-eyed
and mystified
and horrified.
“Shhh, boy, he died of suicide.”

After the Climate Action Summit, Commitments Emerge Amidst Growing Disaster

Corporate execs, career politicians, and environmental activists converged on San Francisco for the Climate Action Summit.

by David Helvarg / The Progressive / September 17, 2018

The Global Climate Action Summit held in San Francisco September 12 through 14 felt both urgent (as Hurricane Florence began to soak the Carolinas and Typhoon Mangkhut battered the Philippines), and hopeful. More than 500 commitments were made to speed up the transition to carbon neutrality and to remediate the growing impacts of climate change.

Public Service Announcement: Riding Electric Scooters on the Sidewalk Is Against the Law

Next time you see someone riding an electric scooter on a sidewalk, please politely remind them that it is illegal and ask them to get into the street. They can use the bike lanes.

Is Trump barreling towards a high-stakes confrontation with the FBI and Department of Justice?

A confrontation that could unfold within the next several days is about to overtake the news cycle and signal yet another abuse of power move by Trump. But this one could be the trigger – as FBI Director Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein – decide how to respond to the president’s latest attempt to subvert the investigation into whether the Russian sabotage of the 2016 election included Trump and his people.

Did you miss the memo on the latest installment in the continuing American constitutional crisis? On Monday Trump ordered the FBI and the DOJ to release – without redaction

We now know something about Christine Blasey Ford, the Palo Alto University professor, who has accused Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of attempted rape. Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegations, and has even denied being at the party – despite Ford not being specific about the party itself.

Republicans say both Ford and Kavanaugh will testify in a re-opening of the Judiciary Committee’s hearing on next Monday, Sept. 23, although Prof. Ford has not confirmed this. Democratic leaders are demanding the FBI investigate the allegations prior to any hearing.

Meanwhile, here is the transcript of the letter Prof. Ford sent to Senator Dianne Feinstein