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Archives for May 2012

San Diego Primary Round Up – Have You Voted Yet?

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The last few days have seen local Republicans crowing over various social media outlets about the “voter enthusiasm gap”. What this is all about is that the Registrar of Voters for San Diego has been steadily releasing information on the number of mail in ballots they have received, broken down by party affiliation. (You can tell this because of differences in the return envelope, indicating party affiliation if any.) Who people are actually voting for won’t be known until June 5th.

What the GOPer’s are talking about is the spread in favor of Republicans in terms of those ballots that have already been received. The Daily Fishwrap ran an article Tuesday that said Republicans had a six thousand vote lead over Democrats in mail-in votes. Another way of looking at would be that, Republicans, who are more likely to vote by mail, have returned two percent more ballots when compared to the total number of Democrat/Republican ballots mailed.   [Read more…]

Homelessness Myth #23: They Have Too Much Food To Eat

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“They have too much food to eat.”

Really? Do some housed people really believe that homeless people have too much food to eat? Actually, yes. And they provide what they consider the evidence:

“Of course they have too much food to eat. See how fat they are!”

This myth leaves me stunned because I believe its falsehood is obvious. I’ve had the privilege to work with people in need for over twenty years. Sadly, in all of that time, I have never known a homeless person who was able to eat three healthy meals a day. Really. As we all know, obesity is an American epidemic. Whether we are housed or homeless, many authorities agree that our diet of high-calorie, unhealthy foods contributes to our obesity.   [Read more…]

Money in politics: A necessary evil…for now

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San Diego Democrats shouldn’t be prevented from playing by the same rules as Republicans.

Last week a memo was sent out by MoveOn.org on behalf of Lori Saldaña’s campaign excoriating Scott Peters for loaning his campaign $1.2 million out of his own personal funds. In the memo, MoveOn claims that “Peters realized that his only chance was to try to buy the race.”   [Read more…]

The Starting Line: Mayoral Candidate Filner’s Missing Transcripts Found

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I read the Daily Fishwrap(s) so you don’t have to…    Filner’s Kenyan connection?… Absent a potential birth certificate scandal, reporter/columnist Matt Hall has decided to make the Mayoral candidates cough up their college transcripts in hopes that something, anything will make for a story. And at least one of the SDUT’s reliably right wing commenters is having […]

Homelessness Myth #22: ‘They Have Enough Money’

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by Christine Schanes

Do homeless people need money? Of course, housed or unhoused, we all need money. Some housed people believe that homeless people have enough money to get what they need.   [Read more…]

Group Declares War On Spain – Maybe – and Announces SuperPac and Bakesales

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The May Greys were out in full force Tuesday morning as a fledgling new group calling itself “Fight4America” trotted out a media event down at “Tuna Park” in downtown San Diego. With the USS Midway looming in the background, organizers unveiled three 30 second television spots that will air in key markets when and if enough money is raised.   [Read more…]

Scott Peters shows his mettle in 52nd Congressional District race

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After careful consideration of the facts, the choice for this writer has become clear.

There has been an awful lot of handwringing and consternation regarding who should have the Democrats’ support in the 52nd District Congressional race. There are three major candidates for the newly redrawn, Central San Diego district: Democrats Scott Peters and Lori Saldaña, and incumbent Republican Brian Bilbray, formerly of the 50th Congressional District based in Coastal North San Diego County.   [Read more…]

Minority Rule and the Hijacking of Government in the California Legislature

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The two-thirds requirement to pass legislation is grinding the state’s government–and the economy–to a halt.

Last month Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton dished out some harsh criticism for California Governor Jerry Brown for his challenge to the state Legislature to “man up” and pass his proposed spending cuts. In addition to his push for a ballot initiative in November to temporarily raise state sales taxes and income taxes on those Californians earning more than $250,000 per year, the governor said it will also be necessary to slash spending due to the larger than expected projected budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year. At the time, the expected shortfall was just north of $9 billion.   [Read more…]

Saying “Hi” to Whoopi

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by Ernie McCray

It was so nice seeing my old friend, Whoopi, the other night. It had been a while. The last time I saw her was a few years ago when my wife, Nancy, and I, found ourselves standing in a line that can only be described as very long at a book store in La Jolla.

When we finally crossed the threshold of the building and got a glimpse of Whoopi, her head was bowed as she was intently writing her name with swift sweeps of her wrist. We just looked at her with deep admiration as she made so many people’s day, smiling at them as she scribbled.   [Read more…]

Why We Should Care About the Death of Kelly Thomas

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by Christine Schanes

At around 8:30 pm the evening of July 5, 2011, Kelly Thomas, a 37 year old, mentally ill homeless man, was in the parking lot of the Fullerton bus depot when he was approached by police officers. Approximately 33 minutes later, Kelly was unconscious and taken to the hospital where five days later he was pronounced dead.

What happened in that bus depot parking lot? Can we learn anything from the death of Kelly Thomas? Why should we care about the death of one homeless person?   [Read more…]

Still Searching for Fletcher’s “Move to the Middle”

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San Diego Mayoral candidate says his defection from the Republican Party means he’s changed, but there’s no real evidence to demonstrate he has.

I received an email from the Nathan Fletcher for Mayor Campaign last week. It’s the usual stuff: “This week Nathan Fletcher was attacked from the far-right for working with Democrats, and from the far-left for working with Republicans. The truth is they’re both right. Nathan will work with anyone to solve problems.”   [Read more…]

DeMaio Deconstructed, Part III: The Psychology of a ‘Political Sociopath’

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The pillars of Carl DeMaio’s political beliefs and what a Mayor DeMaio would mean for San Diego

Understanding candidate DeMaio’s motivations necessitates revisiting those formative years in Washington DC. Young Carl, in his associations with the Heritage, Reason, and Cato foundations, along with his fellow travelers Virginia Thomas (wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas) and Newt Gingrich was in the midst of the formation of an ideological jihad.   [Read more…]

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