June 13, 2012- Observers are keeping a close eye on late election results at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office, with a couple of close races hanging in the balance as 17,700 provisional ballots are counted. The closest contest is the race for Superior Court Judge # 34; Garland Peed is clinging to a 79 vote lead over right wing activist and birther Gary Kreep. In the hotly contested race to see who will challenge incumbent Congressman Brian Bilbray in the 52nd district, former City Councilman Scott Peters holds a 803 vote lead over former Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña. 5PM UPDATE: Kreep now leads Peed by 216 votes; Peters lead over Saldana narrows to 737 vote-word is that she’s conceding. There are 13,500 provisional ballots left to count.
Looking at the primary from the other side of the aisle… Local conserv blog SDRostra has a couple of post-election articles up that, along with the additional comments posted, should be mandatory reading for San Diego politicos. The Oracle Speaks has local pollster John Nienstedt sharing his observations about local primary contests from a (successful) political consultant’s point of view. And Tweets Don’t Equal Votes takes a look at the social media efforts of the Nathan Fletcher campaign; be sure to read through the comments on this one.
While we’re saying nice things about right wingers here… GOP Congressmen Darryl Issa and Democrat Ron Wyden have unveiled a draft bill of rights for the Internet at the Personal Democracy Forum, and inviting internet users to edit and refine the list at Keep the Web Open. This is an important issue, as various political and commercial elements have been repeatedly seeking legislation that would limit the internet as we know it today. Here’s where the bill of rights stands now:
1. The right to a free and uncensored Internet.
2. The right to an open, unobstructed Internet.
3. The right to equality on the Internet.
4. The right to gather and participate in online activities.
5. The right to create and collaborate on the Internet.
6. The right to freely share their ideas.
7. The right to access the Internet equally, regardless of who they are or where they are.
8. The right to freely associate on the Internet.
9. The right to privacy on the Internet.
10. The right to benefit from what they create.
Dems win in Arizona… Ron Barber, an aide to former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords who almost lost his life in the Arizona shooting rampage last year, won a special election to succeed her last night, giving Democrats a psychological boost after last week’s failed effort to recall Wisconsin’s Republican governor. Appearing with Giffords at a Tucson hotel after his victory Tuesday night, Barber told supporters, “Life takes unexpected turns and here we are, thanks to you.” Giffords hugged him and kissed his forehead.
About half of California’s State Parks scheduled to close in the near future due to funding shortfalls will stay open, says the LA Times this morning. Many of the threatened parks will be kept open through agreements with private donors and nonprofits. However, these rescues will be a reprieve, not a solution, says the LAT story.
The atheists are coming! SD Reader reporter Dave Rice has a piece up this morning about the Secular Coalition for America plans to launch chapters in California and either other states. That should give the local fundies something to rail about.
On the education beat… Reformer turned critic Diane Ravich has a must read article up on the New York Review of Books. Entitled The Miseducation of Mitt Romney the piece goes on to critique the proposed education programs being advocated by Presidential contender Mitt Romney, saying that his plans are a “rehash of Republican education ideas from the past thirty years, namely, subsidizing parents who want to send their child to a private or religious school, encouraging the private sector to operate schools, putting commercial banks in charge of the federal student loan program, holding teachers and schools accountable for students’ test scores, and lowering entrance requirements for new teachers. “ Ms. Ravich was recently released from her position as a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute, apparently in response to her activism and critiques of the so-called “reform movement”.
On this day… In 1866 The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Congress. It was ratified on July 9, 1868. The amendment was designed to grant citizenship to and protect the civil liberties of recently freed slaves. In 1971 The New York Times began publishing the “Pentagon Papers”, a secret study of America’s involvement in Vietnam. In 1958 the late musician Frank Zappa graduated from Antelope Valley High in Lancaster, CA.
Eat Fresh! Today’s Farmers’ Markets: Carlsbad (Roosevelt St. btw Grand Ave. & Carlsbad Village Dr.) 1 – 5 pm, Encinitas Station (Corner of E Street & Vulcan in parking lot B) 5 – 8 pm, Mission Hills (Falcon St. btw West Washington & Ft. Stockton) 3 – 7 pm, North San Diego at Sikes Adobe Farmstead (I-15 at Via Rancho Parkway. 12655 Sunset Dr., Escondido.) 11 am – 2 pm, Ocean Beach (4900 block of Newport Ave. btw Cable & Bacon Sts.) 4 – 8 pm, San Marcos – Cal State San Marcos (333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., Parking Lot B) 3 – 7 pm,Santee (10445 Mission Gorge Rd. abandoned school parking lot) 3 –7 pm, Temecula (40820 Winchester Rd. Promenade Mall, parking lot btw Macy’s & Penny’s) 9 am – 1 pm
Get a Life… Brave the traffic and lack of parking in OB today to go see the final first round of the Ocean Beach Funniest Person Contest atWinstons, 1921 Bacon Street. Open mic starts at 6, stay for the contest at 7, and don’t miss hilarious commentary with Old Hermit Dave at 8.
I read the Daily Fishwrap(s) so you don’t have to… Catch “the Starting Line” Monday thru Friday right here at San Diego Free Press (dot) org. Send your hate mail and ideas to DougPorter@SanDiegoFreePress.
UPDATE: Maddowblog, the webpage maintained and operated by the staff of MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” has this update on the Kreep-Peed race, and the video below from a KPBS interview with Kreep:
Doug Porter
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Thanks!
Doug – you are cranking out the best local daily San Diego news and analysis, right here. We’re so proud of what you are doing and writing – having just returned from some ghastly treatment for medical problems. You’ve bounced back, dude, and there is no better daily wrap-up then right here.
Doug, in addition to granting those rights to freed slaves, the 14th also granted rights to everybody born here, and made sure that equal justice applied to everybody, including immigrants. A significant part of the Union Army was made up of immigrants. Why there were entire divisions where the main language of discourse, even among the officers, was German. There were recruiting trips through Europe, mostly Ireland and Germany. I believe the drafters of the 14th amendment wanted to help these people’s families, too.