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Archives for August 2012

A Review of “An Iliad” – A Reimagined Classic

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“An Iliad” – A Reimagined Classic
La Jolla Playhouse
2910 La Jolla Village Drive
La Jolla, CA 92037

A Review …and …. events leading up to the play … and after.

This “dating game” that I am playing sure has many twists and turns. I met a man on-line Saturday and he told me he had tickets to see “An Iliad” the following day, Sunday. He asked me if I would like to go. I said sure. We agreed to talk to each other Sunday morning, and finalize the plans.

I called him around 10:15am and we agreed to meet at the box office at 1:30pm for the 2:00pm matinee. In the course of our conversation he asked me what I would be wearing. I told him I didn’t know yet; it depended on the weather. He informed me that he hoped I would not be wearing anything “frumpy” because he didn’t like frumpy women. He said that many of the older women he has met already have “one foot in the grave, and are not aware of how they look.” He is 65. He asked me if I was overweight or fat. Hmmm. I told him I was overweight. He said, “so am I.”

I arrived at the playhouse at 1:20pm and called his cell phone to let him know I was there. He said he was on La Jolla Village Drive and would be there in just a few minutes. He said he was wearing a white hat.   [Read more…]

Paul Ryan: Will Swap Unborn Babies for Vice Presidency

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By Kit-Bacon Gressitt / Excuse Me, I’m Writing / Published Aug. 25, 2012

Less than two weeks after joining Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign as the GOP’s presumptive vice presidential candidate, U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan has publicly confirmed his erstwhile inner opportunist.

Ryan, who is “very proud of [his] pro-life record,” was faced with a choice between the dangling prize of the vice presidency and remaining true to the source of his pridefulness. Lo and behold, Ryan is surprisingly pro-choice, albeit in a 1-percent sort of way.

Ryan chose to abandon his 100-percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee (a rating based partially on his rejection of abortion ban exceptions for rape and incest), to jump on board the Romney presidential campaign, which, at least for the moment,* supports an abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest and threat to a mother’s life.   [Read more…]

Still Loving San Diego and Its Children After 50 years

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Looking at a picture of me on stage at the Lyceum Theatre, honoring a couple of girls who had written a remarkable play, I couldn’t help but reflect on my fifty year love affair with San Diego and its children – going back regarding the city to when I first laid eyes on the place, after flying here with my University of Arizona Wildcat basketball team back in the 50’s. The raw beauty I observed on the ride from the Grant Hotel through Balboa Park on what was then 395 (now 163) absolutely mesmerized me. So it was easy for me, after earning a couple of degrees, to leave the burning deserts of the Old Pueblo and head to a town where there existed cool ocean breezes.

I arrived in a rusty 49 ford with my mother at my side because she was afraid I would fall asleep on the drive. My wife and kids had preceded us by a couple of days.   [Read more…]

National Democratic Leaders Highlight Importance of San Diego Elections, Fall Short in their Support

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House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer appears in San Diego to support Scott Peters in Congressional race–UPDATED

Did you hear that Steny Hoyer was in town last week? My guess is probably not since it received very little coverage, if any. But yes, the second most powerful Democrat in the House of Representatives—second behind San Francisco’s Nancy Pelosi—was in San Diego last week to drum up support for Scott Peters in his run to unseat Republican incumbent Brian Bilbray. On Friday I had the opportunity to participate in a media availability with the Congressman from Maryland; a chance to get an idea from someone who represents the national Democratic Party just exactly what their plans are for the local races.

“This is a critical race for us,” Hoyer said about the Peters-Bilbray matchup.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Mission Valley Hotel Workers Allege Unlawful Treatment; Father of Prop 8 DUI Busted (Updated)

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Hotel employees blow the whistle… Employees at the Hilton Mission Valley will speak at a press conference today, detailing claims that they have filed against HEI Hospitality, owner of the property, for nearly a quarter million dollars in lost wages with the State Labor Commissioner. The event, scheduled for noon in front of the Hilton, will be hosted by Alor Calderon of the Employee Rights Center and Rabbi Laurie Coskey, Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice.

  [Read more…]

Banned by the Pros: Reuters News Succumbs to Digital Randomness

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By Bob Dorn

Banned. That’s the word Reuters used back in March – March 20 of this year, it was ‐‐ when their pop‐up popped up just after I’d clicked the SUBMIT button. POW!! “We’re sorry, you’ve been banned from our comment posts,” they said, or words like those. Imagine seeing that word, BANNED, in a sentence bearing your name. Would a banning from a news organization show up on your credit
rating? During an investigation of your CV by a prospective employer? If you were under the age of 18 would Reuters reach out and tell your parents about the banning?   [Read more…]

Are You Eating Genetically Modified Foods Laced with Pesticides?

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In a quest to eat a healthier diet, I made smoothies containing a couple scoops of a soy protein product I bought at Trader Joe’s. I also started eating a lot of berries, high in anti-oxidants, which are supposed to be good for you. Then one day I woke up and realized that the soy I had be eating was actually genetically modified (GMO) soy created by the Monsanto Corporation for the sole purpose of being resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup, a powerful herbicide which will kill every plant in a soybean field except genetically modified soy plants. So the soy I had been eating was not only GMO soy containing herbicide within its seeds, but it had been drenched in a powerful herbicide prior to having been harvested and brought to market.

  [Read more…]

RNC Tampa Inanity Watch 2012!

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Help us keep track of the dumbest things said at the Republican National Convention

Welcome to the official opening of the 2012 presidential general election campaign season! This week, as you may have heard, the GOP kicks off their festivities in Tampa, Florida, in the wake and just outside the path of Hurricane Isaac. The storm may have delayed the opening of the Mitt Romney Coronation Convention, but it surely hasn’t dampened the GOP spirits, and it hasn’t affected their confidence heading into November.   [Read more…]

The Future Versus the Austerity Crowd: Why We Must Support Proposition 30

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Near the end of August, I helped organize the Governor’s visit to City College and stood with him, despite the many fierce disagreements that I have had with Jerry Brown’s policy positions and political judgment. I did so because it’s not an overstatement to say that the future of our children is on the line this coming November. While much of the attention will be on the Presidential race at the national level, here inCaliforniathe destiny of our children and the education system is up for grabs. Specifically, Proposition 30 represents a chance to put a halt to years of cuts to education and vital public services. If it fails, we will be throwing our kids under the bus. It’s that simple.

  [Read more…]

Homelessness in San Diego: My Friend, Bobby

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Last night, my friend, Bobby, died. A San Diego, CA native, Robert Eugene Ojala, 56 years old, was homeless. Bobby was grateful for the hospital and residential hospice care he received which enabled him to spend his last several weeks indoors and free of
pain. After run-ins with the law, Bobby found Jesus and changed his attitude about life.   [Read more…]

What’s Going on at Ft. Rosecrans Now? Its Watering Schedule is Out of Sync…

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Three of my widow support group have husbands buried at Ft. Rosecrans cemetery. A fourth one has a fiancé buried there also. All of our men are in very close proximity to each other – probably because they all passed away at just about the same time.

Three of us try to visit our husbands once a month, if for no other reason than to make sure they are still there. I usually use the time to berate him for leaving me. Sometimes I bring flowers from our garden; sometimes one of the other women bring a sticker to put on the plaques – a forbidden practice but we do it anyway; sometimes we bring individual windmills to stick in the rocks below the walls that hold their remains.

  [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Romneyfest Rained Out By Issac as Paul, Protestors Steal the Thunder in Tampa

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The “We Can Do Better” theme that Republicans had planned for day one of their National Convention in Tampa Bay has been set aside, usurped by a hurricane named Isaac, ten thousand raucous Ron Paul supporters, a thousand social conservatives, a couple hundred Occupy demonstrators and one former Florida governor who’s decided to break ranks with the GOP.  The deluxe $2.5 million stage, which was supposed to frame the highly choreographed ascension of Republican wonderfulness starting today will sit dark.

  [Read more…]

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