San Diego Free Press Countup Box

But he hasn’t even been nominated yet… Former backers of GOP candidate Rick Santorum have released a memo sent to delegates bound for the GOP convention later this month that calls for RNC delegates not to vote vote for Mitt Romney, even if they are bound to him.  Calling themselves “Jews and Christians Together,” the group briefly gained notoriety back in March for their connection with robocalls in Ohio that accused Romney of supporting “open homosexuality in the military, the appointment of homosexual judges, and the ENDA law, making it illegal to fire a man who wears a dress and high heels to work, even if he’s your kid’s teacher.”  Website Buzzfeed.com reports that “Jews and Christians Together” is the brainchild of Steve Baldwin, former head of the Council for National Policy, a low-profile, well-connected conservative group. The memo was reportedly sent out to 20,000 people in politics and the media, as well as RNC delegates.

More Romney Watch: A CNN/ORC poll  released Thursday found that 63% of respondents and 61% of registered voters thought that Mitt Romney should release more than two years of his tax returns.  In an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the GOP candidate said he would not be releasing more than two years of tax returns because “I am not a business.”  So, as I understand it now, Mitt Romney says corporations are people, but people are not corporations — at least when it comes to releasing his tax returns.

These stats are from before the Romney surge

Can’t buy me love… A sudden rapid increase in the number of users following Mitt Romney via Twitter led internet security blog Barracudalabs.com to scrutinize the candidates’ new found popularity. While noting that his new fans on the social media outlet could have been purchased by either himself, his associates or by his opponents, they concluded that there could be no doubt that the sudden boost was anything other than a retail transaction. On July 21st, 2012, they noted that his follower number went from 673,002 to 789,924, representing a 17% jump. They analyzed this increase, and found that 25% his new fans were linked to accounts that were less than 3 weeks old, 80% were less than 3 months old, 23% had never used their account and 10% of the accounts has already been suspended by Twitter for being fraudulent or otherwise violating their terms of service.

Attention, all ‘stupid single women’…. Shock monger and Conservative columnist Ann Coulter kept her Fox news credentials intact, telling commentator Sean Hannity that President Barack Obama was campaigning with women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke because his base was “stupid single women.” Fluke is the former Georgetown University Law School student who Rush Limbaugh called a slut in March, after she testified before Congress supporting Planned Parenthood.

 DeMaio vs. Filner debate focuses on border issues…  Last night’s debate at UCSD between the Mayoral candidates was no pillow fight, according to various press accounts. When Congressman Filner tried to highlight his efforts as a member of Congress to improve the border region, City Councilman Carl DeMaio struck back, saying that his opponent had plenty of time to address the problem of long border crossing times while he was in Congress and questioning whether he could fix the problems as mayor.

Filner responded by criticizing DeMaio’s new found interest in the border, joking that the City Councilman had “just discovered the word Mexico.” Responding to a question from the audience, DeMaio admitted that he hadn’t been to Mexico, but said he’d visit soon as part of a ‘diplomatic’ trip.

DeMaio’s GOP connections were raised as an issue by the Democratic Congressman, who was quoted in a KPBS story, saying:

 “Carl, you can not disown your party. They have enveloped you, they have taken you over, you have worked them over every inch,” he said. “They are a party that does not believe that the people of color in this nation deserve an equal chance, they do not believe that Mexico is worthy of respect as a nation.”

 Friday Follow ups:  UT-San Diego publisher Doug Manchester has apparently made things right with the City of San Diego over permits (or the lack thereof) for construction of a ramp into the classic car museum space on the ground floor of his Mission Valley headquarters building. An article in the business section of today’s newspaper indicates that a permit was retroactively obtained for the addition. A city inspector was turned away from the property by newspaper staff last month after making inquiries about the alterations. The seven vintage cars stored in the spaced may be used as the backdrop for a future automotive show by the newspaper’s fledgling TV operation at some time in the future, according to Manchester.

The San Diego Unified School District has yet to respond to an item in this column taking them to task for a last minute letter demanding upfront payments (of $500 or more) sent to parents of the 22,000 students who rely on busses for transportation to school. The letter gave parents less than three weeks to cough up the cash, saying that students’ pick up and drop off locations for transportation would be withheld. We emailed the District, offering space in this column them to modify or clarify this policy, but have yet to hear anything. UPDATE: SDUSD’s Phil Stover got in touch with me late Friday. More details on Monday.

The crowd source fundraising for the San Diego Public Market via KickStarter mentioned in yesterday’s column is off to a good start. Over $23,000 $26,000 $37,000 of the $92,000 in pledges that organizers Dale Steele and Catt White are seeking were made yesterday. They have already leased a 92,000 square foot property near Petco Park with more than two acres of warehouse space. Plans for the market include farmers’ stalls, arts and crafts, public cultural events and spaces for private celebrations.

Credit PR Watch

Another ‘deregulation’ scam…. California State Senator Alex Padilla (D), who has received more than $70,000 in campaign donations from telecommunications companies, is moving to get legislation (SB 1161) passed in Sacramento that will prevent the State of California from protecting consumers’ rights via broadband systems using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). This move comes in the wake of a push by the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in states across the country to “deregulate” the industry, using a ‘model bill’ crafted by representatives of the very industries that will be impacted by it. The problem? Pretty much every communications service uses IP — including emergency services, video services, and digital telephone service. The bill would also eliminate basic consumer protections for people who use traditional telephone land lines, as even traditional systems now utilize the internet for portions of their operations. Consumer groups in New York, Colorado and New Jersey have worked to defeat similar legislation.

South Bay waterfront plan moves forward… The California Coastal Commission has approved the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan(CVBMP) following a decade-long process of negotiations that involved the Port of San Diego, the City of Chula Vista, business, environmental and labor groups. The 556-acres covered by the plan will ultimately include a resort hotel complex, mixed residential and retail uses and more than 240 acres of parks and nature preserve. In the near term, the most significant change will be the demolition of the South Bay Power Plant. This fall the power plant, which began operating in 1960 and was decommissioned in 2011, will be imploded in two phases. The run-down industrial waterfront property represents the largest available coastal development opportunity in California.

Quote of the Day: “The two greatest obstacles to democracy in the United States are, first, the widespread delusion among the poor is that we have a democracy; and second, the chronic terror among the rich, lest we get it.” Edward Dowling, 1941

On this Day In 1792 King Louis XVI was taken into custody by mobs during the French Revolution. He was executed the following January after being put on trial for treason.  In 1959 four male members of the Platters are arrested and charged with aiding and abetting prostitution, lewdness and assignation. They were subsequently acquitted. In 2003 Ekaterina Dmitriev and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko were married. Malenchenko was about 240 miles above the earth in the international space station. It was the first-ever marriage from space.

Eat Fresh! Aug 5- 11 is National Farmers Market Week! Today’s Farmers’ Markets: Borrego Springs  (Christmas Circle Community Park Christmas Circle & Palm Canyon Dr.) 7 am – noon, Fallbrook (102 S. Main, at Alvarado) 10 am – 2 pm, Imperial Beach  (Seacoast Dr. at Pier Plaza) 2 – 7:30 pm, Kearny Mesa (No. Island Credit Union pkg lot  5898 Copley) 10:30 am – 1:30 pm, La Mesa Village  (Corner of Spring St. and University) 2 – 6 pm, Rancho Bernardo (Bernardo Winery parking lot 13330 Paseo del Verano Norte) 9 am – noon, Southeast San Diego (4981 Market St. West of Euclid Ave. Trolley Station) 2 – 6 pm

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.Org    Check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

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Doug Porter

Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the Hospitality business and decided to go back into raising hell when he retired. He won numerous awards for his columns from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Doug is a cancer survivor (sans vocal chords) and lives in North Park.

Latest posts by Doug Porter (see all)

• Last Call. Last Column. - December 14, 2018
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