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Archives for September 2012

Sex In San Diego: Interview With a Lapsed Christian Virgin Shows Why ‘Purity’ Messages Are So Messed Up

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Feministe / By Jill Filipovic

Better feminists than I have written entire books on this topic (see The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women), but damn if this Hairpin interview with a lapsed Christian virgin doesn’t illustrate just how messed up “purity” messages can make young women.

Don’t get me wrong: I appreciate Clara’s insights, and I think she’s very brave for sharing her perspectives. She seems quite wonderful, and Jia’s questions were spot-on. It’s a great interview and this isn’t meant as a critique of it, or even of sexual abstention. If people want to abstain from sex until marriage (or abstain from sex until forever, or whenever) that’s great — your body, your choice. I don’t have a problem with choosing to be abstinent until X date or event (your wedding, college, your 18th birthday, your 40th birthday, whatever); I do have a big problem with the Christian language and theory behind the “purity” rationale for waiting until marriage to have sex.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line — Video tags Bilbray as a slumlord

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A San Diego political action group calling itself Much Better Choices has released a video it claims shows distressed property owned by Congressman Brian Bilbray. Calling him an absentee slumlord the group says that properties owned by Bilbray are run down and are public and safety hazards.  The property shown in the video has been reported to authorities, according to Better Choices.

A June article in East County Magazine describes Much Better Choices:

Taking a page from the independent expenditure playbook that torpedoed John Kerry’s presidential campaign, a San Diego-based PAC, Much Better Choices, is taking aim at  corporate-backed candidates in a series of online video ads. Lacking the funding of corporate-backed campaigns, Much Better Choices has launched its scathing assault ads via social networking sites—swiftly going viral with efforts to “Swiftboat” local corporatist candidates.   [Read more…]

Who Else Doesn’t Pay Taxes? Top 10 Corporate Deadbeats and Slackers

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Among the 47% Who Pay No Income Taxes Is Mitt Romney Himself!

Mitt’s money that has not been funneled through offshore corporations linked to bank accounts in no tax jurisdictions has been taxed as capital gains, not income.

Mitt Romney dismissed 47% of the American people who don’t pay income tax as slackers and deadbeats. Thanks to a loophole Romney pays US taxes as “carried interest” which is taxed at the capital gains rate of 15%. That figure would not only include Romney himself who pays no income tax, but also all those corporate persons (remember Romney said, “Corporations are people, my friend”) such as Exxon Mobil and GE who not only pay no income tax but get a generous rebate thanks to American taxpayers.

Here is a list of the top 10 corporate deadbeats and slackers (thanks to Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont):

1) Exxon Mobil made $19 billion in profits in 2009. Exxon not only paid no federal income taxes, it actually received a $156 million rebate from the IRS, according to its SEC filings.

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The Starting Line – Food labeling campaign (Prop 37) gets boost from study showing long term damage from Monsanto products

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Rats fed a lifetime diet of Monsanto’s genetically modified corn or exposed Roundup, its best selling weed killer, suffered from mammary tumors, kidney and liver damage and other serious illnesses in the first ever peer-reviewed, long-term animal study of these foods. At a press conference in London, researchers said 50 percent of male rats exposed to GMO corn and 70 percent of females died prematurely, compared with only 30 percent and 20 percent in the control group. The findings were published Tuesday in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology.

The study was hailed by proponents of Proposition 37, a California ballot measure requiring the labeling of genetically engineered foods. Gary Ruskin, campaign manager for the California Right to Know group released a statement saying:

“The results of this study are worrying.  They underscore the importance of giving California families the right to know whether our food is genetically engineered, and to decide for ourselves whether we want to gamble with our health by eating GMO foods that have not been adequately studied and have not been proven safe. By requiring simple labels on genetically engineered foods, Proposition 37 gives Californians the ability to choose whether to expose ourselves and our families to any potential health risks.  The right to know is fundamental, and that’s why 50 countries around the world have already enacted labeling requirements for genetically engineered food.”

Proponents of GMO labeling have long insisted that biotech companies control and suppress research, and frequently cite a Scientific American editorial to back up their case.  While numerous short-term peer-reviewed animal studies  have link GMOs to adverse health effects, this study is the first long-term animal feeding study that is publicly available.   [Read more…]

San Diego Mayoral Debate on Transportation and Quality of Life – Tonight, September 19th

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‘Walk. Bike. Move. Live.’ will be the only 2012 mayoral debate on quality of life in America’s Finest City

Transportation advocacy groups have lined up a mayoral debate tonight – September 19th – at the University of San Diego. Walk San Diego, the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, Move San Diego, Urban Land Institute San Diego/Tijuana District Council have hooked up with USD to hold the debate, from 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the University of San Diego’s Shiley Theatre.

Pensions aren’t the only issue facing San Diego in the upcoming election. Come learn the views and opinions of San Diego’s 2012 Mayoral Candidates on quality of life issues.Walk. Bike. Move. Live. A San Diego Mayoral Debate will give voters the chance to engage mayoral candidates on improved transportation, sustainable economic development and growth and quality of life for all San Diegans.

Mayoral candidates, Congressman Bob Filner and City Councilmember Carl DeMaio will be the headliners, of course, at the theater, located at 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110, where hundreds are expected.
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Comparison: Dutch vs US Private Health Care Costs

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by Frank Thomas and John Lawrence

Introduction: Columnist and investigative reporter David Cay Johnston’s up-to-date comparison of Europe’s health care costs vs. the US is another shocking revelation of how our country still struggles to have a sane, affordable basic health care system. He shows that the average per capita cost for health care in the U.S. is 2.64 times that of the average Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) country cost per capita. In other words, for every $100 dollars of OECD personal health care cost, the US cost is $264.00.

In an extensive joint 2009 study (Health Care in the Netherlands and the US: A Comparative Study) comparing Dutch and US health care costs for a family of 4, Frank Thomas and John Lawrence came up with almost exactly the same ratio of a US cost of $240 for every $100 of Dutch costs for a family plan. To further document the startling cost differences Mr. Johnston has so well illustrated, following is a much abridged and edited version of our 2009 study.   [Read more…]

Skin in the Game : Mitt Romney and the 47%

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On trash night last week an elderly Vietnamese woman stood outside my front door, waiting patiently for me to notice her. I recognized her immediately and opened the screen. I suspect that she knows little English–she simply stood there, smiling shyly. “Oh! Bottles! I forgot!” I smiled and pointed toward the back alley. Her bicycle was hung with a number of empty bags as she began her slow evening peregrinations through City Heights alleys, picking through recycling bins that were as tall as she. Our bin always provides a particularly rich haul. It is evident that she is not doing this as an antidote to unbearable ennui or as part of an exercise regimen. She clearly depends upon the recycling to augment her income.

This week I watched the recent video of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney describing the 47% of the population that pays no federal income tax as shiftless, government dependent moochers. While this is not a new right wing talking point–it played heavily during the Republican presidential primaries–there was a shocking quality to Romney’s assertions. He oozed equal parts certitude in those assertions and utter dismissiveness of their subject. Which is to say he came off as a sneering plutocrat.   [Read more…]

Nathan Fletcher Endorses Scott Peters

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Former Republican lends his support to Democrat’s campaign for Congress

State Assemblyman and former San Diego mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher announced in a press conference this afternoon that he was formally endorsing Democrat Scott Peters in his bid to unseat incumbent Republican Brian Bilbray in the race for the 52nd Congressional District seat in San Diego.

“I believe Scott will be a better representative and a better member of Congress” than Brian Bilbray, Fletcher said.   [Read more…]

San Diego Women Occupy Lead Prop 37 Rally and Bannering on 163 Overpass

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Hillcrest Banners Favor Prop 37 On Robinson Street Overpass

By Nadin Abbott and Frank Gormlie

It was close to 4pm on the first anniversary of Occupy Wall Street – Monday, September 17th – and the mood at the Canvas for a Cause headquarters in Hillcrest was expectant. As people started to arrive for the programed rally in favor of Proposition 37, Nadine Abbott had a chance to talk to Doctor Norrie Robbins of Women Occupy San Diego and a member of the singers Occapellas. Robbins is also Adjunct Professor at the SDSU Dept of Geological Sciences, and is retired from the United States Geological Service, DC office.

Robbins said: “I am worried about my food. I’m beginning to get weird allergies that do not run in my family.”

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Who does Brian Bilbray really represent in Congress?

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The lobbyist in Bilbray carries over into his activities as a duly elected member of Congress.

Potentially earthshattering news came to light yesterday. It was news that for the Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, could and should be devastating, and earthshattering for the Republican cause nationwide. David Corn of Mother Jones broke a story late yesterday of a video that was sent to him that was taken at a private fundraiser with the candidate and a small group of very wealthy donors.

I
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The Starting Line –San Diego Teachers’ Union Leadership Faces Recall

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A caucus within the San Diego Education Association (SDEA), the union that represents teachers within the San Diego Unified School District, is calling for the immediate resignation of labor leader Bill Freeman and five other board members. This morning’s announcement, made via an internet newsletter, called upon union members to circulate and sign recall petitions aimed at forcing a change in the SDEA leadership.

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We don’t need no stinkin’ newspaper!

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Here’s today’s’ top pick in the don’t need no stinkin’ category.  It’s called we don’t need no stinkin’ newspaper!

Doug Manchester’s high-flying plan to convert the entire San Diego region to a super-conservative privately-held corporation is highlighted by his latest acquisition of the North County Times (and affiliated Daily Californian).  Manchester makes no secret of his intention to capture the market of major news outlets — newspapers, TV, radio, and electronic/online.  Given his deep pockets, political objectives, and near-sociopathic super-size ego and ambitions, Manchester will undoubtedly do whatever it takes to get where he wants to be.

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