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Archives for December 2012

The Starting Line(ish): Gun Porn Edition

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NRA’s Wayne LaPierre proves that yes, he is crazy; SDG&E efforts to pass 2007 wildfire costs to customers thwarted (for now); UCSD Med Students pledge funds for free clinics; #18/15 Aztecs roll to finals of Diamond Head Classic

As if last Friday’s press conference—in which he fielded no questions—wasn’t bad/damaging enough, National Gun Fetish Association (otherwise known as the NRA) chief Wayne LaPierre took to the airwaves again on Sunday morning to plead his and his organization’s case…..or to further prove how absolutely batshit crazy he is. It’s hard to tell exactly which.

  [Read more…]

“Flipping the Bird” at the Holidays – How to Cook the Juiciest Roast Turkey You’ve Ever Tasted

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I want to share a family secret with you – one long held in the Jones family holiday tradition – on the accepted method of “flipping the bird” at the holidays.

Many years ago my mother stumbled through her early morning holiday ritual of prepping a huge turkey for the afternoon feast. Before her first cup of coffee she dropped the bird in the roasting pan and shoved it into the oven. A couple of hours later she opened the oven door and she realized she had put it in the pan upside (or breast-side) down. At this point the huge bird was too hot to handle so she basted it, tented it and shoved it back into the oven. The resulting bird has lingered in mouthwatering memory…   [Read more…]

Seattle’s Police Department Releases Humorous Guide on How to Get Stoned, After Initiative to Legalize Pot Passes

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AlterNet/ by Kristen Gwynne
Last week, the Seattle Police Department quietly released the hillarious how-to, Marijwhatnow? A Guide to Legal Marijuana Use In Seattle. Witty and silly, it covers all the bases, from driving stoned to drug tests for jobs and whether police themselves can get high.

Now, here’s a sample of their quirky Q&A:

SPD seized a bunch of my marijuana before I-502 passed. Can I have it back?

No.   [Read more…]

Unionized Teachers, So Vilified By the Right, Are the Heroes of Sandy Hook

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Friday morning at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., teachers and school staff were the first first responders. Teachers got their students into bathrooms and closets, teachers kept their students calm, and some teachers lost their lives. Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach are described as having run toward the shooting as Adam Lanza forced his way into the school. First-grade teacher Victoria Soto was killed after hiding her students in a closet; fellow teachers Anne Marie Murphy and Lauren Rousseau and behavioral therapist Rachel D’Avino were also killed. But it wasn’t just those who died who protected their students on Friday.

On this day, this was their job, to lock classrooms and cover windows and crowd children into bathrooms and closets and …   [Read more…]

Typhoons, Cyclones, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Flooding Increase in 2012

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In 2011 more than 80% of all the deaths around the world caused by natural disasters occurred in Asia. The Phillipines were the epicenter with 33 natural disasters, more than any country in the world. Typhoon Washi claimed more than 1200 lives in late 2011. Super Typhoon Bopha which struck December 2012 took 900 lives.

Super Typhoon Bopha packed winds of up to 100 miles per hour bringing torrential rains that destroyed villages and left 320,000 homeless. A total of 184 had perished in Compostela Valley, including 78 villagers and soldiers who died in a flash flood that swamped two emergency shelters and a military camp. Most of the typhoon’s victims appeared to have drowned or been hit by falling trees or flying debris, officials said.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line(ish): A Gun In Every School

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NRA to push for guns in schools; Speaker Boehner puts one foot over the fiscal Cliff; Scott Peters to serve on Armed Services Committee

So this is what the NRA meant by “offering meaningful contributions to ensure this never happens again?” They probably should have stayed silent like they did for the first five days after the Newtown, CT, school shooting. After going completely radio silent, shutting down their Facebook page and Twitter account, earlier this week the National Rifle Association released a statement promising to be a constructive partner in the debate over what to do in the wake of the latest, and most horrifying mass murder at the hands of a deranged gunman.   [Read more…]

Brown Announces New Oil Industry Regulations Ahead of “Promised Land” Release

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by Dan Aiello/California Progress Report

The Brown administration Tuesday proposed new draft regulations that would require the oil industry to disclose where its California oil extraction operations are using hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking,” in advance of a new movie meant to bring public awareness to the environmental destruction caused by the practice.

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The Best Year of My Life; Thank You

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Hey gang.

As you read this, I’m in New Orleans. It’s gonna be a rajun’ Cajun Christmas for this columnist.

That means I’ll be excused from writing the Starting Line five days a week for the rest of this year. Having knocked out a couple of hundred columns in 2012, I’m ready to relax. Recharge. And visit a place that, for all my traveling, I’ve never been to before.

Some folks like to wrap up the year by listing the “top stories” for the proceeding twelve months. I’d like to take a different approach today …   [Read more…]

The Dove and the Cockerel: Chapter 15

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From the copper colored ’74 Buick Regal, parked less than fifty yards away, Leonard Jefferson and Christopher Swank had watched in silence as Lester was arrested by the undercover narcs and the subsequent struggle. To their amusement, they also watched the two narcs being helped into a paramedic van and driven away a few minutes later. This did not, however, lessen the blow from the loss of profit they would have realized had Lester sold the 150 hits of LSD and not been arrested.

“Dumbshit,” grumbled Christopher. “I spotted those narcs a mile away.” Christopher was a skinny middle aged speed freak. He combed his thinning, greasy brown hair over the bald spot on top of his head. His droopy moustache was equally thin and looked more like a cheap disguise than the real thing. A native of Linda Vista, a small racially mixed lower income community overlooking Mission Valley to the south, Christopher was currently on parole from Chino State Prison where he had been serving time for his fifth conviction for possession and distribution of methamphetamine. Christopher had met Leonard while in the joint and had hooked up with him upon his release.

“That’s what I get for trying to branch out and diversify. I gotta just stick with crystal,” replied Leonard matter of factly.   [Read more…]

North Park Beer Scene Is Blowing Up

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North Park is an urban neighborhood located on the northeast side of Balboa Park. The neighborhood boundaries are roughly Mission Valley to the north, Interstate 805 to the east, Switzer Canyon to the south, and Florida Canyon to the west. In the past year North Park has received some national attention including being named the 13th best hipster neighborhood by Forbes. This ranking was based on the following criteria:

Is the Political Tide Turning … for the Oceans and the Environment?

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By David Helvarg / Blue Notes / December 17, 2012

We just had an election in which the public seemed to see the need for larger changes in society. And of course changes of any kind tend to come in waves. Along with the emergence of a new demographic profile of the U.S. electorate we saw people in a number of states voting for Gay marriage equality, legalized use of marijuana and in California, a tax increase to help save public education.

At the same time Super Storm Sandy’s impact on the shore put climate change front and center on the public policy agenda for any politician willing to take the heat from the fossil fuel industry. Unfortunately, while average people may be open to big changes the two party political system has become far more polarized and incremental than it once was. That’s why the keystone laws that protect America’s oceans like the Clean Water Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Coastal Zone Management Act and others are now close to middle age. The Clean Water Act is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.   [Read more…]

San Diego For Free: Hike on Cowles Mountain for the Winter Solstice – December 21st

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San Diego for Free is a weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free! We have a great city and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.

Location: San Carlos, hike starts at the trailhead near the intersection of Golfcrest Drive and Navajo Road

Best For: Restless spirits, insomniacs, hikers, walkers, strollers

Date & Time: Friday, December 21, 6 – 7:30 AM

Website : Here.

This Friday, December 21st is the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year and a date held sacred and marked on calendars (both paper and stone) since time immemorial.

To celebrate the date the Canyoneers volunteer hiking group is leading a trek up Cowles Mountain in the pre-dawn stillness to view sunrise from a Kumeyaay solstice observatory about halfway up the mountain.   [Read more…]

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