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The Starting Line – Congressman Darrell Issa’s Loose Lips Helping to Sink the GOP’s Ship

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North San Diego’s Congressional Representative Darrell Issa’s making the news this week as his vote against the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (also known as the fiscal cliff bill) and his support of Speaker John Boehner’s decision to adjourn without taking up a disaster relief bill has come under fire.

The Washington-based Media Matters group cited Issa as an example of media malfeasance in reporting on the so-called ‘fiscal-cliff’ negotiations over the past week, noting that the Congressman was given ample air time to attack the pending deal without mentioning his personal financial interest…

Meanwhile, over at CNN this morning Rep. Peter King (R-NY) lashed out at Issa, for defending Speaker Boehner’s decision to adjourn Tuesday night before taking up the Sandy relief package. Issa also denounced the bill as being “packed” with pork.

(Yes, I’m back from vacation. Come on inside to read more GOP horror stories)   [Read more…]

Hope Abounds at Ramona Unified School District

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by Dave Patterson

It might be the season of hope that is guiding the decision makers at RUSD because the employees, Administration and School Board seem collectively unified in the idea that the only way out of the looming fiscal mess is to pass a school bond that has failed 5 times previously. It’s good that they are unified because they need to resolve some pressing issues very soon, or the school district will be in the red as soon as 2013. It’s not good that they are unified because they seem unable or unwilling to see what is really happening, a slow degradation of our school system to pay off a ballooning debt.

There are a couple of constants that I consider when pondering the future of our school system. 1. No amount of employee sacrifices can fix the long-term debt wave that is engulfing the school district. 2. The district cannot default on the loan made by the previous school board, and the bondholders will get their money. 3. The district can either pass a school bond that has failed 5 times in a row, or surrender the school district to the state.   [Read more…]

Sex in San Diego: Can You Date Someone With Different Political Views Than You?

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By Alyssa Figueroa /Alternet

What if you were dating someone for seven months and just found out they were anti-choice — a position you vehemently detest?

Well, that happened to one woman who wrote in to Dan Savage’s love column on Wednesday. The woman told Savage that when she found out her boyfriend believed life begins at conception and is strongly against abortions, she almost broke up with him. But her boyfriend, who she described as a “sweet, loving guy and progressive in every other way,” said that disagreeing on an issue is fine in a relationship. But the woman was still left uneasy and turned to Savage for help.   [Read more…]

Desde la Logan: Riding Low on New Year’s Day

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San Diego Car Clubs Celebrate Culture, Family and Friends

I’ve never been a car guy. Never owned my own ride. Never really had an interest. I only recently got my license a couple year’s ago at 40 years old. And that is because my son was going to be born and I needed to be able to drive my wife to the hospital when he was ready to pop out.

One thing I’ve respected though is the lowrider car and the lowriders themselves. Seeing them cruise the calles in their firme rides. Low and slow. Gliding along the street as though riding on air. The lower the better. When a fine carrucha makes it’s way through the barrio heads turn. Life pauses for a few seconds as everyone stops to look and admire the works of art on four wheels.

Chicanos were the first lowriders. They put their time, effort and hard earned dollars into making their cars shine like stars. During the early 90’s other cultures jumped on the lowrider bandwagon and started tricking out their rides like Chicanos. They wanted to be cool too. Wanted people to admire them as they drove up and down their respective neighborhoods.   [Read more…]

Is Organic Food Really Organic?

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Food labeled and sold as organic often isn’t

In an article entitled “Canada’s Organic Nightmare” put out by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, authors Mischa Popoff and Patrick Moore contend that many foods labeled as USDA organic may not actually be up to that standard because there is a lack of field testing in Canada, and, furthermore, free trade agreements allow the importation of such foods into the US. There are also “organic equivalency” agreements with other countries that allow imported organic food to be considered as equivalent to that grown in Canada. Popoff and Moore contend that organic crops and livestock are not tested in Canada before they are certified thus making certification essentially meaningless. Inspections consist of checking out the records at organic farms to see if the paperwork is in order, but the actual products are not tested making it more likely that the records could be falsified.   [Read more…]

California Welcomes 876 New Laws With the New Year

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Rules, rules and more rules! Jan. 1 sees a total of 876 new laws signed into effect, covering a wide range of issues from social media to universal healthcare.

  • AB 1844 prohibits an employer from asking for or requiring an employee or applicant to provide their username or password to any social media outlet. It also prohibits employer retaliation for not complying with such a request.
  • AB 2020 removes the option of choosing a urine test to determine the drug content of blood. Instead, those suspected of driving under the influence will only be given the option of a blood or breath test. If a blood test is unavailable, a urine test will be administered in its place.

America Needs a New Story That Gives Meaning to the World

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By Charles Eisenstein / Alternet

Every culture has a Story of the People to give meaning to the world. Part conscious and part unconscious, it consists of a matrix of agreements, narratives, and symbols that tell us why we are here, where we are headed, what is important, and even what is real. I think we are entering a new phase in the dissolution of our Story of the People, and therefore, with some lag time, of the edifice of civilization built on top of it.

Sometimes I feel intense nostalgia for the cultural mythology of my youth, a world in which there was nothing wrong with soda pop, in which the Superbowl was important, in which the world’s greatest democracy was bringing democracy to the world, in which science was going to make life better and better. Life made sense. If you worked hard you could get good grades, get into a good college, go to grad school or follow some other professional path, and you would be happy. With a few unfortunate exceptions, you would be successful if you obeyed the rules of our society: if you followed the latest medical advice, kept informed by reading the New York Times, and stayed away from Bad Things like drugs. Sure there were problems, but the scientists and experts were working hard to fix them. Soon a new medical advance, a new law, a new educational technique, would propel the onward improvement of life. My childhood perceptions were part of this Story of the People, in which humanity was destined to create a perfect world through science, reason, and technology, to conquer nature, transcend our animal origins, and engineer a rational society.   [Read more…]

Ethical Traveler Shares 10 Best Destinations for 2013

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By Tara Lohan / Alternet

Ready for a vacation — or just ready to start dreaming of one? Ethical Traveler, a nonprofit organization that is a project of Earth Island Institute, just released its annual list of the top places to hit if you want to pack your conscience on your holiday. “Where we go—where we spend our travel dollars—has real economic and political significance,” the organization says. “Ethical Traveler believes that mindful travel can bring many benefits, both personal and global. By choosing our destinations well and remembering our roles as citizen diplomats, we can create international goodwill and help change the world for the better.”   [Read more…]

Payback! Hundreds of Homeowners Associations Threaten Banks with Foreclosure

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By Laura Gottesdiener / Alternet

It’s payback time—literally. In Florida, hundreds of homeowner and neighborhood associations are foreclosing on banks that have failed to upkeep their repossessed properties, according to—of all things— a CNN Money report.

Florida is one of the states hardest hit by foreclosures, and there are nearly a half-million foreclosed houses now standing vacant and often slowly deteriorating. When a bank forecloses on a house, evicts the family and then repossesses the property, it also assumes responsibility for maintaining the home and yard and paying homeowner or condo association fees. Yet, some of the nation’s largest and richest banks have been unable or unwilling to upkeep their properties—prompting neighbors across Florida to declare enough is enough.

One Miami lawyer, Ben Solomon, has filed more than 1,000 liens against banks for failing to maintain their properties or pay their homeowner association fees. And when the recalcitrant banks don’t comply, Solomon slaps them with a foreclosure notice—131 thus far.   [Read more…]

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