Photo by Annie Lane
Chamber Congressional Luncheon Targeted for Protest
By Doug Porter
The economy of America’s Finest City is threatened by the policies and executive actions of the Trump administration.
Economic nationalism, as envisioned by the White House with its higher trade and immigration barriers, will hurt tech industries, higher education, and tourism, all of which are major components of the local business landscape.
To the extent that the administration’s deportation practices are successful, California’s second largest city is bound to be impacted as the Gross Domestic Product drops by up to $103 billion annually—or roughly 5%.
With nearly one in four San Diegans having been born outside the United States, the impact of governance informed by a xenophobic worldview is about more than economics. It’s also deeply personal.
The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting a luncheon on Friday, April 21 featuring all 5 members of our Congressional delegation.
Representatives Susan Davis, Duncan Hunter, Darrell Issa, Scott Peters, and Juan Vargas will participate in a panel focused on ‘issues that matter most to our region’s economy’, moderated by Carla Marinucci – a senior writer for Politico’s California Playbook daily newsletter.
A coalition of organizations led by Indivisible chapters is calling for a demonstration late Friday morning outside downtown’s Manchester Grand Hyatt.
The plan is to ask the congressional members (and the Chamber itself) whether they’ll be working for Trump or for San Diego – because they can’t do both.
The details:
Facebook Event Page
Date: Friday, April 21
Time: 10:30am
Location: Grand Hyatt San Diego, One Market Place
Logistics: Parking is expensive and limited. The Seaport Village trolley stop is directly across from the hotel.
National and Local Media Feed Fake News to Trolls
The Rotten Easter Egg Award goes the various media outlets around the country either too stupid or too lazy to differentiate between the peaceful Tax Day Protests in 150 or cities around the country (SDFP local coverage here, national coverage here.) and the “Patriots Day” showdown in Berkeley between alt-right nazi-types and anarchists calling themselves antifa.
Mostly what I observed was media outlets jamming together Associated Press copy, like this CBS News story:
Protesters took to the streets in dozens of cities nationwide Saturday to call on President Trump to release his tax returns, saying Americans deserve to know about his business ties and potential conflicts of interest.
Organizers said the protests — dubbed the Tax March — were scheduled in nearly 150 cities, and stemmed from the women’s march that took place the day after Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
In Berkeley, California, police arrested more than a dozen people at unrelated gatherings of pro- and anti-Trump people in a park after fist fighting erupted. Officers confiscated knives and makeshift weapons. Nearly 200 people were at Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park when several people began pushing each other. Dozens of police officers in riot gear stood nearby and began breaking up the confrontation.
For the uninitiated, the right wing protesters in Berkeley announced their intention for violence well in advance. (Or course some folks took the bait.)
Coverage tying together the two events was quickly picked up and rebroadcast by ‘bots’ on social media, in much the same fashion as was used in the days before the election. (How to spot a twitter bot explainer here.)
The San Diego Union-Tribune worked the conflating of the two events into its local tax march coverage.
Tens of thousands of people marched in cities across the country. The biggest events were probably in New York and Los Angeles, each drawing about 5,000. San Diego police put the local march at 2,000 to 3,000.
There were no reports of violence or arrests except in Berkeley, where a clash between Trump supporters and opponents at a rally ended with nine arrests.
The marches coincide with the traditional April 15 deadline for U.S. federal tax returns, though the filing date was pushed back two days this year.
Running this teaser over a photo not related to the violence in Berkeley is FAKE NEWS, dammit.
To their credit, CNN and the Washington Post got this story right.
Persist & Resist!
Finally, for those of you who peacefully protested Donald Trump’s lack of transparency on taxes this past weekend: Congratulations! Somebody has mighty thin skin.
Looking for some action? Check out the Weekly Progressive Calendar, published every Friday in this space, featuring Demonstrations, Rallies, Teach-ins, Meet Ups and other opportunities to get your activism on.
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Doug Porter
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