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Hugh Thompson, An American Hero

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By Jack Doxey

March 16th, 2016 marks the 48th anniversary of the My Lai Massacre that occurred in Vietnam. To say that it was a sad day in the history of our country is a gross understatement. Our United States military systematically slaughtered over 500 Vietnamese women, children, infants and old men in the tiny village of My Lai.

Our country’s attention span is short; and revisiting old wounds can be painful. The result is that this event has been shoved into the “dust bin” of history.

Never the less, I beseech our government and every American citizen to not forget but instead “learn” from the events that unfolded 48 years ago in the tiny village of My Lai.   [Read more…]

Police Body Camera Footage Must Be Made Public

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By Rob Tindula

A few weeks ago, the City Attorney’s Office released an 11-page memo outlining the public disclosure of police records, including body camera footage. The report stated that the Mayor has exclusive rights when it comes to releasing the department’s body camera footage to the public and listed a number broad of exemptions to go along with it.

This is unfortunate for all San Diego residents. Police body cameras have the ability to increase the accountability of officers while performing their daily duties because video evidence can provide an unbiased account of what happened at the scene. In fact, with the expansion of the body camera program, between July 2014 and June 2015, complaints against police officers fell 23 percent.

However, if footage is actively hidden away from public scrutiny, then the impartial version provided by video evidence is rendered useless. Here’s why.   [Read more…]

Readers Write: Eliminate Under the Table Gifts and Payments to San Diego Politicians

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By John Stump

The U-T editorial “Who should vote on San Diego pol’s pay raises? They should” concerning the Citizen’s Salary Commission’s call for ethical pay reforms came to the wrong conclusion. I had hoped that it would stand for the elimination of gifts, luxury banquet dinners, closure of the Stadium Emperors’ Sky Boxes, and the rest of the insider’s under the table payments to politicians.

There is a political revolution going on.
  [Read more…]

Is Jerry Brown Involved in the San Onofre Nuclear Plant Shutdown Scandal?

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Nuclear Shutdown News for February 2016

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Last year Nuclear Shutdown News reported on a scandal involving the San Onofre nuclear plant shutdown, and a secret deal that left its ratepayers holding the bag for a multibillion dollar debt for which the public bears no responsibility. This onerous debt will take consumers and their descendants decades to pay off if the powers that be get their way. But the people are fighting back.   [Read more…]

Illegal Pot Shops Sell Black Market Products, Challenging Legal Dispensaries

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By Dr. David Blair / A Green Alternative

A Green Alternative, after its first year of operation serving the community, still faces unique challenges in the evolution of the consumer friendly medical marijuana marketplace. The biggest problem legal dispensaries face are the illegal pot shops and delivery services, which pop up like weeks after a rainstorm; each time a licensed dispensary opens, three to four illegal pot shops open up right next to them.   [Read more…]

Guest Workers Or Bracero Slaves? Historically, Chicano Activists Opposed the Bracero Program

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By Herman Baca

The immigration proposal exposing the hypocrisy & manipulation of the so-called immigration issue (or Mexican undocumented worker) is the foreign “guest worker” program. To date, every immigration plan proposed has included a proviso for a foreign worker importation program. Why, the historical reason is; “The U.S.’s economic addiction to cheap and exploitable labor.”   [Read more…]

It’s Not Smart Growth… It’s Called Avoiding a Housing Crisis

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By Howard M. Blackson III / San Diego UrbDeZine

California’s Bay Area housing disaster tells Southern Californians that our housing crisis will only get worse and doing nothing is both an irrational and irresponsible response. We are faced with deciding to have more neighbors or pay more taxes as we desperately need money to fix our city’s crumbling infrastructure. The conundrum is that we despise taxes and the mere mention of ‘density’ polarizes any discussion into either demands for no new growth or building tall towers.   [Read more…]

Black History Month Ends on a Sad Note

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By Rev. Richard Lawrence

Affirmative Action–a restorative justice program that tried to level the playing field for minorities, women and the disabled has been a miserable failure if the measure is increased pressure for justice.

The best example of affirmative action I’ve seen was organized by Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) when in 1962 Dr. King appointed the Rev. Jesse Jackson to organize a chapter of Operation Breadbasket in Chicago. Jesse was a student at Chicago Theological Seminary–part of the Federated Theological Faculties–a cooperative academic venture that included the University of Chicago Divinity School (where I was a student). Disciples Divinity School and the Unitarian-Universalist Seminary.   [Read more…]

Excerpt From Sunshine/Noir II: The Civil Disobedient

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By Michael Billingsley

The morning of January 15, 1976 started out just like any other in the Skyline neighborhood of southeast San Diego, but there were two special things that set this day apart. For one, it was the day before my 14th birthday. Second, it was the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

There had been a movement to make MLK’s birthday a national holiday—in fact, African Americans all over the country started celebrating before it became a legal holiday. One of the things that appealed to me was that my birthday was on January 16, one day after Dr. King’s and the day before Muhammad Ali’s.   [Read more…]

TransNet Tax Increase Gives SANDAG Opportunity to Course-correct on Environmental Priorities

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Will SANDAG prioritize sustainable projects and protect San Diego’s most vulnerable populations?

By Hutton Marshall / SanDiego350

A region doesn’t become environmentally friendly by accident; it does so through careful, ambitious planning with the good of future generations in mind. In this regard, the San Diego region now finds itself at a crossroads.

Through the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the region’s planning agency, we now have the opportunity to begin realizing an environmentally friendly future in the San Diego region for many years to come. SANDAG recently announced that it will consider putting forth a ballot measure that will increase the TransNet sales tax by half a cent. Pending voter approval, such an increase would mean billions of additional dollars for transportation projects in coming decades. Although SANDAG may do the opposite, this money should be spent on projects that will mitigate climate change and protect San Diego’s most vulnerable populations.   [Read more…]

Securing the U.S.-Mexico Border?

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By Herman Baca

Of all the immigration proposals, the one supported by a majority of white Americans is, “securing the border.” According to proponents it is because, “illegal immigration threatens America’s quality of life, is linked to terrorism, drug smuggling, human sex trade, murder, and other crimes that threaten the safety of (white) Americans.” The real reason (in my opinion) is because the issue has been historically misidentified to white Americans by U.S. political/corporate interests and the news media. Defined as an immigration/criminal rather than a labor issue? Other reasons are historical…white supremacy, nativism, and the inherent racism of white Americans.   [Read more…]

Obama’s Budget Contains Some Small Victories for Immigrant Advocates

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By ChaKiara Tucker / Communications Coordinator for Alliance San Diego

Recently, President Obama revealed the budget for 2017, his final budget as Commander-In-Chief. The $4.7 trillion financial blueprint is a proposal of how this country should appropriate funds, and will be sent to Congress for revisions and approval.   [Read more…]

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