San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

You are here: Home / Archives for Doug Porter

Trump’s Cruel Immigration Policies Provoke Protests on the Left, Misinformation on the Right

by

The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” – George Orwell, “1984”

On Fox and Friends this morning, host Steve Doocy told America what the Dear Leader wanted them to hear: No, these aren’t cages, the authorities simply “built walls out of chain-link fences.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s Sunday tweets denying the obvious– “We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period” –hasn’t worked.

Over the past few days, the American public has been told the practice of separating families is an “effective deterrent, biblically compliant and/or the Democrats’ fault,” depending on who was talking.

(Local Protests listed inside…)   [Read more…]

Who Needs the Constitution? The Bible Tells Them So | Progressive Activist Calendar June 15-25, 2018

by

“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a villain with a smiling cheek, A goodly apple rotten at the heart. O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!” – The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene 3

The last time I checked, the ultimate authority on the law in the United States is the Constitution. In their quest for rationalizing cruel and unusual treatment of migrants, Trump’s officials have decided to bypass this document, claiming the moral high ground by using biblical verses.

There is a larger point besides the inappropriateness and sordid history of this particular verse, namely that the Attorney General has chosen to make a theocratic argument. I said it before, and I’ll say it again, creating a theocratic state is the ultimate goal of a majority of conservative Republicans in government.

  [Read more…]

Rich People Follies: A Refund for Issa, the Billionaire Ballot Measure, and a Badass Convention Center

by

When Congressman Darrell Issa announced his retirement on January 10, speculation began over what would become of his million-plus dollar campaign war chest.

In early March, nearly $180,000 in refunds were made to donors–including the Koch Brothers–who earmarked contributions for his 2018 general election campaign. Republican party organizations in San Diego and Orange counties received $5,000 each, and $2000 went to his endorsed candidate in the 49th Congressional District, Diane Harkey.

Now we know what recipient Issa has in mind for the rest of the money: himself.   [Read more…]

Pelosi to Visit San Diego as DC Ratchets Up the Racism

by

As the administration’s war on immigrants and brown people reached new lows, it was announced that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will visit San Diego next week, with a delegation of 15 Democrats organized by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Things are looking bad, really bad, right now. Just about every part of the government is actively working hard to inflict cruel and unusual punishment on human beings who happen to lack identity papers.

We can only hope Pelosi’s trip to the border region will generate enough awareness to stimulate opposition to government actions that should be seen as violating international law and basic moral conduct.   [Read more…]

Third Time’s the Charm for Cheesecake Factory Janitors’ Wage Claims

by

Also: Dead Men Don’t Talk in National City, the Dotard and the Billionaire Class, and the Democratic Party’s New Free Speech Zone

Remember the days when corporations in California avoided responsibility for breaking labor laws by blaming contractors, who all-to-often disappeared when investigations were complete?

An investigation initiated by San Diego’s Employee Rights Center, a nonprofit that assists low-wage workers without union representation, led to a ruling by the  Labor Commissioner’s Office holding the Cheesecake Factory restaurants in Southern California and its janitorial subcontractors liable for $4.57 million in minimum wages, overtime, liquidated damages, waiting time penalties, and meal and rest period premiums.   [Read more…]

America, the UnBeautiful: Otay Mesa Protest, Border Patrol Harassment, & Children in Cages

by

Border Patrol Targets Demonstrators

In what is likely the first in a series of immigration-related protests, several hundred people came to a rally outside the Otay Mesa Detention Center on Sunday demanding the release of asylum seekers fleeing gang violence and state repression.

They were taking up the cause of asylum seekers who –for the most part–have voluntarily turned themselves at the border. Little did the protesters know their own participation in the event would lead to harassment by border authorities.

Protests are spreading nationwide in the wake of horrific reports of abuse and mistreatment by immigration agencies. People are speaking out against a President who refers to immigrants as ‘animals’ and implements policies inflicting punishment on people whose rights to due process are rapidly vanishing.   [Read more…]

Elections Are Just One Small Part of Activism | Progressive Activist Calendar June 8-18, 2018

by

Advocates for traditional political parties all-too-often have a vested interest in convincing the public the next election is going to change the way things are. It’s understandable, I suppose, for them to want to keep the attention and donor dollars focused on their mission.

The reality is that elections don’t mean squat without other forms of political expression. Rallies, protests, educational events, letter writing, and plain ol’ organizing are what drive the electoral process. Voting –especially in the primaries– ultimately amounts to a bargaining session, where we’re asked to make choices somewhere between what’s desired and what’s doable.

I’ve noticed over the years the choices get better as the political noise gets louder.   [Read more…]

Think the Primaries Were Tough? Get Ready for the General Election.

by

Whew! The primary season is over. There are some ballots to be counted, some celebrating to be done, and some wounds to be healed.

Let’s take a peek at some of what’s coming and a few things needing to be taken care of as we move on. 

The media narratives attempting to squeeze the voting results into a sound bite are all over the place.

Fox news thinks it sees the makings of a Republican resurgence in California, translating the over-participation of GOP voters in early contests into a scenario where the citizenry will rise up against overtaxed and overregulated government come November.     [Read more…]

2018 San Diego Primary Election Results & Analysis

by

This year I skipped going downtown to watch the election results. Instead, I watched Ugly Delicious, Chef David Chang’s Netflix show putting the food we eat into a historical and cultural context. It was a lot more fulfilling than orbiting the floor at Golden Hall watching people waiting for results.  

And now that I think of it, the term ‘ugly delicious’ is an apt metaphor for the June 2018 primary results.  I’m going to make today’s column a work in progress, posting the results as of Wednesday morning, updating them when it changes the outcome, and adding historical and cultural analysis until late in the afternoon. (So if you’re reading this in the morning and it seems sparse, come back later. I’ll be writing as fast as I can until the caffeine wears off.)

I’ll start with down-ballot contests and move up the political food chain as far as Congressional races, after a couple of general observations. Statewide races, I think, are well covered elsewhere.
  [Read more…]

Now That You’ve Voted in the 2018 California Primary… (You did vote, right?)

by

June 5th is here. It’s all over but the ballot counting. And since my subscription to the psychic hotline has lapsed, I can’t say who’ll win and who will lose.

The emergence of competitive contests for usually overlooked and down ballot offices will have a lasting impact on San Diego. A new generation of electoral activists has emerged, and the passion they’ve shown has changed the way people view local government.

There are have been some hard-fought battles among the candidates running for office, along with some impressive get-out-the-vote efforts. For those reasons, I will predict a higher turnout in this election than San Diego has seen in recent off-year elections.   [Read more…]

Vote for Small “D” Democrats on June 5

by

As the primary election season winds up in California, I want to make a pitch for voters to look past the candidates they do or don’t support and vote according to a higher standard.

I have avoided commenting too much about Donald Trump in recent months because of the need to begin rebuilding democracy at all levels of politics. For me, that meant focusing on San Diego contests. Now it’s time to draw a line between those local elections and the national political scene.

The President of the United States believes he is above the law. He’s said so on Twitter. His lawyers have said so. And apparently, the political party he represents isn’t bothered by the idea of an all-powerful executive.     [Read more…]

A National March on the NRA Headquarters? Approach With Caution

by

If you are an activist receiving emails from an outfit calling itself “National March on the NRA,” be forewarned. It’s not being organized by the young people from Parkland or any of the other groups you might have heard of leading the fight for Second Amendment sanity

The “Voter Reg Street Party” on July 20 and the “March” in Fairfax (where the NRA is headquartered) the following day both have “TBA” locations. This thing is a production of “The Presidential House,” which is, in turn, a creation of Lawrence Deshawn Silva Nathaniel.

Remember him? He’s the guy who organized the Rally at the Border,’scheduled for Saturday, March 25, 2017, in San Ysidro. It never happened.   [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry