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The Starting Line – Congressman Darrell Issa’s Plan to ‘Save’ the Internet

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Reddit’s AMA (Ask Me Anything) feature, where people of influence open themselves up to questions posed by Redditors, can get pretty wild. Conversational threads, where remarks build upon other comments and spark new lines of inquiry, can spin off into areas far removed from their starting place.

Yesterday Congressman Darrel Issa climbed to the virtual dais on Reddit to explain (as much as you can in the AMA format) and get feedback on his proposed legislation that would bar ‘new regulations or burdens on the internet for two years’. This broad shouldered bit of legalese really is all about keeping Federal regulators from doing anything (good or bad) for the duration of the 113th Congress.
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The Starting Line – Grover Norquist, Pink Unicorns and A Ray of Hope

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As (largely untrue) reports fly through the blogosphere and interwebs about reports of movement between the Congressional political blocs on various aspects of the impending ‘fiscal cliff’ crisis, the man at the center of it all, Grover Norquist is certainly having his moments in the spotlight.

Steve Inskeep of NPR gave Norquist air time this morning to prattle on about how it really isn’t true that Republicans are lining up to jump ship and break their pledges not to raise taxes. He likened talk of accepting tax increases in exchange for spending cuts by Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to believing in a pink unicorn.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Sorry Republicans, Being Nice to Latinos Won’t Save You from Extinction

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Tax fighter and former libertarian Richard Rider took the virtual podium at conserve blog SDRostra this weekend to ruminate about and refute the notion that the Republican Party is headed for extinction.

He starts out by comparing the GOP’s defeat with Barry Goldwater with its most recent losses, noting that, despite predictions of doom and gloom, the party did rise again. In the 1964 election LBJ received 61.1% of the national popular vote

And I agree with Rider that one electoral loss, no matter how lopsided, does not equate with the death of a political party.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – San Diego Congressmen Get Campaign Contributions for Domestic Drone Support

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Chances are you’ve never heard of the “drone caucus” in the US House of Representatives, officially known as the House Unmanned Systems Caucus.  Yet they are considered among the most powerful groups on the Hill. And participating in the caucus is a sure way for Congressmen to enrich their campaign coffers.   [Read more…]

‘Walkout on Walmart’ Shines Over Interstate 15 Last Night

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The Overhead Light Brigade (OLB) of San Diego was out last night on I-15 with their new lighted letters. Photo courtesy http://overpasslightbrigade.org/   [Read more…]

Angry Republican Calls for San Diego Party Leader’s Ouster

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A GOP activist from Carmel Mountain Ranch is pushing for San Diego Republican Party leader Tony Krvaric’s ouster, citing the party’s losses in the recent elections.

Karen Grube, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the party’s Central Committee from the 77th Assembly District back in June has created a Facebook page entitled Tony, You’re Fired hoping to rally other GOP members to her cause.   [Read more…]

Border Patrol Story About Chula Vista Shooting Death Unraveling

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A new witness has come forward in the shooting death of 32-year-old Munique Tachiquin. According to accounts by Border Patrol officers, the mother of five was shot after she attempted to run over a plain clothes agent attempting to serve a warrant.
Prince Watson, a former Marine and Iraqi War veteran who lives nearby, told TV10/ABC News that he was reluctant to come forward, but said his sense of civic responsibility compelled him   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – San Diego County Sheriff Stonewalls Freedom Of Information Requests About Drones

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A national effort to track drone deployment by domestic law enforcement agencies has run into a brick wall with the San Diego County Sheriffs, who have refused to provide information about efforts to purchase Scout UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicle).

The Electronic Freedom Foundation and MuckRock.com have sent over 200 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to local governments and police departments, seeking to find out information on domestic drone utilization, according to a story in OpposingViews.com.

Although the San Diego Sheriffs office initially denied possessing any documents relevant to the collection effort, an email from manufacturer, Datron World Communications, to Seattle police quoted technical information from a bid that was sent to local officials.

Inside: Angry Republicans, Running Democrats, Border Patrol Cover Up Unraveling
Notice: I’ll be taking the weekend off. See you Monday, news junkies.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Thanksgiving Dinner at Walmart? Why not make it Black November?

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The one thousand Black Friday protests at Wal-Mart locations around the country have had an unintended benefit; the onset of a national conversation about the insanity of putting shopping before family.

As I flipped around the news channels on TV last night it became obvious that the efforts of OUR Walmart and likeminded groups have struck a chord in the American psyche.

Inside:
UT-D Watchdog Nips at the Heels of the Port Commission, Retiring County Supe Has a Few Choice Words for the Republican Party, Twinkies on Fire

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The Starting Line – North Park Shooting Prompted by Death Wish

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It seemed like a nightmare in the making for residents of North Park on Saturday night. A man in a camouflage suit wandered about near the intersection of Louisiana and University Aves. firing a rifle.

I was headed down University Avenue on my way to get a pizza not long after it happened. The street was completely blocked off; there were enough flashing lights going off so that it was immediately clear this was no traffic stop or disturbing the peace call.

I live in North Park. For all of its ups and downs as a hipster neighborhood (at least that’s what Forbes calls it) it’s a pretty safe place to live. Whatever was going on here was obviously more than the delayed conclusion of a bar fight.

It didn’t take long, via Twitter, to find out the reason for the commotion: a man carrying a rifle had been shot by police.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line—1000 Walmart Black Friday Protests Starting Early

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Protests aimed at disrupting Black Friday sales events at Walmart stores around the country began yesterday with walk-outs at a number of stores and the promise of more actions in the lead-up to what is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year.

Employees at six Seattle area Walmart stores walked off the job yesterday, protesting what they say is low pay, too few hours and retaliation by managers against workers who speak out. Another walkout is in progress at a warehouse supply location in Mira Loma, California and picket lines are in place this morning at a Walmart store in Dallas, Texas.

Inside: Dave Roberts In at County Supes, Tony Young Out at City Council, SDEA Recall Petitions Filed, IB Parents Cry Foul

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The Starting Line – Anti Union Group Cries Foul Over Convention Center Expansion

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The Associated Builders and Contractors of San Diego, a local chapter of a national right wing anti union group, has responded to prompts from the SD-UT editorial page by demanding that the city of San Diego release details of a recently reached agreement between a private contractor and organized labor.

KPBS reports that the ABC group is claiming that the deal gives unions control of the expansion of San Diego’s Convention Center project. They are demanding details of the agreement, hoping to prove that the city government played a role in brokering the agreement, which could then be construed as being in violation of a ballot measure passed earlier this year banning Project Labor Agreements on government projects.   [Read more…]

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