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Progressive Activism Calendar, April 7-17, 2017

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40+ Ways to Educate, Organize, and Take Action in San Diego

Donald Trump bragged to reporters on Air Force One, “I think we’ve had one of the most successful 13 weeks in the history of the presidency.” The fact he’d only been in office for 11 weeks never occurred to him.

Then El Presidente ordered 59 missiles fired at a Syrian airbase, believed to be the launching place for the thirteenth attack on civilians using poison gas. He let the Russians (who say their buddy Assad would never do such a thing) know in advance. He didn’t let Congress know, but apparently, that’s okay, because he’s not weak like Obama. The price of oil jumped 2% in trading (very good for a certain Euro-Asian economy), and the State Department announced there would be no substantive change in US policy toward Syria. Oh, and their refugees are still not good enough to be admitted to the United States.

The circus in Washington continues, and there are three ways to react: organize, educate, and agitate. April is shaping up to be the most activist month yet, with events large and small throughout the county.   [Read more…]

Internet ‘Predator’ Scam Targets Local Journalists

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Blackmail or Revenge are Plausible Motives 

Over the past week, a dozen San Diego reporters and editors have been listed on PredatorsWatch.com, a website infamous for labeling innocent people as pedophiles or child abusers.

Among those targeted were editors and reporters with the San Diego Union-Tribune, NBC7, the San Diego Reader, and the Southwestern College Sun.

San Diego Free Press editor Barbara Zaragoza (who has contributed articles to the Reader as a freelancer) was notified via a Google Alert email on April 4, which included the linked headline claiming she had been “arrested for having sex with boy, child abuse.”   [Read more…]

San Diego Resistance: Coast to Coast, Persisting and Connecting

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In venues large and small, with local and national issues, with methods ranging from silent support to civil disobedience, San Diegans expressed themselves politically on Tuesday, April 4.

This advocacy was felt, seen, and heard from Washington DC, where protesting union members were escorted from a speech by President Trump to the Mayor of San Diego’s office where activists sat-in to demand enforcement of minimum wage laws and racial justice to a school board meeting where Muslim parents and their supporters came to witness a discussion about combating harassment and Islamophobia in local schools.

There were also protests at local congressional offices in downtown San Diego, Vista, and Temecula, along with delegations flocking to city council meetings in National City and Chula Vista. And then there were women wearing red everywhere (along with a downtown rally), reminding us of pervasive pay scale inequality throughout the workforce.   [Read more…]

The Padres: A Baseball Team Worthy of San Diego

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Baseball season started yesterday, and the San Diego Padres are already in last place, having been pummeled by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who hit four homes on their way to a 14-3 final score.

While optimists might argue that yesterday’s score was better than the 15-0 drubbing (also by the Dodgers) on opening day last year, the baseball team representing America’s Finest City is pathetic. More than half their $68 million payroll will go to players no longer on the team. The fans get cheated. Many of the remaining players get MLB’s minimum wage, or close to it. And the owners get wealthy.

It’s the same kind of deal San Diego’s plutocracy is setting up for the rest of us. We’re about to give up 160+ acres of prime Mission Valley real estate in return for vague promises and guaranteed profit.   [Read more…]

Lack of Minimum Wage Enforcement Sparks April 4 City Hall Protest

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On Tuesday morning, April 4, Justice Can’t Wait and San Diego Fight for 15 are calling on people to join them at City Hall to mark the 49th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination by protesting the Mayor’s lack of willingness to enforce the will of the voters.

The San Diego action fits into a larger picture, as unions and racial justice organizations are building for nationwide protests on May 1st.   [Read more…]

Progressive Activism Calendar for San Diego March 31 – April 10, 2017

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Things are moving fast with the decaying orbit of the entity otherwise known as the Trump administration. Every week when I write this intro to the activism calendar, I wonder if this will be the week when the illegitimate presidency of #45 crashes and burns?

Having lived through the Watergate era, I have to remind myself how long it actually took for Nixon to fall from grace. Every revelation, every rumor, every press conference seemed like it would the one. And then it wasn’t. There is no addiction stronger than the quest for power, and the descent into despair takes a lot longer than any of us think it should.

The good news is that keeping the pressure up on Washington will bend the arc of justice in the right direction. The bad news is that we have a long way to go. So keep up the good work. And take care of yourself.   [Read more…]

Small Mayors, Small Minds Gin Up the Fear on SB 54

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Dangerous felons (with brown skin, no doubt) will soon be allowed to prowl the streets of California cities and towns, according to a newly organized group of elected officials pushing back against Senate Bill 54, the California Values Act.

El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, leader of Mayors for Safe Cities says “SB 54 forces cities to shield violent serious felons — rapists and child molesters — who have served their sentence, are out on bond, or who are out on bail from federal immigration authorities.”

The website for this group highlights date rape, vehicular manslaughter, participation in criminal street gangs, shooting at an occupied car or home, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon as likely crimes to be encouraged by this bill.

Pretty scary stuff, huh?   [Read more…]

Trump’s Climate Change Legacy: The Coast is Toast

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Southern Californians got some bad news this week with the release of a report from the U.S. Geological Survey saying two-thirds of beaches from Santa Barbara to San Diego could be completely eroded back to sea cliffs or coastal infrastructure by 2100.

The central culprit in this likely scenario will be sea level rise fueled by climate change. And current projections could double, thanks to “job-saving” efforts involving rolling back environmental regulations by the Trump administration.

The executive orders signed by the President on Tuesday instruct the Environmental Protection Agency to review the Clean Power Plan, the Obama administration’s signature policy for slashing greenhouse gas emissions from the utility sector, by far the country’s biggest emitter.   [Read more…]

Photo Gallery: Indivisible Holds Issa’s Feet to the Fire

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A progressive coalition led by Indivisible drew the largest ever “Resist Trump Tuesday” crowd outside the Vista office of Rep. Darrell Issa.

A few weeks ago, a hundred people were considered a good turnout. Last week, with a vote on #Trumpcare looming, over 300 people participated in a “die-in” to call attention to the shortcomings of the GOP package.

A head count taken by the group totaled up 620 citizens who came out on a Tuesday morning to call out Issa for not taking a harder line on #TrumpRussia and for his willingness to vote for the AHRA. CNN sent cameras to the protest, airing footage at 4 & 7pm PST.   [Read more…]

Will SoccerCity Fill a Void in Mission Valley?

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Surprise, surprise, surprise! Those friendly folks collecting signatures for the billion dollar SoccerCity development to replace Qualcomm Stadium are being–how shall we put it?–less than honest.

Today’s Union-Tribune includes a story involving an informal survey of 25 signature gathering locations around San Diego. Petition bearers are reportedly being paid $5 per signature and are making promises with little connection to what is actually contained in the document they are pushing.

The hope is that the San Diego City Council, with visions of $2.8 billion in economic benefits dancing in their heads, will vote to enact the ‘citizen’s ordinance’ without the need for an actual ballot measure.   [Read more…]

Protests Dog Reps. Darrell Issa, ‘Dirty’ Duncan Hunter

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These are troubled times for San Diego’s Republican Congressmen.

District 49’s Darrell Issa would appear to be one of the early political casualties in the failed battle for #TrumpDontCare.

District 50’s Duncan Hunter is in bigger trouble, as the House Ethics Committee has been told by the Justice Department to step aside while a more consequential investigation proceeds, one with a high probability of criminal indictments.   [Read more…]

Progressive Activist Calendar March 24 – April 4, 2017

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The Trump administration’s agenda continues to run into a buzz saw powered by public opinion. Defeating these horrible schemes is, however, going to take an ongoing effort. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We’ll win some, we’ll lose a few, and we need you to keep active.

So what will you do? Check out this week’s Progressive Activist Calendar listings. Following those listings are upcoming events of national importance, along with opportunities for organizational involvement.   [Read more…]

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