There are 14 (15 if you count SeaWorld’s nightly show) fireworks displays on the 4th of July, plus a couple of others earlier in the weekend.
Despite the fact that fireworks of just about every kind are illegal in America’s Finest City, I can just about guarantee the knuckleheads down the street will have their own show planned.
No matter where you go, parking will be a bother as will be the traffic after the event. It’s all part of the thrill… [Read more…]
What kind of a city is it that entertains funding a new stadium, a convention center expansion, a major events arena, gondolas, and a parks make-over, but can’t figure out a short term solution to homelessness other than criminalizing it?
That would be San Diego.
Yes, I know it’s apples and oranges–different pots of money are involved, some are subject to voter approval and others will only be indirectly supported by the taxpayer…
But… where there’s a will, there’s a way. [Read more…]
I realize that proving The Donald’s statements and actions to be untrue will do nothing to change his supporters. None-the-less, in the wake of the ‘surprise’ over Britain’s Brexit vote, I feel obligated to catalog them as they appear to underline the importance of turnout in the November general election.
Today’s topics include the economy, trade, campaign finance and questions of character [Read more…]
The polling has never been better. This year 60% of likely California voters are inclined to legalize the consumption of marijuana for recreational use, up from 54% last year.
The political prognosis has never been better. Four states and the District of Columbia have already legalized pot and another eight states are considering giving voter approval to the idea.
So California’s Adult Use of Marijuana Act qualifying for the November ballot should be good news, right? Not so fast. We’ve been here before. In 2010 Proposition 19 started out with strong polling and had decent financial backing, as I recollect.
[Read more…]
Four years of trash-talking by Republicans in Congress following an attack on the American diplomatic mission at Benghazi, Libya appears to have come to an end.
Republicans on the House Benghazi Committee released an 800-page report Tuesday morning, full of broad denunciations and thin on actual proof of wrongdoing. Eight different investigations, a boatload of incriminatory headlines added up to “woulda, shoulda, coulda.”
The ‘scandal’ that was supposed to bring Hillary Clinton down before the 2016 primaries turned into an opportunity for her show grit during an 11-hour marathon testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi last October. [Read more…]
The Supreme Court’s 5-3 ruling in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt will affect millions of women in several states. The case, arising from a Texas law, is the most important abortion rights case in a generation.
Justice Steven Breyer penned the majority opinion, which said in essence:
Both the admitting privileges and surgical center requirements place a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a previability abortion, constitute an undue burden on abortion access, and thus violate the Constitution.
Millions of words will be written over the coming weeks about the vote in Great Britain to leave the European Union, popularly know as Brexit. I’ll point to a few commentaries striking me as important as I surveyed the news this morning.
The immediate reaction in the Western media has been predictions of doom and gloom, backed by reports of stock prices declining. Nationalists worldwide are celebrating, as if a symbolic wall ala Trump has been erected. Nativists and xenophobes are thrilled that their messages about the “other” have resonated with the English electorate.
The truth of the matter is much more complicated. Attempts to put a left/right spin on the circumstances leading up to the vote fail to portray the many moving parts in play. However, the political parallels between the forces favoring disengagement and the rise of Donald Trump cannot be ignored in the context of the upcoming general elections. [Read more…]
History was made yesterday. The primal scream of the families of gun violence victims echoed through the halls of Congress.
One hundred sixty-eight Democrats from the House of Representatives and thirty-four of their colleagues from the Senate are staging an ongoing sit-in, making a statement aimed at reducing the incidence of gun violence in the United States.
Just as Black students staging sit-ins at lunch counters in the 20th century didn’t reverse decades of legal discrimination or centuries of racism, the actions of Congressional Democrats aren’t likely to end with legislation signed by the President. Things will never be the same again, and that’s the point. It may take months. It will more likely take years. To paraphrase Martin Luther King, Jr., the long arc of the moral universe bent in the direction of justice on Capitol Hill yesterday. [Read more…]
Republican Congressman Darrell Issa took to the stage at the San Diego Regional Chamber annual congressional luncheon earlier this week to express buyers remorse over his high-profile support for presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump.
In May, Issa proudly introduced presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in San Diego. A few weeks later he was surprised by primary election results showed a surprisingly close contest with ex-Marine Doug Applegate.
Now a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee poll finds the Congressman in a dead heat with his Democratic opponent. After coasting to re-election for eight terms in Congress in what was considered a safe Republican district, Issa’s support is showing signs of crumbling. [Read more…]
Just a few weeks ago, prospective Republican nominee Donald Trump was boasting about the status of his campaign. He went so far as to announce “… that my campaign has perhaps more cash than any campaign in the history of politics…” Today I’ll look at the 936 or so stories showing up in Google search that seem to think otherwise.
The release of Federal Election Commission filings on Monday told a different story. The campaign is impoverished, relatively speaking, little-to-no effort has been made to establish a financial operation that can compete at the national level, and much of the spending has been directed to entities owned by Trump.
An ongoing turf war within the campaign went public with the dismissal of campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski. Heading into the general election, the Trump campaign is underfunded, understaffed, and historically unpopular. [Read more…]
The mayor’s campaign to rid downtown of homeless humans in the days leading up to Baseball’s All-Star Game continues, even as record heat blanket’s the region.
Advocates for the homeless are operating a ‘cooling station’ at 14th & L, offering cold water, shade, and bandanas, serving more than 200 people on Sunday. They are asking for volunteers to help in offering support during the heat wave.
The San Diego Police Department and the California Highway Patrol have been deployed to sweep up encampments. [Read more…]
Vermont Senator and Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders did not concede–as some expected him to do– during his 27-minute speech to supporters on Thursday night.
He did, however, attempt to drive home the point that the movement springing from his candidacy wasn’t about him.
Sanders urged supporters to stay engaged in the struggle for economic and social justice by taking their cause to the Democratic convention, the general election and by involving themselves in the political process at every level.
PLUS! Weekly Calendar for Progressives [Read more…]
