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Hurricane Irma: Bringing Out the Stupid in Florida

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Natural disasters bring out the best and worst in people. Typically the worst, as defined by mass media, is Black people looting; white people merely ‘find’ food in hurricanes.

Watching Twitter today, I have seen some amazing people doing their best under trying circumstances. And then there are the… less than amazing people.

We won’t know if any of these people actually ending up qualifying for the Darwin Awards until later. In order to qualify they have to contribute to human evolution by selecting themselves out of the gene pool via death or sterilization by their own actions. And some of them are merely wishful thinking on my part.   [Read more…]

Confounds the Science | Video Worth Watching

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One of my favorite earworms, Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” has inspired a parody version—“Confounds the Science”. It’s from the geniuses (genii?) who call themselves The Parody Project. The team even takes pains to present the appearance of Simon & Garfunkel! It’s clever, and sadly, oh so true. )-:   [Read more…]

If Only We Had Some Sort of Sign Climate Change Was Real – Progressive Calendar for September 8-18, 2017

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I lived in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands for eight wonderful years of my life. I forged bonds with some wonderful people, had experiences good and bad that changed me for the better.

This week my heart is broken. Hurricane Irma ripped the leaves off the trees that somehow didn’t topple. Some of my old friends are homeless. Most don’t have jobs anymore. And the places I once haunted are no more.

Not long ago, Houston Texas and environs saw the most rainfall ever dumped on the lower 48 states by Hurricane Harvey: 33 trillion gallons of water fell from the sky.

Hurricane Irma had sustained winds of 185 mph for 37 hours, the longest any tropical cyclone around the world has maintained that intensity. It beat the old record by 13 hours.   [Read more…]

Where Did Our Immigration Laws Come From? Is 1890 White Enough for You? | Video Worth Watching

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Our immigration laws have a history, and it’s not pretty. A recent segment of the Rachel Maddow show provided a glimpse of how the foundation of immigration policy was an effort to make the country white again, based on the 1890 census. Knowing more about the origin and intent of immigration legislation, the current controversies make more sense. It’s kind of spooky comparing statements made in the 1920’s with some of the positions taken today.   [Read more…]

San Diego Rallies in Response to Ending DACA (Photos)

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A Tuesday night rally at the County administration building by immigration advocates and allies was part of a nationwide response to the announcement that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA program was finished.

The beauty of a San Diego sunset provided a vivid contrast to the ugliness being thrust upon nearly 8 million people in the United States brought in as children by undocumented parents.

In New York and Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles, along with dozens of other cities around the United States undocumented immigrants and supporters of immigrant rights turned up in droves to condemn the Trump administration’s decision, and compel Congress to take action to protect DACA recipients and the other millions of people living in the United States without legal status.

Today’s column will be a roundup of reactions, with photos from last night’s rally.   [Read more…]

California Senator Kamala Harris Interviewed on DACA, the Dreamer Act and ‘Medicare for All’ | Video Worth Watching

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One of our California senators, Kamala Harris, appeared on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Laurence O’Donnell to discuss her efforts to craft a legislative solution to the problem created for Dreamers by the termination of the DACA program. The discussion also included some developments with the Senate Intelligence Committee’s relation to Special Prosecutor Mueller’s investigation, and her being the first co-sponsor of Senator Sanders “Medicare for All” bill.   [Read more…]

Standing Up for Dreamers in San Diego as Trump Trashes DACA

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“No one should fall for the White House spin that there was a modicum of humanity embedded in their decision today”

Ignore all the misdirects coming out of Washington. President Trump is ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program,  protecting DREAMers — unauthorized immigrants brought to the US as children or young teenagers — from deportation.

It’s time to take the streets, burn up the congressional phone lines, and in every way possible stand in solidarity with the 800,000 people the administration is set to ship off to places they have little or no connection to.

These are the demonstrations in San Diego today (Tuesday, September 5)…   [Read more…]

A Powerful and Peaceful Chicano Park Solidarity Rally – Photo Gallery

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Hundreds of people from communities throughout San Diego converged Sunday to show support for Chicano Park, in response to an SDFP story indicating local ultra-rightists were plotting to “take down” its historic murals in response to Confederate monuments being removed around the nation.

Rumors quickly spread through Facebook and other social media, escalating a what likely a reconnaissance mission into a full-blown white supremacist rally. A couple of folks decided it might be a good idea to have a picnic in the park as a gesture of solidarity and put it up as a Facebook event. Hundreds of people RSVP’d. Fortunately, the Chicano Park Steering Committee stepped in and took control of the event.

A PA system was procured, security was arranged, and speakers from the community were invited. The San Diego Organizing Project encouraged religious leaders from a variety of faiths to attend.   [Read more…]

A ‘Dreamer’s’ Emotional Journey to Mexico and Back | Video Worth Watching

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On Tuesday we’re expecting an announcement about the future of DACA. Local groups are planning to show support for the program’s participants, known as Dreamers, on that day downtown at the San Diego County Water Park at 6:00 PM. Alliance San Diego posted on its Facebook page a video that provides some real life context about one participant in this program. Her situation is a bit unusual in that before traveling outside the country to visit Mexico to meet with deported veterans and others struggling with deportation issues she was able to obtain approval to return to the United States. Here is A “Dreamer’s” Emotional Journey to Mexico and Back.   [Read more…]

DACA: ‘We Didn’t Come This Far to Give Up’ | Video Worth Watching

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Who are the DACA Dreamers? While there are statistics that profile the make up of the nearly 665,000 program participants it should be obvious that there is no one description that can do justice to the diversity of that group. Here, though, is a personal introduction to one of those individuals—Juan Escalante—and his call to action.   [Read more…]

DACA, California Values Act in the News; Progressive Activist Calendar September 1-11, 2017

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Following reports out of Washington broadcast by Fox News saying President Trump would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on September 1, the White House has postponed taking any action.

DACA, a policy instituted during the Obama administration, temporarily shields illegal immigrants brought to America as children. Polling indicates bipartisan support for the program, and voices across the political spectrum, from Warren Buffett to Rep. Paul Ryan have appealed to the president to reconsider any such move.

Molly Ball at the Atlantic reports Trump make have been backed into a corner by hardliners.  Republican state attorneys general are threatening to add Dreamers to a likely-to-be-successful lawsuit making its way through the courts if the administration didn’t revoked the policy by September 5.   [Read more…]

San Diego Celebrates Chicana Civil Rights Activists at Women’s Museum of California

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On Sunday August 20, a memorable event took place at the Women’s Museum of California. It was publicized as a book signing of the recently released Chicana Tributes: Activist Women of the Civil Rights Movement, but in reality, it was an ebullient celebration. The book documents the work of sixty-one women who were fearless and committed trailblazers in the Chicano civil rights movement in the late twentieth century and beyond. A number of those women were and still are deeply connected to San Diego’s own history of that movement.   [Read more…]

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