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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…]

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…]

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…]

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…]

UPDATED: Chicano Park Murals Targeted as Revenge for Confederate Statue Removals

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Local right wingers, calling San Diego’s Chicano Park a “huge monument honoring Communism and La Raza ultra nationalism,” are campaigning to “take down” the site and its associated murals as a payback for the Confederate monuments being removed around the nation.

UPDATE: To be clear, there is no right wing protest scheduled for Chicano Park on Sunday or any other time at this point. (The article doesn’t say there is; try reading it before declaring you’re willing to shed blood.)

City Councilman David Alvarez’s office has received “many racist emails” calling for the park’s destruction after an extremist site called for readers “to make them more nervous to know that the effort is spreading nationwide.”

It all started with an interview with “local patriot activist” Jeff Schwilk on Carl Demaio’s radio talk show.  The former Minuteman leader commiserated with the host about the indignity of removing a plaque from the Daughters of the Confederacy honoring Jefferson Davis from Horton Plaza, moving on to complain about “Nazi symbols**” and “Communists” in the murals at Chicano Park.   [Read more…]

Congressman Duncan Hunter’s Take on Trump: “He’s Our Asshole”

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Yup. Congressman Dwayne Duncan Hunter actually said that. As the saying goes, ‘it takes one to know one…’

I’m now officially back in the saddle (actually I’ve posted two other stories, but hey, they were just warm ups) after my California road trip, and the ol’ Starting Line Inbox is chock full of deserving stories.

At the top of my list will be continuing coverage of our Republican Congressmen, Darrell Issa and Duncan Hunter. Or, as I like to call them, Frick and Frack.   [Read more…]

San Diego March Against Hate Says It Loud and Proud – Photo Gallery

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Political reverberations following the incidents of right wing violence and terrorism in Charlottesville continued into this weekend.

Hundreds of San Diegans gathered in front of the Museum of Man in Balboa Park on Sunday, August 27 to make their voices heard. The rally and March Against Hate had a more militant tone than some recent post-election demonstrations. Signs and banners mentioning the dreaded “Socialism” word were to be found, and there were more people of color participating.

The rally at the start was short and sweet, kicking off with the joyful sounds of the Euphoria Brass Band. We were reminded of the white supremacist imagery all around us in Balboa Park by SDSU lecturer Ozzie Monge. Those lugging banners were invited to lead the march,  which headed east on Laurel Street, turning toward downtown at Sixth Avenue, and ended at Horton Plaza.  There were no incidents of violence, no counter-demonstrators, and the same handful of people identifying as Antifa who’ve shown up for many recent protests.   [Read more…]

Fear Mongering 101: Antifa as the New ACORN

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Be prepared to be very scared. Mask-wearing people clad in black are reportedly coming to a neighborhood near you very soon. You’ll want to clutch your pearls as they snarl at puppies, menace children, and spray paint obscenities in the neighborhood. Fox’s Sean Hannity will curl his upper lip, calling on milquetoast mayors for law and order in the streets.

Somewhere in the United States as I’m writing this, faux documentarian James O’Keefe is undoubtedly planning his next ‘gotcha’ production. I’m sure it will involve implied violence with not-so-subtle overtones of racism.

Something called Antifa has made itself known to fright wing activists desperate for any counterpoint to the inanity of the Fearless Leader and his feckless followers.   [Read more…]

As Escondido Mayor Dismisses Community Sentiment, Council Moves to Privatize Library

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By Escondido Indivisible

In a shocking display of community and political deafness, Escondido Mayor Sam Abed, and Councilmen John Masson, and Ed Gallo ignored overwhelming community opposition and voted for an ill-defined marketing sales pitch by the corporate interest, Library Systems and Services (LS&S) to take over our library services. 

Speaker after speaker, around 90 in all, spoke eloquently, factually, and with great insight against outsourcing.  These speakers included many library volunteers, representatives of The Escondido Library Foundation, the Board of Library Trustees, and a representative of the American Library Association. 

These comments fell on deaf ears of three of the Councilmembers.
  [Read more…]

Community Groups to Oppose Mayor’s Secret Police Chief Panel

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By Edward Sifuentes / ACLU San Diego

A coalition of community-based organizations gathered on Wednesday in front of City Hall to express their disappointment in Mayor Faulconer’s flawed plan to select our next chief of police. Specifically, the group called on the mayor to do away with a proposal for a secret selection panel and asked for additional community forums in Districts 8 and 9.

In attendance were representatives of Alliance San Diego, Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association, San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association, San Diego Organizing Project, Mid-City CAN, Center on Policy Initiatives, The San Diego LGBT Community Center, and Community Assistance Support Team, and the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties.

Members of the coalition said the selection process outlined by the mayor on Tuesday, which includes a secret selection panel and only four community meetings, fell far short of the mark. San Diegans deserve a public process, not closed-door interviews with a panel whose composition will not be revealed until after they decide who will be San Diego’s next chief of police.
  [Read more…]

Readers Write: Oppose San Diego Border Wall and Divest

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By Kilian Colin, Member of the Committee for Better Banks

The resolution recently proposed by District 9 Councilwoman Georgette Gomez calls the border area “among the most unique, diverse and beautiful regions in the world,” and the wall plans “offensive and damaging symbols of fear and division that will increase tensions with Mexico.” She also says the wall would damage the economy and disrupt joint tourism promotions between San Diego and Tijuana.

She also says the wall would damage the economy and disrupt joint tourism promotions between San Diego and Tijuana.

Gomez’s proposal calls for opposition to President Donald Trump’s executive order on the border wall and for San Diego’s City Council to express its intent to identify companies involved in designing, building or financing the structure, and its intent to divest from those companies.   [Read more…]

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