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Photos and Coverage of May Day Protests in San Diego, North County, and Nationwide

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In cities from coast to coast, thousands of labor and immigrant rights activists took to the streets. The protests began locally with morning teach-ins at college campuses throughout San Diego County. Organizers say roughly 2000 students participated in events at City College, Mesa, Grossmont, Cuyamaca, and Miramar.

The afternoon included a kickoff rally at San Diego City College, followed by a march through downtown to the Federal Building for a second rally, a third march to Chicano Park in Barrio Logan and a final rally staged by Unión del Barrio.

In the North County, students from MiraCosta, Palomar, and Cal State San Marcos joined with community activists for a rally and march starting at Wildwood Park in Vista.   [Read more…]

What Happens If Congressman Hunter Resigns?

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By Maureen Gupta / Indivisible North San Diego County Blog

Rep. Hunter’s resignation would trigger either a special election or a replacement appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Here’s how a special election works: A primary election is called and, if one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, he or she wins. If not, there is a run-off election between the two top candidates, no matter their party affiliation. Once the dates are announced, the usual procedures apply as with any general election, including mail-in ballots and in-person voting.

We can look to District 34 as an instructive example. Rep. Xavier Becerra vacated his position as a U.S. congressperson on January 24, 2017, just before he was sworn in as California Attorney General. Twenty-four candidates, including 1 Republican and 19 Democrats, ran in the first election, which just concluded. Since no candidate received more than 50%, there will be another run-off election between the top two candidates in June.   [Read more…]

In Congress This Week – May 1, 2017

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By Indivisible 49

In Congress This Week:

With the GOP ACA repeal/replace stalling so many times, it’s interesting to see a few bills that aim to dismantle certain pieces of the ACA gaining momentum in the House and Senate- Namely, HR 285, HR 352, and S 260. We have our eyes on you Congress!

House: Mon- Voting on a series of bills including HR 910 (Expanding ‘safe harbor’ for securities.) GOP, why are you always trying to help rich people? Budget talks to continue as the new deadline is this Fri, May 5th.

Senate: Still confirming people. Noticing a little more action with bills/co-sponsors.   [Read more…]

May Day in San Diego: Remembering Who Brought You the 8-Hour Day, Resisting Trump, & Fighting for a Just Future

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9:00 AM to 2:00 PM Teach-in, Rally and March at San Diego City College
3:00 PM Rally at the Federal Building
4:00 PM March to Chicano Park followed by Rally in Chicano Park

Let’s stand together as a community this May 1st, educate, organize, agitate, and just say no to a future based on hate, division, inequality, and a reckless disregard for the future. In the words of the old labor slogan, we believe that “an injury to one is an injury to all” and that the beloved community we serve is worth fighting for with all we’ve got.

Let’s come out this May Day and make our voices heard like never before.   [Read more…]

5,000 Strong at People’s Climate March in San Diego (Photo Gallery)

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Trump’s 100th day in office wouldn’t be complete without the persistent reminder of just how much the man is disliked, his harmful policies hated and his illegitimacy not even close to being forgotten. It came in the form of the third annual People’s Climate March.

San Diego Police estimate about 5,000 (unpaid) protesters marched in solidarity with tens of thousands nationwide.

The People’s Climate March is a meaningful tool for environmentalists to express their outrage over the current administration’s rollback attempts of policies that address global warming. It holds even more significance given the EPA removed most of the information surrounding climate change from its website just yesterday.   [Read more…]

Persistence Pays! Progressive Activist Calendar for San Diego: April 28 – May 13

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The hard work and dedication of activists all over the United States continues to provide a ray of hope in this era of darkness.

There are two really big days– April 29 & May 1–in this calendar, and I’ve worked hard to provide as much detail as I could find about activities for the multiple events associated with the People’s Climate March and May Day.

There will be no calendar published next Friday (May 5), hence the bigger than usual window for this week’s posting.   [Read more…]

Will the Third Time Be the Charm for the GOP’s ZombieCare Bill?

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The White House is leaning on Congress to take action on yet another version of a healthcare bill.

Negotiated by Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), co-chairman of the centrist Tuesday Group, with help from the White House, this edition features further weakening of ObamaCare protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

The current requirement for health insurance to include basic coverage for maternity, prescription drugs, emergency services, lab tests, and etc., would be subject to review by the states. Women will be subject to higher rates than men. And if you get sick… well, let’s just say you can’t afford to actually use ZombieCare V.3.0.   [Read more…]

Looking Past 100 Days of Trump: Resistance Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

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The listicles are popping up all over the media world, hoping to capture the essence of what 100 days of Donald Trump in the White House means for the United States.

The New York Times headline reads “Trump Wants It Known: Grading 100 Days Is ‘Ridiculous’ (but His Were the Best).” The Hill is dutifully reporting on the new White House web page touting the first 100 days, making the claim “this President has enacted more legislation and signed more executive orders than any other president in over a half century,”

The executive order part is actually true, which is more than a little ironic coming from a man who spent much of last year whining about his predecessor’s actions in this arena. I’m old enough to remember when executive orders were equated with the mark of the devil in some quarters. And you can give Trump a ‘partially true’ on legislation only if you count bills undoing Obama executive orders.   [Read more…]

Why the People’s Climate March Matters Now More Than Ever

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In the lead up to Earth Day, Elizabeth Kolbert, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction, accurately observed that this year there wasn’t much to celebrate. She’s right. An administration that can’t seem to stop stepping on its own feet in nearly every other area has been pretty darn good at gearing up to kill the planet. As Kolbert writes in the New Yorker:

A White House characterized by flaming incompetence has nevertheless managed to do one thing effectively: it has trashed years’ worth of work to protect the planet. As David Horsey put it recently, in the Los Angeles Times, “Donald Trump’s foreign policy and legislative agenda may be a confused mess,” but “his administration’s attack on the environment is operating with the focus and zeal of the Spanish Inquisition.”   [Read more…]

Media Covers Sessions’ Racism But Not The Protests Against It. Why?

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By Jenn Budd / Crooks and Liars

Attorney General Jeff Sessions escaped his elfin tree this past week to spew a stream of offensive, racist comments aimed at our border communities. While the lazy mainstream media covered every marble-mouthed utterance of the Disgrace of Alabama, I chose to go down to the border in my hometown of San Diego and see what Americans thought of all this race baiting. Oddly enough, they didn’t agree with El Elfo.

For those of you who have never been to San Diego, or any other border town for that matter, you should know that we consider the border and our neighbors to the south to be a part of our community. We’ve lived with each other for centuries. We party, pray and mourn together. We have family and friends on both sides. What happens south of the border, directly affects the north side and vise versa. So when Sessions had the nerve to visit border communities and call them “war zones” and filled with “violent gangs, drug dealers and murders,” members of those communities decided to fight back.   [Read more…]

In Congress This Week – April 24, 2017

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Legislative Briefing for Week of 4.24.17

Compiled by Indivisible 49

In Congress This Week:

Health Care: Big week ahead! Negotiations are under way for the budget bill which must be passed on Friday, April 28th by midnight to avoid a fed gov’t shutdown. (Right around when 45’s 100 days are up. Good work team! We got baby to whine. sad.) Hot button issues are funding the wall (wow, that’s a really bad idea) and the fate of the health subsidies for the ACA.

Keep the pressure on! New ACA repeal bill in the pipeline. It is a lot like the previous bill–a main feature that states could opt out of provisions such as “preventing insurers from raising an individual’s premium based on that person’s health.” (read: Penalizing sick people with preexisting conditions.) The Freedom Caucus has signaled that it will most likely back the bill.   [Read more…]

Photo Gallery: San Diego Among 600 Cities Joining the March for Science Worldwide

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First, the numbers: Early crowd estimates for the San Diego March for Science ranged as high as 25,000 participants. My gut says there were 15,000 or so. Initial estimates put the Washington D.C. march at roughly 40,000 and the New York march at around 20,000; Chicago crowds were also estimated at 40,000; Los Angeles, 50,000.

There were marches in roughly 600 cities worldwide. I’ve seen coverage from South Africa, Uganda, London, Switzerland, Rome, France, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada, and the North Pole.

Speaking as a participant in San Diego’s march, this event had much in common with the Women’s March earlier this year, namely lots of people who rarely feel motivated to take to the streets. The signs were snappy and smart, the chanting not-so-much, though I loved the “What do we want? Science! – When do we want it? After peer review!” chant.   [Read more…]

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