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Republicans Harkey and Hunter Run on Pity Platform | San Diego’s Congressional Contests

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Three of San Diego’s five Congressional districts are, for now, dominated by Democratic incumbents. Electoral contests in the 51st (Vargas), 52nd (Peters), and 53rd (Davis) all include no-name, no-cash–Republican challengers.

Today I’ll focus on the noisy political contests in the 49th and 50th congressional districts, with a cursory listing of the candidates for the non-competitive seats at the end of the column.

The current version of history says the 49th’s retiring Republican Congressman Darrell Issa saw the handwriting on the wall following a surprisingly close election in 2018 and regular protests outside his Vista office.

While I’m sure both things played a role, a personal drama may have played a role in that decision.   [Read more…]

The Political Power Of Women’s Anger – Rebecca Traister | Video Worth Watching

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All In’s Chris Hayes talks with Rebecca Traister about her new book, “Good and Mad”, about how women learn to moderate and channel their anger, and about how in this politically tumultuous time women are developing new ways to express and exhibit the legitimate rage engendered by the current civic climate.   [Read more…]

‘Occupy San Diego’ Facebook Page Occupied by Troll

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If you’re one of the 2,233 people who’ve followed the ‘Occupy San Diego’ Facebook page over the years, you might want to reconsider your relationship.

Based on what I can tell from comments posted at the site over the past 24 hours, the site is now run by somebody who’s out to mock and troll people of the progressive persuasion.

On Monday a post attributed to a follower of the bizarre conspiracy called QAnon disparaging Dr. Christine Blasey Ford appeared. Based on the comments this person or persons posting as OSD, i.e, “Liberal tears, haha,” it is clear the site no longer represents any aspect of the movement against Wall Street that inspired it.   [Read more…]

UPDATED: Maienschein Loses Equality Endorsement – Democrats See Gains in 2018 San Diego Assembly Races

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Democrats controlled three of the seven Assembly seats in the county going into 2018, and that’s about to change. The voter registration advantage Republicans have traditionally held in two suburban North County districts has dissipated.

Assemblyman Rocky Chavez opted not to run for re-election and fell short in an attempt to grab a spot on the fall ballot race for Rep. Darrell Issa’s seat. His 76th district ended up putting two Democrats on the November ballot, a result that would have been unthinkable just a few years back.

Over in the 77th Assembly District, Democrats have taken the lead in voter registration, and party leaders now see newcomer Sunday Gover’s campaign as one of their best opportunities in the state.     [Read more…]

Jackson Katz: Violence Against Women—It’s a Men’s Issue | Video Worth Watching

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Daily Kos staff member Jen Hayden posted an item on Monday on the Daily Kos that drew attention to a TED talk by Jackson Katz given in May of 2013 that deals with the issue of violence against women, noting that the typical framing of the issue misrepresents the role of men. The TED talk video is below and Jen’s Daily Kos post appears below the video. (h/t to AGD)   [Read more…]

Willie Nelson – Vote ‘Em Out (Texas – Rally for Beto) | More Video Worth Watching

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At an Austin rally for Texas Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke that Rolling Stone reported drew nearly 60,000, Willie Nelson unveiled a new song aimed at encouraging his fans to exercise their civic duty and to vote. And not only to vote, but to “Vote ’Em Out”!   [Read more…]

Democrats Challenge Republican Incumbents for Two of San Diego’s State Senate Seats

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San Diego County is represented in Sacramento by four Senators, three of whom face re-election this year.

The 40th District, including the southern part of the county and all of Imperial County, is represented by State Senator Ben Hueso. The incumbent Democrat’s general election contest is a repeat of the June 2018 primary, where Hueso won more than 60% of the vote.

Of more interest from a competitive standpoint are the 36th & 38th Districts where two Republican incumbents –Pat Bates and Joel Anderson–face vigorous opposition from Democratic candidates. A victory for either challenger would help negate the possibility of the GOP playing a strictly obstructionist role in the legislature.     [Read more…]

Why Electing Tony Thurmond as Superintendent of Public Instruction is the Most Important Race in California

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Here in California, we have seen that the Bloombergs, Waltons, Broads, and other self-proclaimed rich saviors of the world have not been satisfied just to meddle in the classroom through various forms of philanthrocapitalism, they have sought to impose their will by trying to buy elections.  Just last June an all-star crew of billionaires lost in their effort to turn California’s gubernatorial election into a proxy war over corporate education reform when Antonio Villaraigosa’s anti-union crusade for Governor fell flat with voters despite his donors’ considerable largesse.  

Unfortunately, while their millions were vanquished in that round, the bottomless wallet crowd still have one more key position that they are intent on purchasing this fall: the Superintendent of Public Instruction.  During the primary, I wrote two columns exposing the big money behind Marshall Tuck, which included not just the mega-rich corporate education crew, but also prominent Trump donors and other nefarious rightwing characters.  

Well, those folks are still funding Tuck and most knowledgeable political observers expect a race where Tuck’s money advantage over Assemblyman Tony Thurmond will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million to $3 million.  Thus, despite the support of the California Democratic Party, educators, labor, and a litany of community groups, it is essential that the grassroots mobilize to support Thurmond and spread the word about his candidacy in order to overcome this brazen attempt to buy the election.     [Read more…]

A Tale of Two Properties – Carlsbad at a Crossroads

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By Socrates Kanetakis

Carlsbad finds itself amidst a commercial rebirth; from the Barrio to Bressi, the sight of new mini-towns, condominiums, clothing stores and eateries is hard to miss. Aside from what these developments mean for traffic, sales taxes and for the daily “wow they are building everywhere” exclamations, they mostly affect two commodities: Land and energy.

Along the narrow stretch of the I5—between Canon and Tamarack—lie two examples of those commodities; the Encina power plant on one side and the vacant south shore of Agua Hedionda on the other. Although these parcels differ in terms of utility, they both face a similar future. One is being decommissioned and the other faces imminent “commission” of some—yet—undecided sort.

Seeing how the city will need both land and energy to accommodate its rising population and blooming commercial establishments, these two properties can and will need to be effectively utilized very soon; It’s all a matter of “how”?      [Read more…]

The Fearless Revolutionaries Who Made Voting Possible | Video Worth Watching

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From the Brave New Films YouTube page:

Do these badass revolutionaries a solid, and register to vote! They shed blood, sweat and tears so that we can shake some trees and vote to make a change. What are you waiting for? For more on how to register, go to www. nationalvoterregistrationday.org, and don’t forget to vote on Nov. 6!

For San Diego County voter registration info (where you can verify your registration status) visit San Diego County Registrar of Voters.   [Read more…]

Looking Back at the Week: September 23-29

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This week’s edition of Looking Back at the Week contains articles, commentaries, columns, and other work by San Diego Free Press regulars, irregulars, columnists, at-large contributors, and locally and nationally sourced writers on a petulant Kavanaugh and heroic Blasey Ford, general election ballot initiatives, education wars, Mark Bartlett, and lots of other grassroots news & progressive views from San Diego’s feisty, all volunteer, slightly funky, community news site.   [Read more…]

Jefferson Airplane – Volunteers (Live At Woodstock 1969) | Video Worth Watching

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R.I.P. Marty Balin (January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018). Marty Balin was one of the original founders of the Jefferson Airplane and in the early years was its signature voice. This YouTube clip features him performing “Volunteers” live at Woodstock in 1969. Rolling Stone obit: here; Washington Post: here.   [Read more…]

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