San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

You are here: Home / Archives for Columns

Proposition 39 – Why You Should Vote Yes on the Most Boring Proposition on the 2012 Ballot

by

Proposition 39 would eliminate the ability of companies to choose between two methods to calculate their taxable income in California and require them to use sales only for the calculation.  Estimated revenue, per the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, would be more than $1 billion annually with $500 – $550 million being earmarked for clean energy and energy efficiency projects for five years.

The proposition would also increase education funding in the state due to higher total tax revenues and the corresponding increase in the amount of education spending required by Proposition 98.  The increase in school funding is estimated between $200 and $500 million for five years and from $500 million to over $1 billion from 2018-19 into the future.
  [Read more…]

The Starting Line — DeMaio TV Ad: Now He’s Running as an Independent

by

The ad says, “For Carl DeMaio, independence is not a label, it’s his life story.”

Talk about your makeovers.  Perhaps he’s taking a cue from the Romney campaign and trying to humanize his image. Maybe somebody in his operation has actually drilled down into the polling numbers and realized that whoever wins San Diego’s mayoral contest is going to have to reach beyond party lines. Or possibly his advisors think people were turned off by his negative advertising in the primary race.  Whatever.

The first round of video from the DeMaio campaign emerged yesterday with a thirty second ad that seeks to remold “Fighting Carl” into “Mr. Rogers”, the iconic TV host who became known as a symbol of compassion and patience as he explained the world to children through the eyes of his neighborhood. It was jaw dropping.

Crusader Carl, the guy who we saw leading the angry masses against the forces of evil at City Hall, is now recast as a kinder, gentler Carl, who, with a song in his heart and a smile on his face, joyfully strolling with a wave of humanity towards a new day. And the irony here is that the ‘new, softer Carl’ ad is using some of the same footage as the ‘onward Christian soldiers’ commercials from the primary season.
  [Read more…]

The Path To Political Power in District 9 – The City Heights Vote

by

An ongoing conversation about voter eligibility, voter registration, voter turnout and fistfuls of dollars

“…a key characteristic of a democracy is the continued responsiveness of the government to the preferences of its citizens, considered as political equals. …In a political system where nearly every adult may vote but where knowledge, wealth, social position, access to officials, and other resources are unequally distributed, who actually governs?” Robert Dahl

Will the establishment of the new ninth district translate into a greater voice in civic affairs and political power for the minority populations who reside in the district? Will City Heights be ground zero for addressing the enormous gap between race and political power? I don’t think any of us living here think the path to democratic governance, and that’s what we are really talking about, will be an easy one.   [Read more…]

Prop 36: Amending California’s “Three Strikes” Law

by

Adjusting sentencing guidelines under three strikes will help alleviate prison overcrowding and help California’s budget.

In 1994, California voters approved a law that was rather revolutionary in its time……as Californians are wont to do. We’re trendsetters in that way. The purpose of the “three strikes” law was a noble one: Deter violent crime—particularly from repeat offenders—by making each subsequent conviction even more costly.

According to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, under the original 1994 law, a felon with two prior serious or violent convictions who is subsequently convicted of a third—his or her “third strike”—would be subject to a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life imprisonment. Even a second strike conviction would carry a sentence that is double the term that would otherwise be required by law.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Grand Opening Set for San Diego’s Public Market; Last County Pot Shop Shuttered

by

San Diego’s Public Market is now slated to open for business at 1735 National Ave on Wednesday, September 12th ,when the first local farmers open up their stalls at 9am. Work on the property is in full swing, and the permits needed to operate are reportedly moving through the city’s bureaucracy. The farmers’ market will run from9 a.m. until2 p.m. each Sunday and Wednesday thereafter. Other parts of the market will be phased in over the coming months.

Operators Dale Steele and Catt White are ultimately seeking to convert the two acres of industrial space into an open bazaar inspired by such celebrated marketplaces as Barcelona’s La Boqueria, and Pike’s Place in Seattle. Independent vendors selling fresh produce, artisan foods, locally-crafted goods and more are expected to set up shop.
…
  [Read more…]

Romney to hurricane victims: Bootstrap it, call 211

by

By Kit-Bacon Gressitt / Excuse Me, I’m Writing

Following his lackluster speech at the Republican National Convention in Florida last week, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney reportedly went off script Friday to make what appeared to be a well-scripted campaign stop in the Hurricane Isaac-flooded town of Jean Lafitte in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

Some news media outlets suggested the trip was an opportunity for Romney to appear presidential while comforting flood victims and praising emergency responders, but an unnamed campaign advisor contradicted that interpretation.   [Read more…]

What Republicans Don’t Want You To Know About Medicare

by

According to Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, President Obama is taking $716 billion away from Medicare and giving it to Obamacare. No he’s not. We attempt to set the record straight. The crux of the matter has to do with what’s called Medicare Advantage which is a privatized version of Medicare. Neither side will use the word privatization, but in a nutshell that’s what this issue is all about. That $716 billion represents a pushback by the Obama administration against the forces of privatization which have been at work against government run Medicare for years.

In 1997 our old friend, Newt Gingrich, established the privatization camel’s nose under the tent of traditional Medicare with the Balanced Budget Act which included a provision for something called  Medicare+Choice, the precursor to Medicare Advantage. This act let private health care companies compete with traditional government run Medicare. This was step 1 in the privatization of Medicare.

  [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Looking Forward to the Democratic and Backwards at the Republican Convention

by

Well here we are. August is behind us, the Republicans have had their Convention and the Democrats are getting ready to put their show on in Charlotte over the course of this week.  Today, we’ll recap the GOP’s moments of glory/shame/ennui and preview the Dems’ coming convo and its likely movements of glory/shame/ennui.

Political conventions have morphed over the years from wildly unpredictable and chaotic drinking binges into highly scripted and predictable drinking binges. Much of the public is bored with the process, as steadily declining ratings on broadcast/cable and an ever-shrinking window of prime time coverage will attest. The quadrennial gatherings have much more to do with firing up the faithful (and the financial moguls who seek to gain influence) than actually winning over the undecided or unmotivated masses.

___________________________________________________________
Election Coverage in the San Diego Free Press starts officially today. Check in daily for more coverage, plus you can subscribe to our coverage and get articles sent directly to your inbox. And we’ll publish at least one (maybe more) voter’s guides, with links to everything, and a handy-dandy cheat sheet.  Be sure to read the comments after each story, as our readers have lots of good stuff to say, even when they are wrong…
___________________________________________________________
  [Read more…]

No More ‘Wisconsin’ in the West: Why We Must Defeat Proposition 32

by

 It’s Citizens United on Steroids, a Bill of Rights for Billionaires

Last week, I addressed how the Governor’s tax measure was needed to stop the cuts to education and vital public services.  The passage of Proposition 30 would indeed help California begin to turn the corner and finally stop the hemorrhaging of our education system.  But where the passage of Proposition 30 would bring hope, the passage of Proposition 32, on the other hand, would kill it.

Proposition 32, the Special Exemptions Act, is a corporate power grab that would totally eliminate unions’ ability to take part in politics while leaving the rich, corporate special interests, and Super PACs untouched.  It is Citizens United on Steroids, a Bill of Rights for Billionaires that would permanently eliminate working peoples’ voices from California politics.  At present, corporate interests already outspend unions by nearly 15-1.  What Proposition 32 would do is transform the political contest in California, where the privileged are already playing with a stacked deck, into a hopelessly rigged game.   [Read more…]

How About Some Soul Power?

by

I don’t know why, considering that the party always makes me feel like an extreme outsider, but I thought I’d look in on the Republican Convention. I tuned in just as Clint Eastwood was doing what seemed like a Comedy Club routine, acting like he was listening to an imaginary Barack Obama who was badmouthing Mitt Romney. We were to guess what the Prez said via Clint responding: “He can’t do that to himself. You’re absolutely crazy!” Well, you saw it.

  [Read more…]

Generating Photovoltaic Solar Power Close to the End Consumer

by

By Frank Thomas

This article is a continuation of the series on PV power generation. Previous articles were Learning from the Cascading Power Failures that Brought Down the Power Grid in India by Deb Severson and Power to the People or Power to the Corporations by John Lawrence.

The evidence is substantial that distributed local PV power plants have the lowest transmission loss and cost as well CO2 pollution footprint of all available energy sources. In Germany, more than 98% of all PV power plants are decentralized.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Technology breakthrough at UT-San Diego allows website to post news before it happens

by

Local Public Radio reporter Katie Orr was the first to spot the new technology in use yesterday, but failed to grasp its significance when she tweeted at 2:50 pm about the story up at the UT-San Diego’s website: “Is it me, or is this story confusing? It makes it sound like Romney’s already given his speech, which happens at 7 PST”.  Others, including local scribe Seth Hall, noticed another story posted Thursday morning featuring a photograph and video of lightning in the East County with a headline and lede indicating that the images were captured on Thursday evening.

Of course, what really happened in the first instance was that editors in Mission Valley had jumped the gun, running an Associated Press story written by reporters with access to an advance copy of Romney’s speech.   [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry