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100,000 Diapers Needed; Here’s How You Can Help – Progressive Activist Calendar November 17-27, 2017

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We’re headed into a holiday week, and let’s face it, doing something positive locally in light of what’s happening elsewhere is a good idea. I promised Ironworker Johnny Swanson I’d support the diaper drive this year. So, ripped from the pages of Facebook, the pitch begins below… 

“One in three American moms struggles to provide clean diapers for her children. Food stamps and WIC programs do not cover diapers and families are often forced to make tough decisions because they can’t afford to buy diapers.

Last year, the San Diego Building & Construction Trades Council, inspired by the leadership of Ironworkers Local 229 Organizer Johnny Swanson and Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher’s Annual Holiday Diaper Drive, decided to step up and see how many diapers we could collect from our members, contractors, allies, and friends, to support the families struggling in our communities. We collected over 75,000 diapers (!!!) and were able to kickstart the creation of the San Diego Diaper Bank, which is now housed in the San Diego Food Bank.   [Read more…]

San Diego’s Cruelty Toward Homelessness Must Stop – Progressive Activist Calendar November 10 – 20, 2017

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Oh, San Diego: just how low can you go? How about shutting down a church-based program to feed the hungry right before the holidays? Or making it illegal for charitable groups to feed the homeless? Or trying to arrest your way out of the problem?

According to Fox 5 News, the La Jolla town council is demanding the Mary Star of the Sea church put an end to the nine year old ‘So Others May Eat’ program of feeding homeless and low-income people. And pastor Jim Rafferty agreed, saying “I don’t want to be known as the pastor that brought Hepatitis to La Jolla.”

The El Cajon City Council has bought into the idea that harassing homeless humans will make the problem go away, passing an emergency ordinance prohibiting food distribution on any city-owned property. Hundreds of activists from throughout the region will be converging on Wells Park on November 19 & 25 to test the city’s willingness to enforce this law.   [Read more…]

Saturday’s Antifa Apocalypse Won’t Be Televised – Progressive Activist Calendar, November 3 – 13, 2017

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Conspiracy nuts want you to be very afraid. Credit: Pixabay Saturday’s Antifa apocalypse won’t be televised… …mostly because no such thing is happening. It’s phony, ginned up, and publicized by the usual suspects in conspiracy circles. Those unfortunate enough to be exposed to Faux News and other fearmongering outlets have heard a lot in recent […]

Dumanis & The Cesspool of Local Politics – Progressive Activist Calendar October 27 – November 6, 2017

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As hard as it may be to take our eyes off the train wreck happening in Washington DC, there are significant local developments worthy of our attention this week.

Court papers filed by the lawyer for Mexican businessman Jose Susumo Azano Matsura this week claim former DA Bonnie Dumanis knew he was a foreign citizen and legally barred from funding her 2012 mayoral campaign, yet sought his money anyway.

Attorney Knut Johnson contended both Dumanis and her campaign fundraiser Kelli Maruccia embarked on an “unrelenting solicitation of campaign funds from Mr. Azano and his company knowing he was a foreign national,” in a 25-page memo arguing against prison for his client.
  [Read more…]

California’s Combustible Climate Change Crisis + Progressive Activist Calendar, October 20 – 31

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It’s the time of year when the smell of smoke in the air makes many of us afraid. The Santa Ana (Southern California) and (Northern California) Diablo winds become more frequent in October, with humidity and the temperature rising and falling through each week.

Our state’s “fire season” used to run from June to October is now a year-round threat due to a mixture of perennial drought and increasing development near canyons and on hillsides surrounded by brush and forest.

The fossil fuel apologists running our government and their compatriots in the echo chamber otherwise known as Fox News have waved away meaningful discussion about the connections between climate change, wildfires in the west, and hurricanes in the Atlantic.

“It’s too soon,” they say, mimicking the approach used by the National Rifle Association and their toadies after every mass shooting.   [Read more…]

The National Nightmare Continues – Progressive Activist Calendar – October 13-23, 2017

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“The only thing that is reliable and dependable about Trump is that he’s unreliable and not dependable”–GOP Lobbyist Ed Rogers

A checklist of the Trump administration’s accomplishments the week:

** Raised the possibility of using executive power to critical media…   [Read more…]

It’s Helter Skelter Time in Trumpland, Plus – Progressive Activist Calendar October 6-16, 2017

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It must feel as though the walls are closing in at the White House. And the President’s responses go way beyond Twitter.

CNN reports Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team met with Christopher Steele, the former MI-6 officer whose dossier on alleged Russian involvement with the Trump campaign triggered months of investigations. Steele was reportedly willing to name his heretofore secret sources.

Politico reported on GOP donors, frustrated with the lack of accomplishments, closing their wallets. Contributions to the National Republican Senatorial Committee have fallen by 50% in recent months. The President took time out from his Las Vegas photo ops to meet with top donor Sheldon Adelson, who reportedly was unhappy about what’s not going on.   [Read more…]

Kevin’s Katrina – The ‘Good News’ Flows As the Homeless Crisis Grows – Progressive Activist Calendar September 29-October 9, 2017

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If you happen to live in or visit one of the neighborhoods surrounding the East Village, you’ve no doubt noticed an influx of homeless humans in the past few days.

San Diego’s been getting an increasing amount of negative publicity about the epidemic of Hepatitis A. Based on what I’ve seen this week, the City’s response has been two-fold:

  • Hire some new faces for public relations purposes
  • Send large squads of police to disperse homeless encampments

    •   [Read more…]

    Homeless Tents for La Jolla and Rancho Penasquitos? Progressive Activist Calendar September 22-30, 2017

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    The consequences of years of neglect are now giving America’s Finest City’s reputation a beating as San Diego’s homeless crisis continues to unfold.

    The Hepatitis A epidemic, long predicted as a consequence of the city’s failure to recognize the necessity of public restroom facilities, has claimed 16 lives and over 400 hundred people have fallen ill with the disease.

    I don’t think the Mayor and his advisors get it yet. Given that his office has time to play political games with this situation, perhaps it’s time to start some serious advocacy for tents in some neighborhoods with enough clout to be heard at City Hall.

    Maybe it’s time to start discussing tents for Ranchos Penasquitos, La Jolla, maybe even Kensington, somewhere up near Chamber CEO and former Mayor Jerry Sanders’ home.   [Read more…]

    UPDATED: Do You Really Want to Pay More for Dirtier Electricity? – Progressive Calendar September 15-25, 2017

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    Here comes the blizzard of baloney* from defenders of San Diego Gas & Electric.

    City News Service reports a coalition of business and civic leaders are now working to undermine Community Choice Energy (CCE) programs.

    CCEs –where power is purchased by public entities– across the state offer electricity with significantly more renewable content and comparable or lower costs. Customers can choose to stay with the status quo, if wanted.

    The ‘Clear the Air Coalition’ would like to halt the move toward the cheaper, cleaner, and locally generated electricity in San Diego because of “uncertainties.”   [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…]

    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…]

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