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Three Press Conferences and One Lawsuit Later, Filner Stays Put

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By Doug Porter

It was quite the day yesterday.

Three, count ‘em, three press conferences about [insert your favorite ‘-gate’ adjective about Bob Fiber’s alleged behavior here].  I’ll review them in chronological order, which also mirror (I think) the impact each will have on San Diego in long run. And we’ll take a look at the virtual vigilantes running amok on the interwebs.

Council members Todd Gloria and Kevin Faulconer held a noon presser, as former Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña put it on Twitter,  complaining the scandal takes time away from doing city work by taking time away from city work to complain about scandal.” (See Andy Cohen’s coverage here)

What struck me about this bi-partisan whinefest wasn’t in the accompanying press release, which promised that the Earth would continue to orbit the sun, despite the presence of the monster living on the 11th floor of city hall.   [Read more…]

Blackfish: The Documentary Asking Questions SeaWorld Doesn’t Want You to Think About

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By Doug Porter

By the time the documentary film Blackfish opens on Friday (Hillcrest/ Landmark Theatres) the SeaWorld public relations campaign should be reaching a crescendo. The way I look at it, any film that provokes this kind of backlash prior to its release is worth checking out.

The questions raised in the movie, which builds a narrative about the captivity of orcas (also known as killer whales) around the death in 2010 of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, cut deeply into the wholesome public image that the mega chain of water /oceanariums /marine mammal parks seeks to promote.

While spokespeople with SeaWorld refused to cooperate in any way with Gabriela Cowperthwaite during filming, the resulting film is, by all accounts (including SeaWorld’s) a disturbing look at the living conditions of the nearly half of the world’s orcas in captivity owned by the company.   [Read more…]

Why Mayor Bob Filner Isn’t Going Anywhere

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This leads me to wonder if we’ll get to see Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez and Carl DeMaio side-by-side in a shopping center somewhere collecting signatures.

By Doug Porter

We’re into week two of the outrage centered on allegations of sexual harassment by San Diego’s Mayor and so far the score is Bob Filner 1, Accusers 0, Power Brokers 0.

Despite the calls for resignation, the certainty in the media that these charges bode ill for the city and the rumble of a recall election, Mayor Bob Filner remains firmly ensconced at City Hall.

Those hoping to shame hizzoner with sordid details and finger wagging have failed to comprehend his obstinacy.

It’s as if downtown is surreal rerun of the old TV game show Family Feud, with UT-SD hit man Trent Seibert filling in for Richard Dawson.  “Survey Says”, he proclaims loudly, “Resign!”  The lights and bells go off, the contestants jump up and down… and nothing happens.   [Read more…]

Terrorized by a Magazine Cover – Rolling Stone Magazine Banned in Boston

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By Doug Porter

Dating back to the days of the New England Watch and Ward Society, Boston has a (not so) proud history of banning publications deemed to be objectionable.  H.L. Mencken was arrested for selling a banned copy of his American Mercury magazine in 1926.  Lillian Smith’s novel,Strange Fruit which featured an interracial relationship, was banned.

Others proudly “Banned in Boston” included Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass), Eugene O’Neill (Desire Under the Elms), Sinclair Lewis (Elmer Gantry), Ernest Hemingway (The Sun Also Rises) and even the song “Wake Up Little Susie” by The Everly Brothers.

The banning agencies and tactics have varied over the years, but the results have usually been the same: “Banned in Boston” is a badge of honor for publishers and authors…

It’s day three of my Filner-less news roundups, prompted by a desire to make this website something more than All-Bob-All-The Time, and I’ve got to say it’s been tough. Tomorrow I unleash the Kraken    [Read more…]

ACLU Report Details Massive Domestic Data Collection; San Diego County Keeps It Forever

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By Doug Porter

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has released a report on the widespread use of domestic data tracking technology via automatic license plate readers. As with all such programs, potential privacy concerns have been suppressed by claims that this technology is keeping us safer.

A report earlier this year in San Diego’s City Beat explored the local implications of license plate readers, explaining that the average vehicle in the county has been scanned an average of 14 times. All this data is shared countywide and stored in a database maintained by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).  The FBI, DEA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also have access to these records.

It’s day two of my Filner-less news roundups, prompted by a desire to make this website something more than All-Bob-All-The Time, and I’ve got to say it’s been tough. One more day, I keep telling myself..just.one.more.day…
  [Read more…]

La Jolla Seals Make it into City Council District 2 Campaign

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By Doug Porter

As City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer fades into the sunset (or not, if he runs for Mayor in a recall election), things are starting heat up in the race to find his replacement.

Current Councilmember Lori Zapf, whose residence was moved into the redrawn district boundaries, is the best known candidate, bringing along the advantages of her incumbency in D6 and the support of the local conservative establishment.

But challenger Ed Harris is about to get some attention, even if it’s of the unwanted type. A group lead by activist Bryan Pease is opposing his candidacy on the grounds of Harris’ past statements and actions about the La Jolla seals, along with other stances they consider anti-environmental.

Harris, who is currently a San Diego lifeguard, appeared at numerous meetings of the City Council and Coastal Commission opposing plans to allow a rope barrier to encourage a safe viewing distance.

There are few issues that have raised more passions in the community in recent years than the treatment of the ever increasing number of harbor seals hanging around the Children’s Pool Beach.

This story was updated at 12:45pm on Tuesday

NOTE: In an attempt to keep this site from being All Bob Filner All the Time, I am leaving coverage to others for a few days. There are no bets riding on this promise.   [Read more…]

Stick a Fork in It, Mayor Bob Filner is ‘Toast’. Or is He?

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By Doug Porter
11:45am- UPDATED to include today’s press conference.

The ‘too many words…too few facts!’ phase of the allegations of sexual harassment aimed at San Diego’s Mayor Bob Filner is ending today, as more specifics are emerging. Whether we like it not, whether it’s fair or not, it appears to me that hizzoner’s political career is ending.

Bob Filner, however, doesn’t think so. The Mayor released a statement this morning announcing that he would not resign and that Walt Ekard, former county administrator has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer for the City of San Diego.

“I’m not going to resign, and here’s why,” said Filner in a press release. “As your elected mayor, I fully expect to be accountable to the citizens of San Diego for all of my actions.  But as a citizen of this country, I also expect – and am entitled to – due process, and the opportunity to respond in a fair and impartial venue to specific allegations.  I do not believe I am guilty of sexual harassment, and I believe a full presentation of the facts will vindicate me.,”

The saga of Mayor Filner’s fall from grace has provided me with a lot of food for thought.  Feelings of betrayal brought on by each new revelation/allegation are countered by anger at the smarmy triumphalism of evil people eager to exploit the failings of one human being in their quest for political and economic hegemony.   [Read more…]

Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Congressman Scott Peters Faces a Tough Reelection Battle

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By Doug Porter

It’s hard to imagine why anybody would want the job of Congressman these days, let alone mount an early balls-to-the wall campaign for the job, but Republican Carl DeMaio is taking no chances. After all, the legislative body is less popular than cockroaches, having passed a mere 15 pieces of legislation so far this year.

This week the former City Councilman and failed Mayoral candidate spent a day trumpeting the fact he’d raised nearly half a million dollars for his campaign in one month.   [Read more…]

Another Zombie Voter Story Bites the Dust

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By Doug Porter

One of the central themes of right wing activism since 2008 has been responding to allegations of voter fraud with increasingly difficult “voter id laws”.  Actual voter fraud cases are hard to come by, so allegations are used instead to drum up concern.

One of the most outrageous claims during the 2012 election cycle was made by Kevin Schwedo, the director of South Carolina’s Department of Motor Vehicles, who said on January 11, 2012, that more than 950 residents were recorded as having cast a vote after their reported death date.

Republican Rep. Alan Clemmons was quoted during a legislative hearing on the matter, saying, “We must have certainty in South Carolina that zombies aren’t voting.”  And that’s all it took for the zombie voter meme to take off with the right wing media.

INSIDE: FILIBUSTER FIGHT? FILNER’s FIRST LADY IS NO MORE, BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A FIRE ENGINE?   [Read more…]

If the Story Was “Mayor Walks on Water”, the UT-San Diego Headline Would be “Filner Can’t Swim”

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The Watchdog Yips at the New Public Library

By Doug Porter

It really is true that no stone can be left unturned in UT-San Diego’s quest to denigrate Mayor Bob Filner. This week’s “Watchdog” example involves a reporter with a questionable background, a moving company and an abysmal level of ignorance on the subject of libraries.

For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with such things, the main branch of San Diego’s Public Library is moving into a new building. Not only are collections and reference materials long-buried in the bowels of the old building being cleaned up and rediscovered, additional genealogy collections from archives throughout the region are being merged into the new facility.

Moving the contents of the old location into the new digs is a huge task, and it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that a company specializing in such tasks was retained to handle the job.  After all, you wouldn’t want two guys and a moving van moving a collection that includes thousands of rare resource materials, many of them unique to the region.   [Read more…]

Pumping Up Filner’s Flaps for Fun and Profit

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By Doug Porter

City Councilman Kevin Faulconer joined the flail on Filner fray today with a UT-San Diego op-ed chock full of the sort of doom and gloom spin that would do Karl Rove proud.

‘The sky is falling!’ He says, ‘The streets are full of potholes!’ And…(my favorite)… ‘Bankruptcy looms!’

Yes indeed, citizens, Faulconer tells us, the Mayor’s ‘Bullying’ is taking a harsh toll at City Hall.  You, the people, are ‘unheard victims’.

Gosh, it sure is coincidental about how the word ‘bullying’ (used in the print edition headline) has been showing up on the GOP’s playlist lately.

Is the Mayor feuding with smaller sized children? Has he actually threatened anybody with harm? Are the ‘victims’ of this maniacal madman weak and defenseless?   [Read more…]

July 4th: Stand by the Fourth Amendment

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I’m taking today off. Unless we all stand up and say something, we have no chance of changing the government’s schemes for ‘protecting us’.

They say this is what people are asking for in the name of stopping ‘terrorists’, because ‘everybody knows’ creating a massive data sucking intelligence industrial complex is our only hope.

Mostly I’ll be hanging out with my family today. But I’ll take an hour or so so today to make a statement about what liberty needs to look like in the future. There’s a rally in Balboa Park at 11am.

Thousands of websites are participating in a July 4 online protest against the NSA surveillance programs. Reddit, Wordpress, and Mozilla are taking part in the ‘Restore the Fourth’ campaign online. ‘Restore the Fourth’ is aimed at restoring the fundamentals of the Fourth Amendment – the part of the Bill of Rights which protects citizens against unlawful searches and seizures.   [Read more…]

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