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Mental Health Professionals Strike at Kaiser Permanente

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By Doug Porter 

Protesting what they’re calling systematic under-staffing, 2,600 psychologists, therapists and social workers have called a week-long strike at Kaiser Permanente medical centers.

Organized by the National Union of Health Workers (NUHW), there are 65 picket lines in 35 California cities in responding to failed negotiations with the company.

Back in September, Kaiser agreed to a $4-million fine levied by state regulators. The Department of Managed Health Care found patients had excessively long wait times to get a therapy appointment, or were shuttled into groups when they wanted individual therapy.   [Read more…]

A Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party, San Diego Style

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By Doug Porter

Oh, the drama. As the dates approach for the Democratic party election in San Diego for delegates to the state party convention, a behind-the-scenes rebellion against the current party leadership is going on.

Steve Rivera, an event coordinator for the Interfaith Center for Worker Justice is challenging current party Chair Francine Busby,  Wounds within the party dating back to the Filner scandal and the Fletcher vs Alvarez contest have been re-opened.  Emotions are running high. Backroom caucuses are running late into the night.

Activists, disillusioned by what they perceive as ineffective leadership and a lack of support for progressive candidates and causes, are challenging the old guard. Based on what I’ve been able to piece together it appears (the vote isn’t until January 20th) the established leadership will weather the crisis. But the rebellion is, at a minimum, symbolic of the lack of faith many rank and file members have in the Democratic Party.   [Read more…]

National Campaign to Increase Minimum Wage Takes Aim at San Diego

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By Doug Porter

San Diego is one of seven cities selected by the national AFL-CIO for a long-term effort to concentrate political and economic actions aimed at making increasing the minimum wage an issue in the next presidential election.

The labor federation’s President Richard Trumka announced the nationwide campaign Wednesday during first National Summit on Raising Wages, held at  Gallaudet University Washington, District of Columbia. More than 300 activists and labor leaders along with thousands of other people watching a live stream video also heard speeches by Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

The AFL-CIO effort will kick off with statewide Raising Wages Summits in 2015 in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina, typically the first four presidential primary states.   [Read more…]

Behold! An Opportunity for San Diego Democrats to Get Their Act Together

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By Doug Porter
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Hours after members of its staff were murdered, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo brought its website back online with a “Je Suis Charlie” graphic, which has become the image of social media solidarity. (See story in column inside)
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Are you sick and tired of elected Democrats who don’t act like Democrats? Does the phrase “herding cats” come to mind when assemblypersons in Sacramento can’t even get it together on things like climate change? Are you tired of voting for lesser of two evils? Can I get an “Amen?”

Well, you’re in luck. With a small investment of time this weekend Democrats in San Diego can help select delegates to the state party convention, the body that makes endorsements ( a critical step in our top-two primary system) and writes the state party platform, among other things.

Today’s column will start off by telling you how to participate and where to get information on some of the choices available. Mind you, this election won’t fix everything wrong with the party of FDR, but it’s a start.   [Read more…]

Gov. Brown’s Legacy, DA Dumanis Forever and Human Rights in Mexico in the News

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By Doug Porter

There was a whole lotta swearing going on yesterday around California, as state and local officials took oaths promising to obey the constitution and whatever else it is they’re supposed to do. Today we’ll look at some of the promises made as politicians used the opportunity to talk about the future.

In Sacramento Gov. Jerry Brown made headlines, announcing a sweeping plan to address climate change. After taking the oath for his fourth and final term, Brown used his inaugural speech to proclaim that California must lead the way if the world is to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius.

In San Diego county supervisors Bill Horn and Ron Roberts were sworn in for their final term limited time. Also taking the oath were Sheriff Bill Gore, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Assessor/Recorder/Clerk Ernest Dronenburg, Jr., and Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister.   [Read more…]

Police Officer Associations and Racism: If the Shoe Fits….

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By Doug Porter

Television networks presented live coverage of the funeral for slain NYPD Officer Wenjian Liu on Sunday. As the ceremony was underway officers on the streets outside the funeral parlor turned their backs when New York Mayor Bill de Blasio appeared on  on streetside screens to give a eulogy.

Estimates of just how many officers participated in this protest varied, with some outlets saying a majority turned their backs and the New York Times reporting only “hundreds” involved. The rank and file NYPD action (many higher ups are political appointees) occurred despite a plea for no political statements from Liu’s widow.

As the snarky website Wonkette noted, a photographer documenting the situation was treated for “minor irony-induced whiplash” after being told by officers at the scene “You’re being very disrespectful walking around like that.”   [Read more…]

2014 Wrap Up: The Tide Turns on Rape Culture, Climate Change and Same Sex Marriage

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By Doug Porter

The term rape culture became mainstream in 2014. Practices and behavior in society excusing or otherwise tolerating sexual violence were exposed. Activists around the country took to the streets to push back. Examples, ranging from the callousness of the San Diego City Attorney’s office accusing a sexual assault victim of trying to bribe a police officer with her underwear to investigations into the widespread accommodation of rape in college fraternities, were given wide media coverage.

The ecological crisis facing the planet was another subject getting increased attention this year. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in New York and other cities, including San Diego, in September demanding action on man made climate change. Despite evidence supporting the impending dangers accumulated throughout the year, dirty energy apologists leveraged their economic and political resources, hoping to block actions limiting greenhouse gas in 2015.

Finally, there was some terrific news for a supporters of marriage equality this past year, as court decisions and legislatures rolled back restrictions on same sex marriage. These victories were a testament to the validity of persistent long term activism on many fronts as an effective strategy.

Welcome to Day Three of the Starting Line’s summation of 2014’s top stories. On Wednesday the focus was on challenges not met in San Diego. Yesterday I wrote about issues of economic and radial justice rising to the forefront of the local and national consciousness.   [Read more…]

Lessons Learned in 2014: #FightforFifteen and #Icantbreathe

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By Doug Porter

Welcome to Day Two of the Starting Line’s summation of 2014. Yesterday the focus was on challenges not met in San Diego. Today we’ll look at some serious challenges rising to the forefront of the local and national consciousness.

Struggles for economic justice and ending racism (re) emerged as serious issues over the past year, and there certainly is every indication they’ll remain at the forefront in 2015. Taking the long view, it seems as though in the past we’ve ended up in the past settling for half a loaf in these matters; the symptoms got treated but never the disease.

Promises of hope and change have run into the politics of “No.” Often the personification of that attitude is the Republican Party, a convenient diversion from the reality that the underlying attitudes are part of our national consciousness. Entitlement based on race, wealth and class are as American as apple pie. Passing laws and declarations by elected leaders can no longer be regarded as a substitute for changing our culture.   [Read more…]

Lessons Not Learned in 2014, Part One: Tourism and Law Enforcement

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By Doug Porter

Five days a week, fifty weeks out of the year I write about the news. Mostly I write about local stories. And what I’m always trying to do, in addition to sharing information, is to make sense of all these events from a progressive point of view.

For the rest of this week I’ll discuss stories deserving to be part of our understanding of how things actually work in San Diego. The fast breaking nature of news and information these days, I think, discourages taking the long view.

I propose a New Year’s Eve toast to the concept of having a local historical memory longer than that of a goldfish. May we someday get to the point where our public servants learn from past mistakes.   [Read more…]

Nightmares, Political Aspirations and Hope for 2015

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By Doug Porter

The good news about 2015 is that no elections are scheduled for San Diego. Last year saw three opportunities for people to express their preferences at the ballot box. By the time it was all over even hard core political junkies were disgusted.

I still have nightmares about the DeMaio/Peters contest… DeMaio coming out with a new app that will automatically block Democrats from his social media accounts. Peters announcing a hack that replaces DeMaio’s avatar with a picture of Dick Cheney… Being trapped in a room with TV screens blaring with Political Action Committee ads playing the darkest of music… Or worse, DeMaio winning… DeMaio grinning… [WAKE UP!]

Today I’ll engage in speculation based on rumor and innuendo, along with whispered words of advice from a bookie I used to know, about political personages and their likely impact in 2015, even if it doesn’t mean running for higher office..

Do not try this at home. This is for entertainment purposes only. And all stunts are by a professional driver on a closed course….   [Read more…]

End of the Year: Listicles of Made Up News, Brazen Lies and Centrist Propaganda

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By Doug Porter

The last few weeks of the year are like a black hole for journalists. Politicians and their media minders are on vacation. Celebrities aren’t doing celebrity stuff (unless they die). And research oriented organizations are waiting for the year to wrap up so their statistics can be complete.

This information void leads to stories with headlines like “Military Couple Relocates Wedding for Obama’s Golf Game” and airtime for a Fox News talking head speculating about confusion over the metric system as the cause of an AirAsia flight gone missing.

When stupidity won’t do the trick, stuff just gets made up, like the boy wonder featured in New York Magazine who claimed he’d made $72 million on Wall Street trades during his lunch hour at Stuyvesant High School. Or the story making the rounds on Facebook about the eight NYPD officers who were refused service in a Chipolte restaurant.   [Read more…]

A Dozen Organizations Doing Good Deeds in San Diego

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By Doug Porter

As our daily newspaper demonstrated yesterday with a full section detailing the efforts of over forty individuals and organizations, there’s no shortage of people in San Diego looking to do good things. What I’d like to do today is to cast a spotlight on some of the groups whose work in 2014 included advocacy for causes we hold near and dear.

Now is the time of year when many groups dependent on donations make their pleas, hoping to tap into the holiday feelings of goodwill and the promise of a tax deduction. While I’m sure that many of the groups mentioned today would be glad to accept donations, my intent here is to say thanks for their efforts.

This list represents only those organizations I am aware of or those that have reached out to SD Free Press in the past. I’m sure there are others, and please feel free to use the comments to enlighten our readers.   [Read more…]

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