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The Starting Line – Both California Senators Blocking Filibuster Reform

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Two of the leaders of the effort to reform Senate filibuster rules, Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Tom Udall of New Mexico, are now saying that 48 senators have confirmed their support for making the filibuster a real, talking filibuster. Further, all 48 have committed to reforming the filibuster by using the “constitutional option”—that is, by changing the rules of the Senate with a simple majority of 50 votes plus the Vice President.

There are seven Democratic members of the Senate who have not yet committed to reforming the filibuster in this way: Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein of California, Carl Levin of Michigan, Max Baucus of Montana, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
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Inside.. The UT’s Gospels of Fear and Falsehoods, Gun Control Proposal, Nurses United and much more…   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Qualcomm Under Fire, Al Jazeera’s Growing, and Birthers Run Amok

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The UT-SD reports today (on its front page, even!) about a lawsuit naming Qualcomm filed in New York state seeking to force more corporate disclosure about spending on political activities.

While the 2010 ‘Citizens United’ case ruling by Supreme Court said that the First Amendment prohibited the government from limiting political spending by corporations, this lawsuit take a distinctly different approach to corporate political activity. It seeks disclosure on the basis of shareholder’s need to know about management activities in publicly held companies…
Al Jazeera’s acquisition of Current TV is potentially good news for American news consumers. I am an absolute advocate of including the foreign press in my mix of daily news, and find it refreshing that not everybody feels the need to hew to the ‘meme du jour’ touted by the largely conservative domestic press…
The WorldNetDaily has long served as an editorial refuge for Teahadists, Birthers and others of the wingnut persuasion. A measure of their desperation following Democratic victories in the fall elections comes from regular contributor Craige McMillan, who’s published an ‘open letter’ calling on Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to refuse to administer the oath of office to President Obama later this month…

All this & more in our extra meaty Friday edition of The Starting Line….

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The Starting Line – Congressman Darrell Issa’s Loose Lips Helping to Sink the GOP’s Ship

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North San Diego’s Congressional Representative Darrell Issa’s making the news this week as his vote against the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (also known as the fiscal cliff bill) and his support of Speaker John Boehner’s decision to adjourn without taking up a disaster relief bill has come under fire.

The Washington-based Media Matters group cited Issa as an example of media malfeasance in reporting on the so-called ‘fiscal-cliff’ negotiations over the past week, noting that the Congressman was given ample air time to attack the pending deal without mentioning his personal financial interest…

Meanwhile, over at CNN this morning Rep. Peter King (R-NY) lashed out at Issa, for defending Speaker Boehner’s decision to adjourn Tuesday night before taking up the Sandy relief package. Issa also denounced the bill as being “packed” with pork.

(Yes, I’m back from vacation. Come on inside to read more GOP horror stories)   [Read more…]

Hope Abounds at Ramona Unified School District

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by Dave Patterson

It might be the season of hope that is guiding the decision makers at RUSD because the employees, Administration and School Board seem collectively unified in the idea that the only way out of the looming fiscal mess is to pass a school bond that has failed 5 times previously. It’s good that they are unified because they need to resolve some pressing issues very soon, or the school district will be in the red as soon as 2013. It’s not good that they are unified because they seem unable or unwilling to see what is really happening, a slow degradation of our school system to pay off a ballooning debt.

There are a couple of constants that I consider when pondering the future of our school system. 1. No amount of employee sacrifices can fix the long-term debt wave that is engulfing the school district. 2. The district cannot default on the loan made by the previous school board, and the bondholders will get their money. 3. The district can either pass a school bond that has failed 5 times in a row, or surrender the school district to the state.   [Read more…]

Unionized Teachers, So Vilified By the Right, Are the Heroes of Sandy Hook

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Friday morning at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., teachers and school staff were the first first responders. Teachers got their students into bathrooms and closets, teachers kept their students calm, and some teachers lost their lives. Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach are described as having run toward the shooting as Adam Lanza forced his way into the school. First-grade teacher Victoria Soto was killed after hiding her students in a closet; fellow teachers Anne Marie Murphy and Lauren Rousseau and behavioral therapist Rachel D’Avino were also killed. But it wasn’t just those who died who protected their students on Friday.

On this day, this was their job, to lock classrooms and cover windows and crowd children into bathrooms and closets and …   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Source: NRA Comeback on Gun Control Will Be Assault on First Amendment

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Five days after the shooting deaths in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, the National Rifle Association public relations machine emerged from its bunker, promising a press conference on Friday “to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again.”

Despite public defections by usually supportive legislators over the past week, it seems unlikely to me that NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre will offer up any proposals weakening that groups’ rigid stance that virtually all legislative efforts to regulate firearms are attacks on American Freedom.

It’s more likely the NRA will fight back against calls for legislation banning assault type rifles and large ammo clips, using the “best defense is a strong offense”

More on this story inside…

(Psst- The Starting Line will be taking a break for the holidays. See you next year.)   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Mayor Calls San Diego Summit in Response to Sandy Hook Shooting

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Mayor Bob Filner, along with representatives from the San Diego Police Department and San Diego Unified, hosted a sit-down yesterday to talk about local responses and precautions in the wake of Friday’s school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

The Mayor cited his own struggle over talking with his two grandchildren about the Sandy Hook tragedy as being a motivation for calling the meeting. Police Chief William Landsdowne mentioned his opposition to legal assault weapons as the video tape from NBCNews7 rolled, quickly qualifying his statement as being a political matter not necessarily germane to the matters at hand.

A video monitoring system installed throughout San Diego schools over the past couple of years will now be interfaced with laptops in police cars, giving them the ability to see situations in real time as they respond to a situation. One thousand cameras are in place, covering hallways, lunchrooms, offices and building exteriors, according to SDUSD police Lieutenant Joe Florentino.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Potential Supremes Gay Rights Rulings Reverberate

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The decision by the Supreme Court on Friday to hear arguments on two cases relevant to gay rights (Defense of Marriage Act & Calif. Proposition 8) continues to reverberate around the United States. Although no decision is likely until early next summer, talking heads around the nation used the weekend press to contemplate the likely outcomes and their potential impact.

The San Francisco Chronicle highlighted the nervousness many have about any potential decision. The New York Times marveled at the speed that same sex marriage issues were moving through the courts, noting that other major issues had often taken decades to get a hearing. And many newspapers around the country featured articles about couples in Washington State flocking to get married now that a voter approved law is in effect.   [Read more…]

Combine and Conquer: SDSU’s Department that Produces Multi-Cultural and Bilingual Special Educators Is on the Chopping Block

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By Remigia (Remy) Bermúdez/Special to the SDFP

Last semester at San Diego State University there was a big brouhaha within the College of Education (CoE) about consolidating the Special Education Department (SPED) and the Department of Policy Studies in Language and Cross-Cultural Education (PLC). A united front resulted in both departments remaining autonomous from each other and in full force on their own within the CoE.

Six months later, however, the future of the PLC department is again at risk and appears to be on the chopping block. This reversal is indicative of SDSU’s lack of commitment to the largest populations it serves and a total disconnect from the community and societal needs in this binational border region.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line—1000 Walmart Black Friday Protests Starting Early

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Protests aimed at disrupting Black Friday sales events at Walmart stores around the country began yesterday with walk-outs at a number of stores and the promise of more actions in the lead-up to what is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year.

Employees at six Seattle area Walmart stores walked off the job yesterday, protesting what they say is low pay, too few hours and retaliation by managers against workers who speak out. Another walkout is in progress at a warehouse supply location in Mira Loma, California and picket lines are in place this morning at a Walmart store in Dallas, Texas.

Inside: Dave Roberts In at County Supes, Tony Young Out at City Council, SDEA Recall Petitions Filed, IB Parents Cry Foul

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Sex In San Diego: Inside the New Hipster Megachurch that Tells Modern Women to Submit

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In the nation’s fastest-growing megachurch, Mars Hill Church, faith and feminism don’t mix.

By Alison Sargent / Bitch Magazine via Alternet

When Jess came to the University of Washington as a freshman, she was a feminist economics major whose postcollege goal was to land a position at an organization dedicated to social entrepreneurship. Now in her early 20s and just a few years out of college, she is married, looking forward to a life as a homemaker, and involved full-time at the Seattle-based Mars Hill Church, one of the hippest, fastest-growing, and most conservative evangelical churches in the nation.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Foreclosure Notification Ordinance Passes City Council on Party Line Vote.

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After more than a year of organizing and agitating, including protests at local bank branches, activists have succeeded in winning City Council approval of an ordinance requiring registration of foreclosed homes in San Diego.

A coalition including the Center on Policy Initiatives, ACCE, the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, AFSCME and many others fighting bank foreclosure blight in San Diego neighborhoods was on hand last night as the City Council voted 5-3, splitting along party lines with Republicans opposed, to enact the Property Value Protection ordinance.

Walmart Walkouts Redux, Education ‘Reformers’ Lose Elections, Bigotry on Parade

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