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Audits? we don’t need no stinkin’ audits!

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by Norma Damashek/NumbersRunner

I’ve been working on a new informal series called WHAT SAN DIEGO DOESN’T NEED.  Here’s the first installment, to be followed by short pieces on other things our city doesn’t need, like Newspaper? we don’t need no stinkin’ newspaper…no stinkin’ pensions…stinkin’ lawsuits…scandals…moral terpitude…and so on.

Today it’s audits.

My mother introduced me to audits when I was a child by way of specific instructions on how to deal with the outside world.  It was the ordinary dose of Be careful crossing the street and Don’t talk to strangers — until one day she catapulted me into a grey zone of ‘little white lies’ with a new caveat: Honey, whenever anyone asks what daddy does for a living don’t say bookie. Say he’s an auditor…just say he does hotel audits.   [Read more…]

No Accountability for Torturers

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By Marjorie Cohn

The Obama administration has closed the books on prosecutions of those who violated our laws by authorizing and conducting the torture and abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody. Last year, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that his office would investigate only two incidents, in which CIA interrogations ended in deaths. He said the Justice Department “has determined that an expanded criminal investigation of the remaining matters is not warranted.” With that decision, Holder conferred amnesty on countless Bush officials, lawyers and interrogators who set and carried out a policy of cruel treatment.

Now the attorney general has given a free pass to those responsible for the deaths of Gul Rahman and Manadel al-Jamadi. Rahman froze to death in 2002 after being stripped and shackled to a cold cement floor in the secret Afghan prison known as the Salt Pit. Al-Jamadi died after he was suspended from the ceiling by his wrists which were bound behind his back. MP Tony Diaz, who witnessed al-Jamadi’s torture, said that blood gushed from his mouth like “a faucet had turned on” when he was lowered to the ground. A military autopsy concluded that al-Jamadi’s death was a homicide.

Nevertheless, Holder said that “based on the fully developed factual record concerning the two deaths, the department has declined prosecution because the admissible evidence would not be sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.”   [Read more…]

The Starting Line — Bubba-licious: Clinton Schools Republicans with Arithmetic, History

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“Now, people ask me all the time how we got four surplus budgets in a row. What new ideas did we bring to Washington? I always give a one-word answer: arithmetic.”

 Former President Bill Clinton took the stage at the Democratic National Convention last night and systematically dismembered the Republican Party’s memes, schemes and misrepresentations that make up the body of their work in building a case against the Obama administration and for electing the men at the top of their ticket. In a fifty minute speech that strayed significantly from the version released in advance to the press, the former chief executive effectively used all the rhetorical skills in his arsenal to argue for another four years of Democratic control of the White House.

I have plenty of reservations about Bill Clinton’s tenure as President; his role in de-regulation of the financial industry and his shortsightedness about the repercussions of NAFTA immediately come to mind. But when it comes to his ability to mount a political offensive, nobody in recent memory can top the combination of ah-shucks populism and wonk-like command of facts that was on display last night.   [Read more…]

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

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

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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.
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Mexican-American Activist Groups and ACLU Run Into Stone Wall at Escondido City Hall

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ACLU Opens up Office to Educate and Mobilize Latino Voters

This Friday, September 7th, up in northern San Diego County in the City of Escondido, there will be a ribbon-cutting celebration of the opening of a pedestrian plaza. At this event welcoming the Maple Street Pedestrian Plaza, there will be musical entertainment and the official crowning of the King and Queen of the Grape Day Festival.

On the City’s official website, the new Plaza is advertised as:

“a destination for people of all ages to sit and relax, visit local businesses or engage with members of the community in a vibrant public space.”

It’s interesting that city officials are pushing the plaza as a “vibrant public space” because the whole issue of public space – and free speech – within the City of Escondido has become a contentious one recently, as Mexican-American advocacy organizations and other groups are finding it tough to actually get to use that very public space so glorified in this official ad.   [Read more…]

Prop 34: “Yes” Means We’ll Never Execute An Innocent Person

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By Carolyn Zellander

This November, Californians will their first opportunity in more than 30 years to abolish the death penalty. Last April, Proposition 34, also known as the Savings, Accountability, and Full Enforcement for California Act (SAFE California), qualified for the November Ballot. If approved by voters, the new law will convert sentences of death row inmates to life in prison without the possibility of parole.   [Read more…]

‘Deferred Action’ and Work Permits: New Immigration Rat Trap?

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By Carlos Batara

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Over the past two weeks, my immigration law offices, probably like many others, has received tons of calls regarding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Most callers’ interests are very low. They only want to know if they qualify for deferred action . . . and, of course, employment authorization.

To me, that’s unacceptable. I refuse to address DACA in such limited terms.

I’ll assess their situation to determine if they technically qualify for DACA on one condition. They meet with me so I can explain present flaws, future dangers, and other possibilities for legalization before they apply for deferred action.   [Read more…]

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

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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

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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

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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.
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Romney to hurricane victims: Bootstrap it, call 211

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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…]

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