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Trump’s Border Brownshirts Already Running Amok

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The ‘gloves are off’ is a terrible thing to say to anybody with a gun and a badge

We’re already seeing glimpses of what ‘empowered’ agencies charged with immigration enforcement will look like in the Trump era, and it’s not a pretty sight.

What seems to be clear at this point is that some enforcement personnel in Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol (two separate agencies, both in Homeland security) aren’t even waiting for the official go-ahead.

San Diego has been lucky–thus far– when it comes to the negative impact of recent executive orders on immigration and refugees. I suspect the reticence of the local ‘migra’ forces may have something to do with the potential for civil unrest as much as anything else.   [Read more…]

On Tuesday, House Republicans Will Betray Their Oaths, Their Country, And The American People

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By Dartagnan / Daily Kos

On February 28, 2017, the United States will witness the what may be the single greatest act of collective treachery by its elected government officials since the Confederate States voted to secede from the Union in 1860 and 1861.

And in all likelihood, the U.S. media will completely ignore it.

On Tuesday the Republican-dominated House Judiciary Committee is expected to reject House Democrats’ Resolution for a formal inquiry into the the potential ethical and legal violations committed by the Trump campaign apparatus in its contacts, communications and financial transactions with Russia during the run-up to Trump’s election last November, and throughout the transition since then. It will also reject calls to examine evidence of Trump’s solicitation and receipt of foreign gifts intended to influence American policy and the potential violations of the Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution.   [Read more…]

CalPERS Joins Investors Calling on Banks to Address Concerns About Dakota Access Pipeline

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By Dan Bacher / Daily Kos

On February 17, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) officials announced they are joining over 100 fellow investors asking major U.S. and international banks backing the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to address the concerns of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North Dakota.

The statement endorsed by CalPERS supports a rerouting of the pipeline, but doesn’t call for halting DAPL, a project that poses enormous harm to the drinking water supply for 17 million people and to many fish and wildlife species on the Missouri River.

The announcement came four days after 150 people from a coalition of environmental and Native American Groups held a march and rally in front of the CalPERS office in Sacramento to tell the retirement fund to divest from its investments in banks backing the Dakota Access Pipeline.   [Read more…]

Union Density in San Diego Below State Average

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By Murtaza Baxamusa

There were about 185 thousand union members in San Diego, based on surveys by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2016. About 110 thousand of these workers are in the private sector. There are additionally 20 thousand workers covered by union contracts in the region. The continuing employment recovery in the last two years contributed to an increase in union membership.

Union density is the share of workers that are union members. It is an important measure of union prevalence that determines the impact of collective bargaining agreements on area-wide labor wages and benefits. In 2016, union density was 12.9 percent for all workers in San Diego. It was about 6.2 percent in the private sector and 45.5 in the public sector in San Diego. Union membership rate in California stayed almost constant at 15.9 percent since membership grew by 65,000 members at the same pace as the overall employment.   [Read more…]

Readers Write: It’s Gonna Be Known as the The D.C. Shuffle

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By Michael-Leonard Creditor

I watched (again) the movie “Lucky Number Slevin” just last night, so as soon as the thought hit me, I called it a Kansas City shuffle.

No, it’s not a card trick. But it is an old jazz tune, originally by Benny Moten, who hailed from there.

But, that’s not it either. It’s more akin to the kind of side-step that Charles Durning performs as a fictional Texas governor in another film, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”

As used in “Lucky Number Slevin” Kansas City Shuffle is a distraction tactic. When everybody looks one way, you do something else in another direction.

That’s exactly what is going on in D.C. lately, in the administration of 45*.   [Read more…]

Over 100 People Celebrate Valve Turners Climate Direct Action Event in San Diego

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By Scott Starbuck/ SanDiego350

Reuters reported that on October 11, activists in four states “shook the North American energy industry.” An appreciative audience at San Diego’s First Church of the Brethren greeted them Monday February 13 with $2,300 in donations for their legal funds, repeated applause, and a standing ovation honoring their vision and courage. A donation link has been set up for those who want to support Valve Turners.

Of the group of five, Emily Johnston, Annette Klapstein, Leonard Higgins, and Michael Foster were present and spoke at the event. Ken Ward, the fifth member and first to face trial, was unable to attend due to preparing for a retrial after a jury in Mt. Vernon, Washington, refused to convict him on February 1.

San Diego was the last California stop on this leg of the Valve Turners Speaking Tour that will take them from Pacific to Atlantic in effort to awaken consciences of citizens to respond to climate reality.   [Read more…]

Trump’s Budget Office Preps ‘Hit List’ on Public Programs

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National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities, Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Americorps are among targets meant to showcase ‘waste’ of taxpayer funds

By Nadia Prupis / Common Dreams

With Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) confirmed to lead the White House budget office, the Trump administration is getting ready to follow through on plans to slash major domestic programs, the New York Times reported Friday.

Work on President Donald Trump’s first budget proposal has been delayed as Republicans worked to get Mulvaney—known for his unyielding stances on safety net programs—approved as head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Now, his office has targeted nine popular and critical programs to axe, according to an early internal OMB memo obtained by the Times.

The so-called “hit list” includes, in part, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Export-Import Bank, and the Corporation for National and Community Service, which funds AmeriCorps and SeniorCorps projects.   [Read more…]

ACLU Sues City of San Diego, Demands SDPD Change Policy Allowing DNA Collection From Minors

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Social justice organizations, advocates and parents to convene press conference in Memorial Park on February 22

By ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties

The ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties (ACLU-SDIC) filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court against the City of San Diego. The long-standing civil rights organization seeks to change current San Diego Police Department policy allowing police officers to collect DNA samples from minors without a warrant or parental consent and challenge this unconstitutional stop.

The suit stems from a March 2016 incident during which a group of teenage boys walking in the Logan Heights neighborhood’s Memorial Community Park were unlawfully stopped and frisked by police officers. Without a warrant and without seeking their parents’ permission, the officers unlawfully detained the juveniles, including Jamie Wilson’s 16-year-old son, telling them they would be released only after they gave consent to collection of their DNA.   [Read more…]

The One About The Reverse Osmosis Plant in Escondido

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Escondido is considering placing a reverse osmosis filtration and treatment plant on a vacant lot. The lot sits next to a senior residential facility and low-income housing.

Monday, December 13, the Escondido Planning Commission continued its unbelievable policy of “Making Escondido the 50s Again” and approved a Reverse Osmosis/Membrane Filtration plant for the corner of Ash(Route 78) and Washington. How – you might ask – does adding something which is the future of water preservation make Escondido “the 50s” again? One of the major justification of putting this very industrial use in a very residential neighborhood was: this used to be the location of the water department.

Of course, back then, the water department was surrounded by fruit trees and mice. Now, the location sits smack dab in the middle of a highly residential area; a 100-unit Senior living facility adjacent to the east, a row of affordable housing directly to the north and commercial/retail on the remaining sides, along with the Escondido Creek adjacent to the south.

So why is this project bad?   [Read more…]

Constituents Buy Newspaper Ad Seeking Rep. Issa Town Hall Appearance

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Several hundred people crowdfunded a full page ad in the Union-Tribune on Tuesday, inviting Congressman Darrell Issa to a town hall in Vista on February 21.

For weeks now people in the 49th Congressional district have been calling, writing, and even picketing hoping to get Issa to directly engage with them on issues of concern, especially what in store for them with the promised repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

The wily congressman tried to dodge the issue by staging a “telephone conference” involving carefully screened callers. He rolled out a proposal for ‘accessible’ health care, hoping people wouldn’t notice they’d have no way to afford it. It didn’t work.   [Read more…]

Trump’s Dim-witted, Ill-founded Immigration Ban

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Ignoramus-In-Chief Is OK With Allies Who Sponsor Terrorism

Why did Trump try to impose tighter vetting on 7 nations in the Middle East without including Saudi Arabia and Egypt? Could it be that it’s because Saudi Arabia which is a hotbed of terrorism is also an ally of the US and an enemy of Iran?

Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were Saudis. Osama bin Laden was a Saudi. The machete wielding attacker at the Louvre recently was Egyptian. Neither Egypt nor Pakistan nor Afghanistan were included on the so-called President’s list. Pakistan harbored bin Laden. Afghanistan is the home of the Taliban. If Trump had wanted to keep terrorists out of the US, surely he should have included these countries in his ban. But terrorism is more about US alliances than it is about morality or human rights.   [Read more…]

Tin Cup Week Comes To Washington

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The annual pilgrimage of municipalities and counties to Washington, D.C. might be very different this year. Depending, of course, on who your representative actually is.

Every year, many of the countries municipalities and counties make a pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. to meet with various federal departments and their elected Representatives and Senators to acquire funding for programs and projects.

The process, aptly nicknamed “Tin Cup Week”, begins months earlier with the paid lobbyist arranging meetings and appointments during the last week in February. When cities or counties identify projects which could potentially qualify for federal dollars, they make a presentation to the appropriate department to ask for direct funding or for grant opportunities.   [Read more…]

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