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Happy Labor Day, Now More than Ever

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By Jim Miller

Today is Labor Day, but how many of us have any idea where the holiday came from or what it celebrates?

The first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5th, 1882 in New York City and was proposed by the Central Labor Union (CLU) at a time when American workers were struggling for basic rights such as the eight-hour day. The CLU moved the “workingman’s holiday” to the first Monday in September in 1883 and urged other unions to celebrate the date as well.

The movement grew throughout the 1880s, along with the American labor movement itself with 23 states passing legislation recognizing Labor Day as a holiday. By 1894 Congress followed suit and Labor Day became a national holiday.

On that date, in 1894, most American workers still did not have an eight-hour day, the right to organize, social security, health care, or even a living wage. Child labor was common and there were no health and safety laws. Indeed, just being a unionist could get you fired or even killed in some quarters.   [Read more…]

Who in the World Lives in City Heights?

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Karen, Kachin and Shan join South Sudanese, Vietnamese and Mexicans

By Anna Daniels

Over forty percent of City Heights residents are foreign born. La Maestra, which operates health clinics in City Heights, recently provided a memorable introduction to some of our foreign born neighbors when over a dozen residents took to the fashion runway wearing traditional clothing. Their poise belies the fact that many arrived in this country with little more than hope and determination. It is easy to understand why the fashion show is described as the highlight of La Maestra’s gala fundraiser.   [Read more…]

August 29th – National Chicano Moratorium: 43 Years Later

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Every year for the past 43 years, August 29th has been commemorated and emulated by the National Chicano Moratorium Committee. On August 29, 1970, thousands of Chicanos and Mexican-Americans took to the streets in East LA to protest discrimination and lack of civil rights, and in particular, the high rates of the government draft of Chicanos for the Vietnam war. In a mixed setting of militancy and festiveness, the march was more a parade with children and families.

At some point along Whittier Boulevard, the LA Police Department, as the LA Free Press reported then – taking from the report below- :

“made an unprovoked attack on the thousands of peaceful demonstrators, men, women and children; old and young; civilians and anti-war veterans. Some fought back. People grabbed children, knocked on doors of people living near the melee begging them to take in the youngsters for safety’s sake. Others ran for their lives.

  [Read more…]

Our Continuing Excursion in City Heights, Part Two: Komad Market

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Komad Market
4348  54th Street
San Diego, CA 92115
619-229-9607

By Judi Curry

My former student  Corinne and I had just finished exploring the Safari Market (Part One of this series)  and, as we were walking out the door, we spotted another market across the parking lot called Komad Market.  For some reason it drew both of our attention so decided to take a stroll and see what it had to offer.

(When I went to Google to check the address for this article I could not find it listed; what I did find, at the same address was “Komad Fashion Spirit.”  Somewhere in the time they opened to now the name has changed and I suspect so has the concept.)

I think what caught our eye as we headed toward the car, was the array of long skirts that beckoned to the potential buyers of this area.  It was a very hot day, the muggiest so far this year, and everything looked so fresh and cool.  Upon entering the small store, albeit messy like the Safari Market but smaller and some semblance of order, we were greeted by two of the loveliest young women we had met in a long time.

  [Read more…]

An Excursion into City Heights, Part One: Safari Market Bazaar

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Safari Market Bazaar
4348  54th Street
San Diego, CA 92115

In continuing with San Diego Free Press “neighborhood watch”, it was time to venture into areas that I had never been before.  I recently met a man that I thought might be the companion I was looking for and asked him if he would like to go with me to review the Safari Market.  He said to me, and I believe this is a direct quote, “You couldn’t get me to go into that crime zone.”

Needless to say I am not seeing him anymore and was even more curious about what he considered a “crime zone.”

I asked a former Swiss student, a world traveler, if she would like to join me on this voyage, and she was all for it.  Since the market doesn’t open until 2:00pm – closes at 8:00 pm – it was perfect timing for her. She could surf in the morning; continue writing her dissertation before we left, and take a well deserved break to join me before continuing on her dissertation.
  [Read more…]

Obamacare Employer Mandate: Boon or Boondoggle?

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By Andy Cohen

The American healthcare system since World War II is based on employer supplied health insurance. It happened almost by accident, as tight wage controls prevented employers from offering prospective workers higher wages, so they got creative and offered benefits such as health insurance instead. It has since become the bedrock of our system, and remains that way today. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 55.1 percent of Americans received health coverage through an employer; among those aged 18-64 who were employed, 68 percent received health insurance from an employer.

Employer provided insurance is the cornerstone of our healthcare system, but now many employers are not happy about it. The cost is too prohibitive, they say. Having to provide health insurance to their employees hurts their ability to be competitive in the global marketplace. Manufacturing jobs have been off shored, in part, because of the rising cost of health care.   [Read more…]

If You Liked Trickle Down Economics, You’ll Love ‘The Plan’ for San Diego’s Next Mayor.

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By Doug Porter

In case you missed the news, Bob Filner’s days as Mayor will be coming to a close this week.  The City Council went into closed session, voted to accept a deal worked out in mediation, played cards for 75 minutes, and came back to announce the results.

The soon-to-be ex-Mayor came to the front of the room and gave a rambling speech on Friday.

The announced date for the resignation to take effect is Friday, August 30th. By postponing the inevitable a week into the future, the schedule for future special election(s) was moved up in a manner more favorable to a higher voter turnout.  This could turn out to be one small last gift to the people of San Diego from hizzoner.

Today’s UT-San Diego hails City Attorney Jan Goldsmith as one of the four citizens who ‘saved’ the city.  While making his victory laps around town this morning, Goldsmith appeared on NBC7/39, telling us about how it’d been 8 months of tough work…

Wait? Does that mean his “investigation” started before the scandal?  I’m sure it was just a mental slip up. Right?   [Read more…]

I Bought Into Bob Filner as Mayor and Was Betrayed

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I’m not a registered Democrat or Republican (or as I prefer Democrata or Republiklan). I never bought into the two party system and I probably never will. As the late Chicano leader Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez said, Democrats and Republicans “are one party that feed from the same trough.”

Under rare circumstances have I ever voted for either political party. When I did it was usually to vote against the Republican candidate. For most of my 20’s I didn’t vote at all.

I didn’t vote for Bill Clinton or Al Gore. I didn’t vote for John Kerry either. There was no way I would’ve voted for either of their Republican opponents. During the Clinton elections I didn’t vote. During the Bush/Gore race I voted for Ralph Nader and during the Bush/Kerry election I voted for imprisoned American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier.   [Read more…]

Global Warming is Cooking the Planet Now – Not in Some Far-Off Future

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90 Million Tons of Carbon Dioxide are Dumped into the Atmosphere Every 24 Hours

By John Lawrence

As Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, states in his book, Eaarth, global warming is not some far-off event that we will have to prepare for sometime in the future; it is here today and the effects of global warming are being manifested here today. Yet the oil and gas industry is pulling out all the stops to convince people that global warming is just a myth perpetrated by fuzzy headed liberals.

Extreme weather events, billion dollar weather events, are happening with increasing frequency just as Wall Street analysts are computing Big Oil’s stock price based on all the assets yet in the ground and which the industry is bound and determined to pump out on its way to becoming part of the atmosphere. If such were to be the case, kiss the earth, as a habitable place for the human species, good-bye.   [Read more…]

San Diego’s Smorgasbord of Independent and Progressive Blogs

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By Frank Gormlie

Every now and then, it’s important to acknowledge and highlight the many independent and progressive blogs out there in San Diego’s blogosphere. Let us take you through some of them – as many of these blogs post daily and carry very informative news and perspectives – needed media options for San Diegans.

GrokSurf’s San Diego

GrokSurf’s San Diego is published by George J Janczyn who has all the news and info you need about water issues in San Diego and Southern California. The banner says it’s “local observations on water, environment, technology, law and politics.” On top right now at GrokSurf is a mid-August “round-up” of regional water news. If water is in your veins, you have to check out this valuable resource for our County.

La Vida Locavore

Then we have nationally-known foodie Jill Richardson‘s own blog here in San Diego: La Vida Locavore . Richardson posts recipes, knowledgable tales with “how-to-do’s” in cooking, botany, Native American cooking and culture. Right now, Jill has up a post about “Finishing the Kumeyaay Village”, with text that explains that Kumeyaay Indians and a few non-Indian helpers like herself were “putting the finishing touches on a model village they’ve built on some land they’ve recently (re)acquired near the Sycuan reservation.” Also up is a lesson on “botany for foodies”.
  [Read more…]

Innovation Economy Symposium Highlights Role of Government Investment in Economic Growth

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Symposium brings prominent local and national figures together to discuss economic development issues.

By Andy Cohen

Congress is a mess right now. There are many, many problems that this iteration of the federal government of the United States is being called upon to solve with very little hope of actually solving them. This Congress is so dysfunctional that they can’t even pass legislation to pay the government’s already agreed upon financial obligations, let alone fund new projects or provide basic services. Major legislation would seem to be out of the question entirely.

Whether conservatives like to admit it or not, the American economy is dependent in many ways on government investment; on government’s willingness to invest. It was with this in mind that Congressman Scott Peters brought together an “innovation economy symposium” yesterday at UCSD.

The symposium featured leaders from the local business community, including former mayor Jerry Sanders, currently the President/CEO of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce; Mark Cafferty, the head of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation; Holly Smithson, the President and COO of CleanTECH San Diego; Magda Marquet, the board chair of BIOCOM; John Dunn, a member of the Board of Directors at CONNECT; and Steny Hoyer, the House Minority Whip and second ranked Democrat in the House of Representatives behind Nancy Pelosi. The event was hosted by UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla.   [Read more…]

5 Companies That Make Money By Keeping Americans Terrified of Terror Attacks

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A massive industry profits off the government-induced fear of terrorism.

By Alex Kane/Alternet

Michael Hayden, the former director of the National Security Agency, has  invaded America’s television sets in recent weeks to warn about Edward Snowden’s leaks and the continuing terrorist threat to America.

But what often goes unmentioned, as the Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald pointed out, is that Hayden has a financial stake in keeping Americans scared and on a permanent war footing against Islamist militants.

And the private firm he works for, called the Chertoff Group, is not the only one making money by scaring Americans.

Post-9/11 America has witnessed a boom in private firms dedicated to the hyped-up threat of terrorism. The drive to privatize America’s national security apparatus accelerated in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, and it’s gotten to the point where 70 percent of the national intelligence budget is now spent on private contractors, as  author Tim Shorrock reported. The private intelligence contractors have profited to the tune of at least $6 billion a year. In 2010,  the Washington Post revealed that there are 1,931 private firms across the country dedicated to fighting terrorism.

What it all adds up to is a massive industry profiting off government-induced fear of terrorism, even though Americans are more likely to be killed by a car crash or their own furniture than a terror attack.   [Read more…]

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