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2016 Political Conventions: The End of the World As We Know It (Or Not)

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The news over the next four days will obsessively focus on the quadrennial Republican convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

News Flash: Donald Trump will be the nominee. Fear of the ‘other’ will be the main message, abetted by a compliant media overly concerned about equivalence. The basic premises upon which GOP Truths are built upon will be largely unchallenged.

News Flash #2: There is a Democratic convention next week. Hillary Clinton will be the nominee. Lots of Very Serious folks will make promises about inclusiveness and progress. The underlying reasons for the necessity of those promises will be ignored, abetted by a compliant media overly concerned about equivalence.   [Read more…]

City Attorney’s Justice for Sale Scheme Targets Family of Mentally Ill Man Slain by Police

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PLUS: Trump, Trump, Trump, and More Trump

The office of City Attorney Jan Goldsmith has proved beyond a doubt that San Diego has the best legal system money can buy… provided the victims have the money to pay.

Fridoon Nehad was shot and killed in April 2015 by veteran San Diego Police Officer Neal Browder. The officer said–after being shown a video of the incident– he believed Nehad was carrying a knife, but it turned out to be a shiny blue pen. The dead man was a 42-year-old refugee from Afghanistan diagnosed as mentally ill following incarceration in a Taliban prison camp.

In the wake of an investigation clearing the officer of any misconduct, the family is suing, saying the city has a pattern of inadequate investigations into police shootings. A federal judge has ordered the city to turn over records of other shootings by officers as part of the case. The City Attorney’s office is demanding that the family pay $12,000 up front to search for and assemble the documents.
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Unity Day for Democrats – Will It Fly? (And How Far?)

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The primary elections wrapped up a month ago. The Democratic Party convention in Philadelphia is a couple of weeks in the future. But for all practical purposes, today is the day when the contest for the party’s nomination will draw to a close.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ joint rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire marks the start of the next phase of the political process for Democrats.

After campaigning with Sen. Elizabeth Warren and President Obama in recent days, this unity rally with Bernie Sanders completes Clinton’s version of the political holy trinity of the left.

This unity hasn’t come easily. Representatives of the Sanders and Clinton campaigns have been communicating daily. Above all, nobody supporting the insurgent democratic socialist wanted there to be any appearance of surrender.   [Read more…]

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and That’s Not Funny

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A killer targeting homeless humans is likely using San Diego’s transit system to get to his “work…”

…Another human gunned down in Minneapolis for –apparently– being a scary Black person, the day after cops in Louisiana are caught trying to cover their asses following what many are calling an extra-legal execution…

…And a local Congressman is ready to shut down the government to prove his loyalty to an orange-colored racist dog posing as a presidential candidate Donald Trump.   [Read more…]

[Updated] Another Homeless Human Nearly Murdered

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As Wednesday morning’s gray skies crept over the city, the San Diego Police were called to State and E Streets, where a man was fatally critically injured and set on fire. Police told NBC7 that a suspect was running from the area of the attack, near the Federal Courthouse.

Two additional assaults on persons believed to be homeless were reported Wednesday morning. These attacks come on the heels of a 24-hour spree over the holiday weekend where two people were killed and another left with serious injuries.

Just an hour after the first incident Wednesday morning, two more attacks were reported. A man sitting at the Fifth and University bus stop–where many homeless people go after being released from emergency room care– was struck by an unknown object in the back of the head. A few blocks away a man sleeping on Third Ave., not far away from Mercy Hospital was struck in the head with a rock, according to police.   [Read more…]

Person of Interest Sought in Savage Homeless Killings

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While San Diegans celebrated the Fourth of July, local authorities called a press conference in response to two brutal murders and failed third attempt, all with victims believed to be homeless humans.

The SDPD is looking for a ‘person of interest,’ we are told. Grainy pictures from a convenience store camera show a man wearing what was described as a tan or brown jacket or sweatshirt and a green baseball cap. He was carrying a backpack.

Witnesses reported a person matching that description seen running from the area of the first known murder across northbound lanes of I-5 to the center divide. Others said he was carrying a gas can.   [Read more…]

Trump Gets the Big “O” and Other Fallacies

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I realize that proving The Donald’s statements and actions to be untrue will do nothing to change his supporters. None-the-less, in the wake of the ‘surprise’ over Britain’s Brexit vote, I feel obligated to catalog them as they appear to underline the importance of turnout in the November general election.

Today’s topics include the economy, trade, campaign finance and questions of character   [Read more…]

Will California Legalize Marijuana in 2016?

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If there’s any group capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in California, it’s marijuana activists.

The polling has never been better. This year 60% of likely California voters are inclined to legalize the consumption of marijuana for recreational use, up from 54% last year.

The political prognosis has never been better. Four states and the District of Columbia have already legalized pot and another eight states are considering giving voter approval to the idea.

So California’s Adult Use of Marijuana Act qualifying for the November ballot should be good news, right? Not so fast. We’ve been here before.  In 2010 Proposition 19 started out with strong polling and had decent financial backing, as I recollect. 
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Benghazi Bombshells Go Bust: Committee Report Has Little to Say

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Four years of trash-talking by Republicans in Congress following an attack on the American diplomatic mission at Benghazi, Libya appears to have come to an end.

Republicans on the House Benghazi Committee released an 800-page report Tuesday morning, full of broad denunciations and thin on actual proof of wrongdoing. Eight different investigations, a boatload of incriminatory headlines added up to “woulda, shoulda, coulda.”

The ‘scandal’ that was supposed to bring Hillary Clinton down before the 2016 primaries turned into an opportunity for her show grit during an 11-hour marathon testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi last October.   [Read more…]

A Primal Scream From Gun Violence Reaches Congress

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History was made yesterday. The primal scream of the families of gun violence victims echoed through the halls of Congress.

One hundred sixty-eight Democrats from the House of Representatives and thirty-four of their colleagues from the Senate are staging an ongoing sit-in, making a statement aimed at reducing the incidence of gun violence in the United States.

Just as Black students staging sit-ins at lunch counters in the 20th century didn’t reverse decades of legal discrimination or centuries of racism, the actions of Congressional Democrats aren’t likely to end with legislation signed by the President. Things will never be the same again, and that’s the point. It may take months. It will more likely take years. To paraphrase Martin Luther King, Jr., the long arc of the moral universe bent in the direction of justice on Capitol Hill yesterday.   [Read more…]

Trump’s Toxic Trickledown Leaves Rep. Issa Vulnerable

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Republican Congressman Darrell Issa took to the stage at the San Diego Regional Chamber annual congressional luncheon earlier this week to express buyers remorse over his high-profile support for presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump.

In May, Issa proudly introduced presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in San Diego. A few weeks later he was surprised by primary election results showed a surprisingly close contest with ex-Marine Doug Applegate.

Now a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee poll finds the Congressman in a dead heat with his Democratic opponent. After coasting to re-election for eight terms in Congress in what was considered a safe Republican district, Issa’s support is showing signs of crumbling.   [Read more…]

Donald Trump’s Campaign Status: Sad!

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Just a few weeks ago, prospective Republican nominee Donald Trump was boasting about the status of his campaign. He went so far as to announce “… that my campaign has perhaps more cash than any campaign in the history of politics…” Today I’ll look at the 936 or so stories showing up in Google search that seem to think otherwise.

The release of Federal Election Commission filings on Monday told a different story. The campaign is impoverished, relatively speaking, little-to-no effort has been made to establish a financial operation that can compete at the national level, and much of the spending has been directed to entities owned by Trump.

An ongoing turf war within the campaign went public with the dismissal of campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski. Heading into the general election, the Trump campaign is underfunded, understaffed, and historically unpopular.   [Read more…]

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