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Props 59 & 60 – Dirty Money and Filthy Sex

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Why are these measures even on the ballot?

The Constitution of the United States begins with “We the People.” It doesn’t say “We the Corporations” or “We the Fat Cats.”

I get it. Every person who believes in our representative democracy should be appalled by the Supreme Court (Citizen’s United) decision giving corporate entities the power to fund elections thru super-Pacs under the guise of “free speech.” This needs to change.

Proposition 59 asks California’s elected officials to work to overturn Citizens United, through supporting a constitutional amendment or other means. And if they don’t like what Prop 59 asks them to do, that’s okay, because it’s simply advisory in nature.   [Read more…]

“What Would You Do If Trump Is Elected?” Results From Our Survey

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Back a few weeks ago, during a particularly “bad week” campaign-wise for Hillary Clinton, it looked like Trump could actually be elected President. It was during that period that the OB Rag asked a number of activists and progressives what they would do if Trump was indeed elected.

Today, still, Trump winning is not a far-fetched concept, for as recently as last night – Monday, October 3rd, Rachel Maddow of MSNBC made the plausible case that there could be an electoral college vote tie between Clinton and Trump and it all may end up in a divided US Supreme Court.   [Read more…]

As Trump’s Shadow Grows — Let’s Plant the Seeds of Revolution

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Last month the OB Rag had a survey asking what people would do if Trump is elected president. Since my husband’s parents were from Mexico, and we have friends in Baja, we have had conversations about moving across the border, even before the possibility that Trump could become our next president was considered anything but ludicrous. Now, that possibility is neither far-fetched nor funny.

A year ago our reason to consider leaving San Diego was more for financial reasons and for now, at least, we have under control. Mexico might be more affordable, but are plenty of other issues that convinced us to take a move there off the table. Now, it’s back.

There is a conversation in JRR Tolkein’s “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring”, in the second chapter (The Shadow of the Past) where Gandalf explains that The Shadow has returned and this time it is Frodo who must confront it:   [Read more…]

Prop 58 – Righting a Wrong Thru Local Control of Bilingual Education

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When Proposition 227 Passed in 1998, Only Homosexuality Was Less Tolerated Than Bilingualism by Middle-Class Americans

California’s Proposition 58, being marketed as the LEARN Initiative, represents yet another step towards righting the wrongs growing out of a wave of anti-multicultural sentiment during the 1990s.

The nativist wing on the Republican Party eventually led that organization into irrelevance in California, and a generation of Latino political activists is now an ascendant force in state politics.

By allowing local public schools to decide on how best to teach English learners, this measure effectively undoes the statewide immersion-is-best mandate of the English Language in Public Schools Statute, also known as Proposition 227.   [Read more…]

Why Spanos is Only Trying for a >50% Vote to Get a Downtown Stadium

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An important bit of misinformation has been circulating about Measure C – the Spanos ballot referendum to raise the hotel tax (transient occupancy tax – “TOT”) in the City of San Diego from 12.5% to 16.5% to build a $2 billion-plus downtown combined stadium and convention annex.

Most news stories and conventional wisdom have it that 2/3 of the city’s voters must vote in favor of it in order for it to pass. While some of these articles acknowledge that there is a potential second path to passing Measure C via litigation, it is mentioned only as something that is remote, uncertain, and difficult. As a result, some opponents of the measure have had a somewhat lackadaisical attitude.   [Read more…]

Prop 57 – If Sentencing Reform Passes, Will Hospital Bombers Run Amok?

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Prop 57 is the final part of Gov. Jerry Brown’s mea culpa for the tough on crime laws passed during his first term. As a result, the state prisons were filled to overflowing. Lawsuits and investigative reporting exposed the cruel and inhumane process amounting to little more than warehousing.

The Supreme Court agreed, saying conditions were so bad they violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual treatment. In 2011, California was ordered to reduce its population by more than 30,000 inmates.

California’s penal system became larger than its colleges, and, in fact, functioned as a crime training facility for a lost generation of the economically dispossessed, most of whom were people of color. And, let’s face it, a major legacy of that era’s thinking was the use of the penal system as a means of social control for people of the non-white persuasion.   [Read more…]

Prop 56 – Tobacco Industry Lie Machine Runs at Top Speed

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EXTRA EDITION: Saturday Laryngectomy Rant 

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association in California and American Heart Association have placed Prop 56 on the ballot increasing taxes on tobacco products and updating state law to include e-cigarettes as a taxable product.

The tobacco industry has amassed a $56 million dollar war chest to defeat Prop 56. They know arguing in favor of tobacco use won’t work, so they’ve unleashed a blizzard of bullcrap advertising seeking to confuse and obfuscate the matter.   [Read more…]

South Bay School Districts and Elections, Part II: The Candidates Write In

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Do you know who your school district board members are?

By Barbara Zaragoza

I wrote to several of the candidates running in the various South Bay school districts and received quite a few responses. I have paired them with bond measures where appropriate.   [Read more…]

Prop 55 – Keep On Funding Education in California

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Back in 2012 voters approved Proposition 30, which combined a one-fourth cent sales tax increase and a surcharge on incomes taxes for individuals earning more than $250,000 annually. The money raised went to fund education and healthcare agencies, both of which were severely impacted by budget cuts during the great recession.

The provisions of this measure expire at the end of 2018. Proposition 55 asks voters to extend the 1-3% increase on high-income earners through 2030. The sales tax increase would be allowed to sunset at the end of 2016.

The measure will keep money flowing to K-12 schools, community colleges, and (if the Gov. says ok) healthcare for low-income Californians, along with adding to the state’s rainy day fund. Even with the current level of funding, California still ranks near the bottom of the nation in per-pupil spending, class-size average and per-student ratio in nurses, librarians, and counselors.   [Read more…]

Avoid School Board Elections At Your Own Child’s Risk

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South Bay School Board Elections.

Much like the yawn-worthy water districts (because who really cares if we have safe, affordable drinking water anyway?), these “down-ballot” school board trustee names scream out one word:

BO-RINGGG.

And yet, when your child experiences something bad at school, who you gonna call? Who are principals, administrators and teachers gonna call? Probably, the trustees of your school board.   [Read more…]

Props 53 & 54: Say No to Rich Guys Gaming the System

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Dean Cortopassi is a wealthy self-made agribusinessman from Stockton. Charles Munger is a Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and lives in Pasadena. Both have long histories in politics.

Each of them has bought a spot for a pet cause on the general election ballot. And they’d like you to believe their motives are altruistic.

They’re gaming the system, promising they have your interests in mind. Their measures are, in fact, simplistic solutions to complex problems with potential or real consequences not immediately apparent to the casual observer.   [Read more…]

Measure A: Mish Mash That Doesn’t Focus Enough on Climate Change

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The Measure Doesn’t Do Enough to Get Cars Off the Road

In a nutshell, Measure A is a something-for-everybody approach that doesn’t do enough to concentrate on climate change. A full on effort to get cars off the road and people onto public transit would do much more. That means more trolley and light rail lines paralleling major freeways.

When congestion is bad enough and transit gets better, at some point, commuters will switch to transit as long as it becomes more convenient. That should be SANDAG’s goal. And let’s address the issue of getting truck traffic off the road. Rail service should be encouraged.   [Read more…]

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