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Translating Mitt Romney

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By Kit-Bacon Gressitt

16 October 2012 Presidential Debate excerpt:

Candy Crowley, Moderator: Governor Romney, pay equity for women?

Gov. Mitt Romney: Thank you. An important topic, and one which I learned a great deal about, particularly as I was serving as governor of my state, because I had the chance to pull together a cabinet and all the applicants seemed to be men. And I, and I went to my staff, and I said, “How come all the people for these jobs are, are all men.”

They said, “Well, these are the people that have the qualifications.”

And I said, “Well, gosh, can’t we, can’t we find some, some women that are also qualified?” And, and so we, we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a number of women’s groups and said, “Can you help us find folks?” and they brought us whole binders full of women.

Translation:
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A Timeless Red Man Speaks

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Looking through words about California history, my mind wanders momentarily, and a tall timeless man with reddish brown skin and long braids ala Russell Means, appears in the periphery of my daydreams. He says:
They, these conquering men, stepped from their boats
wearing more clothes than was necessary,
shiny metal hats and vests,
heavy leather foot wear,
bearing swords and knives,
boasting of braveries
and discoveries
and some day living in the memories
of civilizations yet to be
and when they gazed our way
they never looked us in the eye
with any deep sense
of wonder
or human curiosity.   [Read more…]

Connecting More Dots Between Propositions 30, 32, and 38

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The Munger Muddle, Democrats for Education Reform, Obama, and the Koch Brothers et al Weave a Tangled Web that Might Just Kill Our Children’s Future (if we let it)

In a recent column, I outlined the connections between the advocates and funders of Proposition 32 and opponents of Proposition 30, noting the central role of Proposition 38 backer Molly Munger’s brother, Charles Munger, who has donated over $20 million of his own money to a campaign fund to gut unions and defund education.  Charles’s main allies in this effort, as I pointed out in that column, are also big supporters of the privatization of education and other forms of profiteering at the expense of public schools.

It is clear that the incestuous political relationship between the Mungers is mutually beneficial in the short term and that Molly had hoped to kill Prop 30 with negative ads while passing her own initiative, and perhaps she just doesn’t mind if the political voice of teachers’ unions is silenced as collateral damage.

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U-T San Diego publishes questionable mayoral poll

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From LGBT Weekly / October 21, 2012

The San Diego U-T published a poll suggesting that Carl DeMaio is ahead in the mayoral race by ten points. Shocking. You mean Doug Manchester and the U-T have conducted a poll that supports his candidate, DeMaio? No other poll has shown DeMaio in the lead. So I guess the cheese stands alone, as the old nursery rhyme goes. We in the LGBT community know that the U-T coverage of the mayor’s race has been cheesy at best.

Let’s analyze the actual U-T poll. First the margin of error is +/- 4%. That means that you can subtract 4% from DeMaio and add 4% to Filner. That would mean DeMaio could be as low as 42% and Filner as high as 40%. Hmm, that would make it a 2% lead for DeMaio. Of course, there are more issues with the headline and the poll.
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On Probation or Off Parole? You can Vote in California – Register Now!

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While having a conversation about the upcoming Presidential debate I asked a coworker if he was going to be voting. He replied, “I wish I could, but I’m on probation.” Whoa… This was a moment in a busy shop, that is normally filled with Mitt Romney and Ron Paul supporters, where two like minded people had a few minutes to chat. The young man I was talking with is quiet about his political affiliations and before I could respond to his statement we were  surrounded by republicans, once again.

Once I was back at my desk I did a quick internet search and printed a page from the Northern California ACLU website that I handed to him later in the day. He thanked me with a big smile on his face.   [Read more…]

Are We Headed for a Servant Economy?

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Jobs in the US are undergoing a huge transformation. People are being laid off from good paying jobs with benefits, and, to the extent they are finding new ones, they are being paid about half what they were at their previous job with no benefits. Most of the newly created jobs in the “promising” recent jobs report were part time or temporary jobs. The September Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs report indicated that 114,000 jobs were added in September and that the unemployment rate dipped to 7.8%. This is good news to be sure, but the fact remains that the issue is more about the quality of jobs added than the actual number.

Half of all college graduates are not able to find work. The good jobs out there are only for elite students from elite institutions. Half of all graduates including graduates in science and engineering from universities like Harvard and Duke are going to work on Wall Street.

This is where the top talent is going, and they’re making big bucks – six figures to start plus signing bonuses. If you are just an average college student though from a run of the mill college, chances are the only job you will find is as a barrista at Starbucks or at the Apple genius bar. The Microsofts, Qualcomms, Googles and Intels are only hiring the top 1% or 2% from elite colleges.

The myth that with a college education you will be able to get a good paying job is being laid to rest.   [Read more…]

Peters vs. Bilbray: The Vacuum Debates

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San Diego’s 52nd Congressional District candidates square off, but few seem to have noticed.

Did you happen to catch the debates between Republican incumbent Brian Bilbray and Democratic challenger Scott Peters this past week? No? You’re not alone. My guess is that not too many people knew they were happening. I certainly didn’t, and I’m paying attention; a lot more than the average voter, I would suppose.

The last I had heard was that Peters was doing everything possible to try and goad his opponent into a get-together. Back in August, Bilbray issued a challenge to Peters to a series of four debates. The Peters campaign replied that “Mr. Bilbray has issued a challenge to debates we agreed to weeks ago.” The Peters camp took a very Pat Hill “anytime, anywhere” stance, but still could not get anything on the schedule. According a Peters spokesperson, every time a date was proposed, Bilbray claimed a conflict. (For those who don’t know, Pat Hill is the former Fresno St. University football coach who constantly whined about his program’s inability to get a game against the big boys. “We’ll play anyone, anywhere” became Fresno State’s unofficial motto.)   [Read more…]

The Starting Line— Weekend Wingnut Gathering Slated for Balboa Park

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Come Stand in Defense of Your Church!” is the rallying cry for the San Diego Tea Party’s event at the intersection of Park Boulevard and President’s Way Saturday morning, October 20th.

More than a dozen speakers, representing a variety of groups with theocratic agendas, will take the stage to rail against the Obama administration’s so-called assaults on religious freedom. Speakers include radio host Gina Loudon, whose claims to fame include comparing gay marriage to people marrying animals and suggesting people who wanted to build an Islamic Community Center in New York City were Nazis; local gay basher Charles LiMandri; Dr. Jim Garlow, Senior pastor at Skyline Church; Anti-Abortion activist Timmerie Millington, and President Steven Pynes of the Mormons.   [Read more…]

The Power Was Overwhelming

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A new young couple moved into our neighborhood two years ago and over that time I have had conversations with them; worked with Heather and taught her to make jam; called on Mark to help with a few heavy things that needed to be done around the house; fed their dog treats when Buddy and I take walks together. I was thrilled when she called me and asked if I would like to go the “Women for Filner” fundraiser at the University Club on Wednesday, October 17th. Although there was a $100 donation, (which I could not make) I am not sure how Heather worked it so that I could attend, but attend I did, and had a great evening.

The power in that room was overwhelming. So many of the “big guns (gunnettes?) of the San Diego female world were in attendance:   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – The Sordid Saga of Judicial Candidate Jim Miller, Jr.

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San Diego’s legal establishment is rolling out the big guns today at a noon press conference on the sidewalk in front of the Superior Court building downtown. They’re gathering a gaggle of retired judges, prominent attorneys and past heads of the local Bar Association to make sure that the public is aware that judicial candidate Jim Miller, Jr. has been rated as “Lacking qualifications” in the race for Office 25 of the San Diego Superior Court.

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“Autism Voices” Advocates to Be Heard During Presidential Campaign

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New Initiative Launched in San Diego and Across Nation

Gearing up for the November 6 election, Autism Speaks has started a new grassroots initiative called Autism Votes to advocate for people with Autism and their families to ensure that their voice is heard and their issues addressed by the candidates. This is not an effort to endorse a candidate but to get issues affecting people with Autism to the national spotlight. The Autism Votes campaign made it’s most recent splash in the ongoing campaign to get Autism advocacy addressed in the presidential debates.   [Read more…]

Obama Hits Back

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After ceding round one to Mitt Romney, President Obama comes out swinging in round two.

After a totally and completely lackluster performance two weeks ago in Denver, Barack Obama roared back in the second presidential debate with Republican challenger Mitt Romney. The president who seemed annoyed and disengaged two weeks ago was nowhere to be found. The challenger who was so supremely confident and in control two weeks ago got a taste of his own medicine, and was knocked down a few pegs for the privilege.
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