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Race and Class in a Time of Crisis: Jeff Daniels’ ‘FLINT’

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The Purple Rose Theatre Company’s production of FLINT, written by Jeff Daniels and directed by Guy Sanville, is a powerful, evocative, and moving work packed with “tough language.” The 75-minute performance gives witness to two sets of families — an African American couple Mitchell and Olivia and a white couple Eddie and Karen — responding not only to the Flint water crisis but also to the current political, social, and cultural climate.

Set in Mitchell and Olivia’s home in September 2014, five months after the city switched the water supply, the couple attempts to decipher the city’s confusing and conflicting instructions through postings on their phones.

The setting provides a realistic feel — a small kitchen complete with sink, cupboards, a refrigerator, a small dining table, and three chairs. This humbly furnished space becomes the site for conversation, contention, and confrontation. The thrust stage of the intimate 168-seat theatre allows for the complete digestion of the external and internal damage, and pain of each character   [Read more…]

The Russian Raiders of the Internet Are Coming (Again)

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Indivisible 49 and its coalition partners are continuing their weekly rallies outside the Vista offices of Congressman Darrell Issa. The North County Republican may be laying low for now –it’s expected he’ll jump into the race for District 50 if and when Rep. Duncan Hunter takes a fall– but the issues surrounding Congress and the administration continue.

As has been true throughout their campaign, the Issa office protests have a theme each week. This week’s theme seems especially appropriate: a “Love America” rally on the day before Valentine’s Day focus on the values of democracy, freedom, truth, justice, equality, the Constitution, rule of law.

Given that Russian interference in domestic politics is in the news today, this theme seems especially appropriate.   [Read more…]

“Money is Speech”: The Twisted Logic the Supreme Court Will Likely Use to Screw American Workers

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In the wake of my last column on the agenda of the billionaire backers of the Janus vs. AFSCME case soon to be heard by the Supreme Court, the Los Angeles Times published a solid piece that outlined the broader context and suspect reasoning guiding this shameless attack on American labor…

While it’s abundantly clear why progressives should be disturbed by this naked power grab, not all the dissent is coming from the left.  Even those with little sympathy for the Democratic Party have noted how brazenly this case distorts the notion of “free speech…”

It is also unlikely that most Americans if they had a say in the matter, would agree that “money is speech” or that there was any noble right at stake when the Court ruled in favor of unlimited corporate campaign spending in the Citizens United case.  One might also reasonably assume that not many Americans are too sanguine about the corrosive effect this rigging of our political system has had on our democracy.       [Read more…]

Free Health Clinics, Sickle Cell Testing, Acupuncture – The Black Panther Connection | Video Worth Watching

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The first associations that come to mind when someone says “Black Panthers“ are not likely to be items connected to health care. But in practice, the bulk of activity of the Panthers was related to the health and well-being of the community. Self-defense was a critical, but small part of daily affairs; health clinics, meal programs and education were the core elements.   [Read more…]

There’s More to the ‘SDPD Officer Punched in Barrio Logan’ Story

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News accounts of an arrest where a San Diego Police officer was punched in the face on Saturday, February 3, didn’t tell the whole story. 

Video of the punching incident furnished by Irate Productions to the Southwestern Sun college newspaper show another, more disturbing, version of what happened.

While I think it’s always a bad idea to punch somebody with a badge and a gun, the video shows the officer (who has yet to be named) starting the confrontation by hitting with a police baton Frederick Jefferson as he backs away. And the incident was completely unrelated to what was going on that day in Chicano Park. Also, there was no ‘violence’ at the rallies.    [Read more…]

Sam Bee: FBI Criminalizes Being Black and Angry | Video Worth Watching

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Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal shines a spotlight on a recent decision by the FBI to create a new category of threat: Black Identity Extremists (BIE).   [Read more…]

Show Us the Money, Part 2: Congressional Campaigns

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Will San Diego See a Blue Wave in Red Districts?

Campaign financial reports were filed recently, and it’s worth a look at this time to see who’s looking to be a serious contender in the five contests for the House of Representatives in San Diego.

The really juicy stuff–contributions by Political action Committees revealing the special interests backing candidates–typically come in the final months before the election, so we’ll have to wait for numbers.

Two things to watch as Field Marshall Trump of the Bone Spur Brigade continues into his second year: the investigation into purported wrong-doings by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and voter turnout in the 2018 elections.   [Read more…]

Yahoos on a Saturday in Chicano Park

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Last Saturday a bunch of yahoos known as the “Bordertown Patriots” decided to have a “patriot picnic” at Chicano Park because they were under the illusion that the park excludes people who aren’t Chicano or Mexican.

What that says to me is they had never ventured into the park before with their families and just sat down to a regular picnic and enjoyed themselves -– like so many “normal” people of all ethnicities have done for years.

As for me, Chicano Park is one of my favorite places to take friends and family from out of town, folks who after their visit to the site, leave loving the park as much as I do.

I get so weary of narrow minded white supremacists like these people and their tired off-the-wall “reverse racism” take on the world.   [Read more…]

Show Us the Money, Part 1: City & County Campaigns

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Campaign financial reports for the second half of 2017 were released recently. There’s good news and bad news, and news needing to be taken with a grain of salt.

In San Diego County, the system of passing the torch from retiring officeholder to anointed successor gives the GOP candidates for District Attorney and D4 Supervisor all the advantages of incumbency sans the need to defend past actions. Republican Bonnie Dumanis is running as a “Judge” in the hopes of creating some distance from the scandals associated with her tenure as County District Attorney.

Simply put, the County government is the biggest entity impacting the most lives in San Diego. And if you look closely, it’s apparent the decisions of the Board of Supervisors regularly favor interests whose fundamental values do not align with those of most of the people living in the region.   [Read more…]

Trump Gets “Cotton” Mouth on Immigration!

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For years, those of us advocating for comprehensive immigration reform have heard the loudest objections be “no amnesty” or no reward for “illegals.” In objectors’ minds, this includes even those legalized by DACA — those who were brought here as children by their parents without documents. Those objectors say simply these immigrants “broke the law” and the only acceptable remedy is for them to return to their native countries — all 11 million of them.

When confronted by the total impracticality and immorality of this task, they have no answer.  Trump’s repeated calls to “Build the Wall” and “Make Mexico Pay” are attractive to these folks because, for them, it’s not a question of practicality or even the billions of dollars’ in expense, but rather something else entirely. 

In fact, there is something quite irrational about advocating for the blanket deportation of 11 million people, but it goes beyond that. There’s a viciousness to it.  Candidate Trump has made it clear what kind of irrationality it is – racism at its core – when he coupled his demand for the wall with the demonizing of the Mexican people as a nation.  He didn’t invent this stuff, but he made it a key rallying cry to his supporters who cheered and jeered in enthusiastic support all the way to his election and now during the current debate on a deal for immigrant youth under DACA.   [Read more…]

The Koch Network’s War on Unions is a War on Democrats, Education, and Democracy

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There’s blood in the water.  That’s the sense that the money behind the American Right has as we head into the second year of the Trump era.  And with recent polls showing the big Democratic polling edge ebbing, the sharks are beginning to circle.  

But, as unsettling as that is, there is a lot more at stake than just one election cycle.  

As Doug Porter ably reported last week, the Koch network got together in Indian Wells to sip cocktails and discuss how they could invest $400 million to promote their politics and policies in the upcoming election cycle.  That alone is very bad news for those of us hoping that a Democratic wave might sweep the Republican majority out of the House of Representatives, but the aim of this incredibly powerful group of billionaires is not just to win one election but to win the long war.   [Read more…]

Only One Voter in Rep. Duncan Hunter’s District Contributed to His Campaign

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Congressman Duncan D. Hunter’s dismal campaign finance reports have attracted national attention, and not in a good way. He raised a paltry $50,073 in the last three months of 2017 and spent $264,255, with $178,146 spent with five law firms. At the onset of 2018, the campaign had just $290,904 in the bank, less than half of what it did a year earlier.

Vape store owner Molly Sylvester was the sole donor living in the 50th Congressional District, contributing $2000 to the five-term Congressman’s re-election effort in the last three months of 2017. Other support came mostly from San Diego-area residents outside the district, D.C. lobbyists, and out-of-state political action committees.

Two strong Democratic opponents have emerged in the supposedly Ruby Red 50th, and both outraised Hunter, accord to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.   [Read more…]

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