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Trump Prepares to Release the Memo—and Bring the Constitutional Crisis to a Boil

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By Mark Sumner / Daily Kos

On Wednesday, the FBI took the extraordinary step of creating an unsigned document—a document in the name of the whole agency, rather than any individual—opposing the release of the Trump–Nunes memo. This followed a visit to the White House from both FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to personally oppose the release. And overnight, Democratic Representative Adam Schiff discovered that the memo Devin Nunes gave to Trump, was not the same as the one that was voted on in the House.   [Read more…]

An Open Letter to the Bellwether State | Dear Ohio, Part 2

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Dear Ohio,

Once again, I write to you because you are the bellwether election state.  In that sense, you are a critical part of the vetting process for presidential candidates.

In my last letter, I confided how bewildered I was that you had chosen a president so unlike my friends, Don and Ilene, who both grew up in Canton, Ohio.  Everyone who knew these folks looked up to them, and some of us even tried to be more like them.  They were people who invested their whole lives in the premise that everyone deserves to be treated with compassion, fairness and respect.

The house my friend Ilene grew up in still stands on 24th Street in Canton.  Her father built it pretty much with his own hands.  She remembered it as a place of love and understanding where she felt cherished.  She said he was the kind of man who made her want to be good in his eyes.  She remembered how he explained to her that quite often, it wasn’t the fault of his clients that they couldn’t pay their bills.  Times were tough back then, and even spare change was hard to come by in some households.

You know, dear Ohio, when you don’t live in a state and you just meet people who once lived there, you have a tendency to think that everyone in that state is like the people you know.  So, for a long time now, I have thought most Ohioans were like Don and Ilene – examples of compassion, understanding, respect and decency.  I still cling to that belief.

But I noticed in the paper the other day that the president has figured out a way to dump people off the rolls of Medicaid, the federally supported health insurance program for the poor.  He will now allow states to impose work requirements as a condition of receiving Medicaid.  And two of the states racing to get federal permission to implement such a plan are Ohio and its neighbor, Kentucky.

That brings to mind a little story about my friend Ilene.    [Read more…]

County DA Candidate Summer Stephan’s Paranoia About George Soros

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If you live in the Fox News bubble, billionaire George Soros is the devil incarnate.

More than a dozen fables about him have been debunked by the fact checkers at Snopes over the past two years, including allegations he bribed Democrats to trigger the most recent government shutdown, is grooming a Muslim Brotherhood candidate for governor, rigged voting machines in the 2016 elections, paid anti-Trump protestors, and funded Black Lives Matter.

Appointed District Attorney Summer Stephan is exploiting this particular paranoia in her re-election campaign. The first news article posted on her campaign website was an article about Soros from the far right Free Beacon website. She incorrectly suggested Soros is supporting her progressive opponent, public defender Genevieve Jones-Wright, in a recent candidate forum. And Summer’s fanboy twitter account brings up Soros paranoia like clockwork.   [Read more…]

Way to Go, Wildcats!

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Every now and then in this world that seems to be spinning out of control, something comes along that literally energizes my soul and gives me hope.

Like just a few days ago when I clicked onto Wildcat Wednesday, the newsletter that University of Arizona Athletic Director David Heeke sends out to the school’s sports fans.

What he wrote about on January 17, “The Sumlin Era Starts Now,” really resonated with me because when I was an athlete at the UofA and a member of a group called Students for Equality trying to talk to fellow students and the community-at-large about eradicating Tucson’s Jim Crow Laws we were looked at as though we were a communicable disease.

A lot of the response to what we were seeking was the same as groups like Black Lives Matter receive today, all about how we, with our colorful signs highlighting our “Blacks and Whites Together” sentiments, were going about our mission in the wrong way, with not a word about what the right way might be.   [Read more…]

Nathan Fletcher, Candidate for District 4 County Supervisor: Build a Coalition for Change

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Democrat and former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher is running for termed-out Supervisor Ron Roberts seat in District 4. The outgoing Republican held that office since 1995, managing to get re-elected each time despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans his district 2 to 1.

Fletcher dropped out of politics a few years ago after a couple of angst-filled losses while taking flack for switching political parties. Most recently he was working for Qualcomm and teaching a class at UCSD. The urge to serve returned along with a long-term opportunity to end the GOP’s monopoly at the County level.

His opponents on the Democratic side in the June primary include former Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña and Attorney Omar Passons. The winner will likely challenge Republican Bonnie Dumanis in November. District 4 includes most of the city of San Diego, spanning La Jolla to Kearny Mesa, Encanto, downtown and Ocean Beach.   [Read more…]

Omar Passons, Candidate for District 4 County Supervisor: Policy Wonk With a Heart of Gold

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Part Three: The High Profile Democratic Candidates

Omar Passons is a first-time Democratic candidate running for termed-out Supervisor Ron Roberts seat. The retiring Republican held that office since 1995, managing to get re-elected each time despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans his district 2 to 1.

He’s a construction/land-use attorney lawyer and long-time North Park community activist running a campaign based more on ideas than partisanship.

His opponents on the Democratic side in the June primary include former Asssemblypersons Lori Saldaña and Nathan Fletcher. The winner will likely challenge Republican Bonnie Dumanis in November. District 4 includes most of the city of San Diego, spanning La Jolla to Kearny Mesa, Encanto, downtown and Ocean Beach.   [Read more…]

Lori Saldaña, Candidate for District 4 County Supervisor: The Truth Will Set You Free

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Part Two: The High Profile Democratic Candidates

Former Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña is running for termed-out Supervisor Ron Roberts seat, a Republican who managed to get re-elected despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans in the district 2 to 1.

She has a long progressive political pedigree and has maintained a high profile despite not currently holding office through her activism with groups advocating for the homeless, women’s rights, and environmental causes.

She is running against two high-profile Democrats in the June primary, hoping to challenge Republican Bonnie Dumanis in November. District 4 includes most of the city of San Diego, spanning La Jolla to Kearny Mesa, Encanto, downtown and Ocean Beach.
  [Read more…]

45 Years After Roe v. Wade, How Far Have We Come When It Comes To Abortion And The Right To Privacy?

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By Kelly Macias / Daily Kos

January 22 marked the 45th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision which, through a Supreme Court ruling, legalized abortion in all 50 states. It has been an uphill battle to maintain that right ever since then. Though conservatives have tried and failed at numerous attempts to repeal the law nationally, they have been very successful at passing restrictive local laws that limit a woman’s access to contraception and abortion.As Mary Ziegler in the New York Times reminds us, though Roe is often solely associated with abortion, the law actually is about something larger.   [Read more…]

Linda Sarsour and Rebecca Traister On This Year’s Women’s March | Video Worth Watching

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Linda Sarsour and Rebecca Traister discuss this year’s Women’s March on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes. (BTW, there’s a brief prologue about gerrymandering. Hang in there; it’s short but interesting!)   [Read more…]

These County Elections Are The Ones to Watch in 2018

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The motto for San Diego County is “The noblest motive is the public good.” Questions to be answered in 2018 will decide if this is possible in the future.

I hold that the government of the County of San Diego is the single biggest factor standing in the way of solving many of the social problems facing the region. Voters have an opportunity to do something about it, starting in June.

San Diegans have the means at their disposal to make meaningful inroads into challenges surrounding child development (prevention), health (addiction, mental health), housing (affordability/homelessness), and economic inequality. All we need is the political will.   [Read more…]

Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves! | Video Worth Watching

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Women’s March San Diego today! 10:00 am – 1:00 pm, County Administration Building, 1600 Pacific Highway, 92101

Women’s March North County: 10:00 am, Palomar College, 1140 West Mission Road, San Marcos, CA 92069

When sisters are doin’ it for themselves, you know you gotta show them some R-E-S-P-E-C-T!   [Read more…]

Did Trump Cheat On His Cognitive Test? | Video Worth Watching

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Trump biographer David Cay Johnston, while discussing the possibility of impeachment or the invocation of the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, comments on the cognitive test used in Trump’s evaluation. Johnston also reflects on the changes in Trump’s behavior he has observed during his thirty years of reporting on The Donald.   [Read more…]

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