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Michelle Gomez, County Board of Supervisors District 5 | Candidate Profiles for the November 2018 Ballot

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By Michelle Gomez

For the last quarter of a century, our county governing body has been dominated by fiscal conservatives who have turned a blind eye to crisis level problems impacting county residents. They have simultaneously built a bank account which could rival that of some small nations.

Term limits enacted within the last five years are finally bringing an end to their lackluster legacies and progressives are in the driver seat to flip a historically red seat. One that holds a tremendous amount of influence over how our daily lives are led here in San Diego County.

Our Board of Supervisors can and should be a force for good, one that ensures access to health and human services, which addresses our lack of affordable housing, and which protects the natural beauty of this place we are so fortunate to call home.

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Paul Avrich’s An American Anarchist: The Life of Voltairine de Cleyre | A Review

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By Mel Freilicher

An American Anarchist: The Life of Voltairine de Cleyre
by Paul Avrich
AK Press, 2018

The self-professed group of anarchists who comprise AK Press, a worker-run collective which publishes and distributes radical books, visual and audio media, has done a great service by reissuing Paul Avrich’s fascinating study of an American original. As Robert Helms suggests in his instructive Foreword outlining Avrich’s own background and achievements as the premier scholar of American anarchism until his death in 2006, this author “succeeded in rescuing this brilliant and compelling person from near non-existence.”   [Read more…]

District Attorney Summer Stephan Must Apologize to San Diego’s Jewish Community

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On Monday night, District Attorney Summer Stephan attended the vigil at the Congregation Beth Israel for the victims of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. She stood on stage and sat in the front row.

However, when asked by a reporter from Times of San Diego about the anti-Semitic website that her campaign launched attacking George Soros during the June primary election, Ms. Stephan refused to answer any questions or acknowledge the issue. 

As the leadership team of the campaign for Geneviéve Jones-Wright, the target of Ms. Stephan’s race-baiting and fear mongering, we watched in horror as the voters of San Diego fell for hateful scare tactics.

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Against the Advice of Everyone, Trump Went to Pittsburgh to Rub Salt into a Wounded City

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The mayor of Pittsburgh told Donald Trump to wait. Local religious leaders asked Trump to wait. Politicians in both parties begged Trump to wait.

Tens of thousands of local residents told Trump not to come at all until he was ready to completely disown the white nationalist agenda that contributed to the mass murder at Tree of Life Synagogue. 

Still, Trump thought that doing a photo shoot in Pittsburgh as the families of 11 victims were getting ready for funerals was a good idea. And, as everyone except Trump predicted, his presence in the city generated anger and disruption on a day that was already so difficult for so many.

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Bigger Lies, Told More Often: The Trumpublicans’ Final Mid-Term Push

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The level of anxiety in the pre-midterm zeitgeist has been cranked up to 11.

It hurts to listen, just like it did at the Newport Festival in 1969 (?) when the band who invented heavy metal, Blue Cheer, took to the stage and literally blew (parts of) the audience away during their rendition of Summertime Blues. I know, I was there. People got up and ran. (I’m just not sure what year it was. It was the 60s, y’know.)

I urge you to remember all this noise is deliberate; aimed at inducing a nihilist stupor on the left and a rabid frenzy on the right. One thing you must not forget is your participation in the election. (Don’t worry, there’s more to do past November 6th. We’re just not there yet.)

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The Myth of Mom n Pop: What the Anti-Rent Control Forces and AirBnB Have in Common

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As a mainstay of the American Dream–family home ownership– is declining, the land barons of the twenty-first century have been busy using that foundational yearning to disguise their true intent.

Dressing a corporate crusade as a defense of the small investor is a trick as old as the hills. It’s especially useful when the actual behavior –if known–of the corporate entities involved would be considered repugnant.

This was the crux of the successful petition drive leading up to the San Diego City Council’s rollback of regulations aimed at the overnight stay market locations in residential neighborhoods. It’s also at the heart of the massive effort to defeat Proposition 10, the initiative allowing localities to consider rent control ordinance.

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To Once Again Be Whole

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“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” – Voltaire

A week of horror: Bombs mailed, black people executed, Jews slaughtered at prayer while a well-armed lunatic shrieked, “All Jews must die!”, all as the heedless Nationalist in the White House blathers, “It’s a terrible thing what’s going on with hate in our country.”

There were abundant signs: Michael Moore has outtake footage of a bulked-up Cesar Sayoc yelling “CNN Sucks!” at an early Trump rally, another sorry soul full of fear and anger, looking for someone to hate, “a lost dog with no direction home.”


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The Democrats Midterms Test Anxiety and What They Need to Study for 2020

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With the midterms a little more than a week out there is a good amount of handwringing in progressive circles about whether or not the “blue wave” will actually happen.  

Nervous Democrats pore over the latest posts on the polling at FiveThirtyEight, and the talking heads on MSNBC parse the current numbers, muse about the accuracy of the polling, and commiserate about their post-traumatic stress after the 2016 election.

With decision day looming, the collective anxiety is getting more and more palpable.  In between ranting about Russia and the Mueller investigation, the unthinkable question is on the tip of many a liberal’s tongue: could we actually blow it again?  

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Readers Write | Why I Support Nicole Jones for the Southwestern College Board of Trustees

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By Michael Flanders

I am proud to provide this endorsement of Nicole Jones for Seat 4 on the Southwestern College Board of Trustees. I’ve seen firsthand how she creates culturally sensitive programs at Cuyamaca College that both facilitate equal access and level the playing field for the college’s diverse population of students. She will be an exceptional Board Member for Southwestern College at a time when the future success of both the County and the State lies squarely in the hands of its community college leaders.

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The Firsts of 2018 Midterms Help Make History | Video Worth Watching

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From the Now This YouTube page:

Women, young people, and people of color are making history in the 2018 midterm elections. The 2018 midterm elections are just around the corner and we’re celebrating all of the history makers this political cycle. There are 262 women on the ballot for Congress. Young people are running for office and stepping up like never before. People of color and LGBTQ people are shattering barriers. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Andrew Gillum, Stacey Abrams, and Christine Hallquist are just some of the history makers.

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Following Terror Attacks, County DA Stephan Takes Down Her Anti-Soros Campaign Website

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In the wake of the bombs sent via mail to various Democratic supporters, I revisited District Attorney Summer Stephan’s campaign website on Wednesday, which utilized many of the right-wing memes many believe were responsible for billionaire George Soros being included as a target.

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Senator Bernie Sanders to Speak at ‘Get Out the Youth Vote’ Rally, Supporting Local Candidates

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A rally on Friday at MiraCosta College in Oceanside aimed at encouraging young voters will feature one of Bernie Sanders two appearances in California.

Doors will open at the college gymnasium at 6pm for the event, open to registered voters. RSVPs are being taken via the BernieSanders.com website.

The Vermont Senator will reportedly be joined by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as he winds up a nine-state trip in support of Democratic candidates.

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