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The Private Side of the Intelligence Equation – Corporations Exploit Their Access

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By Doug Porter

Much of the mainstream media has decided that trivializing whistleblower Edward Snowden is a safer course that actually exploring the implications of his disclosures.

John Oliver didn’t have to ponder more than a few seconds on the Daily Show before concluding the media had gone “Us Weekly on the messenger”, citing supposed news stories about Edward Snowden’s middle school experiences and his girlfriend’s pole dancing videos.

Fortunately, a few observers have maintained their dignity amid the rush to sensationalize trivia and trumpet the bloviating of ignorant blowhards seeking political advantage.   [Read more…]

Odd Man Out? Newly Minted Congressional Candidate DeMaio Left Off San Diego GOP Endorsement List

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By Doug Porter

After getting trounced in the 2012 elections, San Diego Republicans, led by Tony Krvaric, vowed to get into the next election cycle early and often with support and endorsements.

Just this week they’ve announced a list of official party candidate endorsements for the 2014 elections.  The roll call for the already blessed includes mostly incumbent Congressional, State Senate and Assembly members, County and Local officials, along with contenders for ‘key seats’. Chris Cate, candidate for the open seat in San Diego’s officially non-partisan City Council District 6 race is among those receiving the party’s backing.

Noticeably absent from that list is Carl DeMaio, who’s bounced back from his fall defeat in the Mayoral contest with an aggressive campaign aimed at unseating Congressman Scott Peters in the 52nd District.   [Read more…]

From the Wrestling Mat to the Dance Floor

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By Judi Curry

I hope that some of you remember the story about my grandson Colin and his goal to win a medal in the Nationals in wrestling and go on to Stanford on a wrestling scholarship.  Colin, you might remember, is 14 and had just placed 3rd in his division at the nationals held in Las Vegas a few weeks back.  Colin is an excellent athlete – excels in all sports he likes.

There is one other “sport” that he excels in that I want to tell you about.

When he entered the 6th grade he was told that “Ballroom Dancing” was a requirement. He was so upset that he cried and wanted to switch schools. He did not want to take the class, but since it was mandated, he had no choice.   [Read more…]

Bicycle Weekend – A Summary of Great Cycling Activities for this weekend

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By John P. Anderson

Today, Friday May 17, is Bike to Work Day and there are pit stops all over the county for cyclists to stop, enjoy a bite to eat, meet some fellow riders, and generally start the day on a good foot.  I enjoyed the morning at the 30th Street & Upas Street corner with fresh coffee and pastries and some conversation with neighbors.

If you weren’t able to join the festivities today (or did but want to keep the party going) there are a number of great cycling activities going on this weekend.

Sunday, May 19

Bike Local Sundays – South Park – All Day

The second edition of this program from the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition rolls into action on Sunday in South Park.  The Bike Local Sundays program is held in a different neighborhood every third Sunday of the month and South Park follows the Hillcrest debut in April.  Per the SDCBC:

“Bike Local Sundays started with a goal to get more people riding bikes to support business in San Diego. Trends show that more people riding bikes versus driving improves community health, air quality and traffic congestion, as well as boosts business by relieving residents of the costs of owning and operating a vehicle, transferring those savings to the local economy.”   [Read more…]

The Best Bicycle Ride Around Mission Bay

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A Tour of the Best Bicycle Route Around San Diego’s Aquatic Playland

By Frank Gormlie

This started out as a chronicle – complete with a photo journal – of the best bicycle ride around Mission Bay. I had planned to post nearly one hundred photos with complete descriptions and commentary – but due to a glitch in our programs, I was having too many problems to present all the pics. So, I temporarily shelved that idea and gravitated to a briefer version, this one. (As you peruse the photos, be sure to click on them for larger versions to view.)

The tour I now present around Mission Bay is a great one and it is a ride that has been honed by me and a few riding friends over the last three decades – since the early Eighties.

It is a ride along a route that has a minimum of traffic and street exposure, and it is a route that is practically 13 miles round trip from the Ocean Beach Skateboard Park in Robb Field.

  [Read more…]

You Make My Heart Sing

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A Shout Out to the Arizona Wildcat Basketball Team

Hey, you, Wildcats!
Man!
You could never understand
how you make my heart sing
when you take to the courts and do your thing.
It’s downright thrilling, appealing,
exhilarating, fulfilling…
And I’m sitting here in my den, chilling,
thinking of rhymes about how y’all beat Belmont
like they were no more than children out to play,
no more than feathers in a hurricane’s way,
and you attached yourselves to Harvard
like leeches feasting on fat prey,
like gloom on a nasty stormy day.
…..   [Read more…]

It’s Up to Wrestling to Keep Me Alive

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When I was younger, I said that I didn’t want to die until my grandchildren graduated from high school. Of course when I said that I didn’t know that I would have 9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. Then, after so many of them graduated, I had to modify my statement to say that I didn’t want to die until my grandchildren graduated from college.

Now I find that I have to modify that statement again, because the twins – Landon and Logan – have filed for graduation from Cal St. Fullerton; Cody, my second grandson is a Junior at ASU, and the others are quickly catching up to them. So my latest “death wish” is that I do not die until I see Colin, my 14 year old grandson do two things: Win a wrestling scholarship to attend Stanford; and win a medal at Nationals. I also want to be at his graduation from Stanford. I figure he can achieve those goals in 10 years, and at 84 I could still have a positive life, be reasonably healthy, and continue my quest to find a companion.   [Read more…]

Sex in San Diego: A Fine Farewell to Dating Websites

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As my subscriptions to five online dating sites comes to a close, I look back at some of the situations I have found myself in and can’t help but laugh hysterically. On the other hand, some of the time I found myself sad and depressed because things did not turn out the way I had hoped they would. Sounds like I might be bordering on bipolarism.

Some of the people that I have met have been wonderful and I consider them friends. Of course, I wasn’t looking for friends when I joined the sites; I was – and still am – looking for a companion, a lover, a best friend. I am thrilled that Joe, a man I frequently went out with has found a potential companion for life. I will always think of him as a friend and have also “friended” his new squeeze. Jim, I know I can always count on you if I need help; you have been there each and every time I have asked for some thing.

I have been amazed at the number of men that are married and are looking for a one-nighter. I know their wives don’t understand them, or their wives don’t like sex anymore, or their wives are having an affair and these men just want to “get back at them.” On the same hand, I am amazed at the number of men who are interested in having a mistress. One man told me that I would have to quit all the sites I am on if I were to be his mistress because he didn’t want me “screwing anyone else.” Huh? It’s OK for him to screw around on his wife but I, a single woman, cannot screw around on him. Yeah!   [Read more…]

The Smell of Freedom in the Air: Guns in America

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by Jerry Farber / The Daily Kos

Let’s be honest. Haven’t you just about had it with this latest round of hand-wringing about guns? I mean, look, why don’t we just concede the point right up front? Yes, if you want the kind of government that runs your life, that comes into your home and tells you how sharp your kitchen knives can be, well then, sure, I suppose life can be made a little safer. But what about freedom? Isn’t that pretty much supposed to be the name of the game in this country.

And aren’t we all just sick and tired of hearing how America should try to be more like some other country—like this country or that country? Now it’s all about gun violence. People throw these ridiculous figures at you. Supposedly, in England, the death rate from guns is forty times less than it is here. (So in those London pubs they just have to come at each other with broken bottles, right?) Oh, and Japan. Yes, let’s be just like Japan. In Japan, nobody ever dies at all (except, of course, when a nuclear plant blows up in their face). So what is this all about? What are these Japan-lovers and these England-lovers trying to sell us? What are they after? I’ll tell you what they’re after. One more freedom down the drain.   [Read more…]

Yer Up Aztecs!

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7th seeded SDSU faces 10 seed Oklahoma tonight in the NCAA Tournament

Let’s get this out in the open: I’m a homer. Not a blind homer, but a homer nonetheless when it comes to the San Diego State Aztecs. MY Aztecs. I attended San Diego State University (sadly earned my degree elsewhere, though), and have been a SDSU basketball season ticket holder since Head Coach Steve Fisher arrived on Montezuma Mesa, and a regular attendee during the most putrid of days since Cox/Viejas arena first opened its doors. Hell, we paid for the damn thing, might as well use it, right?

OK, so that’s done. I have a vested interest in what happens tonight in the Aztecs’ NCAA Tournament matchup with Oklahoma and their head coach, old MWC foe Lon Kruger, formerly the boss at UNLV.   [Read more…]

An Afternoon with Pancho Segura

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by Hilary Paul McGuire, USPTA

Seated in a wheel chair watching his son Spencer Segura play at the Bobby Riggs Tennis Club and Museum in Encinitas, CA was 92-yearold Pancho Segura.

His full mane of neck-length silver hair bespoke his presence from afar. His imposing form hovered as a sentinel over the courts.

I showed him my newly-released book Tennis Saves: Stewart Orphans Take World By Racket. Though I’m a long-time USPTA pro, he didn’t know me from Adam. With scarcely a sidewise glance, he growled, “Everyone writes a book—too many books. Tennis books don’t sell, not even my Little Pancho.” Caroline Seebohm published that much-touted biography in 2009.
  [Read more…]

Live in North Park, City Heights, University Heights, Normal Heights, Rolando or other nearby areas? Like to ride a bike? Like to ride a bike without fearing for your life?

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If some or all of the above apply to you mark your calendars for Wednesday, March 6, from 6 to 8:30 PM.  SANDAG is holding the second open-to-the-public meeting soliciting community input for the North Park – Mid-City Bike Corridors Project.  The meeting will be held at the Sunset Temple in North Park at 3911 Kansas Street, San Diego, CA  92104.  If you’re looking for a spot to park your bike one of the city’s 4 bike corrals is conveniently located two short blocks away at the corner of North Park Way and 30th Street.  Bonus: the corral is right outside The Linkery restaurant which features Belgian-style drafts for $4 on Wednesday nights.

Think this is just another meeting to attend, voice your opinion, and have no real-world result for the investment of your time and efforts?  Well, you might be right.  But SANDAG has ponied up approximately $1 million for the planning and preliminary design stages of this project.   [Read more…]

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