This week’s edition of Looking Back at the Week contains articles, commentaries, columns, and other work by San Diego Free Press regulars, irregulars, columnists, cartoonists, at-large contributors, and locally and nationally sourced writers on SDFP’s Progressive Voter Guide, National Poetry Month, UFCW playing politics while members suffer, Stephan’s bad day, Scott Sherman’s possible problems, and […]
Search Results for: Susan Taylor
Looking Back at the Week: December 17-23
This week’s edition of Looking Back at the Week contains articles, commentaries, columns, and other work by San Diego Free Press regulars, irregulars, columnists, at-large contributors, a cartoonist from Chicago, and locally sourced writers on: Trump’s seven dirty words, the first Issa-versary, the great tax theft of 2017, Sheriff Gore under fire, progressive stocking stuffers, nasty women, Brother Martin, Merry Dickensmas, and lots of other grassroots news & progressive views from San Diego’s feisty, all volunteer, slightly funky, community news site. [Read more…]
The Fight Against GMOs and Toxic Food
While Other Countries Ban GMOs, US Congress Endorses Them
By John Lawrence
Scotland has banned genetically modified organisms (GMOs) within its country. “Scotland is known around the world for our beautiful natural environment—and banning growing genetically modified crops will protect and further enhance our clean, green status,” said rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead. Here in the US the fight is just for the right to know that a food product should be labeled as GMO, and that’s not going so well.
Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1599, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015. This is BS, of course, since the bill’s real purpose is to preempt the rights of state and local governments to pass laws requiring the mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), to overturn GMO labeling laws already in place in several states, and to prevent the passage of any federal mandatory GMO labeling law in the future. So there is no free speech insofar as knowing what’s in something we are eating is concerned. The law’s attempt is to suppress truth in labeling.
GMOs were developed primarily to be resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup so that Roundup could be sprayed directly on crops and only the weeds would die. So whether or not GMO corn and soybeans are good or bad for you, the presence of poison sprayed on them can’t be too good for human consumers when they eat such crops. Especially crops such as grapes and apples which have very thin skins and are vulnerable to soaking up the herbicides and pesticides sprayed on them. [Read more…]
A Suggestion for the San Diego Chamber of Commerce: Change Your Name to the Corporate Welfare Defense League
By Doug Porter
The effort to sabotage a proposed minimum wage increase in San Diego was funded almost entirely by corporations dependent on government anti-poverty programs to support their workers.
This information came out via a November 4 campaign financial disclosure statement filed with the San Diego city clerk’s office reported on by Matt Potter at the Reader. The campaign was sponsored by a group calling itself the San Diego Small Business Coalition., While the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce, headed by former Mayor Jerry Sanders, made no secret of its involvement, they consistently claimed they were acting on behalf of and funded by small businesses.
Now we know that more than 95% of the group’s funding came from big business Political Action Committees. Out of town monies included: $100,000 from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, $40,000 from The California Restaurant Association Issues PAC, and $25,000 from the International Franchise Association of Washington DC. [Read more…]
‘Jim Crow’ Campaign Against Gays Goes National
By Doug Porter
A 33-27 vote in the Arizona House last night sent legislation to GOP Gov. Jan Brewer allowing business owners in the state to assert their religious beliefs to refuse service to persons who they believe to be homosexual. The state that brought us openly racist anti-immigrant laws four years ago has once again taken the lead in defending bigotry.
Conservative Christian groups and their Republican allies are desperate to stop the clock. The handwriting is on the wall. Sexual orientation as a criteria for full participation in society is on its way out. In state after state, the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government are chipping way at policies that enforce discrimination based on who you love.
Lest you think this Arizona legislation is an aberration caused by too much time in the sun, be aware that even more heinous legislation was promoted by GOP pols in Kansas, Idaho, Oregon, South Dakota, and Tennessee. Furious public opposition has stalled those efforts for now, but there’s always next year. [Read more…]
The Predictable Demise of the Plaza de Panama Plan
The San Diego City Council arrogantly and knowingly ignored its own laws in supporting the planned Balboa Park renovation.
Last week Judge Timothy Taylor ruled that the proposed Balboa Park redevelopment plan put forward by the Irwin Jacobs sponsored Plaza de Panama Committee violated city law and could not move forward. The controversial plan to remove parking and vehicular traffic altogether from the Central Mesa of Balboa Park, build the Centennial Bridge that would circumvent the museums around to the south as an offshoot of the historic Cabrillo Bridge, and build a three story paid parking structure to the south of the Organ Pavilion, would have cost a projected $45 million, with $25 million being donated by Dr. Jacobs himself.
The plan was highly suspect from the very beginning, and tensions on both sides ran rather high. Shortly after the City Council voted to approve the plan, I wrote a piece explaining how the plan could very well be found illegal, laying out the several ways that the plan was legally flawed.
Turns out that Judge Taylor agreed, at least in part, reaching “the reluctant conclusion” that in approving the Plaza de Panama plan, the City did in fact violate city law. In order to approve the project, city law clearly states that the City Council must find that there is “no beneficial use” for the property; that without the Jacobs plan, Balboa Park would be useless to the public, the entity for whom the park exists. [Read more…]
The Dove and the Cockerel: Chapter 11
“Clarence, Clarence…Clarence!” barked Charlie. “Look at me!”
Clarence responded obediently and robotically. His eyes were red and bloodshot. He had been unable to wipe his nose and a sheen of snot covered the space over his upper lip. “What’s going to happen to me?” he asked no one in particular, in a quiet trembling voice.
“That is entirely up to you m’boy. It depends on how well you can pull yourself together here and tell me about your friend in jail last night,” said Charlie in a serious voice.
“What friend?” asked Clarence.
“The guy you told me about. The one who killed a cop, Clarence,” Susan interrupted. [Read more…]
The Dove and the Cockerel: Chapter 10
“No, no, don’t!” cried Clarence Taylor, pulling back from the bailiff as two other deputies approached.
Susan withdrew to avoid the gathering melee. This was not the pompous ass with the Gucci penny loafers and cardigans from school. This was a person ready to snap. No, he had snapped, and she was going to distance herself before she got caught in the maelstrom. But it was too late. Clarence had grabbed her waist and had her in a death grip, tearing her blouse, exposing her lace camisole, much to the delight of Kenneth Piedmont and all the other males present.
“Don’t let them take me, Susan!” he yelled. [Read more…]
The Dove and the Cockerel, Part II: Chapter 8
Under any circumstance, an evening spent in County Jail’s felony holding tank could never be considered pleasant, regardless of social standing on the outside. Such was the situation of the soon-to-be-former law student Clarence Edward Taylor, Jr., after Pete Castillo had discarded him there several hours earlier.
He was given a pair of saggy jockey shorts, a matching set of loose fitting navy blue pants and shirt and a used pair of flip-flops. The pants had a small drawstring which barely held them on his waist, and the shirt, a pull-over, was emblazoned in white letters across the back bearing COUNTY JAIL — the name of his new home.
For some reason, the Jail staff had forgotten his one telephone call. [Read more…]