San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

A Lot of Naughty and Very Little Nice: Looking Back at December 2013

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#1 Doug Manchester’s Two State Solution

The editorial board at UT-San Diego finally crossed the line from delusional to just flat out insane this weekend.  After reading Sunday’s paper a rational human being might even be open to arguments suggesting that the satirical Onion website has surreptitiously taken over our Daily Fishwrap.  But this weekend’s fare wasn’t funny…

Our city has many pressing issues, as the many debates leading up the special mayor election prove beyond a doubt.  Now UT-SD is trying to frame the upcoming runoff in the context of our city’s desperate need for a new football stadium, saying they’ll step in from Day One to pressure our next mayor to “get it done”.   [Read more…]

The Freezer Bowl: Recollections From the Coldest Game in NFL History

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Like their 1981 counterparts, the Chargers head to Cincinnati and the cold weather to take on the Bengals. Will history repeat itself?

By Andy Cohen

It’s been a bizarre season for the San Diego Chargers. The 2013 iteration of this team has been a near complete enigma, at times appearing completely hapless, at other times playing like Super Bowl contenders. Yet despite their maddening inconsistency, the stars eerily aligned to send the Chargers to the playoffs.

That bizarre season could potentially become even more bizarre, as they travel to Cincinnati to take on a Bengals team they lost to on December 1, 17-10 in Qualcomm Stadium, a game where the Bolts clearly did not bring their ‘A’ game. It was their last loss before heating up for a regular season ending four game win streak that included wins over playoff bound division rivals Denver and Kansas City.

This will be only the second ever playoff meeting between the Chargers and Bengals, both times in Cincinnati, and potentially an instance of history repeating itself. Any longtime Charger fan should be able to recall the scene back in January, 1982 in old Riverfront Stadium, the AFC Championship game remembered as the “Freezer Bowl.” It’s the stuff legends are made of, and was the second coldest game in recorded NFL history at nine degrees below zero. Factor in the 25 mile per hour winds that brought the wind chill factor down to -59 degrees, and it was the coldest game ever played.   [Read more…]

Twenty Years of NAFTA: Capital freely crosses borders while people can’t

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By Anna Daniels On January 1, 1994, a trilateral free trade zone was established in North America.  This treaty between the United States, Mexico and Canada resulted in the mass relocation of factories and capital south of the Mexican border. At the same time as the United States is involved in negotiating a Trans-Pacific Partnership […]

Only Joshua Trees

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By Will Falk

these deserts lack the scaffolded

red-bud Judas trees

there are only Joshua trees

 

though they are drenched

in silver pieces

of starlight spying   [Read more…]

The Phone Calls Stop When You Vote: Looking Back at November 2013

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By Doug Porter

#1 Walmart CEO Optimistic About Food Stamp Cuts

Today’s the day.

Twenty three million Americans, including four million in California and more than a quarter million in San Diego will see a 5% reduction in their food stamp benefits starting November 1st.

As many as one in nine California families receive food benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — known as CalFresh in this state.  The cuts mean a family of four will receive $632, or $36 less per month in federal food assistance, even as California food costs rise. That is the equivalent of losing roughly 21 individual meals per month based on calculations used by the Department of Agriculture.   [Read more…]

L.A. Becomes Largest City to Ban Plastic Bags

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Shoppers in the city will have to bring their own reusable grocery bags or pay ten cents per paper bag.

Alex Kane / Alternet

The city of Los Angeles is starting the new year out with a ban–a ban on plastic bags.

On January 1, a new law kicks in that prohibits large grocery stores from packing up items into plastic bags, as the Los Angeles Times notes. The law makes LA the largest city to have such a ban.   [Read more…]

The Light at the End of the Shutdown: Looking Back at October 2013

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For the twelve days of Christmas I give you: The madness of 2013, one month at a time-A month by month recap of stories that appeared in the Starting Line last year.

By Doug Porter

#1 The Government Shuts Down and Obamacare Stumbles

Today’s UT-San Diego editorial repeats the GOP fantasy that the Affordable Care Act is about to “collapse under its unworkable weight”.  If that’s true, shouldn’t they just let it happen? Could another Democrat get elected for President in the foreseeable future if that’s true?

Today’s paper also features a predictable “poll”.  A plurality says it’s the President’s fault.  The question of whether or not the government should be shut down isn’t even asked.   [Read more…]

New Year, New Health Insurance

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By Lauree Benton

Editor’s Note:  This is a follow up to a previous contribution, “One Woman’s Story:  Why I Will Be Enrolling in the ACA (Obamacare) Marketplace.”

My baby boy has insurance!

I came to that realization just after the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, ringing in 2014 and all the possibility it brings.

I let out a huge sigh of relief—one so large that it may have improved my posture. I stood up straighter than I had in seven long months. I may have even let out a tear or two. Happy tears. Relieved tears. Tears of a mother who no longer has to worry that little kid’s tendencies toward hurting themselves could send my family into financial chaos.   [Read more…]

Global Warming: How to Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit – Part 2

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By John Lawrence

This series of articles is based on an excellent book by Tom Rand: “Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit– 10 Clean Technologies to Save Our World.”  InPart 1 we dealt with all the possibilities for solar power generation.  In this article we will consider wind.  For centuries wind powered ships and windmills drew water out of the ground.  We are now in a position to reconnect with this form of energy and convert it into electricity.  How it works is very simple:  As the wind blows, enough force is created to spin a turbine which in turn generates electrical energy.  These days a single wind turbine can power a decent sized town.

The US Department of Energy has calculated that wind could generate 15 times the total world energy use.  That’s 15 times all the energy generated by oil, coal and nuclear at the present time.  Even oil magnate T. Boone Pickens has called the US the “Saudi Arabia of wind.”   [Read more…]

The Repackaging of Kevin Faulconer, Wherein Barney Fife Gets Transformed into John Wayne: Looking Back at September 2013

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For the twelve days of Christmas I give you: The madness of 2013, one month at a time-A month by month recap of stories that appeared in the Starting Line last year.

By Doug Porter

#1 Carl DeMaio Obeys Orders

It was a day to remember in San Diego’s political history.  Three high-profile politicians opted to decline the opportunity to enter the contest for the top spot in the eighth largest city in the United States.  That’s like three customers going into a Starbucks paying for a latte with a hundred dollar bill and saying “keep the change”…or a camel passing through the eye of a needle.

…DeMaio deferred to his Congressional ambitions, Todd Gloria said that the job of being interim mayor demanded his full attention and County Supervisor Ron Roberts opted out of the race.   [Read more…]

Extreme Weather Watch: December 2013 – Power Outages, Canceled Flights, Bitter Cold, Freezing Rain

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By John Lawrence

Snow, sleet, freezing rain and extreme cold left millions of people without power in the US, Canada and western Europe. December 2013 was packed full of bitter cold, snowy and icy extremes which resulted in pile-ups on the highways, canceled flights and people trying to survive bitter cold with no heat in their homes.

Winter Storm Cleon produced a significant bout of freezing rain and sleet across the Dallas-Ft. Worth area Dec. 5-6. Freezing rain and sleet accumulations of up to 1.5 inches led to nasty travel conditions. Hundreds of flights were canceled by the icy weather. In addition, more than a quarter million customers were without power in northern Texas.

The first phase of Winter Storm Cleon hammered parts of northeast Minnesota with heavy snow Dec. 2-4. Two Harbors, Michigan took the title as the location that had the most snow from Cleon with a total of 35.6 inches. Just down the road in Duluth, Minnesota, Cleon dumped 23.3 inches of snow. This was the sixth largest three day snowfall total on record in the city.   [Read more…]

Restaurant Review: Pear’s Thai Cuisine

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By Judi Curry

My children frequently do not like to go out to a restaurant with me if they think there is a possibility that I may review that restaurant. However, my youngest, Stephanie, has been touting “Pear’s” restaurant ever since they opened and was time to see what she was talking about.

The restaurant was hard to find. It is one block behind Aero Drive – even though the address is on Aero – and skirts John Montgomery Drive to the north. It is actually off of “Gibbs” street in a small strip mall that is easy to overlook. In spite of the location, I was amazed at the number of people that came to the restaurant to pick up take out orders. In the hour that we were there, I counted 7 take-out orders, plus the walk-ins that actually ate in the restaurant. Perhaps that is because you can order on-line, and they also have a delivery service. The restaurant has six tables, with most seating 4 patrons, although there are two for two people only.   [Read more…]

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