San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

Can Congress Walk and Chew Gum at the Same Time? October 5th Immigration Reform Rally Planned for San Diego

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By Doug Porter

Between Tea Party types seeking to bomb ObamaCare and neo-cons looking to bomb Syria it would seem our elected representatives have decided they’re just too busy to deal with immigration reform this year, according to today’s New York Times.

Although the Senate passed a bipartisan bill back in June and immigration reforms advocates had a successful summer campaign that included hundreds of visits to Congressional offices, rallies and town-hall style meetings, the Times story says “Republican angst about losing Hispanic voters in the 2012 presidential campaign has faded.”

The prospect of a delay is generating frustration among supporters of the legislation, who felt emboldened by a summer in which conservative opposition in House districts largely fizzled and immigrant groups seized the chance to lobby lawmakers on their home turf.

  [Read more…]

The Labor Council’s Choice: David Alvarez

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By Jim Miller

Last Friday evening, after five grueling hours of candidate interviews and spirited debate, the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council overwhelmingly endorsed David Alvarez for mayor.

This decision came after weeks of intense lobbying on the part of former labor leader Lorena Gonzalez, who, along with other powerful Democratic power brokers and money people were seeking to clear the field of genuinely progressive candidates in order to anoint Nathan Fletcher as the “only choice.”   [Read more…]

What’s in it for Me? Your Obamacare Health Insurance Options

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By Joan McCarter / Daily Kos

Oct. 1 will be upon us before we know it, the launch date of the health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act.

Note that while we’re hearing a lot about the Oct. 1 deadline for the exchanges, that’s when people can first start signing up in an open enrollment period that runs through next March. Coverage won’t begin, however, until Jan. 1, 2014.

We tend to hear more about the politics of all this (still!) than the mechanics of all this, so it’s worth talking about some of the basics for the people who it will affect.   [Read more…]

For the Love of Food: Pesto, Change-O!

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By Melissa Phy / For the Love of Food

Sometimes, you just need a change. So you cut your hair (and subsequently cry about it), or dye it; you take a short road trip; you try out your hand at feng shui (the couch looks great in that corner, by the way); etc.

Well, I needed a change. It took me a while to think about what I wanted and then *pesto!* — it came to me.

Normally, pesto is made with fresh basil leaves, toasted pine nuts, garlic and olive oil. But change was in the air.   [Read more…]

California Prisoners’ Hunger Strike Ends As Lawmakers Pledge Hearings

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From AlJazeera

Prison inmates in the US state of California have ended a nearly two-month hunger strike to protest policies that can keep some gang leaders isolated for decades, after lawmakers agreed to hold hearings on the issue, prison officials say.

More than 30,000 inmates had been refusing meals when the strike began in early July.

California’s prison system is one of the largest and most crowded in the US. About 3,600 inmates are housed in the isolation units, which are designed to discipline inmates who commit crimes in prison or keep gang leaders from easily communicating with their followers.   [Read more…]

Feds Say They Will Go Easy on Banks Doing Business with Marijuana Dispensaries

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Another good piece of news from the Justice Department on the drug war.

April M. Short / Alternet

During the groundbreaking phone call on Thursday, August 29 in which U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told the governors of Colorado and Washington the federal government would not attempt to intercept regulated legal marijuana in their states, he also said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is “actively considering” how to oversee the relationship between banks and marijuana shops.

According to the Huffington Post, Holder told the governors as long as marijuana shops “operate within state laws and don’t violate other federal law enforcement priorities” the DOJ is looking to regulate those interactions as legal.   [Read more…]

US Farmers Continue David Vs. Goliath Battle Against Monsanto

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Group brings challenge to patents on Monsanto’s genetically engineered seed to Supreme Court.

By Andrea Germanos / Common Dreams

A group of U.S. farmers is not giving up its fight against biotech giant Monsanto

In the latest step of a two and a half year legal battle, plaintiffs in Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) et al v. Monsanto asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thrusday to hear their case challenging the patents on Monsanto’s genetically engineered seed.

The battle began in March 2011 when the farmers and seed companies brought a preemptive lawsuit against Monsanto to protect themselves from what they saw as unfair patent enforcement by Monsanto, whom they see as a “patent bully,” should the corporation’s genetically engineered seed contaminate the farmers’ crops.   [Read more…]

How I Became a Surrogate for Bob Filner Without Even Trying

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Lee Burdick Wrote It Down, So It Must Be True

By Doug Porter

A document from the Filner administration has surfaced via a public records act request that may be of interest to SD Free Press readers. It consists of notes taken by Filner chief of staff Lee Burdick during a July 20th staff meeting. Next to the word “Communications” typed on the agenda are notes that include “Surrogate” alongside a list of names that includes myself, Don Harrison (of San Diego Jewish World) and John (sic) Elliot (broadcaster).

We became aware of this document via a comment posted at SDFP, one that I (and others) interpreted as an attempt to denigrate my credibility.  The author of said comment denies this was his intent.

A little background is in order…   [Read more…]

Tío Emilio and the Secrets of the Ancestors: Chapter 16 — The Other Side

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“We all dream together, and we travel in these other-worldly landscapes, even though we may not be aware of it. You could say we dream our existence into reality.” Don Emilio

By Richard Juarez

It was still overcast when we walked over to see Don Emilio. The overnight fog must have been pretty heavy for it not to burn off by late morning. That made it cooler than usual. A shiver ran through my body as we walked into the yard, from the cold, I thought. Or was it was because of today’s topic? I heard that Don Emilio told Tata that he was going to talk to Tony and me about dreaming. I wondered if it was going to be more about my dream or other things about dreaming.   [Read more…]

At G20, Push For War Isolates Obama From World Leaders

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President presses for Syria strikes despite overwhelming global opposition, denounces UN legal channels as ‘hocus pocus.’

By Sarah Lazare / Common Dreams

Update:

After a vigorous lobbying effort, Obama walked away from the G20 summit with a statement signed by 11 countries that asserts Bashar al-Assad was behind the alleged chemical attacks and urges “a strong international response to a grave violation of the world’s rules” but notably falls short of supporting direct strikes   [Read more…]

Everything We Know About What Data Brokers Know About You

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By Lois Beckett / ProPublica

Data companies are scooping up enormous amounts of information about almost every American. They sell information about whether you’re pregnant or divorced or trying to lose weight, about how rich you are and what kinds of cars you have.

Regulators and some in Congress have been taking a closer look at these so-called data brokers 2014 and are beginning to push the companies to give consumers more information and control over what happens to their data.

But many people still don’t even know that data brokers exist.

Here’s a look at what we know about the consumer data industry.   [Read more…]

23 Candidates Running for San Diego Mayor (and Counting) As Councilman David Alvarez Declares His Candidacy

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By Doug Porter

A mayoral contest best characterized thus far by the quantity of candidates took a turn towards being much more interesting yesterday as Democratic City Councilman David Alvarez entered the race.

Should he end up in the winner’s circle come February (which is when a final runoff will decide the victor), Alvarez will be the first mayor of Mexican descent since the city emerged from being ruled by trustees (bankruptcy) back in 1887.

This is no small thing in a city with a growing Hispanic (28.8%) population.  It wasn’t so long ago that brown-skinned people were prohibited from buying homes in many San Diego neighborhoods.

Alvarez is also popular with many on San Diego’s Labor Council, whose participation in get out the vote efforts in recent elections has boosted turnout in less affluent neighborhoods.  His electoral base is mostly south of Interstate 8, which changes the dynamics of an election many thought would be decided by mostly white, older voting blocs in other areas of the city.   [Read more…]

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