San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

BLOG UGLY: SD Rostra’s Nostrums

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By Bob Dorn

In modern times nothing has been more effective in bringing down the Republicans than the Republicans.

Hubris it might be called. From Richard Nixon’s embarrassing proposal for a White House ceremonial guard dressed in musical comedy uniforms to Ronald Reagan’s naked affection for ranchero machismo to George Dubya’s endorsement of even faker ranchero machismo (he didn’t like horses and went awol from his national guard post); professed Republicans have tended to talk tough. And done poof.

They’re fantasists, of a particular variety.

Locally, there’s no better example of this commitment to the wet dreams of destiny than the website, San Diego Rostra.   [Read more…]

Two Year Old Girl Shot and Killed by Five Year Old Brother Wielding ‘My First Gun’

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Guns Marketed Directly to Kids!

by John Lawrence

Caroline Sparks, age 2, was fatally shot in the chest by her brother Kristian who had been given “My First Rifle” by his parents. The mother had stepped outside for a minute when the gun went off.

Officials identified the single-shot rifle as a Crickett, which is produced by  Keystone Sporting Arms in Pennsylvania. This is a gun designed specifically for children four to ten years old and comes in hot pink for girls and a variety of other colors including a red, white and blue swirl. These guns are directly marketed to kids just like Happy Meals or Barbie dolls.

The website www.cricket.com has been taken down and they’re not answering their phones.   [Read more…]

San Ysidro: From Bi-National Lifestyle to Bi-National Border Region Center?

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By Beryl Forman

Growing up in the 1970’s in Tijuana, Linda Caballero Sotelo explained that “our mind set was that we had the best of both worlds.” Almost everyone moved freely through the border to accomplish their daily activities. For groceries, people from Tijuana preferred to shop locally for their meat, produce, cheese, and tortillas, but would cross regularly for bread, canned items, ice cream, novelty goods, and to do large loads of laundry. She recalls a childhood activity of going to Bonita on Tuesday nights for $1 movies. This bi-national lifestyle is inherent to many who grew up close to the border.

While it is evident that this way of life is no longer as flexible, Linda believes that San Ysidro, adjacent to the Mexican border, has never greatly benefited from this cross border lifestyle. Linda consults and works for Casa Familiar, a neighborhood based community development, social service agency in San Ysidro. From the perspective of someone who grew up in Tijuana, Linda describes San Ysidro as a pass through area, a place to exchange money, run last minute errands, fill up the car with gasoline, but not a place to spend leisure or otherwise valuable time.   [Read more…]

Stop AB 1309: Professional Athletes Deserve Workers Comp Too

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By Rachel Hooper

There is no question that the game of football is dangerous. NFL players get injured on the job – so many that an “injury report” section is ubiquitous in our sports page. In fact, a study run by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that the risk of death associated with neurodegenerative disorders is about three times higher among NFL players than the rest of the population.

NFL athletes are not merely players, they are also employees.

Their employers are now trying to take away their collectively bargained right to Workers Compensation Benefits in California. It is not right, and it sets a dangerous precedent.   [Read more…]

What My Mother Said: “Derby Day! Time to Sow Seeds!”

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By Anna Daniels

My mother loved the horses. She grudgingly attended sulky races at The Meadows race track in western Pennsylvania, but it was flat racing that captivated her heart. She and my father would argue for days about the line up for the Kentucky Derby and lay bets with the local bookie; only the stupid or insane would dare to carry on a conversation anywhere close to the television set during the broadcast of this event.

Mom was also a devoted albeit quirky gardener–confident in her abilities to grow abundant vegetables and flowers and contemptuous of those who over-think the process. “Grow where you are planted” was delivered as an edict, not cajolery. Her gardening philosophy mirrored in many ways her philosophy on child rearing.

My younger sister and I were sitting in Mom’s kitchen a few decades ago discussing gardening. We had both thrown ourselves completely into turning our yards into beds for flowers, bushes and trees. We were comparing notes on the use of root toner when transplanting and whether to use fungicides on dahlia tubers. Seed catalogs passed between us for close review.

Mom stood at the table listening. “You two sure have more money than brains,” she pronounced. This was one of her favorite all-purpose phrases. “Do you know what I do? On Derby Day I go down into the basement and bring up the seeds I saved from last year and I throw them out into the beds. That’s it. What’s wrong with my gardens?”   [Read more…]

The Dove and the Cockerel: Epilogue

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Colin took the Budweiser from the sack, twisted off the top and placed the bottle in the fire. As the fire boiled the liquid and it foamed out of the opening, Colin opened the O’Doul’s.

“Here’s to you, Pete” said Colin, raising his drink and taking a sip. Then as an afterthought, “Here’s to you, Joe. Good luck in your next life. You’ve earned it.”

Colin sat quietly and finished his drink, watching as the remaining beer boiled out of the bottle in the fire.   [Read more…]

Dirty Wars and Drones: Real National Security?

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Author Jeremy Scahill Examines the Ugly Reality

By Jay Powell

Thursday night, Jeremy Scahill, author of “Blackwater” gave a preview of his new book “Dirty Wars” to a full house at Hoover High School auditorium in City Heights a community that is home to many refugees from countries torn by war. With a large scale model of an armed Predator drone provided by Veterans for Peace as a backdrop, a good portion of his talk focused on the use of drones, cruise missiles and cluster bombs to assassinate suspected terrorists in countries thousands of miles away.

The next morning, to no one’s surprise—no coverage by the UT-SD of the event. But there was a feature article about US Navy drones and copters program. Near the end reporter Jeanette Steele noted that “even though the military has seen the effectiveness of land-based Predator drones in making surgical strikes … some Americans have started to oppose the idea of ‘killer’ drones on moral grounds.”   [Read more…]

Where Are All the Strawberry Fields Going?

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By Judi Curry

During my trip to Carlsbad last weekend with members of my support group, we stopped in at a delightful shoe shop, “Coolest Shoes in California” and had an interesting discussion with Christine Davis, the owner of the store.  Somehow we started talking about the Carlsbad Strawberry Fields and making jam, and she commented to me “better hurry.  They won’t be here long.”

At first, I thought she was telling me that the season was just about over, but in discussing it further, it turns out that a Los Angeles developer has agreed to purchase 48 acres of the fields that are along Interstate 5. They purchased the fields from SDG&E and, at the present time, do not have any plans for the fields, except to destroy them.   [Read more…]

Is Bigger Better in the Friendly Skies?

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By JEC

Is bigger better? The new AT&T commercial with the man in a suit sitting on the floor with the kids seems to think so. Cruise ships, now they have gotten huge like Royal Caribbean’s new 5,000 passenger ships. With crew that’s 7,500 souls on board.

But we don’t do cruise ships very often, but a lot of us do fly and we can appreciate the aircraft industry for trying to keep up. Like Boeing’s 290 passenger 787 Dreamliner and its much larger cousin the Airbus’s 600 + passenger two story plane the 380 are doing their best to add seats and more passengers.

I’m on a Southwest flight with just 144 seats. All filled. Among the passengers are three small children. So far during this three and a half hour flight to Nashville at least two of the three have been crying, screaming at times. Then about two hours into the flight I thought I had climbed into a TB ward; passengers started coughing. A couple behind, a few in front, in time it seemed to grow to a chorus and I begin to wonder if the airlines resolved the air quality bio-filter issue.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – The National NRA Convention: No Sane People Allowed

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Going Great Guns, Deep in the Heart of Texas

By Doug Porter

Stories about pushback resulting from votes against the Senate’s most recent efforts at gun legislation are making the rounds this week, including poll results showing voter frustration with elected officials who opposed background checks.

This weekend, however, the media landscape will shift as the National Rifle Association holds a three day gathering in Houston, Texas.  Today’s ‘leadership forum’ will boast conservative heart-throbs like former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum.

INSIDE: Is Obama the Worst Socialist Ever?, Ethiopian Blogger Imprisoned, Where Have All the Teachers Gone?   [Read more…]

Richard Montoya’s Federal Jazz Project Hits a Strong Note for San Diego

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By Victor Payan

San Diego-born playwright Richard Montoya has been on a prolific hot streak for the past several years. His expert mix of weight and whimsy have made him a favorite of local audiences, and his latest play, Federal Jazz Project, is yet another winner.  A collaboration with local jazz master Gilbert Castellanos, Federal Jazz Project delivers a verbal and musical tour de force that digs into the dark underbelly of World War II-era San Diego and provides a fascinating history tour of America’s Finest City.

Fans of local lore and lovers of great jazz should rush out to see Federal Jazz Project before it concludes its World Premiere run at the San Diego Repertory Theatre this Sunday at 2pm.

Federal Jazz Project shines on many levels and features some brilliant writing by Montoya.  Stellar live music by a Castellanos-led jazz quintet and strong performances by a capable cast round out the story of Kidd (Joe Hernandez-Kolski), an idealistic impresario, whose hopes of launching the careers of two singing and dancing sisters named San Diego and Tijuana, played Lorraine Castellanos and Claudia Gomez, are thwarted by the guardians of San Diego’s military-industrial complex.   [Read more…]

Math Should Trump Politics in California Pension Debate

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by Lou Paulson, President, California Professional Firefighters/Fox and Hounds Daily

If there’s one thing the debate over public employees’ pensions has taught us, it’s that California needs to invest more in mathematics instruction in its public schools.

When Stanford professors who receive special interest funding for their work and self-proclaimed ”taxpayer” organizations bankrolled by anti-union groups wag their finger at an an investment system that yields 8 percent annual returns, it’s clear there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the numbers.

No wonder the state budget is never balanced.

But let’s back up for a moment. When governments hire teachers, first responders, parks maintenance workers, garbage truck drivers, et cetera, they make certain promises regarding those employees’ retirements. Then, they often have decades to pay for those promises. It’s the same as when a family buys a house — they finance the large amount, and pay it off over 30 years.

In California, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) pays for most of those government workers’ retirements, and it does that by making investments, earning interest, and growing the bank account from which it cuts retirement checks.   [Read more…]

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