San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

Mitt Romney, Serene and Credible?

by

After the last presidential debate the San Diego Union-Tribune waxed romantically about how serene Mitt Romney appeared to be and all I could think was:

What kind of HD do they have that can make a man who looked like he had chugged some unsweetened lemon juice, seem to be serene?

Wearing an expression on your face that’s like a cross between a smile and a grin – a “smin” perhaps – is not a picture of serenity. A bit too Cheshire Cat for me.

They followed that up by citing a poll that showed that 60 out of a 100 voters thought Romney had looked credible, aka pretty good, on national security and I wondered “Should these people be voting?”   [Read more…]

Hey Obama Democrats, Don’t Get Fooled Again: DeMaio and His Big Money Friends Are Out to Screw San Diego and Ruin California

by

 “We have a conservative movement that has learned, over the decades, to mimic many of the characteristics of its enemies.”  ~ Thomas Frank

During the run-up to the June primary Carl DeMaio used a quote from one of my OB Rag columns in a mailer attacking Nathan Fletcher that implied the Rag’s support for his candidacy.  My response was a column, “Carl DeMaio is a Dangerous, Mean-Spirited Liar and Other Tales of Fear and Loathing in San Diego” where I observed:

As Frank Gormlie noted in an OB Rag piece last Saturday, Carl DeMaio used a pull quote from one of my OB Rag columns describing Nathan Fletcher as a “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” . . . What is not at all surprising here is that DeMaio uses my piece and the OB Rag logo out of context, without permission, implying our endorsement of him.  That kind of sleazy, unethical behavior is his raison d’etre.  .

  [Read more…]

We’ve Changed Our Minds about Prop 35, but NOT about Sex Trafficking

by

Editor’s Note: During a meeting of the SDFP Editorial Board this afternoon, some of us expressed reservations regarding our stand, as a group, on a YES endorsement of Proposition 35. We agreed that we would do more research and report back. Below are the opinions of two of our members, whose views mirror my own and are expressed much more eloquently. ~ Editor du Jour, Patty Jones

SDFP Editorial Board Member Anna Daniels

Wading through the propositions on the ballot this year required both time and effort.  I have felt largely confident about the positions I had taken on issues and candidates, except for Prop 35, the anti-sex trafficking initiative.  Along with the other SDFP editors, I had cast my vote in favor of the initiative, although it was apparent that there could potentially be fall-out for individual lives and broader civil liberties that I definitely would not support.

Come inside for the details…   [Read more…]

Field of View: Kayaking Along La Jolla Shores

by

If you’re looking for something fun to do that gets you beyond the beach but not soaking wet, kayaking is one such activity.

La Jolla Kayak offers a 2-hour tour in a single or double kayak along the La Jolla shoreline. Each tour is led by two guides that are great at a little educational humor, and offers the opportunity to enter a sea cave and learn about the wildlife inhabiting our local natural reserve, which is a part of University of California system. On this trip I saw sea lions galore, cormorants and pelicans–but turtles, Garibaldis (California’s state fish), tiger sharks and dolphins also frequent the area.

All photos by Annie Lane.   [Read more…]

Anti-Nuke Activists Claim Victory as PUC Orders Finanical Probe of San Onofre

by

On the facebook page of a well-known anti-nuke activist was this:

VICTORY! Financial probe of San Onofre nuclear power plant approved!

 The California Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 today (Thursday) to institute an “OII” instituting a an “order of investigation” into costs and issues raised by the extended outage of San Onofre Nuclear Plant Units 2 and 3. Congratulations to all who turned out today to urge the PUC to take this action! The Scope and extent of the OII was/is NOT a foregone conclusion—our grassroots spotlight on this is building the momentum for REAL investigation and substantive action. Our coalition’s press conference was well attended.   [Read more…]

The 2012 Elections: Vital Issues That Affect Latinos

by

By Jimmy Franco Sr./LatinPOV.com

The growing Latino population within the country has now reached 50 million people of which 24 million are registered to vote. This population is predominantly located within the large urban areas and in the key political states of New York, California, Texas and Florida. This is a generally young population which works and pays taxes that benefit all of our society and will do so for many years to come.

It is this youthful sector within our society that will play a particularly important role in the country’s future by working and supporting the growing number of retired and elderly persons by paying taxes into Social Security, Medicare and other government programs which will bolster the country’s social safety net.   [Read more…]

Debunked: 6 Lies That Biotech and Big Food Are Telling Voters About Prop 37

by

By Katherine Paul, Ronnie Cummins / AlterNet

Since Oct. 1, Monsanto and the rest of the Biotech and Big Food gang have been pounding the California airwaves with nearly $36 million worth of boldface lies and twisted truths.

Their goal? Misinform and confuse California voters into believing they’d be better off not knowing what pesticide-makers are hiding in their foods, than they would be if food manufacturers had to label genetically modified foods.

The ads are having an impact. After enjoying a 26-point lead for the past six months, the YES on 37 campaign has dropped 19 points in the polls.

But the YES team is fighting back, calling out the lies. And the liars.   [Read more…]

What Retired People Do to Make Their Days Interesting :)

by

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting.

Well, for example, the other day, Kate, my wife and I went into town and visited a shop.

When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.
We went up to him and I said,
‘Come on, man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?’   [Read more…]

Romney’s Job Creation Plan That No One Is Talking About

by

Mitt Romney has a jobs creation plan if he becomes President, alright. But no one, including Mitt Romney himself, is talking about it.

Remember the $2 trillion he wants to spend on the military? That $2 trillion he wants to spend on the military which the Pentagon doesn’t even want (but Defense contractors certainly do) translates into a huge jobs program.

What Romney is really advocating here is more government spending, but government spending of the right wing socialism (otherwise known as fascism) sort: a military buildup, exactly the kind of military buildup that got Hitler’s Germany and Roosevelt’s America out of the Great Depression.   [Read more…]

Coverup No More: Shocking Photos and Emails of Dead Wildlife from Gulf of Mexico Spill Emerge

by

Some two and a half years after the BP oil spill, Greenpeace has obtained emails and photos from a U.S. government agency that reveal the extent to which the government tried to shield the public from the wildlife casualties of the spill.

The Guardian reports that the FOIA-obtained documents show that shortly after the Deepwater Horizon disaster the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) witnessed several whales coated in oil near the site of the spill and one large sperm whale that had died.

[T]he discovery of the decomposed carcass set off a flurry of emails – with repeated instructions from NOAA officials to crew aboard the Pisces not to release information or photographs.   [Read more…]

10 Filthy-Rich, Tax-Dodging Hypocrites Pushing Disastrous Austerity on America

by

Alternet / By Sarah Anderson, Scott Klinger / Oct. 26, 2012

Brace yourself for one of the most aggressive corporate lobbying campaigns of all time. And one of the most hypocritical.

“Fix the Debt” is a coalition of more than 80 CEOs who claim they know best how to deal with our nation’s fiscal challenges. The group boasts a $60 million budget just for the initial phase of a massive media and lobbying campaign.

The irony is that CEOs in the coalition’s leadership have been major contributors to the national debt they now claim to know how to fix. These are guys who’ve mastered every tax-dodging trick in the book. And now that they’ve boosted their corporate profits by draining the public treasury, how do they propose we put our fiscal house back in order? By squeezing programs for the poor and elderly, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.   [Read more…]

The Dove and the Cockerel: Chapter 7

by

“What did Calvin the Wino see?” asked Joe.

“He, uh…well, he…,” stammered Fitzpatrick before he blurting out, “He believes that Officer Castillo was shot during an attempt on his life. That is Mr. Calvin’s, I mean Mr. Brown’s–that agents of the Central Intelligence Agency have been trying to kill him because of his connections with former members of the K.G.B. and the conspiracy to bring the Soviet Union back as a world power using the current civil unrest between the Bosnian and Croatian governments.”

Waiting for another sarcastic remark from Joe, Fitzpatrick looked skyward.

Instead of sarcasm, Joe just looked at him, nodded thoughtfully and said, “Officer Fitzpatrick, it is always important to listen to what people are saying to you, and not just hear the words. For example, I just asked you what Calvin the Wino saw, and you told me what Calvin the Wino thought was happening. It doesn’t answer my question. Now let’s try it again: Did Calvin the Wino see anything?”   [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry