San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

City Government? we don’t need no stinkin’ government

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By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner

This is the 3rd installment in the stinkin’ series. It’s called City government? we don’t need no stinkin’ government.

Before we gird our collective loins to confront a scam called “Tourism Marketing District” I will pose this question: Why do we need city government?

Here’s a straightforward answer: to provide us with safe and pleasant surroundings so we can pursue our daily lives with a minimum of hassle – activities that include making a living, developing our talents, safeguarding the next generation, trying to be happy….   [Read more…]

4 Ways Christianity Sneaks Into Our Secular Government — And Why it Matters

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Alternet / By Greta Christina (Originally published Sept. 14, 2012)

What often gets called “ceremonial deism” is all over our government.

“In God We Trust” on the money. “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Creches and crosses on public land. Religious mottos on public buildings. Prayers starting public government meetings. Prayers in the public schools. If you didn’t know better, you’d think the religious right was right, and the United States really was a Christian nation.

Of course it’s not. The United States is a secular nation. The principle that citizens have the right to reach their own conclusions about religion, and that government should stay out of that choice, is deeply enshrined in the foundation of our government, in the First Amendment and elsewhere.   [Read more…]

Google News In Review: Sept. 14 through Sept. 21

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By Bob Dorn

A snapshot of the news featured by Google, the world’s leading aggregator, and what it left out.

When it’s at its very best, the news industry offers our eyes and ears reason to hope that we can find a voice that speaks like our own.

When I hear a presidential candidate say that half the country is comprised of “moochers” who are “dependent” on government to provide them the basic necessities of life, I should be able to hear or read an alternative position — something like this, for example: Professional politicians now are saying money is the mark of godliness, and the more of it they have the nearer to God (or the presidency, depending on which you think is more important) they become.

Last week, Mitt Romney and some of his supporters gave us the one view; no publication featured in Google News gave us the other.   [Read more…]

Sherman Heights March Highlights Poor Working Conditions at WalMart Warehouses

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By Nadin Abbott

The rally started at the Golden Hill park and made its way to the Sherman Heights Farmer’s Market — the future site of a new Walmart.

As the marchers came down the street, chants could be heard: “Walmart escucha, estamos en la lucha.” (Walmart listen, we are in the fight). “One, 2, 3, 4, we don’t want your Walmart store. Five, 6, 7, 8, Walmart discriminates. “¡El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!” (The people united, will never be defeated.)

Nearly 1,000 people attended the demonstration, according to Lorena Gonzales, Secretary-Treasurer/CEO of the San Diego and Imperial Labor Councils. They came together from local unions and a long list of community groups to demand that Walmart treat its workers fairly.   [Read more…]

Ruocco Park – San Diego’s Newest Park, Right on the Waterfront

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An official ceremony at 10 a.m on Thursday, Sept. 20, featured San Diego officials cutting the ribbon to welcome the public to Ruocco Park. Located at the intersection of West Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway, the park covers 3.3 acres and offers views of the San Diego Bay, Coronado Island, and downtown San Diego.

Ruocco Park was funded jointly by the Port of San Diego, the San Diego Foundation, and the downtown Hyatt. The Port contributed $3.3 million and the Hyatt contributed $.5 million. The San Diego Foundation contributed $3.5 million, $1 million of which is reserved for funding future maintenance. The funds from the San Diego Foundation allowed for the installation of public art and upgrades to the park that would not have been possible with the Port and Hyatt funding alone. Ruocco Park is the 18th public park located on Port land and brings the total amount of land dedicated to parks to 153 acres.

(Photo gallery inside)   [Read more…]

Romney Releases 2011 Tax Returns, Says They ‘Disqualify’ Him From the Presidency

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Alternet / By Joshua Holland (Originally published Sept. 21, 2012)

The Romneys paid more taxes than they had to in order to inflate the effective tax rate they paid this year.

Desperate to shift the national discussion away from his dismissal of half the country as indolent, unwashed and irredeemable, Mitt Romney released his 2011 tax returns today. According to his own words, the return “disqualifies” him from the presidency.

Why? Because the Romneys inflated their 2011 tax bill by not deducting all of the money they’d forked over to “charity” (much of which was tithes to the Church of Latter Day Saints, which doesn’t provide a lot of charitable services). According to a blog-post written by the manager of his “blind trust” – close confidant and attorney Brad Malt (who’s not as independent as the Romneys would have you believe) – the Romney’s gave over $4 million to charity last year but only deducted $2.25 million.   [Read more…]

Garage Sale Politics and Why Obama Will Get My Vote

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Today, during a multi-family garage sale on my street, I met a rather vocal Republican (no shocker there) and his wife. They were taking quite an interest in a painting I had leaning against my car — that is until the man saw my Obama 2012 bumper sticker.

He stood up, pointed at it and grumbled. I asked with a laugh if the bumper sticker was a deterrent to buying the picture and he replied, “Sorta. Yeah, it is.”

He continued, much to his wife’s chagrin: “Just do me a favor. Just watch the movie, and you can see the direction he is trying to take this country.”

The movie I can only imagine he’s referring to is Dreams From My Real Father, an anti-Obama DVD of which 1.5 million copies have reportedly been sent — unsolicited — to voters.   [Read more…]

‘Won’t Back Down’ Film Pushes ALEC Parent Trigger Proposal

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by Mary Bottari and Sara Jerving /PRWatch.Org

Well-funded advocates of privatizing the nation’s education system are employing a new strategy this fall to enlist support for the cause. The emotionally engaging Hollywood film “Won’t Back Down” — set for release September 28 — portrays so-called “Parent Trigger” laws as an effective mechanism for transforming underperforming public schools. But the film’s distortion of the facts prompts a closer examination of its funders and backers and a closer look at those promoting Parent Trigger as a cure for what ails the American education system.

While Parent Trigger was first promoted by a small charter school operator in California, it was taken up and launched into hyperdrive by two controversial right-wing organizations: the American Legislative Exchange Council(ALEC) and the Heartland Institute.

(Editors Note: this film is being promoted in San Diego by a group calling itself “Up for Ed”. They’re hosting a premiere this week, with a “panel” that, interestingly enough, includes not a single teacher. You can read about Up for Ed’s involvement with so-called reformer Michelle Rhee in this excellent article by San Diegan Aaron Belfer.)    [Read more…]

The Dove and the Cockerel: Chapter 2

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The chirping of his pager awakened him from a deep and peaceful sleep. In his dream state, the incessant beep, beep, beep was not, however, a pager, but a smoke detector alerting him to the fire, now all around him in his dream.

Damn it. What a time to be buck-naked with Sister Carol Anne, and why the Hell is she more interested in a recipe for salmon mousse than getting out of this burning walk in closet? were his dreamy, half-awake thoughts.

His mind pulled him up to a conscious state. Awake now, he realized it was the pager which had triggered a rather bizarre set of images, now mere fragmented memories.

“I should really see a shrink,” he muttered to himself.   [Read more…]

Obama Supporters to ‘Welcome’ Mitt Romney on Saturday in Del Mar

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The word is out. Mitt Romney’s back in California, looking for more money to keep the sinking ship that is his campaign afloat. And local Organizing for America volunteers and Obama supporters are gathering in Del Mar early Saturday afternoon to “Welcome” the GOP candidate as he kicks off this trip inDel Mar. Starting at12:30 Democrats, led by San Diego County Chair Jess Durfee, will be holding a press conference at the corner of Carmel County Road and Ted Williams Freeway (56) to discuss what’s at stake in the November election.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line — Study Paints a Stark Picture of Economic Reality in San Diego

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An analysis released yesterday by the Center for Policy Initiatives based on recently released census data shows more than a third of San Diego County residents are living with economic hardships. The report says that across most industries in San Diego County, the spending power of the average paycheck is dropping, with inflation-adjusted earnings decreasing in 10 of the region’s 15 largest industries, compared to 2007, and more people falling into poverty in last year.
Other Stories in Starting Line Today: The Art of Park(ing) Day, San Diego’s Largest Rally Ever Against WalMart , Lim(p)baugh Blames Shrinking Penis on ‘Feminazis’, Imperial Beach MediPot Supporters Beat the Bushes, Quail Brush Power Plant Foes to Rally, North Park Officially Hip Now and so much more! Come on inside and catch up!   [Read more…]

The CalFresh Challenge: Could you live on $34.31 per week?

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By Lorena Gonzalez / Center for Policy Initiatives  Blog

From September 9th – 15th, CPI board member Lorena Gonzalez, Secretary-Treasurer of the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, participated in the CalFresh Challenge. “The goal is to raise awareness and understanding around the challenges faced by millions of Americans receiving CalFresh/SNAP benefits. The average benefit in California is about $4.90 per person per day, or about $34.31 per week.” This blog post compiles how Lorena Gonzalez ate for one week living on that amount.

When I agreed to attempt to live on a food stamp budget for a week, I knew it would be tough. But, I didn’t realize that one of the toughest challenges would be time. In order to maximize my $34.31 budget for the week, I had grand ideas of going to a farmers market and two or three different stores to capitalize on weekly specials. In my first lesson of the working poor, I was reminded that the Saturday Farmers Market would be impossible to get to if I was scheduled to work, which I was. So, I woke up this morning on a budget with no food.   [Read more…]

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