OK, so the walk along the Mission Beach boardwalk doesn’t lead to under anything at all, but whenever I’m there that song by The Drifters always pops into my head.
Here are some pictures from two different trips. In addition to a surprisingly quiet Belmont Park, I was able to catch the sunset and — man, oh man! –what a sight. Putting politics aside for a moment, we live in a beautiful world.
All photos by Annie Lane [Read more…]
By Enrique Morones (borderangels.org)
After a month on the road, bringing an inspirational message of justice and dignity to dozens of cities across the country that have been ravaged by America’s failed war on drugs and other harmful policies, the Caravan for Peace finally rolled into Washington, D.C. this past week to conclude its historic journey.
The 150-member caravan has been crisscrossing the United States since early August, sharing stories and testimonies about the pain that so many have suffered as a result of the war on drugs. Led by Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, whose son Juan Francisco was murdered in Mexico last year, the caravan’s mission is to bring attention to five critical elements affecting relations between the United States and Mexico: the failed war on drugs, money laundering, arms trafficking, the need for humane immigration policies, and building closer ties between the two countries. [Read more…]
Certain circles of San Diegans are celebrating. The article in the UT San Diego yesterday [Wed. Sept. 19] said it all:
“The San Diego City Council Tuesday unanimously approved two out of three ordinances designed to keep banks accountable for distressed homes.”
The two ordinances passed will arm San Diego with more methods and ways to monitor and hold property owners responsible for abandoned properties, and they also will require banks that conduct business with the city of San Diego to provide information on lending, foreclosures and service to minority communities. The third ordinance will not be discussed until October.
Progressives who worked on these issues are giving thanks to the leadership of Councilmembers Todd Gloria and Tony Young. A broad coalition had come together to apply pressure and the San Diego City Council passed the Abandoned Properties Ordinance and the Responsible Banking Ordinance the same evening. [Read more…]
A weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free! We have a great city and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.
San Diego has an amazing breadth of natural features: coast, mountains, deserts, oceans, lakes, rivers, and much more. If you’re looking for a good way to get acquainted (or reacquainted) with the natural side of San Diego County check out the Canyoneer Hikes from the San Diego Natural History Museum.
[Read more…]
Politics inside the City of Escondido continue to confuse and confound outsiders. But we know several things:
I read a little essay the other day about Black clergy telling their flock not to vote in this election because Obama backs same-sex marriage – as though as president of the Land of the Free he should not politically and morally stand up for people who simply seek equality.
The flock was also told, in an effort to keep them away from the polls, that Romney is a Mormon, a religion one of them referred to as a cult, that once banned men of African descent, not to mention women of any descent, from entering its ministry. I couldn’t help but wonder, even if a brother was allowed in the priesthood of the church, what he’d say to a congregation of Latter Day Saints beyond “Damn, I must be at the wrong address!”
Anyway, it was all nonsensical to me and I can only hope that the flock takes time to reflect and realize that the proverbial Adam and Steve is absolutely no threat to the sanctity of matrimony in a world that claims “The third time’s a charm.” And isn’t it a fact that one religion demonizing another is like the pot calling the kettle black? We don’t need that. [Read more…]
Feministe / By Jill Filipovic
Better feminists than I have written entire books on this topic (see The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women
Don’t get me wrong: I appreciate Clara’s insights, and I think she’s very brave for sharing her perspectives. She seems quite wonderful, and Jia’s questions were spot-on. It’s a great interview and this isn’t meant as a critique of it, or even of sexual abstention. If people want to abstain from sex until marriage (or abstain from sex until forever, or whenever) that’s great — your body, your choice. I don’t have a problem with choosing to be abstinent until X date or event (your wedding, college, your 18th birthday, your 40th birthday, whatever); I do have a big problem with the Christian language and theory behind the “purity” rationale for waiting until marriage to have sex. [Read more…]
A San Diego political action group calling itself Much Better Choices has released a video it claims shows distressed property owned by Congressman Brian Bilbray. Calling him an absentee slumlord the group says that properties owned by Bilbray are run down and are public and safety hazards. The property shown in the video has been reported to authorities, according to Better Choices.
A June article in East County Magazine describes Much Better Choices:
Taking a page from the independent expenditure playbook that torpedoed John Kerry’s presidential campaign, a San Diego-based PAC, Much Better Choices, is taking aim at corporate-backed candidates in a series of online video ads. Lacking the funding of corporate-backed campaigns, Much Better Choices has launched its scathing assault ads via social networking sites—swiftly going viral with efforts to “Swiftboat” local corporatist candidates. [Read more…]
Among the 47% Who Pay No Income Taxes Is Mitt Romney Himself!
Mitt’s money that has not been funneled through offshore corporations linked to bank accounts in no tax jurisdictions has been taxed as capital gains, not income.
Mitt Romney dismissed 47% of the American people who don’t pay income tax as slackers and deadbeats. Thanks to a loophole Romney pays US taxes as “carried interest” which is taxed at the capital gains rate of 15%. That figure would not only include Romney himself who pays no income tax, but also all those corporate persons (remember Romney said, “Corporations are people, my friend”) such as Exxon Mobil and GE who not only pay no income tax but get a generous rebate thanks to American taxpayers.
Here is a list of the top 10 corporate deadbeats and slackers (thanks to Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont):
1) Exxon Mobil made $19 billion in profits in 2009. Exxon not only paid no federal income taxes, it actually received a $156 million rebate from the IRS, according to its SEC filings.
Rats fed a lifetime diet of Monsanto’s genetically modified corn or exposed Roundup, its best selling weed killer, suffered from mammary tumors, kidney and liver damage and other serious illnesses in the first ever peer-reviewed, long-term animal study of these foods. At a press conference in London, researchers said 50 percent of male rats exposed to GMO corn and 70 percent of females died prematurely, compared with only 30 percent and 20 percent in the control group. The findings were published Tuesday in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology.
The study was hailed by proponents of Proposition 37, a California ballot measure requiring the labeling of genetically engineered foods. Gary Ruskin, campaign manager for the California Right to Know group released a statement saying:
“The results of this study are worrying. They underscore the importance of giving California families the right to know whether our food is genetically engineered, and to decide for ourselves whether we want to gamble with our health by eating GMO foods that have not been adequately studied and have not been proven safe. By requiring simple labels on genetically engineered foods, Proposition 37 gives Californians the ability to choose whether to expose ourselves and our families to any potential health risks. The right to know is fundamental, and that’s why 50 countries around the world have already enacted labeling requirements for genetically engineered food.”
Proponents of GMO labeling have long insisted that biotech companies control and suppress research, and frequently cite a Scientific American editorial to back up their case. While numerous short-term peer-reviewed animal studies have link GMOs to adverse health effects, this study is the first long-term animal feeding study that is publicly available. [Read more…]
Transportation advocacy groups have lined up a mayoral debate tonight – September 19th – at the University of San Diego. Walk San Diego, the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, Move San Diego, Urban Land Institute San Diego/Tijuana District Council have hooked up with USD to hold the debate, from 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the University of San Diego’s Shiley Theatre.
Pensions aren’t the only issue facing San Diego in the upcoming election. Come learn the views and opinions of San Diego’s 2012 Mayoral Candidates on quality of life issues.Walk. Bike. Move. Live. A San Diego Mayoral Debate will give voters the chance to engage mayoral candidates on improved transportation, sustainable economic development and growth and quality of life for all San Diegans.
Mayoral candidates, Congressman Bob Filner and City Councilmember Carl DeMaio will be the headliners, of course, at the theater, located at 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110, where hundreds are expected.
[Read more…]
by Frank Thomas and John Lawrence
Introduction: Columnist and investigative reporter David Cay Johnston’s up-to-date comparison of Europe’s health care costs vs. the US is another shocking revelation of how our country still struggles to have a sane, affordable basic health care system. He shows that the average per capita cost for health care in the U.S. is 2.64 times that of the average Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) country cost per capita. In other words, for every $100 dollars of OECD personal health care cost, the US cost is $264.00.
In an extensive joint 2009 study (Health Care in the Netherlands and the US: A Comparative Study) comparing Dutch and US health care costs for a family of 4, Frank Thomas and John Lawrence came up with almost exactly the same ratio of a US cost of $240 for every $100 of Dutch costs for a family plan. To further document the startling cost differences Mr. Johnston has so well illustrated, following is a much abridged and edited version of our 2009 study. [Read more…]
