San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

Restaurant Review – Old Town’s “LA PIÑATA” – Tasty Food & a Treasure Chest for Kids

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Last night I had a fun evening with my daughter and her two grandchildren. Yes, they are my great grandchildren, and it is always a joy to be with them. My great-granddaughter is 3, going on 15; my great-grandson just turned two.

When asked if they wanted to go to dinner with me, they were excited and asked if we could go to the “Treasure Chest” restaurant. (Can you imagine that at their ages they already have a favorite place to go?) My daughter agreed, because she has the best motivator for making sure that the kids behave themselves.  La Piñata has a “treasure chest” filled with all kinds of goodies for the “good boys and girls.” My daughter and granddaughter have set the rules for the family:  IF they eat their meal AND if they behave, stay in their chairs; speak with “restaurant voices” at the end of lunch/dinner, etc. they can pick one gift each from the treasure chest. It works like a charm.  And they are consistent with the rules.  (For example, last night my great-grandson did not eat all his dinner. He did not get to choose something from the treasure chest. His sister did everything she was supposed to do and she did get a trinket from the chest. He was not unhappy about not getting anything. Even at two he knows the rules.)   [Read more…]

The Animal Cracker Conspiracy: Puppet Slams Popping Up in San Diego

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By Jim Bliesner
Ian Gunn and Bridget Rountree are masters of “creative collaboration”. Their Animal Cracker Conspiracy is part of the Puppet Slam Network which states, “Underground puppet shows are popping up everywhere. They feature contemporary short form puppet and object theatre for adult audiences, open late at night in small venues, night clubs and art spaces, Puppet Slams exist at the nexus of vaudeville, burlesque and performance art through the intersection of experimental theatre, art, music and dance as a viable alternative to the culturally homogenous digital mass media”.

Wow, quite a conglomeration of expectations and styles to live up to, but the Animal Cracker Conspiracy pulled it off at their “Adult Puppet Cabaret” happening at  3rdSpace, Friday, July 20th. KaPOW!. The 3rdSpace is a membership only creative incubator at 4610 Park Blvd. provides space for a variety of performance events on their elevated small stage theatre.   [Read more…]

California’s ‘Special Exemptions’ Act: The Biggest Threat You Haven’t Heard Of

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By Dante Atkins / Daily Kos

November 2012 will be a cataclysmic showdown between the forces of democracy and the forces of unlimited wealth. If we lose this, the plutocrats will be in charge and will be able to write their own rules to further the interests of Wall Street and the one percent. If we lose this fight, anti-democratic legislation will continue to sweep across the nation, overwhelming the grassroots support and small-dollar contributions of those who dare to fight against overwhelming odds.

And I’m not talking about the reelection campaign of Barack Obama. No, this battle to the death between moneyed interests and working people will play out in California in the form of Proposition 32. This measure, proponents say, would ban both corporate and union contributions for most political purposes and make citizens reign supreme. But progressives here have taken to calling it the “special exemptions act.”   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – California Republicans to Push Voter ID Measure in Quest to Completely Marginalize Party

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Just shoot me, please… On the heels of a New York Times article describing the California Republican Party as “caught in a cycle of relentless decline, and appears in danger of shrinking to the rank of a minor party”, the State GOP has announced plans for sponsorship of a Voter Identification initiative for the next election cycle. To kick off that effort the party has invited conservative columnist John Fund, co-author of the forthcoming book “Who’s Counting? How Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote at Risk.” to its August convention in Burbank.

The move to enact a Voter ID law is sure to alienate minority voters, who are poised to become a majority of the electorate in California in the near future. Attorney General  Eric Holder characterized Voter ID laws as a new poll tax at the recent NAACP convention. Two new reports — released by the Brennan Center of Justice at the NYU School of Law and the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication, respectively – have further undermined the GOP’s discredited claims that voter ID laws do not have a discriminatory impact on persons of color and are not intended to be discriminatory on the basis of race.   [Read more…]

Anaheim Police Assault Mexican-American Community After Fatal Shooting of Unarmed Man

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Cops Fire Bean Bags, Rubber Bullets, and Pepper Balls and Unleash Dog on Crowd that Included Children

The City of Anaheim, California – home to Disneyland – is in the national spotlight right now for a vicious police assault Saturday on a Mexican-American community.

It all started Saturday, July 21, when Anaheim police approached three men in an alley. The men reportedly fled, but one – Manual Diaz – a 25 year old man – who police said was a known gang member – was chased to the front of an apartment complex where he was shot and killed by police. One eyewitness told the media that he witnessed Diaz being shot in the back or buttocks area, that he fell to the ground, and then was shot again in the head. The Anaheim police chief later said that Diaz was unarmed.   [Read more…]

Women Too: An HIV Allegory

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by Kit-Bacon Gressitt

My daughter is dying.

“Oh, oh, I’m so sorry!” You are stunned. You clutch your heart.

Of course you are sorry, but my daughter is dying.

“How terribly sad for you,” and you fall silent, uncertain what to say.

But it’s more than sad. My daughter is dying a slow and frightening death.

“Oh, dear,” you comfort, “that is so tragic.” And you thank your god it’s not your child.

But it’s worse than tragic, even worse than that. My daughter is so young, so beautiful, and she is slowly dying before my eyes.

“Oh, there is nothing more painful than a parent losing a child,” you repeat from somewhere. But you don’t really understand.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – San Diego’s LGBT Parade Called ‘Historic’; DeMaio Draws Boos

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Gay Pride Weekend Recap… The historic significance of San Diego’s 38th annual LGBT Parade of Saturday garnered press from around the country over the past couple of days as military personal received official permission to participate in the procession.

Mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio’s participation in LGBT events over the weekend drew a decidedly mixed response. Some spectators participated in an Facebook organized protest and turned their backs as the controversial candidate passed by; polite applause was mixed with boos throughout the parade route. This video gives a good sense of the reception he received.   [Read more…]

I Love the Smell of Baseball in the Morning – Protesting the Padres TV Blackout

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Matthew Hall, reporter turned columnist for UT-San Diego, had an idea that tapped into a deep well of frustration for baseball fans in San Diego. In a July 14th column Hall called upon Padres fans to step up to the plate and do something about a situation that is as unfair as it is indicative of the avarice surrounding virtually all things having to do with professional sports in this day and age. Half the population of our fair city can’t watch Padres baseball on TV, due to a dispute between Fox Sports San Diego and a couple of local cable providers. Needless to say, since the Padres are pulling down a cool $800 million for the broadcast rights, fans feel like they ought to be able to watch games from home.

So the deal was that fans were going to meet up outside the Padres Petco Park at10amon a Sunday morning in the middle of July to make a little noise, maybe make those corporate suits notice that their little game was a big deal for a lot of little people. I wasn’t sure just how much response Hall was going to get. There’s a wide chasm between ranting and raving from the safety of one’s Facebook page, and actually showing up to physically do something.   [Read more…]

Field of View: San Diego’s Gay Pride Parade 2012

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Tens of thousands gathered in Hillcrest on Saturday as this year’s gay pride parade traveled along University and Sixth avenues and beyond. The two-hour parade showcased more than 200 floats, and is currently the largest in nation.

This year marks the first that active duty military have participated, while the anti-gay group―standing stone-faced and dressed in black on the sidelines at one minute section of the parade line―continues to shrink in size.   [Read more…]

A Long Dark Night: Gun Violence and the New Batman Movie

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How our society reinforces masculine violence

AlterNet / By Nicholas Powers
Early morning July 20, we cheered the new Batman movie as a thousand miles away a crowd watching the same film screamed as a gunman, barged in, flung a smoke bomb and began shooting. In San Francisco, we left the cinema laughing at the stupid politics ofThe Dark Knight Rises. In Aurora, Colorado, 12 were killed and 59 wounded as the shock spread to the nation in the morning news. Already one truth stands out; the shooting is not isolated but like a mirror reflects the dark logic of the film, itself a reflection of America’s romance with violence.

One thing we know about gunman James Holmes is that he wanted a stage. Like the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre gunman Seiung-Hui Cho, who mailed videos of himself; or the 1999 Columbine gunmen, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who meticulously recorded themselves prepping for the massacre; the Dark Knightgunman wanted to be seen. In killing others, he tried to secure for himself the image of a strong powerful man who could wreck havoc on the world. And this is exactly the role that Bane (acted by Tom Hardy), the anarchist villain in The Dark Knight Rises, plays as he bombs Gotham City and unleashes enraged prisoners on the rich. He and Wayne Enterprise executive Miranda Tate (played by Marion Cotillard) avenge those trapped in The Pit and forgotten by society. Already theHerald Sun reports that the Dark Knight gunman was dressed in armor and gas mask, like Bane.   [Read more…]

Infographic: We Can’t Stop AIDS Without Ending the Drug War

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By Jag Davies | Sourced from AlterNet 

Millions of people have died of AIDS because of bad drug policy — and millions more lives hang in the balance.

The International AIDS Conference will be held in the U. S. for the first time in 22 years this July 22-27, in Washington DC. Activists, public health professionals, and distinguished world leaders are mobilizing in Washington with a clear message: the criminalization of people who use drugs — and especially backward government policies that restrict syringe access — are driving the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Throughout the world, research has consistently shown that drug criminalization forces people who use drugs away from public health services and into hidden environments where HIV risks become significantly elevated. Mass incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders also plays a major role in spreading the pandemic, as inhumane conditions and lack of HIV prevention or treatment measures in prison lead to HIV outbreaks and AIDS cases behind bars – and among families and communities once those imprisoned are released.

  [Read more…]

The Fraud of Voter Fraud

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Though right-wing efforts to suppress low-income and minority voting are nothing new, the current GOP campaign is unprecedented in scope, organization and ambition.

by Richard Riis  /Daily Kos

There is a coordinated, nationwide effort right now to enact voter ID laws that do nothing to impact alleged voter fraud and instead disenfranchise voters and infringe upon the fundamental American right to free and fair elections… which is, of course, precisely what the proposed laws are intended to do.

Photo ID laws have been introduced or passed in at least 15 states. They discriminate against those who don’t have driver’s licenses — disproportionately the poor, elderly and minorities. Nationally they could disenfranchise about five million voters. Several states are also pushing legislation to restrict voter registration and to limit early voting.

A quick check of the facts vis-à-vis voter fraud: The Bush Justice Department conducted a massive, five-year investigation into voter fraud that resulted in a mere 86 convictions nationwide.   [Read more…]

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