Given that the conservative California Supreme Court finds same-sex marriage bans to be discriminatory, the issue of marriage equality is sure to reverberate nationally, just in time for the November presidential elections. The presidential candidates have given their statements on California's historic legal ruling.   Read More »

Cross posted at Calitics

Yesterday the Union Tribune reported that according to Kelly Broughton, San Diego's development services director, Blackwater's city permits could not be appealed. The article held out one glimmer of hope though- that Mayor Sanders' call for investigation could bear fruit:

Broughton said yesterday that the internal review could lead to Blackwater's permits being revoked, after a public hearing, if it turns out that staff made mistakes or relied on bad information.

Certainly one compelling bit of "bad information" might be the use of Southwest Law Enforcement and Raven Development Group on the permits instead of Blackwater. Another might be...you know...blatantly lying about the planned use of the property in Otay Mesa and what would be installed there. Well today City Attorney Mike Aguirre weighed in on exactly that, calling for a stop work order to be immediately issued and establishing the need for environmental impact study:

The City Attorney issued a legal opinion on Friday indicating that a series of building permits issued by the City of San Diego's Development Services Department to a subsidiary of Blackwater Worldwide, a global security firm whose work in Iraq has fallen under criticism, were obtained improperly and a more rigorous permitting process should be completed. The City Attorney opined that a stop work order should be issued immediately and a more rigorous application process undertaken.

Southwest Law Enforcement Training Enterprises, a subsidiary of Blackwater Worldwide, obtained permits for tenant improvements to an existing warehouse in Otay Mesa the area of the City of San Diego. The permit applications specified that the building was to be used as a "training facility." The original building was formerly used as a warehouse. One of the three applications filed by Southwest Law Enforcement stated that the proposed use of the building as "same (no change)."

As a result of the representations in the permit application the permits were issued under the DSD's "ministerial" process, which meant no City Council or other discretionary approval was required.

More recent tenant improvement application submitted by Southwest Law Enforcement Training Enterprises was to construct an "indoor firing range."

The legal opinion issued by the City Attorney's Office also states that California Environmental Quality Act is also necessary in order to address the environmental impacts of a firing range

Which is a long way around to smacking down Blackwater on about every point that's been raised by the locals objecting to the project. Local NPR on the way home earlier reported that Mayor Sanders was on board with some or all of the City Attorney's opinion, still waiting to get an official response from Sanders.

Earlier this week it emerged that Arnold planned to visit the St. Francis Yacht Club for a party hosted by a European yacht manufacturer. This seemed pretty ironic given the successful Yacht Party ad campaign launched by the Courage Campaign this week, attacking the Republicans as a party favoring yacht owners over everyone else in California.

Amusingly, our cowardly governor did not even show up, as Josh Richman explains:

I waited, and waited, and waited, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't show today at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco's Marina District for an event unveiling a hybrid pleasure-boat engine.

   Read More »

In a much anticipated decision released just minutes ago, the California Supreme Court overturned a 2000-voter approved law in which the state only recognizes marriage between one woman and one man.   Read More »

Cross posted at Calitics.

In the continuing battle over Blackwater and America's soul, Senator John Kerry called for hearings today into the renewal of Blackwater's State Department contract. Why? In Kerry's words:

To learn that Blackwater's no-bid security contract for Iraq was renewed even as a grand jury investigates the company and the IRS considers its own review of the company's books, raises serious concerns that merit Senate hearings. How was this decision made? What was the process that concluded there were no alternatives? What was the extent of Blackwater's lobbying effort?, said Senator Kerry. "Five years into this war, there's been too much abuse of the contracting process in Iraq and too little oversight, and nowhere do the questions loom larger than in Blackwater's role and the Administration's apparent imperviousness to skepticism where this corporation is concerned.

Coincidentally, this news comes on the same day that news broke that Blackwater vehicle prototypes might be on the Defense Department's shopping list. This is two more fronts in the battle over Blackwater's legitimacy. On the one hand, Blackwater continues to seek out new niches to keep itself afloat after we finally leave Iraq, and on the other hand, Democratic leadership continues to step to block Blackwater. Kerry's hearings will likely take place in the Middle East Subcommittee in the Foreign Relations Committee. Also serving there is Senator Barbara Boxer. Now Senator Boxer has earned the benefit of the doubt over her years in the Senate, but this is a huge issue that goes well beyond this aspect of Blackwater or the State Department. This is a statement about how we as a nation are going to treat organizations like Blackwater.

I have a lot of faith in Barbara Boxer to do the right thing, but that doesn't mean it isn't vital that we watch and make sure she helps drive the point home here. There's simply never any excuse for Blackwater to be paid with our tax dollars. Until we can lay down a federal level smackdown (Rep. Schakowsky's Stop Outsourcing Security Act is another great opportunity) on this sort of thing, it's just gonna be more rounds of whack-a-mole around the country. It's good to see more leadership in DC on this issue, but now we've gotta get the follow-through.

The AP has gotten a hold of the governor's May Revise speech and therefore the major budget proposals that are to be unveiled later today. The key elements are described below and over the flip I provide some analysis of each proposal.

• Arnold will float bonds using the state lottery as security. $15 billion over 3 years will be raised but $10 billion goes into "rainy day fund"



• If that fails, 1% sales tax hike to last no more than 3 years



• Prop 98 suspension abandoned; instead COLA will not be paid



• State parks closures abandoned; instead fees to rise $1 to $2



• $6 billion still left to cut or balance out somehow."

Overall thoughts: Here we go again. Arnold Schwarzenegger came to office in the recall of Gray Davis in 2003 promising to solve our state's budget problems once and for all. Instead he immediately blew a $6 billion hole in the budget with the Vehicle License Fee cut and then borrowed to close the rest of the gap - costing the state around $3 billion in annual debt service.

Now that Arnold's solution has predictably failed, he is predictably offering more of the same. Borrowing against the lottery is a problematic concept for many reasons, the main one being it avoids the core issues of our budget. It's yet another one-time fix that does nothing to solve the structural revenue shortfall that has plagued our state for 30 years.

It is significant that Arnold seems to be backing away from his most significant cuts - especially the K-12 cuts. Obviously the details released tomorrow will be key, and we should fully expect higher ed to take another crippling blow. But this does indicate that the activism many of us have launched against the primary schools cuts has had an impact.

And of course, there's still $6 billion left over - $6 billion that the Yacht Party will insist come in the form of destructive cuts that damage the economy, $6 billion that Democrats will - we hope - insist come in the form of wise, long-term revenue solutions.

Finally, Arnold seems to be gambling that the economy will make a quick recovery and that the current woes are just a dip and not the opening stages of a deeper recession. That, I think, is a major and probably reckless gamble to make.   Read More »

After helping Courage Campaign roll out our latest Yacht Party ad, Arianna Huffington wants to talk to you on Wednesday about her new book, "Right is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution and Made Us All Less Safe". This is an awesome new edition of our Courage Campaign Conversations that came to life last month with Secretary of State Debra Bowen's call and will continue strong this Wednesday from 6pm-7pm. Arianna Huffington doesn't need my help though, so I'll let her invite you properly herself:   Read More »

The sun is shining across the golden state today. No, we haven't balanced our budget or spared public education from the Governor's budget axe. But today we're on our way to doing both as Karen Bass will be sworn in as Speaker of the state assembly.   Read More »

Tomorrow, the San Diego Unified School board will vote on laying off more than 900 teachers in the face of budget cuts rippling down from the state's current fiscal crisis. That's an average of more than four teachers leaving every school in the district. While the future of our next generation becomes cloudier, Republicans in the legislature continue to defend tax free yachts. It tells you a lot about where their priorities lie. Driving home this point as the state wades through the budget process is vitally important, and that's why Courage Campaign and the California Nurses Association have come together, producing a new Yacht Party ad that needs your help to reach the air. Arianna Huffington emailed Courage Campaign supporters earlier today to explain the importance of this ad and this meme overall:   Read More »

We are a day past Mother's Day, the most unsung holiday in our society and its time to examine how the Governor's proposed budget cuts would impact the women we celebrate on Mother's Day and the children they raise.   Read More »

Cross posted at Calitics

By now, nobody should be surprised by the resiliency of Blackwater. They've come back from the brink so many times, it's easy to allow yourself to think they'll never really be gone. So this weekend's New York Times article on Blackwater's comeback might be both demoralizing and par for the course if it wasn't for the strong rhetorical pushback from members of Congress that line up encouragingly with local progress.

As the New York Times chronicles all the near death experiences that Blackwater has come through:

The State Department has just renewed its contract to provide security for American diplomats in Iraq for at least another year. Threats by the Iraqi government to strip Western contractors of their immunity from Iraqi law have gone nowhere. No charges have been brought in the United States against any Blackwater guard in the September shooting, either, and the F.B.I. agents in Baghdad charged with investigating whether Blackwater guards have committed any crimes under United States law are sometimes protected as they travel through Baghdad by Blackwater guards.

Nevertheless, signs indicate that, ever so slowly, the worm is turning. The article notes that the State Department renewed its contract largely for lack of other options, to which Rep. Henry Waxman retorted "I can't understand why Blackwater's contract was renewed. It seems to me the administration should have looked for others who could do the job, including the U.S. military."   Read More »

I'm reading a very interesting book right now about Blackwater. Yes, that Blackwater over in Iraq, the Middle East, and on American soil as well. On American soil you ask? Yup, according to this book Blackwater is functioning on American soil as a "private Army" which is funded by the Federal Government.

Blackwater is run by a man who along with his family are considered far right-wing conservative, Erik Prince. This book is very informative of the "who's who" that is funding and backing the world's largest "private army" or in other words, mercenaries.

I'm only on the second chapter so far but this is a great book which was written without permission of Blackwater I should add. The author attempted to talk to people in Blackwater but they wouldn't budge. It outlines how Erik Prince is aligned with the Republican Party and how he has donated heavily to them throughout his life, which is not illegal but as we all know Republicans are all about giving money to companies so the companies can pay them off later or guarantee them a job as a CEO or some other position within their walls after a Republican's political life has ended.

I am an avid poster on the website www.abovetopsecret.com where I posted this link specifically in dealing with Blackwater and the coming infringements on Democracy.

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread352934/pg1

Have you been reading Maureen Dowd's columns recently? She sounds as bitter as those rural Pennsylvanians who cling to guns and religion. Constantly swiping at Obama, saying he's naïve, a pansy, praising Hillary as a tough fighter. Her latest is kind of schizophrenic, however:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/opinion/07dowd.html?th&emc=th

It's like she's angry at Hillary but has to spend most of the time cutting off Obama's huevos. There's something like Freudian envy going on here, but only her shrink knows for sure.

This is the guy, after all, who has just come out on top of a dozen or so grizzled veteran Democratic candidates, slayed the scheming Clintons - both of them, set up a political machine which is consolidating power and raising millions of bucks within the usually chaotic Democratic Party, and will probably flatten McCain in November, even with the all the mud flung on him.

Yet Maureen thinks he's a Butterfly because he doesn't scratch and claw. The lady's been brilliant in the recent past, but maybe she's in crisis these days. Maybe she IS Hillary.

Steve Ybarra will cast his superdelegate vote to the candidate that pays $20 million for a voter registration drive targeted at eligible Mexican American voters whom he believes will be the key to winning the Whitehouse.   Read More »

The May 31st meeting of the DNC's Rules & Bylaws Committee may inject another twist and turn into the historic battle for the democratic nomination for president. California boasts three members of this committee. Will the California members give the Clinton campaign new life by voting to seat Florida and Michigan delegates?   Read More »

Thanks to CC for taking on the Blackwater issues in San Diego. Activists are encouraged to contact Mayor Jerry Sanders at the following URL

http://www.sandiego.gov/mayor/contact/


My note follows:

Dear Mayor Sanders,

I am among many citizens of this country, as are candidates Clinton & McCain, that believe the use of mercenaries by this administration is morally vacant. This practice will end.

Setting aside all issues pertaining to Blackwater's alleged illegal activities we ask your help to deny Blackwater additional installations in this country.

Aside from the moral issues, I am not comfortable with a corporation capable of projecting deadly force in my back yard.

Respectfully submitted,

Paul Carey

Fabian Nunez is slated to give up the perks of power held by the office of Assembly Speaker when Karen Bass assumes the position next week. As promised several weeks ago, Nunez is introducing a three-piece constitutional amendment designed to reform the state legislature.   Read More »

Cross posted at Calitics

Local leaders gathered today outside the office of Mayor Jerry Sanders to present him with more than 2,500 signatures to the letter from San Diego Democratic Party Chair Jess Durfee calling for an investigation into Blackwater's permit process. There was a somewhat unexpected air of celebration to the event as it was announced yesterday that Mayor Sanders is calling for the city's Chief Executive Officer to conduct a full review of the Blackwater permit process (of course now we'll see what comes of it).

The stage was shared by Jess Durfee (who noted he knows a few things about vocational schools courtesy of a Master's degree in vocational education), Courage Campaign's Rick Jacobs, Humberto Peraza- district Chief of Staff for Rep. Filner, Francine Busby and Ray Lutz from Citizens' Oversight Projects.

All the parties involved have been instrumental in the rapid and effective response to this new Blackwater situation. Remember it's been barely two weeks since the news originally broke of this new facility, yet here everyone was gathered to mark and celebrate a significant people-powered success story.



Today was a great opportunity to cement in no uncertain terms the coalition to Block Blackwater which has formed rapidly and forced action from the Mayor. And we're just getting warmed up. There have been recent revelations that Blackwater is looking to expand operations at current facilities and open a new training facility in Idaho. Why? Because they see the writing on the wall. They know that Iraq isn't going to last much longer, partly because they've behaved so criminally and partly because the war is such a debacle. They know that their survival depends on diversifying and establishing new roles in a post-Bush/Iraq system. It's why they're looking for a few good hundred million in new investment capital. It's because there's no natural place for them to exist once they can't get anymore handouts from the Bush Administration and their cronies.

Today was a victory. Tomorrow we'll likely need another. But we're developing the methods that win.

With more than 10 million residents, a struggling economy and no systematic health care reform anywhere in sight, Los Angeles County's health system is teetering on the edge of a cliff. State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas, a candidate for a L.A. county supervisor seat has convinced state legislature to form a committee to address L.A.'s health woes.   Read More »

Blackwater isn't just focusing on the US-Mexico border, it seems. This week we learned that they are trying to open a facility near the Canadian border, in northern Idaho. From the Coeur d'Alene Press:

The North Carolina-based company is negotiating a contract with the Idaho Peace Officer Standards & Training Academy to provide space and instruction to law enforcement personnel. ... Sheriff Rocky Watson expressed concern that Blackwater, which has big military contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense, partnering with Idaho POST will create the wrong impression with the public.

"The perception that our law enforcement officers will be trained by mercenaries is a problem," Watson said. "Our jobs are totally different. We're not paramilitary. The perception is important to our customers."

Blackwater officials strongly maintain that no military training will take place at the facility here. ... The company has faced media scrutiny about its role in Iraq. Blackwater is one of three big contractors providing security services to key U.S. personnel. DynCorp., and Triple Canopy also have employees deployed there.

Blackwater personnel are accused of gunning down 17 people, including women and children last September in Iraq. The FBI is investigating claims made by witnesses that Blackwater guards shot and killed without provocation.

   Read More »