Surprisingly, there is much being said about local media. It isn't just about national media.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
"Amy Goodman sits down with AOL/PBS filmmakers to talk about her longtime career in journalism, building Democracy Now! over the past 17 years, and how independent media is essential to the functioning of a democratic society."
A fantasy of taking flight, leaving virtual living entirely behind in favor of living in a physical realm filled with the realities of nature, people, smells, sounds and all that exists regardless of mainstream media - it beckons. Freedom calls.
2012 was a campaign year devoted to 7 days a week blogging about Encinitas and watching the horror that national politics has become. At least the Encinitas council changes brought really deep satisfaction and fulfillment.
Habits that you want to break? These are a pain in the ass. amirite? In fact that seems to be the key element to embrace, the pain. No point in pretending that discomfort isn't part and parcel of the process.
The image here doesn't exactly capture it for me personally. In fact the television left the house five years ago, but the internet opened a back door with online streaming and video clips. A junkie can still get a fix even if it is controlled for advertising, asshats and punditry shouty and modulated lying 24/7.
The fact that so many people I know and love still have mainstream media central in lives makes me deeply sad. But, I'm honestly more concerned with getting my own happy ass away from screens and out the door for real world engagement.
For me the decades long joy of reading several novels a week faded during a period a decade ago with unemployment and the nightmare that was the Bush administration. Consider this a heads up that there may be periods of non-posting in 2013 as I work to rewire my brain.
Candace and Cyrus Kamata hosted a party with this theme, It's A Wonderful New World. The idea was to honor publisher Jim Kydd for supporting local voices and encouraging dissent against embedded political power.
The gathering was a rousing success with Pam Slater, retiring San Diego County Supervisor, presenting a proclamation to Jim. Dave Roberts, the newly elected Supervisor gave a speech and posted this photo via Twitter. There were accolades all around and not just for Jim, but for all the people present who contributed time, money, creativity and energy to changing Encinitas political scene.
Songs, music, speeches, gifts and really fantastic food we're told. Congratulations and appreciation all around and well deserved. It takes a community. We invisible but loud bloggers lift a glass in celebration for all and for our own contributions.
"The $36 million No on 37 campaign, bankrolled by $20 million from the world's six largest pesticide companies, has been caught in yet another lie, this time possibly criminal.
These companies and their allies in the junk food industry know that their profit margins may suffer if consumers have a choice whether to purchase genetically engineered foods or not. And that's why opponents are spending nearly a million dollars per day trying to make Prop 37 complicated. But really it's simple - we have the right to know what's in our food."
This photo capturing the commercials featuring Henry Miller covers just the first offense with Miller's growing rap sheet:
On Oct. 4 the No on 37 campaign was forced to pull its first ad off the air and re-shoot it after they were caught misrepresenting Miller as a doctor at Stanford University when he is actually a researcher at the Hoover Institute on Stanford's campus, as the Los Angeles Times reported.
Last week, the campaign was reprimanded by Stanford again for misrepresenting the university in a mailer that went out to millions of voters. And this week, the campaign was caught sending out yet another deceptive mailer involving the University.
In addition to allowing his university affiliation to be repeatedly overblown, Miller has a sordid history of parroting the talking points of some of the world's most notorious corporate bad actors: he's a founding member of a now defunct tobacco front group that tried to discredit the links between cigarettes and cancer, he's repeatedly called for the reintroduction of DDT - known to cause premature birth, fronted for an oil industry funded climate change denial group for Exxon, claimed that people exposed to radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster "may have benefited from it", and attacked the US Food and Drug Administration's efforts to ensure proper vetting and testing of new drugs safety while urging it to outsource more of its functions to private industries.
This is the man the No on 37 campaign has portrayed to voters as an arbiter of good science and promoted as an expert worthy of our trust. In reality, Miller is nothing more than a corporate shill that will say whatever his paymasters ask him to, be it Exxon, Phillip Morris, Monsanto, or DuPont.
Does the No on 37 campaign stand behind Miller's fringe views on tobacco, climate change, nuclear radiation and DDT?
The latest is the criminal use of the FDA seal in mailers and fabricating FDA statements. Just making things up. This is a federal offense.
So who should we trust?
Who should we trust when it comes to our right to know what's in the food we eat: Monsanto, DuPont, and Henry Miller or the millions of California consumers and leading consumer, health, women's, faith-based, labor and other groups; 61 countries that already require GMO labeling; and a growing stack of peer-reviewed research linking genetically engineered foods to health and environmental problems?
Who has our best interests at heart, the pesticide and junk food industry, or Prop 37 supporters like Consumers Union, California Nurses Association, California Democratic Party, California Labor Federation, United Farm Workers, American Public Health Association, Consumers Union, Sierra Club, Whole Foods Market, California Council of Churches, Organic Consumers Association, Center for Food Safety, Consumer Federation of America, Public Citizen, and Food Democracy Now!?
Update: At end
Encinitas citizens! It looks like it's showing up in real numbers with clarity of purpose that matters right now. The Crest Drive neighborhood's more than 2 dozen speakers, the well prepared organization of Kevin Farrell's diligent application, and organizing from several groups, a petition drive with hundreds of signatures and familiar faces from other neighborhoods all contributed to a successful appeal.
The following clips capture most all of the public speakers, grouped with 3 or 4 each. Pass them around the city, send them to organizations you belong to with this optimistic sense of power to the people. This first one begins with Appellant Kevin Farrell, Architect for the proposed Backus Residence.
Rick Backus, owner of 1794 Crest Drive property, Boone Hellmann UCSD campus architect who lives in Cardiff (punched holes in staff report compliance imperatives) and Ron Grimes who heads the Palomares Heights Association gave history of threats to Crest Drive since 1982.
Debbie Barley, Elizabeth Cotton, Charles Smith and Alan Aberhothe (?) all question what is going on with the city staff's lack of service to community. What can't be shown at a council meeting are the months and months of struggling with staff. Only through testimonials like this is a bright light shown on the behind the scenes city processes.
Appellant Kevin Farrell's daughter, L Farrell (?), Jennifer Lutz with her dad, John Lutz and Kyle Malloy speak out. Public Hearing of the appeal of Engineering conditions for public improvements adjacent to 1794 Crest Drive. What a good sign for Encinitas when younger people show up at the city council meeting ready to speak.
Just when you think you have heard all from these activists, they provide more insight into the community. Within the 15 minutes that these regulars activists participated in this one hour long public hearing. Several captured here are Mark Wisniewski, Delores Welty & Sheila Cameron.
Lastly, the issue of costs. Speakers like David (last name unclear), Ted Goldberg and Jennifer Hewitson raised the issue of the exhorbant costs. Ellen Speert spoke about Nature Deficit Disorder while many simply shared their stories of moving from somewhere else and Crest Drive was a place they love. Sandra Goldberg, Elizabeth Gilpin, Jerry Louis, Helen Konig and Mark Scoular.
kevin farrell
10:03 am on Monday, August 20, 2012
As a follow up to my accomplishment for this particular case on Crest, the mandate from the city engineering department for drainage swale, curbs and sidewalks in all parts of encinitas will now change. It is up to all builders, owners and design professionals to question and scrutinize the forced ROW (right of way) items from this engineering department. All old encinitas areas are effected by our 5-0 City Council vote. I would like to thank this City Council and all whom assisted in this
8 month endeavor. My goal is to keep our Community Character in our control, not an overbearing engineer's.
Kevin Farrell, Architect
Tamara Backus
6:13 pm on Monday, August 20, 2012
Thanks you's to everyone who came and spoke at the City Counsel meeting last week! Kevin Farrell put together an incredible petition drive and appeal, and we will be forever grateful! We were so heartened by the number of passionate Crest Dr. and non-Crest Dr. residents who came out and patiently waited for their time to speak in support of this appeal. Crest Dr. is a magical street that should never be changed, and we are so pleased that our Mayor and City Counsel came to that conclusion, as well!
Again, Thank You to all who signed the petition and came to support us in our appeal!
Warmly,
Rick and Tammy Backus
The conventional wisdom of local elections is to steer clear of party politics and it used to make a lot of sense. But those days are over in the US when a major political party has so aligned with corporate and theocratic forces as to be a public threat to fully half the population.
I'm talking to women. This last week has further debased women in the country with the newly announced vice presidential candidate being aggressively hostile to women's rights for control over their own bodies. This isn't a special interest, issues question. This is about fundamental civil rights, human rights, misogyny and a profound question of humanity.
Corporate media is rarely (never) credited on this blog as it is viewed as a major part of the US loss of democracy and justice. In this instance, Rachael Maddow represents a lone voice in speaking directly to women in this country; that is half of the population. Even if this is preaching to the choir, it's important for all of us, including men who would be allies to women, to pay close attention.
Ryan is known all across the web as ZEGS or Zombie Eyed Granny Strarver. But, that's another post for another time.
Open Government Advocates Rally at City Hall Today
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Lisa Shaffer (760-518-0533) or Tony Kranz (760-487-8513) August 3, 2012 Encinitas, California On Thursday, August 9 at 5 p. m., Encinitas City Council candidates Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz will finish a three-block walk at Encinitas City Hall, where the candidates will submit their official paperwork for the November election. To symbolize the history of Encinitas as the “Flower Capital of the World” and to remember the late Maggie Houlihan, the group will carry flowers on their walk from the Old Schoolhouse on the Pacific View site. Houlihan served on the City Council for nearly three terms and made environmental issues a priority throughout her life. Before she died of cancer in September 2011, Houlihan endorsed Shaffer and Kranz as Council candidates. The candidates will speak briefly about what they want to accomplish as Council members. Shaffer, who teaches business and personal ethics at UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management, pledges to work to change the atmosphere at City Hall. “There’s a disconnect between the wonderful City of Encinitas, with its cultural diversity and community roots, and the highly partisan, disrespectful way the City Council has operated in recent years. I want the community to be proud of our elected officials, and to feel welcome to bring their dreams and concerns to the Council. As a Council member, I pledge to represent all the people, and to ensure we are open, accessible and spending our tax dollars effectively and responsibly,” she said. Kranz has deep roots in Encinitas and is a strong advocate for open government. He is a 1977 graduate of San Dieguito High School and was a 2010 City Council candidate. “Our city spent almost $100,000 on a lawsuit they lost to a city taxpayer who was just trying to get public documents related to a report on the condition of the city’s roads,” he said. “As a City Council member, I will work to ensure the people’s business is conducted in a way that builds trust between the community and our local government, while enhancing public safety and protecting our financial and environmental resources.” Shaffer and Kranz have expressed concern about the mismanagement of the General Plan update process. While the candidates see some additional development as inevitable, they also feel it is the City Council’s responsibility to protect our quality of life, ensure we address traffic concerns, and maintain our unique community character. Registered voters in Encinitas will elect three Council members in November. The incumbents are James Bond, who plans to retire after 20 years of service; Jerome Stocks, who has not announced his electoral intentions; and Mark Muir, who has obtained the paperwork to become a candidate for a Council seat, having been appointed earlier to complete Houlihan’s term. Shaffer’s and Kranz’s websites arehttp://shaffer4council.comand http://tonykranz.com.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Lisa Shaffer (760-518-0533) or Tony Kranz (760-487-8513)
August 3, 2012
Encinitas, California
On Thursday, August 9 at 5 p. m., Encinitas City Council candidates Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz will finish a three-block walk at Encinitas City Hall, where the candidates will submit their official paperwork for the November election.
To symbolize the history of Encinitas as the “Flower Capital of the World” and to remember the late Maggie Houlihan, the group will carry flowers on their walk from the Old Schoolhouse on the Pacific View site. Houlihan served on the City Council for nearly three terms and made environmental issues a priority throughout her life. Before she died of cancer in September 2011, Houlihan endorsed Shaffer and Kranz as Council candidates. The candidates will speak briefly about what they want to accomplish as Council members.
Shaffer, who teaches business and personal ethics at UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management, pledges to work to change the atmosphere at City Hall. “There’s a disconnect between the wonderful City of Encinitas, with its cultural diversity and community roots, and the highly partisan, disrespectful way the City Council has operated in recent years. I want the community to be proud of our elected officials, and to feel welcome to bring their dreams and concerns to the Council. As a Council member, I pledge to represent all the people, and to ensure we are open, accessible and spending our tax dollars effectively and responsibly,” she said.
Kranz has deep roots in Encinitas and is a strong advocate for open government. He is a 1977 graduate of San Dieguito High School and was a 2010 City Council candidate. “Our city spent almost $100,000 on a lawsuit they lost to a city taxpayer who was just trying to get public documents related to a report on the condition of the city’s roads,” he said. “As a City Council member, I will work to ensure the people’s business is conducted in a way that builds trust between the community and our local government, while enhancing public safety and protecting our financial and environmental resources.”
Shaffer and Kranz have expressed concern about the mismanagement of the General Planupdate process. While the candidates see some additional development as inevitable, they also feel it is the City Council’s responsibility to protect our quality of life, ensure we address traffic concerns, and maintain our unique community character.
Registered voters in Encinitas will elect three Council members in November. The incumbents are James Bond, who plans to retire after 20 years of service; Jerome Stocks, who has not announced his electoral intentions; and Mark Muir, who has obtained the paperwork to become a candidate for a Council seat, having been appointed earlier to complete Houlihan’s term.
Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.
For most people local politics only becomes a reality when you are afraid for your home, your property or your neighborhood. Fears can be physical, financial and cultural. Fears can be great motivators, as so many activists' stories of initial involvement attest.
Citizen Tip = "Don't Give Up"
This month's look at the worldwide, nationwide changes and the connection to our local reality, local scene is linked to activists not giving up.
From the video clip description: "A surprise Arab drive for freedom, the West's structural crisis and new hope coming from Latin America. That's the modern world in the eyes of Noam Chomsky and Tariq Ali, two prominent thinkers and this week's guests on Julian Assange's show on RT."
There is a secondary tip about dues here and in last month's Assange interview, the BBC's Century of Self Series last week and that tip is - you need to search for information that can be trusted.
US media is now controlled by about four owners who have clear agendas for their own direction and prosperity. On top of that, our social and educational culture is being dumbed down to the point that young people aren't learning history, civics or humanities. The things discussed in this video from men who have been active for over 60 years each are known by fewer and fewer people. Recently I read the following description:
American's Core Beliefs
Don't make me feel bad about the way I live, and
It will all work out, we're Americans
This is it really. This is our worldview these days.
That's a deeply cynical view and my fervent hope is that more US citizens will protest the bar being placed so very low as to be a fantasy. In order to go on, to not give up we will have to raise that bar and allow some self-criticism and allow some inconvenience and a bit of discomfort. Oh, and maybe we can stop calling ourselves Americans - which makes all Central Americans and South Americas disappear in that one ethnocentric label.
A great inspiration for budding film makers besides being relevant to our California student protests against tuition hikes and a great deal more in the US of A. And corruption, misuse of police force, lack of humanity and greed are present here and millions of others towns and cities around the world.
Citizen Tip = "All movements are born out of grievance."
"This week the connection between our local reality, local grievance is
linked to the worldwide, nationwide changes in full view of the world
through live stream. The corporate press in this country is still
mostly absent in this global story unfolding. But, the vastness of
millions protesting around the world is happening even if the US public
is largely unaware of what is going on in this country and abroad."
And, sometimes its difficult to keep expectations excruciatingly low.
That last word in the title could have legitimately been "announced" or "promised" depending on what Mayor Stocks statement one wanted to quote. This could have easily been the Myths Encinitas post today at Our Mayor. The story is just beginning to be retold, so there is plenty of time for more posting here, there and everywhere. The following clip is a reminder of what the mayor said specifically about the Hall property bids and another clip from that speech concerning financials in general at the state of the city speech in April.
The following is a good note to encourage you to go read the post while considering this Hall property as just one aspect of the overall fiscal health of this city.
Cyrus Kamada
1:19 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
I believe our mayor Stocks reassured us earlier that these bids were going to come in below estimates. That was irresponsible and misleading. This "five soccer fields or bust" attitude has to end. We need to fold the Hall Park into the overall set of city priorities which include maintaining infrastructure, holding prudent reserves for anticipated pension costs, and addressing pressing needs such as the flooding in Leucadia.
Clarification: this is breaking news only in a sleepy beach town kind of way. Chill.
What 10 things are needed to look at Coast News online this week?
Corporate media is a big, dangerous thing and deserving of several posts. It's not exactly this story. There are smaller, but equally vital local questions we all should ask ourselves about where we get our news and why. Local paper with live (hopefully thinking) news staff engaged in our city - is the story.
Like so many 21 century changes, comparing new media to conventional media has many nuances not easily weighed. Conventional newspapers are going away. I like the ritual of reading from newsprint, the positioning, folding and turning of the pages and the feel of the sheets, the smell of the inks. Reading my paper seems ceremonial.
It took quite a while for me to adjust to online reading on my computer monitor, then my phone. I’ve lost a whole tactile, clipping, saving and sharing experience. What I’ve gained online is the ability to link instantly to different reference sources within an article as I’m reading and leaping right back to where I left off reading. I can comment to the reporter, the paper and other readers and even be a part of a whole forum following each post. It’s a kind of over the breakfast table conversation no longer a real life routine for me. So, I’m hooked.
Real journalism, especially investigative, political journalism is absent but for a tiny number of sources. Newspapers now rely heavily on fluff and filler from corporate news feeds because it’s cheaper than paying live (thinking) reporters. Finding a local newspaper that is responsive to citizen concerns is rare because genuinely local papers are nearly extinct. Our local Coast News is one rare find. This is a free paper that has relied on ads to survive. Now that more of us get our news online, the paper can’t sell ads, so they have had to impose a pay wall. Let’s support this valuable little gem of a paper. Just 10 things: 1 quarter + 3 dimes + 6 nickels = 85¢ each week, or the one time yearly fee of $44.40.That’s all that’s needed for each week’s read. Mary Fleener’s political cartoon, community letters and Andrew Audet’s Liberty, Liberty and Leadership commentary alone are worth the fee.
Let publisher Jim Kydd and son Chris Kydd know how much this matters to have Coast News online each week. We can also ask them to post our letters, the commentary, etc. in a timely way because we virtual readers anxiously look forward to Thursday’s new edition like everyone does.
Update: All weekend this will be an important place to stop by and listen - watch.
Open Government Advocates Rally at City Hall
