City Times

Slammed again by the Electoral College

James Call

November 9, 2016

The Electoral College is an anachronism that has never worked the way the Founders intended. And it caused unintended problems almost immediately. A tie in the Electoral College between Thomas Jefferson and his intended vice president, Aaron Burr, in the election of 1800, threw the contest into the House of Representatives. Jefferson narrowly made the presidency after 36 tie...

Why I would rather vote for Trump

Melissa De Pineres

November 7, 2016

When I speak about supporting Donald J. Trump, people look at me as if I were worshiping a devil. As unconventional as it sounds, I am not a Republican. I am a Latina with a Women Studies degree. So why am I considering such a vote? I should point out also that I voted for Barack Obama in the last presidential election and I have always been independent, with ...

A de facto Progressive Party

James Call

November 4, 2016

There is a de facto Progressive Party. And its de facto leader is Bernie Sanders. It didn’t exist a year ago. Sanders created it out of whole cloth in the summer of 2015. A year ago the idea that a socialist party was viable was preposterous. No one thought such a thing possible. Sanders himself probably had no idea that a socialist party would have any chance of being ...

State propositions and county measures for the progressive voter

James Call

October 30, 2016

Recommendations for the progressive voter. Props and measures not listed have no particular recommendation.State Propositions: Prop 51 — YES A bond issue to raise $9 billion for school infrastructure; $7 billion for K-12, and $2 billion for community colleges. Prop 52 — YES Retains a current fee on hospitals to fund Medi-Cal services. The net benefit in fiscal y...

CON: Measure C is a bad deal for city

James Call

October 22, 2016

I curse Petco Park every time I try to go to the Central Library on a game day. And I go once or twice a week. I curse a lot. Library parking is normally free for two hours with library validation. On Padres game day, there is no validation and parking fees are $30 or more — if the garage is not full. Whatever street parking that is available is taken by sports fans...

Pro: A ‘Yes’ vote on C supports city’s future

October 22, 2016

Whether you’re a native to San Diego or somewhere else, there’s no excuse for letting the future of the city be swept away from underneath us. Coming...

Is ‘Star Spangled Banner’ a marginal anthem?

By James Call

October 4, 2016

Should they have the right? Should they show more respect? These are among the questions brought up by the recent brouhaha over the 49ers Colin Kaepernick sitting out the national anthem. Many other players have joined him since then. An entire high school football team in Seattle recently "took a knee." And "South Park's" first episode of the season looks at the protest's...

Vote ‘yes’ on Prop. 55

City Times Editorial Board

September 19, 2016

There is an important budgetary bill in the upcoming election, Proposition 55. On its passage or failure depends whether Medi-Cal and education will expand or contract in the immediate future. According to the Voter Guide issued by the California Secretary of State, if it fails the state will lose $4 to $9 billion in revenue by 2018 when gains under Proposition 30 are...

Choice for $20 bill is a step in right direction

By Denise White

May 22, 2016

Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew recently announced that there would be a historic change to the $20 bill. Harriet Tubman will be the new face of the bill, replacing Andrew Jackson, who will move to the back. “It is just absolutely beautiful to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman, because where Jackson represented the worst side of American history, Tubman represents...

Me vote? Never have, never will

May 22, 2016

I don't, won't, and never will vote! For what? Why waste my time standing in a line of what I consider a social gathering spot for senior citizens....

Agonizing choice: attend top college?

Antonio Marquez

May 11, 2016

The two hours I took to to click the "decline" button felt like an eternity of misery and tears. Since I was a kid, I always wanted to go to a university. And San Diego State University became my dream school to attend because I had the opportunity to visit the campus and imagine what I could achieve there.It made sense to me: I attended San Diego High School, San Diego City C...

What we should have been taught

April 28, 2016

I remember counting the days to my high school graduation. I was ready to start college and live on my own. Little did I know that I would encounter a ...