Thursday, April 28, 2016

Real American Heroes

Colleen O'Connor in the Times of San Diego:
Seriously, I found the real Captain America hiding in plain sight in San Diego.

In Barrio Logan, Carmel Valley, Bay Park, Carlsbad, Escondido (Lilac Hills) and Mission Beach.

And they are getting stronger and smarter with each battle that pits neighborhoods vs. high-density infill projects designated “smart growth.”

The real revolutionaries, or disruptive “change agents,” this election year are mostly nameless, law-abiding, often invisible San Diegans who have taken on “the establishment” and are now “winning”—against all odds.

It started in Barrio Logan. Industry vs. housing, and shipbuilders vs. the neighborhood.

In a close knit Hispanic community, the resistance fought to retain the character of their community against creeping zoning for industrialization. Unafraid of defeat, they fought back against the City Council and the shipyard industry—via a referendum—but lost.

However, during that fight, the locals learned “yuge” lessons. How to organize, shape the narrative, push the non-establishment press, raise funds, recruit volunteers, and rally behind a cause. In short, campaign.

They were the original Captain Americas who helped inspire the next battle in a what is fast becoming a protracted war.

45 comments:

  1. Gaspar how about addressing the Quiet Zones that you promised the residents over 6 years ago, if you got elected?

    I didn't buy my home in Encinitas to be surrounded by the homeless and all the problems associated with the group. Why are you focused on attracting more homeless and problems to Encinitas instead of trying to fix existing problems for Encinitas residents?

    If feel you are the opposite of an American Hero.

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    1. Gaspar is an idiot, she couldn't fight her way out of a wet paper bag. But fear not she can't fix the streets let alone fix the homeless problem.

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    2. GASpar IS an idiot. At last night's council meeting she said she didn't support the sales tax increase by SANDAG because "it didn't feel right". Since when do we make decisions based on touchy feely notions?

      This woman has got to get out of politics.

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    3. Gaspar's handlers will wait until the last minute to mount the mailer campaign. The less exposure, the better. If she were to come out too early, she would show how little she has to offer.

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    4. This is so funny... Once again, to the posters directly above...

      Kristin could beat you in chess, outrun you in a 50 yard dash, outscore you on an ACT or SAT AND beat you in arm-wrestling. Envy is an addictive poison to suffer, friends, revealing it publicly is even more painful in retrospect.

      Don't like Kristen's style or resume? Run against her. BTW Lisa Shaffer's latest Mea Culpa written to her newsletter recipients is the new modern prototype for exemplifying a complete lack of self-knowledge or self-worth. Pray for Lisa to get help if and when she truly decides not to seek reelection and control other's lives when hers is so out of control. Every time she tees-off in public her true 'self' is revealed a little more and like most folks, its NOT very pretty in the bright light of day.

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    5. Frankly I thought that Lisa Shaffer was a man the first time I heard her speak. Everytime I see her I cannot help staring at her brutish features and I still think that she may be a man. No kids right? I have never seen an adult attempt to flatter oneself on a resume as much as she did/has. ALL those years chasing worthless degrees and nerve she has to write her own resume in the third person. That she-male is a the epitome of a white coastal feminized athiest elitist. She has a complete hatred for traditional Christian values, men and anything that smacks of tradition. Good riddance to this angry, intolerante 'change-maker.' May karma catch-up to her sooner than later for all the years of lying and deceit.

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  2. Um, instead of enforcing quiet zones (presumably through imprisonment) how about addressing the issues of homelessness in the first place? Although it might upset the NIMBYs, I suggest we start with providing affordable housing in the area.

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    1. Most homeless people are mentally ill, the MI do not want to be told where to live. You could provide them with FREE housing and they still won't live there.
      Your feel good solution simply makes YOU feel good, helps no one.

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    2. I'm stumped. What does homelessness have to do with affordable housing?

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    3. And what does imprisonment have to do with railroad quiet zones?

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    4. Imprison the quiet zones, that will show them!

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    5. 6:38, do you have inside information suggesting that law enforcement plans to arrest and jail train engineers who honk the horn in rail quiet zones? Further, do you have information suggesting that the train operators are planning to honk? If so, for what purpose?

      So many questions.

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  3. If you want to see a true homeless issue, go see downtown San Diego, or downtown Los Angeles. What we have in Encinitas is a blip on the radar. 100 people at the absolute most, whereas downtown, it's in the 1000's and you see it everywhere.

    Gaspar is on the council to do the work of the developers, the same way Muir is on the council to protect FF pensions. They're not there to serve the public good.

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    1. It's a blip on the radar until they are shitting, pissing and puking on your property. Soon thousands will be a blip on the radar. Then what are you going to do??

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    2. When do you predict us hitting the 1000 number? It's obviously an issue where there wasn't one 10 years ago, but you have to have hospital and other agencies dumping people on skid row like they do in LA to reach the higher numbers....

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    3. It's all part of the master plan of the Cultural Marxist's master plan of FORCING (OBEY STUPID GOYIM) multiculturalism into every American community. Illegal aliens/refugees/section 8 moms with 4 teenage sons/vagrants/bums/homeless. They want your white neighborhoods 'multiculturalized' why else would they force low-income homes amongst the homes of those that have worked and sacrificed to pay for them for decades. Communism/socialism/cultural marxism/multiculturalism are one in the same and most importantly subversively created by the same group of people that want to control your lives from behind the curtain. Wake up, turn off your tv and think...why do they want the traditional Christian/Western institutions destroyed (the family, faith in god, independent and self-reliant properties run by the same kind of individuals). Think folks. What is all traditional architecture replaced with guilt-inducing cold modernism? Why is all of the old traditional 'impressionist-style' art gone and instead modern art proliferates? Where did the Encinitas CHRISTMAS parade go? Who turned the screws behind the scenes to destroy this age-old custom and tradition? And why? If you want to cry for your kids or grandkids, watch this on You Tube:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VggFao85vTs

      If you want to know who is directly behind massive illegal immigration and forcing multiculturalism into our neighborhoods, watch this:
      https://youtu.be/MFE0qAiofMQ

      Arm yourselves with the truth and it shall set you free to take back your country!

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  4. It’s very difficult to have a discussion about growth and development occurring at any point in time. The need for housing has been very real since the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s. Was anyone complaining about Park Place or Ocean Cove in the ‘70’s? Sandy Point in the ‘80’s? The commercial development of El Camino Real? Home Depot? You betcha “they” were complaining!! But today those developments are part of our “community character”. Park Place is a very desirable place to live – close to shopping, transportation and great schools, a park setting for dogs and kids, safe sidewalks with streetlights, and full of character!
    Today, as in the past, there is a very real need to build housing for a growing population. Between 2004 and 2009, housing starts on a national level went from one of the highest levels (only surpassed in the ‘70’s) to the lowest level since 1959. That’s 5 or 6 years of inventory that will never be built, during a time when population kept growing. Since 2002, there have been fewer housing starts per year than prior to 2002, even though population growth has increased. Demand is outstripping supply - that’s the macro trend. This is great news for homebuilders and for homeowners – but it sucks for young people entering the job market, renters, and city (or town) planners.
    Yes, community character is important. But community character is no different than any other characteristic – it evolves and changes over time. Encinitas has many different flavors of community character, but given the macro trend it is inevitable that any community’s character will change. Park place today is nothing like it was in the ‘70’s. Same can be said for Lone Jack, Hygeia, Rosebay or Saxony. Recently 2 projects that should have been wins for the community are the Lofts and Pacific Station. The idea was a good one – the implementation, from planning and design to architecture and marketing were disasters. But the try should not be an impediment to keep trying. Just to keep things honest, Desert Rose is a disaster all around – but it does makes you wonder if Via de Caballo is really any different.
    My point here is that we shouldn’t be trying to label our representatives as pro or anti developer or growth. We should be looking for representatives that understand the macro issues influencing growth and development and are willing to apply them towards meeting the needs of both existing and future residents to make this a great place to live for both. Making the preservation of existing community character the “line in the sand” to judge all future development results in intractability, intransigence and gridlock.
    I look forward to your thoughts and commentary –

    - The Sculpin

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    1. Sculpin - This is the wrong place for thoughtful commentary. Most here have drawn lines in the sand. For them there is no compromise and no better way than to leave all as is or return it to what was. Even the slightest motion in the direction of compromise or change, leads to "love it or leave it" commentary in the form of "Why don't you move to..." People elected on clear anti-development platforms and who are anti-developement are labeled pro-development because they are following the letter of the law, or making compromises. Moderates and moderation are rare on this blog.

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    2. Sculpin, how dare you bring logic, history and reason into a discussion about housing?

      I agree, it ain't always the doing, it's how you do it. That said, there are huge issues with the scale of development currently allowed in some areas, like the strip on 101 by the Leucadia post office. The claim that all the owners of the shops would live above their shops hasn't come true, and now there's a huge issue with parking that has never been addressed.

      -MGJ

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    3. Sculpin -- You may want to read this article before making certain claims:

      http://www.sacbee.com/site-services/databases/article69054977.html

      A lot of what is happening now is to keep the development machine going. We've run out of land to easily develop and attract more people to live here. The cost of land makes any kind of "affordable" housing in a broad sense very difficult to build. Sure, we could all live in mini houses and ride our bicycles with deteriorating infrastructure, but that would turn us into a third world country.

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    4. Good article 6:53 - but population trends a really a side story to the overall trend in housing starts and supply. It's a factor, and yes, population and inbound migration trends have slowed, but not enough to absorb the overall deficit in housing starts generated in the 2000's. If that were the case, one would expect to see an oversupply in the housing market, longer average days on market for listings, and a flattening or reduction in average sales price. Instead, average home prices continue to increase, as does average rents - both signs of under-supply in housing. There is a short term trend of home ownership moving away from owner occupied to investment owners (which is messing up some HOA and condo associations), but that shift wouldn't occur unless these investors saw an upside. As for what's happening in our sleepy borough, we are so damn affluent that we're somewhat sheltered from the population trend. We're homeowners, we like our community, so we'll buy more real estate in our town and turn it into a rental. Then of course we want to fix it up!!! We're our worst enemy.......

      - The Sculpin

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  5. Replies
    1. Totally. Not taking the bait.

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    2. Sculpin: you just lost all credibility.

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    3. 1:43, 2:34, 4:08,

      Thank you for your thoughtful response. You have given us all so much to think about.

      I'm not sure I fully follow your advanced reasoning, but I plan to spend a great deal of time researching your points, and I hope to develop a deeper contextual understanding of your elucidation.

      We should name the library after you.

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  6. Sculpin is missing it. The will of residents is being ignored, sidestepped, and given lip service. The council is firmly pro developer and desert rose proved that to the hilt. We are going into gridlock and action needs to happen now as growth in Encinitas is moving ahead of infrastructure. And if you factor in road repairs that are being ignored, the city is broke as well.

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    1. Damn good thing we don't have the bottom feeder "Sculpin" representing us. We would be worse off than we are now.

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  7. I got cornered by a homeless guy who claimed he was JFK's son, John. I listened for about half an hour until my brain was about to explode with his delusions. Mental illness is diabolical - blame the State for not having programs to bring these people down to earth.

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    1. Yup, that one's right on the money...

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    2. Yes,

      We never had homeless people in So Cal prior to the period of 1981 and on. The only people were the alcoholics and low rollers down on LA's skid row, which were nothing like the size they are now in terms of the size of the community.

      http://www.sociology.org/content/vol003.004/thomas.html

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    3. To be sure, there were changes in defining mental illness, led by the ACLU and a move towards de-institutionalizing people in general.
      But Reagan did repeal the community Health act in 1981..

      http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/timeline-mental-health-america

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  8. OK Ronald Reagan is to blame. Now its time for the State to step up and address the mental issue need.

    Take some of the free food funds for our fat poor and give the fund to help the mentally challenged.

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    1. Yes, really.

      http://www.povertyinsights.org/2013/10/14/did-reagans-crazy-mental-health-policies-cause-todays-homelessness/

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    2. That's a bit of an oversimplification. Involuntary institutionalization became less and less acceptable in the mental health and civil liberties communities and broader public opinion. As the graph in the PBS link shows, the decline in institutionalization started before Reagan was president or even governor.

      Involuntary institutionalization is still highly controversial. While it might arguably be in the best interest of many of today's homeless, mass involuntary institutionalization raises serious moral, ethical, and civil liberties concerns.

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    3. For a glimpse of the contemporaneous cultural view of involuntary institutionalization, see One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

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    4. True. But the Carter-era policy was to shift federal funding from large isolated prison-like institutions, to community-based out-patient mental health services. The shift resulted in more dignity and freedom which was good for most, but not all patients. It also resulted in a significant savings for the American tax-payer, as the local out-patient mental health services and clinics were much more cost effective. Unfortunately, Reagan's contribution was to eviscerate the local mental health services as part of the budget negotiations, leaving the mentally ill to fend for themselves on the streets without proper care.

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    5. See links above. The serious homeless problem in So Cal exploded in the early 1980's after they cut the federal funding. Great point 8:48. If you grew up in So Cal from the 196o's on, you remember when we didn't have a homeless problem, and when it exploded in the 1980's...I remember seeing a whole park in Santa Barbara in 1985 flooded with homeless people, where 3 -5 years earlier there were virtually none...

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    6. Yea, Santa Barbara became a national focal point about that time when several rich kids from a local academy beat some homeless guy to death in that park. There was a big outcry about the lack of compassion for the down and outers, but that sentiment waned and dissipated as time went on. The park was very near major tourist areas and the bums began to press the tourists for handouts, intimidating many of them. One bum told me he was Rocky Marciano's manager and gave me a list of famous boxers that he knew. Nowadays, security keeps the homeless at bay; as not to disrupt business or have them panhandling.

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  9. Arrest last night by Cottonwood Creek park, weapons and drugs related with four sheriffs involved. Lets invite more homeless as the quality of life isn't where it needs to be yet.

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    1. Homeless should contact the city council. They have rooms in their houses. Councilman Kranz wants more homeless in Encinitas. Gaspar and Blakespear would love to several homeless live in their homes. It would give their children a good education for do as I say.

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  10. Lets just post their address so the homeless can come spend some time with them tonight since they are so willing to let them spend time next to my babies.

    Kranz- you suck. I voted for you thinking you cared about our neighborhood. Now I see all you want is your left wing social agenda to give all the tax dollars and quality of life to the homeless, and developers. Your are a train wreck.

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  11. The Encinitas Planning staff continues to disappoint and disgust residents!

    Planners were seen doing high fives with Fulvia developers after the Planning Commission meetings. If it had been a fair hearing--meaning one where planners did not hide documents, and lie, congratulations might have been in order. I am voting for anyone who will fire planners. Maybe we should bring in a consultant to do it!

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  12. Yes like our jocular council at break time when the mic captures comments. Play the public and support the developers, rinse and repeat.

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