I work for the Courage Campaign

After months of simmering, reports last week sounded rather certain that negotiations between the U.S. and Iraq to continue the American presence in Iraq would include the elimination of immunity for security contractors. Talk of a timetable for withdrawal- phased or complete- has been one sticking point, the Washington Post reported “Iraq’s insistence that its laws should prevail stems largely from the excesses of private U.S. security contractors, whom negotiators have agreed would be subject to Iraqi law.” Specifically the Nisoor Square massacre in which Blackwater agents killed 17 unarmed civilians without provocation.

The road towards some sort of justice for that massacre has been a long and torturous one (see here for a brief rundown of the attempted coverup). Despite a U.S. military investigation finding no evidence that Blackwater was fired upon, blanket immunity was immediately offered and counter-theories popped up all over the place. But after fighting through the courts for almost a year, there’s encouraging progress towards justice. Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported six Blackwater agents received target letters from federal prosecutors, suggesting that indictments for at least some of them will be forthcoming.

It’s vital that the framework be established to govern security contractors in Iraq because there are simply so many of them. For the first time in U.S. history, the ratio of contractors to servicemembers is 1:1. And so far, there’s absolutely no mechanism to hold those 190,000 contractors accountable under any laws anywhere. Jennifer Daskal of Human Rights Watch reminds us “[t]his [Nisoor Square] is definitely the most high-profile case of contractor abuse in Iraq, but it’s certainly not the only one.”

With movement in both Iraq and the U.S. to start holding these folks accountable, it only bolsters the argument that Blackwater is not a good neighbor in San Diego or anywhere else. They simply don’t serve the community or the country and- no matter how much Don Rumsfeld wanted to completely outsource the military- have no business undermining the servicemen and women who actually perform these jobs with skill and honor. Once Blackwater is forced to accept the consequences for reckless barbarism, it’ll bolster the case of grassroots activists that have never given up the fight against Blackwater. One more step in the right direction.

Coming soon to Carlsbad, the nation’s largest desalination plant. A 10 1/2 hour hearing concluded with approval for the project which has been pushed hard by Mayor Jerry Sanders to address the water crisis affecting San Diego. The ruling also opened the door for as many as 20 other desalination plants that have been proposed in the state.

The ruling includes a number of pretty good requirements of Poseidon Resources which will build the plant. They include enhancement of marine habitats, diluting the waste-water that tends to cause dead-zones in the ocean where it’s dumped, carbon offsets, energy recovery and use of solar panels.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has been pushing voluntary water conservation for months. It’s to his credit (to a point) that he’s identified this issue and spoken out about it. But he’s refused to institute anything resembling a mandatory conservation plan, and on my morning commute I still see countless businesses watering a narrow strip of grass and a wide swath of parking lot under the baking sun. Quite simply, he has not committed to making this a big deal despite the executive director of the Utility Consumers’ Action Network recently commenting

Somebody needed to throw out a well-thought, reasoned proposal to ratchet up the quality and urgency of the discussion…I think the region has suffered from an overzealous desire to reach consensus without providing any kind of clear vision.

In fact, Sanders has overtly thwarted attempts to establish just that sort of clear vision in the name of tired old GOP laissez-faire fanaticism. Plus, since it’s Jerry Sanders, there’s quite possibly inappropriate business relationships involved in his politics. City Attorney Mike Aguirre testified in opposition to the desalination plan yesterday, contending that “the primary way to gain new water is through reclamation.” Sanders has vehemently opposed water reclamation and his veto of a pilot project was overruled by the City Council earlier this year. In traditional form, Sanders has responded by trying to poison the project by tying it to increases in utility costs.

In response to this foot-dragging obstructionism coupled with evangelism for the Poseidon desalination project, Aguirre wrote a letter to Sanders on Tuesday calling into question the motivations involved by noting:

* Three Poseidon officers each contributed $300 to Sanders’ first election campaign.

* Sanders’ campaign manager, Tom Shepard, is president of a firm that lobbies for Poseidon, and a Sanders campaign staffer once employed by Shepard now works for Poseidon.

* A city staff e-mail questioning the council’s water project was copied to Shepard by a Sanders aide.

Sanders has a long history of intimate ties to lobbyists doing business in and around the City of San Diego and has never apologized for it. But more broadly, this fits in with the age-old GOP modus operandi: force government to ignore a problem until it reaches a crisis point, then force through a flawed and incomplete solution that benefits friends and business contacts. We see it here, we see it with the state budget, we see it with national security.

It’s not as though water is a new issue. People have needed it for literally ever and the sharing thereof has been a sticking point in California as long as there’s been a California. But rather than starting years ago down a path of responsible water use and steady, deliberate development of new sources, we wait until the last second, hang the threat of impending doom over people without insisting they actually do anything but sign away their right to oversight and skepticism, and come up with the solution that will make Jerry Sanders’ retirement party more lavish.

Just more for-profit incompetence and fear mongering by your modern-day GOP.

I mentioned on Monday that Nick Leibham would be offering gas to residents of the 50th district discounted to the price in April 1996 when Big Oil first started funneling money to Brian Bilbray.

Today, ExxonMobil posted $11.7 billion in second quarter profits, the all-time record for a U.S. Company, so the $182,818 that Bilbray has received from oil companies throughout his career may seem like a drop in the bucket. But he’s certainly delivered time and again for Big Oil: Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act (Use It or Lose It): No. Drill Responsibly in Leased Lands Act: No. Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act: No. Energy Independence and Security Act: No.

The response yesterday was- perhaps unsurprisingly- huge. Leibham’s campaign manager described to me “lines down the road…people were so enthusiastic.” Because pain at the pump is inescapable, it’s immediate, it’s obvious, and it’s not a complicated issue. There’s a clear choice being presented between the failed policies of the past- more drilling, and the policies of progress- investment in new and renewable energy, use of existing drilling leases, the elimination of tax breaks for Big Oil.

This is a race that’s often flown under the radar in online circles, but with Bilbray refusing to even enter his district in order to defend his extremist voting record, it could get pretty interesting. Bilbray is desperate to avoid engaging on real issues, crowing about a veterans memorial but voting to continue the Iraq debacle and voting against the new GI Bill. Every chance he gets to bring about positive change, Bilbray stands in opposition. But when he can stand far outside his district and lob rhetoric, he’s all for it.

While Bilbray continues to work against Americans, Nick Leibham got out, in the district, and did something that would actually help a little bit. It isn’t much, but it’s not supposed to be a solution. What it was supposed to be- and succeeded in being- is a sharp line of contrast between the priorities of these two candidates.

One of and for the people, the other bought and paid to oppose the people.

In June I asked What the Hell Happened in San Diego following a disaster in the June primary. A few days later, I noted that, among other things, Ben Hueso happened. Today, former state senator Dede Alpert happened in much the same way. Alpert is, apparently by virtue of just being a Democrat who’s ever been elected to something, generally considered to be a major force within the San Diego Democratic Party. She was even batted around as a possible candidate for mayor before leading Dems decided it would be easier to just give up and go home. So in the one remaining citywide race, Alpert endorses Jan Goldsmith for City Attorney, the Republican. This of course continues her streak of supporting Republicans every chance she gets.

Let’s keep this straight. Incumbent City Attorney Mike Aguirre is the only one in San Diego who has consistently and seriously pursued tremendous corruption concerns over the past several years. Alpert’s endorsement says that Goldsmith “will provide the kind of leadership the City Attorney’s office needs to be a competent, well-managed law office for the people of San Diego.” Which of course implies that Aguirre’s office is incompetent and poorly managed. This is a popular line of CW bullshit in San Diego pushed out by people who bristle at the notion of real accountability at the city level. I know that Aguirre isn’t always the easiest person to get along with or work with, but with nobody else in the entire city taking seriously the responsibility to provide an uncorrupted, open and reasonably functional government, I’d wonder what exactly Alpert is looking for.

Has the city’s recent crumbling infrastructure, financial mismanagement, city hall pay-to-play scandals, collapsing economy and lack of responsiveness been some sort of model for virtuous governance and I missed the memo? Has the appeal of having a viable oppositional voice been abandoned in favor of a de-facto autocracy full of people keeping their head down and building a resume?

In this case, it makes some sense that, since Alpert’s Republican choice for mayor has won, that she would want to undermine anyone who might oppose his policies- regardless of whether the policies are good. Or ethical. Or healthy for the long-term prospects of city governance. Effective government requires a public and reasonable debate, a legitimate division of power within government and between ideologies, and a basic level of competence and motivation towards maintaining such standards. It would seem Alpert disagrees, but complacency and go-along-get-along simply doesn’t fly. Not anymore at least.

The Democratic Party in San Diego is completely rotten at the top. These standard-bearers of the establishment and decaying conventional wisdom are an embarrassment and actively undermine the tremendous bottom-up organizing that new blood, new perspectives and new energy have brought to the grassroots level. It’s people like Ben Hueso and Dede Alpert who work expressly at cross-purposes to the notion of a viable San Diego Democratic Party. The ultimate opponent is the GOP, but these oppositional Democrats are a hurdle that need to be identified and understood as well. There won’t be a healthy Democratic Party until we win both fronts. If Dede Alpert wants to try to hold up the Republican power structure, so be it. Now we know what we’re dealing with.

Crossposted on DailyKos

That’s right, in this reddest of red California districts, Mike Lumpkin has managed to turn this into a competitive race. Having raised over $300,000 to date, a record for any Democratic candidate in the history of this district, the retired Navy SEAL is turning this into a serious contest.

Mike recently received an endorsement from Hillary Clinton, adding to the already impressive list of endorsements (I think they need to update that page) along with an upcoming joint fundraiser she’ll hold for Mike with Bob Kerrey. The DCCC will soon be listing this as an emerging race, and if the campaign can raise enough money, will be added to their Red To Blue list.

But that’s the hard part, as the campaign needs to raise an additional $300,000 in the next 30 days. No telling if that can happen, it’s certainly an uphill climb. But without a doubt, this is a great opportunity. Do we really want the spawn of Duncan Hunter to inherit his father’s seat? A guy who only won his primary because people thought they were voting for his dad. Is that really what Congress needs more of? Fortunately, there’s a great alternative to that, there’s Mike Lumpkin. If you’d like to learn more about him, he answered some questions for me awhile back, which you can read here.

And if you feel so inclined, here’s Mike’s ActBlue page.

According to a press release issued by the campaign, Mike has raised more than any Democratic candidate in the history of the 52nd district, raising more than $300,000. I’ll take it as a great sign, though it is a long road to November. But it looks like this time around, we’ve got a serious candidate in this normally very red district. Keep up the great work, Mike!

Mike Lumpkin’s website

Mike’s ActBlue page

Commander Lumpkin’s historic fund raising effort reached record breaking heights last month when it broke the previous record set in the 2000 Congressional race. Democratic candidate Craig Barkacs raised $267,000 over the course of his entire campaign, a number which Lumpkin surpassed last month just after the primary. “East county’s excitement is telling. Just like the rest of the nation, they want change – they want their country back,” said Campaign Manager Chris Young. “It’s not just Democrats who are coming alive in the district, Commander Lumpkin’s supporters and volunteers include Independents and Republicans as well,” said Young.

Hopefully they can put the money to good use, Mike’s a great candidate, and we really, really don’t need Lil’ Duncan inheriting his father’s seat. Just have to make sure he can’t skate by on name recognition, and force him to actually campaign, something his father managed to avoid almost entirely his last few elections, not bothering to debate, let alone even acknowledge his opponents. But Mike definitely looks like the right candidate for the job.

Full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign

Blackwater may be on shaky ground. Despite official protestations to the contrary, it’s starting to look as though Blackwater’s course might be shifting. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is starting to ask why the government is using so many private contractors, asking “Why have we come to rely on private contractors to provide combat or combat-related security training for our forces?” and going on to wonder “are we comfortable with this practice, and do we fully understand the implications in terms of quality, responsiveness and sustainability?”

These are questions that a competent government would have been asking in 2001 when Donald Rumsfeld declared that privatizing national security would be a good idea because…I don’t know why…his friends would make money? It was Rumsfeld shift away from publicly-guaranteed and provided security that brought about the rise of Blackwater and a litany of other, slightly less infamous private security firms. But in light of the continuing legal proceedings probing Blackwater’s Nusoor Square (17 civilians dead for no reason), Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s insistence on eliminating immunity for security contractors in any new Iraq-U.S. security negotiations, and now Gates’ expressed concerns, Blackwater executives have been saying they’ll shift away from private security because it’s causing them too much grief. Blackwater will supposedly “survive with a focus on international training, aviation and construction.”

This has a number of potential implications for the new Blackwater facility in San Diego. If the above list is correct, then Blackwater would be getting out of not only the private security business but also the domestic training business. Which would make their San Diego facility superfluous. They’ve assured the public repeatedly (perhaps protesting too much) that this facility would not be a staging area for aviation surveillance of the border, but we know they’re expanding their fleet of surveillance aircraft and are apparently heading in that direction. We know they’ve received new government contracts to provide training in Latin America and have recently provided security for Sen. John McCain in Mexico. Blackwater officials have sworn up and down that setting up just three blocks from the Mexican border has nothing to do with these other plans to operate multi-million dollar contracts in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, but it remains convenient.

Now maybe the public denials are accurate, but if Blackwater is getting out of domestic security training and moving away from the sorts of contracts that send them to Iraq, (aside from being a welcome development) it means they don’t have any use for their San Diego “vocational school.” I look forward to seeing the thread of logic play out for them.

I’m at the San Diego Convention Center next to MyDDer (his liveblog) and Calitics alum Todd Beeton where Barack Obama is about to address the assembled luncheon along with Tom Nelson of Divided We Fail/AARP and Rep. Joe Baca.

I’ll throw up anything interesting that may pop up. So far I’m struck by the sponsors: Chrysler, Shell, Sodexho, Walmart, Allstate. Not exactly the best neighborhood partners in the world, which is probably why they want to be here.

Update: Wal-mart’s CEO (Lee Scott) knows many people are being squeezed in today’s economy. He is glad to help by providing affordable health care. wh- wh- what?

Update: The theme of the luncheon is “The Power to Change History.” Obama’s wheelhouse right? Tom Nelson is talking about the struggles of food, gas, and medicine. Providing affordable health care (I bet he and Lee Scott have different visions here), and protecting social security.

Update: I don’t have numbers for overall attendance, but the Ballroom for the luncheon is set up to accommodate about 2,250 after space was cleared for press. The overflow room is probably roughly 700 with the same accommodation and it’s filling up fast as well. Who’d’a thought this would be a big draw?

Update: A number of McCain and GOP folks working the room immediately ahead of Obama’s speech. Notable because there don’t seem to be any Obama folks around- got the impression that nobody’s really seen Obama people yet today. They’re definitely here, he flew in last night. I know this not because I’m a creepy stalker but because every local news station covered it. San Diego, the 8th largest city in the country, is excited for the attention. As are the demonstrators outside that run from Obama supporters to American Independent Party supporters to Minutemen to anti-choice to overtly lying racists. The rich tapestry of America.

Update: “What’s the best economic stimulus package? A high school diploma.” Bob Wise, former long-time member of Congress and Governor of West Virginia is up now and talking about education issues for Strong American Schools (Founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, headed by Roy Romer). Also on stage are future leaders, and Wise is discussing the importance of raising a strong new generation of leaders. The rhetorical stage is being set quite nicely for Obama.

Update: NCLR President Janet Murguia is finishing the table setting in her introduction of Sen. Obama. Earlier speakers covered health care and education, now involvement in civic life, multiculturalism, the housing crisis, DREAM Act, and immigration reform. She finishes up by almost calling Obama the next president of the United States. Tipped hand a little bit.

Update:

Change does not come from the top down. Change comes from the bottom up. change doesn’t come because someone in Washington says it should…When you organize neighborhoods into coalitions and workers into unions.

Update: Brings down the house defending exploited workers and harassed immigrants:

The system doesn’t work when 12 million people are living in hiding and tens of thousands are crossing our borders illegally…when businesses are…exploiting workers and neighborhoods are terrorized by ICE…when mothers are ripped from their babies…the system isn’t working and we need to change it.

This election is nothing less than a test of our allegiance to the American dream.

Heavy on immigration reform, “bring those 12 million people out of the shadows and give them a path.” They should pay a fine, learn English, get in line. “Practical solution.” Well then.

Update:

Too many young people, they’ve given up hope way too early. the children who attend overflowing classes in underfunded schools…They’re counting on us to invest in early childhood education…To recruit an army of new teachers. To make college affordable to anyone who wants to go. Because that’s how you give Americans the tools to compete in a global economy.

Update: Veterans are depending on us to build a 21st century VA…including mental health care. What if they’re just feeling blue I wonder?

Update: “Make it [health care] affordable for anyone who wants it.” Who doesn’t want it?

Roughly: Introducing a new plan to provide real relief for small business owners. Championed by Hillary Clinton. It’s a plan that would help more employers provide health benefits to their employees. If you’re a small business who wants to provide health care, I’m going to provide a tax credit. Will help create not just new jobs but good jobs. Jobs with health care. Jobs in America. That’s how we’re going to change the system in this country.

“Imagine how powerful you could be in November if you translate your numbers into votes.”

Update: “We’re going to shake things up.”

“This November we’re coming together to turn the page on the failed policies of the past. Together…we will transform this nation.”

Final update: No Joe Baca? hmm.

“The system is broken” was the theme of the speech, focused on how to bring Latinos further into the mainstream of U.S. society by transforming the avenues for participation.

Full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign

As of yesterday, Blackwater is back to desperately trying to play pariah.  They’re accusing San Diego of disobeying a court order by…closely adhering to the court order. Blackwater’s complaint is that the city is improperly delaying the final permit needed for the Otay Mesa training facility because of a recent letter from San Diego’s chief building official that “placed 64 conditions on the final permit for a ship simulator, including wheelchair access.”

The Blackwater argument- sad, desperate, and incoherent as it is- is that because a judge’s decision pre-empted the City Council from reviewing Blackwater’s permits and restricted the permits to ministerial review, a ministerial review from the relevant city department is improper. City Attorney Mike Aguirre clarified that these decisions “are being made by the professional staff using their own good-faith judgment.” Just what Blackwater asked for and received.

Basically, how dare you give me what I want and have it turn out to be undesirable. Blackwater is apparently unfamiliar with The Monkey Paw, but will soon hopefully learn that getting what you ask for isn’t always the same as getting what you want.

But for a company that’s so desperate to adhere to local laws, Blackwater seems mighty resistant to adhering to relevant state and local regulations. Maybe it’s because they won’t be able to violate federal laws if they can’t first violate state and local laws.

Either way, Blackwater’s blatant disregard for local regulation was bound to cause them trouble eventually. They managed for now (there’s an appeal pending) to avoid allowing the public to decide if they’d like accused murderers and arms smugglers in their community. They’ve managed to dance around countless laws and basic morals from Iraq to Afghanistan to New Orleans. But it doesn’t get them everywhere, and now people are paying attention. Blackwater admitted up front and city officials confirmed that the misleading shell companies used to apply for city permits were used to fly under the radar of city employees and local activists, but the cat is out of the bag and now people will notice if the city fudges on any letter of the law. Too bad for Blackwater if they can’t operate within the law.

San Diego pay attention! ATF raided Blackwater’s North Carolina mercenary base and seized 34 machine guns. The backstory is involves yet another example of Blackwater using third parties to get around regulations they don’t think they need to follow. In this case, they paid for 34 automatic weapons via having them registered to the Camden County Sheriff’s Department to skirt federal law. Interestingly, there are only 19 deputies to which Blackwater CEO Gary Jackson answered, “They are very well equipped.”

The weapons in question are 17 Romanian AK-47s and 17 Bushmasters. I’ve been unable to find info on which model of Bushmasters are involved, only that they automatic. This should be of particular interest for Californians as Blackwater’s website notes their San Diego base offers a “Bushmasters Weapons Course” that is open to the public ($450 for two days, includes lunch). As for the AK-47’s which have zero law enforcement value, Blackwater justifies the purchase by claiming:

Jackson and Erik Prince, Blackwater’s owner, said Blackwater used the AK-47s in training to familiarize police officers or members of the military with a foreign weapon that they might come across while making an arrest or on a battlefield.

On the “battlefield” known as Camden County, the last decade has seen two murders and three robberies.