Well, it has come to this.  Local progressive Democratic activists have for years attempted to work with The Desert Sun, aka The Pro Bono Sun, and, more recently, mydesert.com, to have more accurate and fair reporting on local politics.  But, the Pro Bono Sun and mydesert.com has been oblivious to the changing demographics in the Coachella Valley and continues to inaccurately and unfairly represent local Democrats.

Case in point, the recent article which listed the four Democratic candidates for the CA 80th Assembly District that listed only three of the candidates and omitted the name of Greg Pettis, Mayor Pro-tem of Cathdral City and Candidate for the 80th AD.  Inaccuracy at its worst, or prejudice at its best.

More below the flip…

Last week, the Pro Bono Sun and mydesert.com corrupted an article on the ineffectual representation of Rep. Mary Bono Baxely Mack (R-CA) in the 45th Congressional District.  The Gannett news empire, of which TDS is apparently a not-so-integral part, posted an amazing story about Mack ranking 309 out of 425 Congressmen and Congresswomen in the current Congress re power and legislative skill.  Scathing journalism, truth to power.  TDS however watered down the article, incorporating the two powerful U.S. Senators in CA, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA), and reworded the title of the article and the text to mask Bono’s ineptitude.

Must be nice to be a friend of TDS (was that the picture of the TDS hierarchy at Mack’s wedding?  Talk about conflict of interest).

The Pro Bono Sun is oblivious to the fact that the Coachella Valley is changing and the progression is probably irreversible.  During Election 2004, Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Coachella, and Indio all voted a majority for Kerry/Edwards over Bush/Cheney.  In 2000, when the CA 80th Assembly District was formed, Republicans held an advantage over Dems.  Now, as of February 2008, Democrats outnumber Republicans by almost 15,500!  Together, Democrats and Decline to State voters amount to 51% of the voters in the 45th Congressional District where Rep. Mary Bono Baxely Mack holds onto the district by the tips of her French nails.

Last Saturday, representatives from the Desert Stonewall Democratic Club, the Palm Springs Democratic Club, the Democrats of the Desert, and the Palm Springs Democratic Women have launched a media watch group for the most egregious news media venture in the Coachella Valley: The Desert Sun (aka, The Pro Bono Sun).  These clubs plan to also include the other Democratic clubs and our allies in the Coachella Valley in our efforts to track the inaccuracies and bias of The Pro Bono Sun and mydesert.com.

(Remember the Democratic Unity Rally for the New Hampshire primary where 75-100 activists gathered at the Look Patio Bar & Restaurant and where the Republicans had nothing scheduled?  The Pro Bono Sun took quotes from Democratic Rally organizers Greg Rodriguez and Rob Simmons for sure.  But, even without any event, The Pro Bono Sun tracked down three, count them, three Republicans to counter.  No Republican party, three quotes.  Democratic Unity Rally, two quotes.  Interesting.)

The Times, er, The Sun, it will be achanging.  Otherwise, the media watch wars begin.

So-called Pres. George W. Bush initiated a war of aggression and limitless occupation against the sovereign nation of Iraq in order to exact revenge on Sadaam Hussein over Hussein’s assassination attempt on former Pres. George H.W. Bush and to secure Iraqi oil for Bush’s Texas oil cronies.  Sen. John McCain and Rep. Mary Bono Baxely Mack, absentee Congresswoman, have supported every Bush war policy without reservation.  In fact, McCain is prepared for the U.S. to continue the occupation of Iraq ‘for 100 years.’

The U.S. Army recently released a study on the impact of the Bush war of aggression on the mental health of U.S. troops (The Associated Press, by Pauline Jelinek, dated March 7, 2008).  The findings of the report are devastating to the Bush occupation efforts and reveal the harmful impact on a significant percentage of U.S. troops.

More below the flip…

More than 27% of U.S. troops on their third or fourth combat tour suffered anxiety, depression, post-combat stress and other problems.  More than 12% of U.S. troops on their first tour suffered similar mental health problems

Suicide rates “remained elevated” in both Iraq and in Afghanistan.  Four suicides occurred last year in Afghanistan and 34 either confirmed or suspected suicides in Iraq.  If all suicides are confirmed, this would be the highest suicide rate since the Bush war of aggression began

The percentage of soldiers reporting depression in Afghanistan was higher than that in Iraq, and mental health problems in general were higher than they had previously been in Afghanistan.  The adjusted rate in 2007 for depression in Afghanistan was 11.4% compared with 7.6% in Iraq

83% of U.S. troops in Afghanistan reported exposure to traumatic combat events, a key risk factor for poor mental health among the troops

Spreading U.S. troops out in Afghanistan tended to isolate troops and made it more difficult for them to obtain mental health services in Afghanistan

About 29% of U.S. troops in combat outposts in Iraq reported that it was difficult to obtain mental health services in Iraq.  About 13% of U.S. troops not at outposts reported similar difficulty

U.S. troops receiving “Battlemind” training reported fewer mental health problems than those who did not.  The training teaches U.S. troops and families what to expect before troops depart for the Bush occupation of Iraq and what common problems to look out for when troops readjust to Stateside life following deployment

29% of U.S. troops feared seeking mental health services would harm their careers, down from 34% in 2006.  Fears of seeking mental health services would prevent many from getting help for anxiety, depression, and post-combat stress and would exacerbate the symptoms

89% of U.S. troops reported that their unit’s morale was neither high nor very high, down from 93% in 2006.  79.4% reported neither high nor very high individual morale, down from 81.7% in 2006.

In Iraq, 72% of soldiers reported knowing someone seriously injured or killed

U.S. troops reported an average of only 5.6 hours of sleep nightly in Iraq, significantly less than that needed to maintain optimal level of performance.  This puts U.S. troops at greater risk for harm.  Officers appear to significantly underestimate the impact of sleep deprivation.

Almost 33% of U.S. troops in Afghanistan were highly concerned that they were not getting sufficient sleep, and about 25% reported falling asleep during convoys last year thereby increasing their risk for harm.  16% of U.S. troops reported taking psychiatric medications during 2007 (there was no figure for the percentage of troops who were prescribed psychiatric medications and who were not taking them), and about half of those were sleep medications