politically aware BY JOEL TRAMBLEY When I moved from Atlanta to San Francisco, I missed my first chance to vote. I was able to register when I got my California driver’s license, but when election day came around, I didn’t know where my precinct was and I was a medical intern, working from 6:30 a.m….
Notwithstanding gaffes and tax releases, this time between the party conventions and the presidential debates provides a quiet moment to assess the current state of the November elections and make some predictions (anyone can wait until Nov. 5). Fortunately, the pollsters aren’t taking time off so I have plenty of data to help. The presidency….
Football news in the first week in September usually revolves around opening night, injury reports and final fantasy league preparations. This year, marriage equality received a surprising amount of attention in the sporting news. For readers who might not read the sports page, it’s worth a replay, because it shows some very positive yardage for…
As election season heats up, two questions seem to be getting an increasing amount of attention in the San Diego LGBT community: “Could the Victory Fund endorse Councilman Carl DeMaio for mayor?” and “Should they?” The first question is not as absurd as one might think. In the crowded world of interest groups, The Gay…
In competitive debate, the second team gets extra time to lay out their case and respond to points made by the opening team. Such is President Obama’s task as he accepts the Democratic nomination for a second term tonight. He won’t actually get more network coverage than the Republicans, but he can choose not to…
The Republican National Convention concludes tonight with former Gov. Mitt Romney’s speech officially accepting the Republican nomination for president of the United States. As the convention approached, most pundits agreed he and his surrogates had two missions: reintroduce Romney and get back to the “real issues.” Reintroducing Romney was never going to be a problem…
From the Republican outcry against U.S. Congressman and Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin’s use of the phrase “legitimate rape,” you might think he’s said something outside the conservative mainstream. You’d be wrong. Akin has plenty of company, with the proof available in the Library of Congress. Just 15 days after being sworn into the…
I’m not sure which word best describes the choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as the Republican vice presidential nominee; obvious, daring and destructive all come to mind and have been used by various media outlets. Most reporting focused on his budget and its impact on independent voters. Less has been said about what the Ryan…
When “Papa Doug” Manchester bought the San Diego Union Tribune, there was a concern that the news might be tainted by right-wing opinion. Few predicted that right-wing opinion would be tainted with sheer fantasy. Yet, that is the only explanation for what happened Saturday, when the U-T San Diego editorial board jumped the political shark…
For the past 10 days, friends from outside San Diego have inundated my inbox with two questions: “Did people really boo a gay mayoral candidate at Pride?” And, “Why?” Answering the first question is simple. Yes, they did. The second question is harder to answer, despite reading the knotted mass of Facebook and commentary threads…
