Merry Christmas to all SJI bloggers and readers.

In the abiding spirit of revolution embodied in the Declaration of Independence, our Founders created this country as a nation ruled by secular, Constitutional law, not religion and mythology, though the assault on this principle by theocrats is ongoing and relentless. Those who attempt to wield the Bible and the teachings of Christ as a weapon—from George W. Bush and Pat Robertson to the Catholic Church and the Texas Department of “Education”—for political and social control, to stifle intellectual debate or cover up the facts of science, do so under false pretenses. Jesus would be appalled.

With the state of California poised to release 22,000 convicted felons designated as non-violent, I thought of another former prisoner who rehabilitated himself and made something of his life: the American author known as O. Henry whose real name was William Sydney Porter. He wrote over four hundred short stories, an amazing achievement. Though I have great reservations about this prisoner release as a cost-cutting measure, I truly hope that there is an O. Henry in the mass of those returning to our neighborhoods shortly. Merry Christmas.

Christmas is a time of cheer, smiling faces, carolers and strolling down tree-lighted lanes. I don’t know when it happened, or why, but Christmas has suddenly turned into a time of dashing around, stressing out, sitting in traffic, and pulling out your hair while you buy one gift after another. What happened?

This season is a fun time of year—getting together with friends and family whether it is for Christmas or Hanukah or another celebration—with holiday parties, a lighter work load due to the end of year, shopping for gifts for loved ones and getting extra rest. This is also the time of year for enjoying the plentiful decorations that compliment our city.

Councilman Williams Vows To “Git ’r Done”

Following through on his promise to save a costly police substation pledged to his district, Councilman Forrest Williams offered a compromise to the council that kept the project within budget by eliminating the public art element, ammunition and squad cars.

“I said I would find a way to ‘git ‘r done,’” said Mr. Williams. “And if these cops can go without bullets and cars for awhile, they can certainly do without the foo-foo, artsy-smartsy crap.”

I have been to the San Jose Civic Auditorium once in my eight years of living in the city: a performance by towering jazz giants Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter about five years ago. A big jazz fan all my life, I have been lucky enough to see many of the greats, from Miles Davis to Weather Report, but the best jazz concert I have ever been to was definitely the one in the San Jose Civic that night. In fact, it was the most sublime musical experience of any type I have had, and that’s a hard list to top

It seems like we have a battle over art again in San Jose. Not over what type of art, but, rather, whether to have it in the new police substation.  I, for one, am happy not to discuss the recall in District 7 or the loss of our esteemed title of the “Safest Big City” in this yuletide season and get to the real issues that determine our future.

Why do we relish traditions around the holidays? Why do we become nostalgic about certain things that we do with family and friends? You don’t see people planning to go to the same play every March or going to see a display around Valentine’s Day. But in San Jose, the Christmas season seems to bring out some wonderful traditions.

City Hall Diary

No, I am not referring to the subprime mortgage crisis and the subsequent foreclosures but rather last week’s three-hour city council study session regarding inclusionary housing. Many comments were expressed on how inclusionary housing should be dispersed. What exactly is “inclusionary housing?” Is it for extremely low income (ELI), or for others? No one can argue that San Jose has not done a good job at building affordable housing, especially when you compare San Jose to other municipalities in the Bay Area.

County Assessor May Be Stripped of 2004 Royal Schmoozer Title

If baseball received another black eye on Thursday with the publication of Senator Mitchell’s report detailing rampant abuse of steroids amongst its players, than County Assessor Larry Stone was dipped into an industrial-sized vat of scalding hot nacho-cheese when his name inexplicably turned up on the list.

There is the fundamental question that often comes to the fore in the political life of a representative: Do you vote what you think is right or do you vote the will of your constituents? Madison Nguyen is caught in this situation. According to news reports this week, 2,000 people attended a meeting and rally on the naming of the Little Saigon/Saigon Business District. 

Through careful research and consideration, I have come to believe that bouncers are now the lowest form of humans to grace our social scene. I have logged hundreds of man-hours in our local establishments to come up with this conclusion that I am sure other people have come to long ago. Doormen and bouncers already operated on power trips and egos. Even so, there is a new increased power given to these men that they do not deserve, and an attitude in our city that they can do or say anything they want to us. I think we all have a growing lack of respect for others in general and the bouncers are leading the way.

City Hall Diary

The San Jose City Council received a North San Jose Task Force update last week.  North San Jose is a grand opportunity for the city. The prospects are endless: industrial land which adds revenue to the city budget, residential properties to allow people to live close to where they work and an abundance of land which can be used for open space and parks.

Budget Cuts Force Donkey Patrol in Downtown

Faced with the grim task of choosing between fiscal responsibility and horses, the San Jose City Council, rather than suspend the police department’s popular horse-mounted unit, made the tough decision to retire the horses and substitute them with more financially efficient donkeys.

Why is the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors getting mixed up in setting standards for national fast food chain restaurants to display calorie counts and nutritional data of their products? Supervisor Liz Kniss has proposed such legislation applicable only to restaurants with more than 15 outlets in the county. Her stated reasoning is that she wishes to fight the epidemic of obesity in the country, but I don’t see how this no-more-than-cosmetic move will do any such thing. For one thing, it leaves out the vast majority of restaurants in the county. The only result I can see is the high cost to the county’s taxpayers of policing something which has little value to the public.

The tumult and the shouting have died and “Little Saigon” is now a political battle, not an alternate name to an important area of small businesses. Or is it?  A recall is in the offing if cooler and more focused minds do not prevail. I hope they do. It would be bad for the city, District 7, and the Vietnamese community. While it is difficult to understand why Madison Nguyen was so blind-sided by the somewhat predictable events of the last few weeks (and the strong feelings behind them), the council supported her down the line.  One day we may see it more clearly.