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There is new evidence suggesting that George W. Bush is a movie fan, especially of animated features. It’s obvious that he has seen “A Bug’s Life” and was taken with the scene where a mile-long single-file column of ants finds its way suddenly blocked by a fallen leaf and stops dead in its tracks, unable to move forward, unaware that it could just go around or over the barrier. I am sure Bush had this scene in mind when he signed a bill approving the construction of a 700-mile fence along portions of the 2,000-mile Mexican-U.S. border. That ought to stop those columns of pesky illegal immigrants from crossing over. Thank God, we can all breathe a sigh of relief now.

Both Candidates Deny Using the Energy Drink

As the race for mayor begins its predictable slide into negative campaigning with Election Day drawing near, the proverbial gloves have been aggressively and unceremoniously hurled aside as bitter accusations of Cocaine use have bloodied and maimed the candidates.

Well, it looks like a clean sweep for Chuck Reed in his quest to become mayor of San Jose. Yesterday, the Mercury News endorsed Reed and commented that his back-to-basics emphasis and antipathy to insider politics will strengthen the city. No doubt. What was a bit surprising is their additional opinion of both Cindy Chavez and Reed “that either could be a good mayor.” 

With the beautiful weather this weekend, I decided to take some friends and head down to Campbell for their annual Oktoberfest Street Fair. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw there. The entire downtown stretch of East Campbell Blvd. was shut down to traffic and booths lined the streets with people of all ages walking around enjoying the day.  It made me have faith that events geared towards the younger crowd in this area can be fun without turning into something undesirable.

Leonard McKay 1921-2006

The most revered member of Celtic society in ancient Ireland was the seanchaí, or “storyteller”—the man who carried the sum total of tribal knowledge in his memory and recited variations of colorful legends created by the ancestors to carry kernels of truth and information from one generation to the next. Leonard McKay was our seanchaí. History, lore and legend—and the “creative elaboration” thereof—were his stock in trade, having learned the craft from his acknowledged predecessor, Clyde Arbuckle, in the old-fashioned way.

Football Fans Impressed With President’s Resolve

The weary and battered citizens of Raider Nation received their first hopeful news of the season earlier in the week when they learned President George W. Bush was sending in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to Oakland to rescue the ailing Raiders football team.

In a day when the city council spent over $200 million (including the recently “discovered” $34.1 million surplus) on airport construction, cleaning up Watson Park and other items, they also threw the Rep Theater a lifeline that may save it from certain death, just in the nick of time. Because of the way the deal is structured, it remains to be seen whether the theater will be financially fit enough to survive, but I believe that it is a good start.

A lead story in the Mercury News this week stated the obvious in its headline that pointed to the axiom that growth will be crucial in the San Jose mayor’s race.  That was fine, as far as it went, but not far enough in charting some of the nuances in this election.  It is more instructive in what it did not say. A few years ago, a race for the presidency was won by the simple rejoinder “it’s the economy stupid.” Well, here in San Jose, we can just as easily say, “it’s the General Plan dummy!” 

It is with great sadness that I report the passing away of our close friend Leonard McKay this morning. A native of Los Gatos who bravely served our country in Europe during World War II, he was 85. He was a beloved colleague of all of us here at San Jose Inside and we are going to miss him so much. We will be running a special tribute to Leonard in a few days and I will keep our readers informed of the plans for services below. In the meantime, please feel free to express your feelings or personal remembrances of our remarkable friend who loved life and freely shared his great knowledge of local history for the benefit of all. As a tribute, I am repeating one of his favorite stories again below. He loved to tell this one and would howl with laughter at his youthful naiveté.

This week I wanted to get a pulse from our readers and bloggers about what they are seeing around town as the election gets closer.  I know that Chavez seems to be bridging the gap—but how?  Is it based on the money that is being pumped into her campaign by labor and the Democratic Party, or is she starting to connect with the Pandori and Mulcahy voters?  Are people who didn’t vote in the primary coming out of the woodwork to voice their opinions?  As the election gets closer, we will begin to see the power of the television ad, and how little people really read about the candidates.

Does anybody remember the 1994 Republican “Contract with America,” whereby all the GOP members of Congress elected that year pledged by their oath and signature to end Congress’s “cycle of scandal and disgrace,” and voluntarily submit to a 12-year term limit? Here is a little excerpt just to remind you:

Gangs Sent to New York to “Solve” Problem

The San Jose City Council has decided to rededicate itself to bringing home the title of “Safest Big City in America” by allocating several million dollars to send dozens of convicted gang members to New York City by bus to commit crimes.

Norway, with a population of just over 4.5 million, is one of the richest countries in the world. Since oil was discovered on its continental shelf in 1971, it has grown to become the third largest exporter of oil and gas in the world. It is completely self-sufficient in meeting its petroleum and electrical energy needs.  Paradoxically, it also has the second highest gasoline pump price (after Turkey) in the industrialized world of over $7 per gallon.

Once again, the ugly head of gambling is raised in San Jose politics. It has been seen before.  In the eighties, in the wake of destroyed families, ruined lives, and rising crime rates, a number of people were indicted and sent to jail. Grand jury investigations were the staple of the daily news. On every level it was a tragedy. A decade ago, the “win at any cost” leaders of the Democratic Party laundered money from the Bay 101 card club into a number of local races. Two years later, the State Fair Political Practices Commission found them guilty of a number of infractions, including late reporting. In other words, the leaders of the local Democratic Party did not want the voters to know who was funding these campaigns. Secrecy was their tactic and it worked then. They never seem to learn and they have seldom been called to task for these illegal and unethical actions. Now, it is happening again—big time!

Sunday was the start of what I hope is a great tradition in San Jose: the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. For a day, San Jose was a place you could find cool bands, and people cheering on local and foreign runners not only downtown, but through neighborhood streets.  This is exactly the type of event we need here in San Jose—one lasting not just for a year or two, but strong enough to be sustained over the years until it becomes a staple in the culture of the city.