San Jose Inside

You can’t turn a page in the paper without the subject of stadiums dominating the news.  The Oakland A’s to Fremont, the 49ers to Santa Clara—it doesn’t stop!  Not that I don’t like hearing of sports teams coming closer to San Jose.  I mean, we did pass Detroit in size, didn’t we?  So by default we deserve more sports teams! 

When Allied forces liberated the concentration camps in Nazi Germany as they marched toward Berlin, local civilian residents were taken to the camps and forced to face the terrible truth that had been in their midst. In the years since, the debate has raged over the level of culpability shared by the German people in accepting the horrors of these camps throughout the war and saying or doing nothing to stop the heinous crimes against humanity being perpetrated in their name right in their backyards.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday—as a change of pace from our regular critical analyses and discussions of problems—I thought we might have an open forum on what our bloggers like best about living in San Jose and Santa Clara County. In the heat of our political and ideological battles, we sometimes forget how fortunate we are to live in such a special place. I’ll go first to start things off.

As much as I wanted to write this week about Thanksgiving, the Notre Dame–USC game, or the new James Bond movie, Monday’s article in the Mercury News, concerning the Reed transition, contained one set of comments that I could not ignore.  They came from the mouth, if not the mind, of Ms. Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, leader of the South Bay Labor Council.  In them, she decried the “divisiveness” that could creep into the Transition Committee of Mayor-elect Chuck Reed, and her fear that “old families” would return to hegemony in our city.  It would be easy to let this set of vacuous comments go unanswered but, somehow, the lecturing of a person who just had her agenda, her candidates and her attempts to control the city repudiated in a historic rout, called out for a response. (It was almost as if Rummy began to lecture us now on military tactics for our future success in Iraq, or Kissinger—ah, but that’s another blog.) Such advice from Ellis-Lamkins falls not from weight but from absurdity. 

I thought I would run a list of things I am thankful for before Thanksgiving.  Beside the obvious—family, friends, etc.—here are some San Jose items.

I am thankful for:

We are facing an educational crisis that has put our state and nation at risk of losing our competitive edge over other developed countries.  Our traditional educational system is not producing the positive results necessary to prepare students with the skills, knowledge and values necessary to keep America competitive.  In California, this is especially true for Hispanics which is the fastest growing segment of our society. Hispanics in California have an alarming dropout rate of over 50 percent, and only 25 percent of those graduating high school go on to college. Moreover, only 10 percent of those Hispanic students entering college will complete a four-year degree.

Say They Won’t Accept Jim Beall as Family

Several direct Neanderthal descendants have filed suit against a group of scientists that claim they have found DNA that proves there is a link between the extinct cavemen and Homo sapiens.

Yesterday’s news that the city had mistakenly overpaid employees who were reservists called up to active duty since 9/11 certainly presents the council with a dilemma and the citizens of San Jose with a not-too-rosy view of the city payroll accountants. Some of the soldiers returning from stints in Iraq have received letters demanding repayment of thousands of dollars. How did this happen and what is to be done about it?

Yesterday, I attended what many are calling a seminal event in the history of sports and business.  At the headquarters of Cisco in north San Jose, most of the northern California media assembled with CEO, John Chambers, and the owner of the Oakland Athletics in the person of Lew Wolff.  Also present were Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and A’s General Manager Billy Beane of “Money Ball” fame.  It was a quartet that few reporters could resist.  They didn’t and the cast did not disappoint.

So many things made me glad when our city’s election results started rolling in last Tuesday.  I am glad that I don’t have to pack up my things in disgust and move out of the country.  I am glad that honesty and independent thinking won out over sleaze and dishonesty.  I am glad that people rose to the occasion and voted for change in City Hall. I am glad the people didn’t listen to Bill Clinton’s phone message (even those who were called in Los Gatos and Monte Sereno). I am glad that people saw through the endorsements of the Democratic Party and voted based on who was best for the city, not the special interest labor unions. 

The Future of San Jose Inside

Last week’s elections may be over but here at San Jose Inside we will continue to provide an open forum for our readers to discuss the issues of the day in a local context. As we look towards the future, we would like to hear from you today about what subjects you would like to discuss and what new features you might like to see on our site.

But Poignant Personal Letter Gives Sage Advice

After a landslide victory by the Reed reformist movement over the incumbent machine of Chavez, Gonzales, Labor, the Democratic Party, lobbyists, Coyote Valley land developers, the city council, county supervisors, former mayors Hammer, Mineta, Hayes, former president Clinton, and just about everyone else except for the voters, outgoing mayor Ron Gonzales rose above bitterness, the referendum on his administration, and depositions to write a personal and heartfelt letter to his successor.  It is full of advice and exposes a human side of the Mayor that was seldom seen.

Voters all over the nation stood up against the forces of unethical government on Tuesday. The decisive wave struck here in San Jose with the rejection of Manny Diaz and the Gonzales-associated Cindy Chavez and the election of Sam Liccardo and Chuck Reed. The Jack Abramoff-connected California District 11 Congressman Richard Pombo was swept out of office, in what was thought to be a safe Republican seat, along with several of his colleagues in similar positions. The voters in besieged Ohio rejected the corrupt Ken Blackwell’s bid to become their governor, and in Florida, they firmly turned down Katherine Harris, the ethically challenged engineer of the 2000 Bush “victory” who wanted to be a U.S. senator.

The writer John Reed once said, rather infamously, “I have seen the future and it works.”  Fortunately, he was not correct about his prediction.  In San Jose, though, I think we are able to say that the future now has a very good chance to work. I saw it last night.  The victory of Chuck Reed was a remarkable achievement against the forces of the Democratic establishment who had Bill Clinton in the van, a two to one edge in money, and everyone from the dog catcher to Kofi Annan in Chavez’s corner. Reed absorbed all the hits and kept going. 

On this Election Day 2006, as I sit here with my fingers crossed, I hope that things will turn out for the best for San Jose today.  When I cast my vote this morning, I tried not to think of all that is wrong with politics today and tried to be proud of my own decisions and support other voters who have their own convictions about who they were supporting today.  I tried to look at all candidates as worthy, competent and honorable because they were giving of themselves to serve others.  I tried to see all the candidates’ good qualities and commendable campaigning strategies.