Rants & Raves

19 Comments

  1. So the city has no $ to celebrate the 4th of July and thus is canceling the fireworks.

    Fine.  Then lets do away with the Office for Cultural Affairs that should save a nifty sum.

    After all the idea of comemorating the 4th is to celebrate what this country is all about, tha being that fact that diverse groups of people and cultures can come together and build a great democracy.

    The 4th of July is the basis which motivates different peoples and cultures to want to come here and since we can’t even make note of that in some public gesture there really is no need for a publicly funded Office of Cultural Affairs.  Really, what is the point?

    Hugh Biquitous
    in downtown

  2. Hugh,

    OMG, you’re going to incur the wrath of all of the politically correct, far left liberals by bringing up this subject again.

    They’ll tell you that you should not be concerned about celebrating other cultures, e.g., Cinco de Mayo, the Mariachi Festival, etc.  They’ll then tell you that you can still go to the Downtown park and wave a flag around.

    Betcha’ that no less than five of the PC a*shats will post something to this effect.

  3. Hugh, I couldn’t agree more. The Office of Cultural Affairs is a luxury we can’t afford during times when we’re talking about cuts to essential services.

  4. What are you guys gonna complain about if and when the Mariachi Festival funding and the Office of Cultural Affairs budget is cut or eliminated? Since it will make very little difference in digging the City out of the hole they are in, who are you going to look to as your next scape goats? Just wondering if you have fixed your target yet.

  5. Hugh,
    If you really want to scream read this:

    Council Member Constant posted this on http://protectsanjose.blogspot.com/2009/06/whats-in-your-budget.html#comments
    under,“What’s in your budget?”

    “Also, what was not mentioned in Scott’s column is the fact that the Mariachi Festival already recieves over $1,000,000 in donated advertising and marketing each year. This figure was provided to me directly by Marcela Davison Aviles who is president and CEO of the Mexican Heritage Corp., which produces the San Jose Mariachi and Mexican Heritage Festival. She also references this figure in her June 3, 2009 opinion piece in the Mercury News, see: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12513041?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com”

  6. #10—you’re our next target.  Wipe that spit off your face!

    Here’s another target—B.S. Bureaucracy.  Mayor Chuck keeps SAYING that he wants to make SJ more business-friendly and cut the red tape.  Well, he can make a small start by putting the kibosh on a bunch of Willow Glen busybodies (is that redundant?).

    A story in the June 19 issue of the WG Resident informs us that the city has scheduled a public hearing for June 23 on the request to remove dead and dying trees from the parking strip at the moribund shopping center @ Bird & Minnesota.  The company that handles plant maintenance for the center hired an arborist, who ID’d dead and dying trees.  They want to cut them down and REPLACE THEM.

    But that’s not good enough for the ever-vigilant people without jobs and/or lives in WG, so they protested.  And now, the city hall folks will spend time and $$ to assuage the opponents of replacing dead and dying trees with live trees!!! 

    Kathy Espinoza-Howard was quoted as saying:” There’s very little tree canopy on that stretch of Bird Avenue.”  Look again, Kathy, the parking strip on Bird Avenue has trees planted so closely together that the branches of each touches those of its neighbor.

    But, as we all know, SJ pols are in love with PROCESS; so we’ll waste city resources calming down the WG busybodies.  I think “process” in the minds of our so-called leaders means spending a lot of time on useless things to calm down the “squeaky wheels” in town, while avoiding the big ticket items like our crumbling infrastructure and out-of-control budget.

    Speaking of process, what’s taking so long to get the new market open in that strip mall—more city roadblocks to business?

  7. You don’t have to have been a Father to be a Dad to someone. So here’s to ALL you gentlemen!

    Happy Father’s Day
    by Marian Jones
     
    Since the day that I was born
    You have been my guiding light;
    The one I always turn to
    When things aren’t going right.

    You are generous with your time
    When I need a helping hand:
    If sometimes I’m neglectful,
    You always understand.

    You’ve been my inspiration,
    As the years have come and gone;
    A gentle loving Father,
    Whom I can depend upon.

    So on this special Father’s Day
    I send my thanks for all you do;
    For no-one in the world deserves
    More happiness than you.

  8. #8 Kathleen.  Thanks for the wishes.
    It is so nice to see something so positive on this site.
    BTW I am a father of four great children.

  9. YO!!

    Why doesn’t San Jose legalize “safe and sane” fireworks?  Go driving though any neighborhood on the 4th and you see lots of people setting off “illegal” fireworks.  Couldn’t the city make some money off this instead of the people going out to Gilroy to buy them?

  10. 11—Ooh, I’m the next target? Whatever that means. You sure have gotten even more grouchy lately. And you don’t seem to mind spouting off on something even if you don’t have all the facts. Good way to from an opinion and express it—in public yet. Hope you had a chance to relax this weekend so your future posts will reflect a calmer, gentler person.

  11. Why doesn’t Gilroy stop selling the fireworks so the knuckleheads that buy them won’t be able to get them so close to SJ. There is no such thing as a “safe and sane” firework—just ask the SJFD. When your house burns down ask the insensitive neighbor who was playing with fireworks if they were using “safe and sane” pieces. Fire and houses and dry conditions simply don’t belong together. Wise up!

  12. East Side Dre, obviously the government knows what’s best for you. Fireworks are bad. You might burn yourself. You must be protected from yourself at all costs. Big Brother is watching you.

  13. When I was a kid in Houston, we used to play a game like Dodgeball, only it was played with bottle rockets. A bunch of us would stand against a fence while the “rocketeer” took aim and tried to hit one of us. When you were hit by the rocket you were “out”. Good, clean fun. One time, Dickie Warfield had his eye put out. “No problem”, his Mom said. “That’s why God gave us TWO eyes”.

    What a bunch of wusses I live amongst now.

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