Lately, San Jose’s political rhetoric has been hotter than its weather. Here are a few samples of comments by San Jose residents that were published by the Mercury News in recent days:

“With the resulting layoffs of 230 police and fire personnel looming, their (the unions’) motto needs to be revisited. Perhaps it should be modified to read, ‘To protect and preserve union power at the expense of public safety.’”

“Public and private workers increasingly live in separate economies…public employee unions have had a stranglehold on state and local elected officials for decades.  This has to end, as the taxpayers are fed up and tapped out.”