Due to life experience, education. job knowledege developed over many years prior to my retitrement 17 years ago this momth, as well as participation in 18 task force groups, ad hoc committees, when appointed by City Council or HUSD administration. I thus claim a wide knowl;edge of the trends and fractors which affect us all.

I agree with the gentleman who argues that the property tax system is unfair. I voted against prop 13 even though I owned a home and was involved, in partnerships, with residential property. I agree that those who have residency in a home over a long period of time, are not payiing taxes as high as the younger folk involved with more recent purchases.

That condition is unfair as was the California tax on parochial schools imposed for the purpose of support- ing public schools. California was the last state in the Union to discard that unfair tax. It took three votes to repeal that unfair tax. The campaign expense was heavy too ! The most redicuulous part was the effort to re-ikmpose the tax after the third, successful attempt at repeal.

I think myself intelligent enough to recognize that nothing will change the attitude, including that of those who bought homes much more recemntly than I did.
When that attitude changes and Prop 13 is rescinded, we might all see a change in the confusion and distress caused by the current California budget crisis.

I do not accept the idea that I have been ‘ragging on people’ for months. I have a long history of speaking out when people are mouthing known errors. I regard it as a duty if I have the time and knowledge of detail that I regard as ‘truth of the matter at hand’. If I failed torecopbnize that, then why did I volunteer for the draft into military service?

I once had publicly contributed a response to a speaker at a shipboard meeting of Marine Cooks and Stewards. The meeting went on ’till the wee hours when most had gone to bunk down before the Lurline’s passengers presented themselves for still another meal.
The attractive stewardess, who eventuated to become the mother-in-law of a well known ‘black panther’ had risen to speak, in 1948 when I was 17 years of age, her subject was the interferance of the Pope in the Italian elections of 1948. She thought it was an awful transgression by The Roman Catholic Pontiff to state that those who voted for the communist party were in danger of ex-communication from the RC Church.

After the meeting, I pulled her aside and pointed out that Pope was not perforning the act of excommunica- tion but that those who voted for an avowed atheistic political program were to be seen as exmmunicating themselves. To put it simply, you are unable to vote for atheistic communism and remain Christian. The light bulb lit up in her mind’s eye.

The lady recognized the point and came to my rescue a few days later, when in the act of defending myself by a white man’s homosexual attack, I had developed a swollen . blavk eye. During the periodic tour conducted through galley areas for shipboard passengers, I was instructed to turn my back. The stewardess,a young African American, then arranged for me to enter the voluntatily segregated crew’s quarters. The African Americans were ‘straight’ and I had no more trouble from gay crew. It was an eye opener for a young white kid who, at that time had absolutely no idea, not even a clue, of what the African American experience was like. It provided material for elocution class when I returned to finish high school at the end of that 1948 summer season.

The lady described above,in later life became very active in assisting African American parollees in their search for a second chance. Unfortunately she was shot dead in her residential doorway that she had just opened to a man she had been helping.

The blog prohibits name-calling and personal attacks. One of a couple recent examples being: “You’re a sick person.”

I think this is common sense and pretty straightforward and so this is my final comment on this topic. Thanks!

Blog policy: While The HayWord welcomes lively discussion and tough criticism, personal attacks on writers or other readers are not allowed. Spam, obscene language, personal attacks or abusive hate speech are not allowed. You may not pose as another person when posting. Violators are subject to a ban. We recommend that posters to The HayWord use their full names when posting, to keep this forum reliable and encourage constructive discussion.

Blogs are meant to be broken. Or thats what the research has shown in an article last year in the American Prospect. Right wingers systematically attack fellow bloggers and try to poison the air, driving people from the blog. Does the M.O. look familar?

Paul Frumkin sent me an E-Nail this evening…… I knew he had been a long time resident ! He states that he has lived in Hayward constantly from the year 1952 when his parents moved here from San Francisco.

Drop him a line and apologize! Suggest also that you confront your source of information. ’tis the right thing to do !