Posts by Take Back San Jose

Jean-Simon Berthélemy: Man formed by Prometheus and animated by Minerva, 1802. Image by Wikimedia Commons What if parents were given a yearly $10k check to send their kids to whatever school they like (public, private, or home)? Many states are doing it. Others like TX are considering it. Here, the Federalist unpacks how ESAs benefit…

There’s a lot of noise coming from local media regarding the comparative costs & benefits of differing D3 and SJ homelessness solutions. So let me don my accountant’s cap, and I will summarize the key points we all need to remember. 1.) Large-scale structures are the fastest way to get shelter to the homeless. Months instead…

Twin brothers Deimos and Phobos—Greek gods of fear and panic—always loyally followed their father, Ares, into battle. (Odoardo Fialetti: Mars [Ares]) “Not raising taxes will kill our schools.” “We’ll solve homelessness by building more housing.” Below, the Center for Inquiry’s Benjamin Radford (also a folklore journalist) breaks down why these slanted local narratives seem so…

Image by Jim Maurer The threatened walkout of local transit workers causes little concern because so few people ride transit in the Valley. Randall O’Toole explores, in this highlight from a beloved Opp Now exclusive, why VTA is one of the worst-performing agencies in the U.S. The reasons why VTA stands out as such a poor…

Taxation without realization Forty-five million dollars. That’s the shortfall SJ City is facing–and it’s why this year’s upcoming City budget negotiations really, really matter.  Putting on my financial analyst hat – two quick points:   1.) Farewell to Housing First. These negotiations will test whether or not the Council finally puts the deeply flawed and brutally…

Giovanni Domenico Tipeolo: Procession of the Trojan Horse in Troy, 1760. Image in Public Domain Benjamin Radford—esteemed writer and research fellow in skeptical inquiry—also has a degree in psychology. Below, he analyzes mental shortcuts that, we think, might explain why SJ Council voted “yes” on unpopular Prop 5: tribalism, the representativeness fallacy, and more. An…

Mark Grossman: Political Corruption in America: An Encyclopedia of Scandals, Power, and Greed SJ Mayor Mahan’s framing his March ’25 budget message around government accountability—and he’s likely to find a lot of popular support. New data suggests that citizens from across the political spectrum think gov’t is rigged. Newsweek reports. A new poll has found…

Stanford campus. Image by hdz You can’t make this up: on 2.25, a planned debate between a Berkeley prof and Harvard’s president—in a class called “Democracy and Disagreement,” no less—was derailed by jeering protestors. In response, First Amendment expert Daniel Ortner calls for a thorough independent investigation of Stanford admin. From Substack. Yesterday at Stanford…

mage by Wikimedia Commons Fans of microunits (as small as 140 sq ft apartments) claim that housing affordability could be substantially improved if cities let smaller units be built. LA’s Central City Association examines the barriers and the advantages. Similar to parking requirements, limits on unit density disadvantage construction of smaller apartments. For example, a…