In which a city-funded art show at a city-owned airport reads like a feature in Jacobin magazine
SJ's Department of Cultural Affairs recently drew flak about its "Holding The Moment" art show at Mineta Airport, which the department funded and curated. Some residents were outraged that one painting in particular, Americana, may have promoted violence against police officers. Even though the show was ostensibly about artists' reactions to COVID 19, a quick scan of the "Artist Narravtives," in which the artists explain their work, suggests that politics, not pandemics, may have been at the core of many of their creative expressions. Here's a sampling.
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Art, Responsibility, and Taxpayer Dollars: Constant on the Dept Cultural Affairs controversy
Pete Constant is a former San Jose Police Officer, former San Jose City Councilmember, and a professional visual artist. He provides analysis of the contentious SJ Dept of Cultural Affairs art show at Mineta Airport from a variety of perspectives.
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Has political violence against private property become legal?
Months have passed since Mayor Liccardo's home was vandalized,and no one has been charged. In fact, county and city district attorneys are refusing to charge the overwhelming majority of people arrested or cited during this year's violent protests. This is true in San Jose and other cities around the country, as outlined by Mark Lisheron in his report last month for Opportunity Now. Tony Francois of the Pacific Legal Foundation responds to the issues unearthed by Lisheron's article in this exclusive commentary for Opportunity Now.
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Rules for radicals #13: intimidate by vandalising property
The trashing of Mayor Liccardo's home in August by protestors was caught on video. And guess what? It's three months later, and nobody has been charged. But don't be surprised: Brazen intimidation of politicians isn't unique to Santa Clara County, as the Washington Free Beacon reports (week of November 11).
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The absurdity of government eminent domain and affordable housing policies, all in one story
The government’s power to take private property for purportedly "public" good is vast, and leads to gross inefficiencies. Mix that in with govt's penchant for overpriced affordable housing boondoggles, and you get a perfect witches' brew. Nextcity.org reports from the Southland.
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A primer on Woke jargon
As the City of San Jose kicks off its racial sensitivity training programs, we look to Robby Soave at Reason magazine to provide a quick lesson on understanding the vocabulary of the movement.
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Why Silicon Valley is a disaster for working class
Our local economy continues to become even more like an hourglass--rich people on top, poorer people on the bottom, and nobody in the middle. Joel Kotkin explores the roots of this development in National Review.
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How "true but boring" loses the public opinion wars
Roger Scruton, in “How to Be a Conservative,” explores how tenuous the road to fairness and prosperity can be, in a world where opinion is swayed by those that yell loudest.
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How VTA went off track, how to get it back in gear
VTA's budget woes and dubious expenditures are all the news, but these are just the latest faceplants for one of the worst-performing transit agencies in the U.S. Randal O'Toole of the Thoreau Institute explores the issue in this exclusive analysis for Opportunity Now.
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Everything you need to know about Santa Clara County's housing crisis: the causes, the mistakes, the way out
In his exclusive report for Opportunity Now, Randal O'Toole of the Thoreau Institute explores how New Urbanist thinking and misguided anti-market policies created one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the world--and how to fix it.
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How residential racial segregation screws up America
Since the 1930s, civils rights litigation and legislation has gone a long way to providing equal opportunity in voting, business, schools, transportation, and employment. But there's a place they missed: our neighborhoods. Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law, explains in Reason magazine.
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