Monthly Archives : August 2014

Great Bastion of Journalism…No More


The San Jose Mercury News has become a victim of its own ideological homogeneity. The San Jose Mercury news was once a great bastion of journalism.  Described in the 90′s as “a middle-of-the-road political cast slightly tilted to the Democratic side”, the paper more recently leans decidedly right.  Throughout the 80′s, 90′s and early 2000′s, the paper reigned as one of…

Speaking Out for a Living Wage


One by one, they lined up and waited for their turn at the microphone.   Santa Clara County is weighing what it can do to help lift the working class of Silicon Valley out of poverty wages and these people had come with their stories – backed with powerful statistics: 30% of county residents fall below the self-sufficiency standard for basic…

The Rising American Electorate Wants Reproductive Justice


Pop quiz: What demographic  trait do millions of unmarried women, adults under 30 and people of color have in common? You might guess it’s their relative lack of power and influence. In fact it’s exactly the opposite – potentially.  This group, known as the Rising American Electorate (RAE), could prove to be the most powerful voting bloc in the country…

Tech’s Diversity Problem: More Than Meets the Eye


While tech workers reap high salaries and lavish benefits, the people who cook and serve their food, maintain their offices and provide workplace security often live in poverty – and for every tech job created, four service workers are needed to support it, creating a large and growing underclass of “invisible workers” in Silicon Valley.  The issue — and startling statistics…

Ro Khanna is “right-of-center on tech and business issues”…And Who Am I to Disagree.


Last week when the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce PAC announced their endorsement of Democratic candidate Ro Khanna, praising him as “right-of-center on tech and business issues”, it couldn’t have been a surprise to those watching the race for California’s 17th congressional district that Khanna would be “honored” by what most Democrats would see as an insult. Since…

Policy Watch: Your weekly tip sheet for what’s going on in your community


Santa Clara County Living Wage Ordinance Thursday, August 29,Supervisors will accept a report from the Office of the County Executive relating to the feasibility and recommended framework for a County living-wage Ordinance and a Worker-Friendly Employer Certification Program, including progress on the compilation of an inventory of current County contracts greater than $50,000 per vendor.   Tweet

The American Workplace: There’s No ‘I’ in Team, But There Are Two in ‘Machiavellian Hell Hole‘


There’s been a very discernible shift in the American work environment since the beginning of the Great Recession of 2008. That’s for those Americans who are actually working full-time jobs. Just to remind you, unemployment is still painfully high. Last week’s headlines boast the ‘hot streak’ of new jobs being added to the economy and  unemployment falling to 6.2%. But if…

Why I’m Over the Ice Bucket Challenge and You Should Be Too


Just like the Harlem Shake meme that was hot for a second and then died faster than Michelle Bachman’s presidential bid, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge appears to have won the internet and is bordering dangerously on the saturation limit before we all get bored and move on. While it’s still fresh in most people’s minds, I want to share…

Fiddling While Rome Burns


The New Yorker featured perennial Congressional candidate Ro Khanna in an article titled “The Disruption Candidate.  Right.   Disruption – aka moving fast and breaking sh*t – is how we got the Patriot Act.  Also this last line: The last page of ‘The Great Gatsby’—I forget the line, about looking at the dock and moving toward the future and all that. The Valley is…

Back with a Galactic Vengence


The Whopper of the Week is back. I admit one reason I’ve returned to the Left Hook is that San Jose Inside’s interview with Mayor Chuck Reed provided such an irresistible target. First, let’s check out the whoppers in the Mayor’s discussion of the City Council’s deadlock on the sales tax issue. Chuck and 5 Councilmembers including Republicans Constant and Khamis…

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