This is a still shot in the closing credits of a new film “Ricochet “ about the San Francisco Public Defenders Office, and the tragic 2015 incident wherein a young woman was killed by a gun that was fired accidentally by an illegal immigrant subject to deportation.
I only have about 10 minutes this week to articulate what was bothering me so on Saturday (May 22, 2021) about a church service being held at City Hall.
Here is the sign that was posted. Is this a permit? Did City Of Palo Alto give a permit to hold a church service at City Hall? Is directly in front of City Hall — in other photos the words CITY HALL make this obvious — the same as in City Hall? Would the same event be more appropriate at a park, like at Lytton Plaza, two blocks away? (Or the Farmers’ Market grounds, adjacent?) Did City Attorney Molly Stump rule or not on whether this violates the separation of church and state? Did City Manager Ed Shikada rule or not on whether this violates the separation of church and state? I saw the Chief of Police Robert Jonsen at the event — he did not speak; did he issue the permit? If the same 300 or so Christians and 10 or so speakers appeared at 250 Hamilton and made the same speeches or prayers, sang the same songs and hymns but did not seek a permit per se, is that less a challenge to the First Amendment (First Amendment reads “Congress shall make no law regarding the establishment of a religion” — it is freedom of religion and here freedom from religion)? Would the same event with one Jewish speaker be more in compliance with the First Amendment? If Reverend Bruce Reyes Chow, or Reverend Kaloma Smith had included the two words “Shabbat Shalom” — “good sabbath” — in their respective presentations, as I suggested they do, would that be more in compliance with the First Amendment? Should we agree that we will not rent City Hall for future church services, prayer vigils or prayer services?
Was Kaloma Smith the only member of leadership involved in the event? What was his role (besides being a speaker)?
What is the significance of the fact that the plaza and building were built in 1970 and then in 2008 we put up a plaque dedicating the Plaza per se to “King Plaza” in honor of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King? Does making the same space next week available for a Jewish vigil make the whole thing ok, equal time, equal access? Why doesn’t government — leadership — conduct government at City Hall? (Covid is ending, when will government reconvene? Similar: is a government by mediation and electronic media the same as government in person? Can Tom Dubois and Ed Shikada hold meetings of council outside, in front of City Hall, as the Vineyard just did)? Could the Vineyard et al hold the same event and the same production value and same permits but sing not “Everlasting Love of Jesus” but “We Shall Overcome”? Could they produce the same event without advertising it? I.e, especially in Covid time, with state and county health protocols, could they produce an event, sing, make prayers but not advertise and have no attendees, and then film it and show it later, for example on the internet? Does referencing George Floyd and Black Lives Matter make it okay to defy the First Amendment regarding Church and state? Is there an expediency to the George Floyd case or anniversary that makes us ignore the First Amendment issue?
Stay tuned. Peace.
—Mark Weiss Earthwise Productions Plastic Alto blog Lions with Wings label former City Council candidate — 8,000 votes former candidate for arts, library, human relations, architectural review board and planning commissions student of Vincent Starzinger at Dartmouth College, 1984 (“History of the US Constitution and The Supreme Court” — although I got a C)
And1:
NBA star and former Paly player Jeremy Lin and Reverend Bruce Reyes Chow spoke at the rally/concert/vigil/service. Jeremy Lin said that God let him down regarding Jeremy’s attempt to play in the NBA this season. Then he read a prayer about the “peace keepers”. God bless.
A rally in Palo Alto yesterday Jeremy Lin admitted that it was Barbara Eden who really is a genie who granted three wishes that got him Linsanity China-Beijing and dreadlocks but admitted that when he asked for three more wishes she said “nice try” .
This is really dumb but I trip out on the fact that Stanford Daily once mis-identified the title of Elif Batuman’s first book; I heard about Elif while walking thru the quad the day this was published and the article crossed my path like a tumble weed. She’s one of my favorite authors.
I find that ridiculousness human and likable,” she added. “My mood is solidarity in the face of adversity. You share this observation that something is absurd and then it’s comforting — it makes you feel less alone.
Note: they fixed the error in the text. My wife likely through away the clip.
b/w
somehow the internet led me from weird Elif Batuman item to Jenny Blake, whose father Jim Blake I used to chat with at Printer’s Ink, and her brother Tom Blake played football for UCLA. Jenny is also an author and a business consultant.
and1: I had a weird email exchange that went from George Shultz’ tattoo to Clay Carson to Al Young and MLK.
but before all that, back at the ranch, the Post had something about a book called Dead Souls. Elif’s books are also named after Russian novels, The Idiot, The Possessed. Get it? Gogol!
moremoremore how do you like it how do you like it
Elif
“We have new optimism based on new circumstances, including vigorous and broad-based philanthropic interest in Stanford Athletics on the part of our alumni, which have convinced us that raising the increased funds necessary to support all 36 of our varsity teams is an approach that can succeed,” said Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne. Thirty-seven if you count The People Who Read team.
Let’s rename the park, for a Black man. We’re all equal, not a sequel. With 2020 hindsight, we’d repair the funk All the other parks, they want the darks. We charge the poor to park the car, but we don’t tax the man, and drive Tesla. Poet laureate, poet laureate; the epitome of literacy. Life’s a brief candle, but he lit it. He hit it, he didn’t sh** it. For his game, he’s like the Willie Mays or Willie Mac, the Barry or the Bobby, meanings clearly or at bottom. We can’t change our past, but we can change our minds. There’s more than 1s and 0s, there’s more than of’s and “ahvs”
A temple of listening. To see it glistening. Let’s rename the park. Let’s rename the park. aeiou! aeiou! We want to mingle, to hit a single. Even our squirrels think the new rules are uncool. They’re not dullards.
This is a poem I wrote as a song parody to the tune of “don’t believe the hype” by Public Enemy and it also quotes from a poem by Al Young about the squirrels in Palo alto. I sent this to City Council and may have also spoken for the record at a public hearing through Zoom.
I just heard this morning that he had died last month. I had seen his son Michael Young a few weeks before that in San Francisco at City Lights . I will be reaching out to other activists and students of Al to see what is fitting memorial to him here. He had an office on the corner of Bryant Street and University, the Nevada Building, for many years.
If we don’t want to rename the park for him, what shall we do ?
Notes:
Not that it’s critical, but this the original lyrics I am riffing on:
Caught you lookin’ for the same thing It’s a new thing, check out this I bring Uh Oh the roll below the level ‘Cause I’m livin’ low next to the bass, c’mon Turn up the radio They claim that I’m a criminal By now I wonder how Some people never know The enemy could be their friend, guardian I’m not a hooligan I rock the party and Clear all the madness, I’m not a racist Preach to teach to all ‘Cause some they never had this Number one, not born to run About the gun I wasn’t licensed to have one The minute they see me, fear me I’m the epitome, a public enemy Used, abused without clues I refused to blow a fuse They even had it on the news Don’t believe the hype –Yes Was the start of my last jam So here it is again, another def jam But since I gave you all a little something That we knew you lacked They still consider me a new jack All the critics you can hang ’em I’ll hold the rope But they hope to the pope And pray it ain’t dope … The book of the new school rap game Writers treat me like Coltrane, insane Yes to them, but to me I’m a different kind We’re brothers of the same mind, unblind Caught in the middle and Not surrenderin’ I don’t rhyme for the sake of of riddlin’ Some claim that I’m a smuggler Some say I never heard of ‘ya A rap burglar, false media We don’t need it do we? It’s fake that’s what it be to ‘ya, dig me? Don’t believe the hype –Don’t believe the hype, its a sequel As an equal, can I get this through to you My 98’s boomin’ with a trunk of funk All the jealous punks can’t stop the dunk Comin’ from the school of hard knocks Some perpetrate, they drink Clorox Attack the black, ’cause I know they lack exact The cold facts, and still they try to Xerox Leader of the new school, uncool Never played the fool, just made the rules Remember there’s a need to get alarmed Again I said I was a timebomb In the daytime the radio’s scared of me ‘Cause I’m mad, plus I’m the enemy… Their pens and pads I’ll snatch ‘Cause I’ve had it I’m not an addict fiendin’ for static I’ll see their tape recoreder and grab it No, you can’t have it back silly rabbit … Some say I’m negative But they’re not positive But what I got to give The media says this
And here is the Al Young poem I reference, about squirrels:
its actually recorded with a bassist named Dan Robbins —
Squirrels are skittering outside through the trees
Of my bedroom window
Laying it on the line of my consciousness brown and black flurrying and scurrying how can I not help loving them
Like an old Bopster loves licks
Laid down
Building up
The “ofs” and “ahvs” comment in my lyric references his speech at Berkeley a few years back about how the word “love” only has five rhymes whereas “amor” in Spanish is easier to rhyme — or in Portuguese – -he was talking about an English lyric to Jobim.
What got me started on this is that I saw a book in the window of Books Inc at Town and Country, an anthology of Black poets, by Kevin Young and I read the Al Young poem, about “Players” and then when I went online to find more info about the poem, I noticed Al’s obituary.
edit to add, the next day: this is actually my 3000 post and when I realized that fact I put on a replica Roberto Clemente jersey Clemente the baseball star and activist humanitarian who died in 1972 finishing his stellar career with exactly 3000 hits where is my blog has 3000 posts and maybe 1 million heads although a lot of them seem to be from weird countries and robots. I would Say the average article gets about 500 readers not all at once long tail etc.
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 