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A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Frustrated with arguments on the parcel taxI am hearing from various of the people I talk to that they are as frustrated as I am with the information being provided on the merits of the PAUSD parcel tax currently...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Apr. 17, 2015Last comment by village fool, on May 1, 2015 at 1:53 am | 76 comments | 13838 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Considerations on City Council CandidatesComplaints about difficulties differentiating this group of candidates have become common. Blogger Diana Diamond discussed this in her September 15 ^
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Oct. 11, 2022Last comment by Norman Beamer, on Nov 2, 2022 at 9:10 pm | 61 comments | 4794 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Open Letter to SCC Public Health on excessive restrictions, esp NurseriesI was shocked to see (garden) nurseries become delivery-only businesses in recent update of the Shelter-In-Place (SIP) Order (^
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Apr. 18, 2020Last comment by Douglas Moran, on Apr 26, 2020 at 1:11 am | 52 comments | 11113 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
The Palo Alto Bicycle Lobby: Impeding more and safer bicycling?I did a lot of around-town bicycling from the late 1980s through the early 2000s (foot#4) and became involved in the City's bike planning. I found myself often in...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Mar. 16, 2014Last comment by pat, on Mar 31, 2014 at 11:47 pm | 52 comments | 45224 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
A sanctimonious, hypocritical (national) media"Are you willing to pay for quality journalism?" is a promo I routinely receive. And my rhetorical response is ==I "Does that mean you have...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Aug. 17, 2018Last comment by Harry Merkin, on Aug 28, 2018 at 10:49 pm | 50 comments | 12034 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Why contentious local politics? More examples from ADU at CouncilObservations from the Council discussion on ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Unit aka granny units). ----Advertising contempt for those that disagree---- If...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Apr. 18, 2017Last comment by Gale Johnson, on Apr 25, 2017 at 10:13 pm | 50 comments | 10759 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
The "Creative Class" and "superstar" citiesTrendy young tech workers are key to the economic fortunes of cities. This is part of the urban development theory of
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Jul. 8, 2017Last comment by mauricio, on Jul 12, 2017 at 11:05 am | 48 comments | 10579 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Joe Simitian talk: Listening to Trump's America: Bridging the DivideIn the wake of the Trump election, Joe Simitian--a Palo Alto native and currently County Supervisor--visited three counties that had swung to voting for Trump after...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Oct. 15, 2017Last comment by the_punnisher, on Nov 2, 2017 at 8:02 pm | 46 comments | 12554 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
'Google memo': a lesson on not trusting news mediaIn the 2016 Presidential primaries and the general election, much of the "Mainstream Media" (MSM) (foot#1) was blatantly partisan in its coverage...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Aug. 9, 2017Last comment by Sea Seelam Reddy, on Aug 14, 2017 at 1:51 pm | 45 comments | 8810 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Demonization: Single-family homeowners are deplorables, especially Palo AltansI have been attempting to produce a summary of the positions and arguments on the collection of bills in the California State Legislature advertised as responses...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on May. 26, 2019Last comment by Foreigner in the US, on Jun 3, 2019 at 1:08 pm | 43 comments | 7655 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Expert witnesses are more than experts. Plus my 7 fundamental impeachment questionsArticles and books bemoaning the public's distrust of "experts" have been appearing for many years. One near constant is the author's refusal to...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Dec. 7, 2019Last comment by Why?, on Dec 15, 2019 at 2:16 am | 43 comments | 8706 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
The "You're despicable" style of politicsNo I am not talking about the presidential campaign. Nor about Congress. Rather about local politics, as practiced by certain elected and appointed officials, and...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Sep. 22, 2016Last comment by Ken Underwood, on Jan 9, 2017 at 3:48 pm | 42 comments | 21073 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Enough with Boycotts & "We don't want your type around here"Santa Clara County is planning a ban that I regard as equivalent--morally if not legally--to those states that effectively ban abortions by imposing regulations...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Mar. 31, 2018Last comment by Former PA resident, on Apr 21, 2018 at 10:17 am | 41 comments | 16068 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Parkland School Shooting: Why work for a good solution when there is a proven non-starter?This is not a discussion of the pros and cons, although I will include some notes about the complexities. Instead, my focus will be on the abysmal politics currently...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Mar. 1, 2018Last comment by Santa Fe High school, on May 19, 2018 at 4:18 pm | 40 comments | 14205 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Confusing a means-to-an-end with being the goal -- Shelter-in-PlaceA common problem in carrying out plans is to become so focused on your part of the plan that you think of it as a goal. As a goal, it is immutable, whereas you should...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Apr. 23, 2020Last comment by Resident, on May 23, 2020 at 12:27 pm | 38 comments | 7149 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Skeptical of the "skeptics" but not the advocates?In another blog on this site "^Skeptics, Dupes and Paranoids^" about the...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Sep. 22, 2019Last comment by Douglas Moran, on Nov 29, 2019 at 3:51 pm | 37 comments | 9757 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Can Palo Alto Afford the Vanity of its Ruling Elite? Part 1 of an infinite series: Intro and Fiber-to-the-Premises"Ruling elite" in the title is meant to provoke thought about how far the priorities of the decision-makers diverge from those of the typical resident. One of the...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Oct. 31, 2013Last comment by Douglas Moran, on Nov 6, 2013 at 5:56 pm | 37 comments | 52779 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Palo Alto's Culture War: Analytics vs. AspirationalsMany assessments of why the debate on Measure D was so bitter and divisive incorrectly cast it as a series of individual, isolated mistakes. Instead much of it was...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Nov. 10, 2013Last comment by stephen levy, on Nov 17, 2013 at 12:27 pm | 37 comments | 26082 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Shills and Charlatans of "Smart Growth""For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong." (foot#1) Any decent manager approaching a new project asks about...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on Jun. 16, 2014Last comment by Douglas Moran, on Jul 3, 2014 at 4:12 pm | 36 comments | 39098 Views
A PRAGMATIST'S TAKE
Behind contentious local politics: Failed and toxic leadershipThe crucial threshold was crossed 4 years ago when the demonization of people with other perspectives became a deliberate tactic. This tactic, and related divisive...
Original post made by Douglas Moran on May. 30, 2017Last comment by Jerry Underdal, on Jun 6, 2017 at 5:24 pm | 33 comments | 9727 Views
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