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Showing posts from August, 2026

On Becoming: 40 Years

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(Old Man At Sea, Open Edition, by Mark Ludy) I recently turned 40 years old. As a Millennial man, I assume that I'll be lucky to make it another 40 years. This true mid life has prompted a crisis, of sorts. Because I never expect to live this long in the first place. Like many young people, I thought I'd live fast forever in death as a beautiful corpse. So when I didn't, I wasn't sure how to react. I fell in love, graduated college, started a career, got married, had children, bought a house, graduated college again, and before I knew it I was here. Exactly where I wanted to be and exactly where I never expected to find myself. A good life with good people and good works. (Even as the world at large descends into madness, corruption, and strife.) It's a privilege built on survival, tenacity, and sheer luck. So many other people in my life didn't make it. They lost something, someone, or even themselves, in whole or in part. I thought that was my fate. I assumed ...

The Inevitable Fail of Mayor Juan Gonzalez

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I've been saying it for years   and years . But now it seems like many in the community are finally figuring it out : San Leandro Mayor Juan Gonzalez is terrible. From political corruption to moral cowardice. From selling out the city to big tech to silence on women's healthcare rights. From photo op facades, taking credit for the work of others, particularly women, to trying to hijack millions in taxpayer funds for pet projects and donor desires. In fact, it's fair to say that Juan Gonzalez has presided over one of the most expensive, incompetent, and disastrous periods in San Leandro's modern political history. His lack of leadership and inability to govern resulted in not just dysfunction on the city council , but the waste of precious public resources towards pet projects and petty grievances. Well, I think it's past time for me to share the 50+ receipts I have been saving for just this moment. And those just the ones I was able to save before they were modera...