Opinion

Let’s hear it for Grandma! Grandmothers all over the country, including this one, are delighted that one of their own has taken on the job of cleaning up the House—the House of Representatives, that is. Losing no time, Berkeley’s Grandmothers for Peace planned to rally Thursday at Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco office to let her know that they would support her in an effort to extricate the country from the mess in Iraq left behind by her Republican predecessors (with more than a little help from some misbehaving Democrats). -more-

For an editorial published on election day, we have two choices. We can ignore the election, thus insuring ourselves against the embarrassment of incorrect predictions in the eyes of Wednesday and Thursday readers. The downside of this choice is that many if not most votes are cast on Tuesday, election day itself, the first day this issue is on the newsstands, which means that undecided readers who turn to the Planet for last-minute guidance will be disappointed. Alternatively, we can, one more time, re-hash the issues which became important during the campaign, getting in one last word about our take on the action. -more-

A CLARIFICATION -more-

Halloween may have come and gone, but the sadly misconceived project at 1885 University Ave. still begs the question, Trick, or Treat? The answer, of course, is both. The supposed Treat? Trader Joe’s. The Trick? Trader Joe’s with a four-story, 148-unit apartment building looming menacingly above it, The Hudson-McDonald Tower of Horrors. -more-

Recently, an attorney for the Berkeley Police Association, Harry Stern, disparaged Berkeley Copwatch for its service to the community. Those remarks were absolutely unwarranted, shameful, and insulting to the citizens of Berkeley. -more-

When the people of Oakland enacted the Campaign Reform Act of 2000, they wanted to make sure that non-affluent voters had an equal voice in the political life of the city. The preamble states: “The integrity of the governmental process, the competitiveness of campaigns and public confidence in local officials are all diminishing.” The high cost of elections “gives incumbents an overwhelming and patently unfair advantage.” -more-

It was a Cold War love story. Julia Robinson had never met the man she was writing. He was from Leningrad; she was from Berkeley. And yet they did one of the most precious things a man and a woman can do together. They did mathematics. And they did that beautifully, solving one of the twentieth century’s greatest conundrums, Hilbert’s “Tenth Problem.” -more-

“The past is prologue” wrote Shakespeare, and it was 20 years ago that several key events predicted the future of Berkeley and framed our present. -more-

CHAMBER HIT PIECES -more-

Sitting before our TV’s witnessing the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, the nation stunned, incredulous, in shock. Conversation, public and private, a mix of anger and disbelief. How could the flood victims—disproportionately poor and black—be treated so badly, deserted, left to fend for themselves, to die? The Bush administration went AWOL—absent without leave—revealing itself as having committed what can fairly be called malign acts of criminal negligence. This was in sharp contrast to the generous outpouring of volunteer help and contributions from around the country. A prime example: hundreds of RNs went down to New Orleans within days to respond to the horrible plight of the flood victims. -more-

The most diverting feature of my jail cell was the handsome stainless-steel console attached to one wall that cleverly combined the functions of washbasin, drinking fountain, and toilet. In its economy of line, its satisfying serviceability in all its functions, and its efficient and hygienic separation of those functions, it was the kind of thing one might encounter in the design galleries of the Museum of Modern Art. A very distant second place goes to the disposable toothbrush. After removing it from its sanitary package, I followed instructions to push the handle toward the brush head, which broke a seal and squeezed rather tasty toothpaste up into the bristles. My cell offered three of these. But even in the tedium of my two and a half hour confinement I used only one. -more-

Will our votes count in this election? The short answer is yes. -more-

As a fourth year student at Cal I have never voted in a local Berkeley election. I never cared too much for the local style of sandbox politics and seemingly little action. From my perspective, and other students I’ve spoken to, Berkeley politicians don’t really do all that much. But then again, why should I care? I’m here four years and then I’ll never live in Berkeley again. However, recently a chance encounter with City Council candidate George Beier has changed my mind. -more-

Many Californians dread the mass of complex propositions on every imaginable subject that confronts us every statewide election. This November, though, features a system-changing initiative that must not be allowed to get lost in the clutter, a measure that offers fundamental change to the system of legalized bribery that has too long passed in this state for representative democracy. -more-