It's really amazing how television, the newspapers and other media can advertise millions of dollars worth of Christmas gifts without once mentioning the word Christmas.

Holiday gifts, holiday parades, holiday dinners, holiday trees and ever present "Happy Holidays." It gets me to wondering how many people out there actually buy Thanksgiving gifts or New Year's Day gifts.

Channel 4 put a big dent in this idiocy on its recent Sunday evening news when it interviewed people who were very irate about having Christmas put on the shelf. To top it off they had a choir beautifully singing, "I'm dreaming of a white holiday." Absolutely priceless.

The definition of political correctiveness that I have in my files is "camouflaging the truth to protect the psyches of the silly."

Robert L. Smith

Cottle Avenue

Myers' argument does
not add up for schools

They say money changes and comes between people. It may also distort clear thinking, as is the case with Carol Myers and desegregation dollars. In a rebuttal to the Willow Glen Resident Dec. 18 Speak Out section, Myers chose to once again berate a fellow San Jose Unified School District school, all in the name of protecting her neighborhood schools from a false threat-- the "dreaded" magnet school concept.

The reason Myers' schools do not receive desegregation dollars in proportion to other schools is because those schools already reflect the socioeconomic mix of the district. Myers claims that "the very nature of magnet schools is divisive, creating the haves and have-nots." Having worked as a trustee, Myers should be aware that the creation of magnet programs was to close the achievement gap between the haves and have-nots. If a magnet program does not meet desegregation numbers, than it would be the district office, enrollment center and school community that would need to come together and address such concerns. However, money matters mostly to Myers.

The very nature of Myers' comments is to twist and distort data for her personal agenda, which. in this case she hopes will sway the public process in school closures during the SJUSD this year, rather than working toward the unification of the district schools.

Had Myers put her energy toward bringing people together and constructively criticizing the district, her efforts would have better served her neighborhood schools. It is the very nature of her discourse that is divisive, causing disagreement or dissension, at a time when parents and district staff need to pull together most. Myers' financial woes should be focused more deeply upon Prop. 98 dollars and how we can support the district in attaining those funds. This is a matter which will deeply wound the district as a whole.

Amy Huddlestun

Lynhurst Way

One school wishing for magnet program

With the closing of Steinbeck Middle School there are now five middle schools that have magnet programs and two schools that do not. We all know that these programs are coveted by parents and have a huge impact on which schools children choose to attend.

Willow Glen Middle school has a high percentage of English learners and economically disadvantage children, yet they receive very little help from the district to both retain their neighborhood students and also provide for the most needy students.

There is a core group of parents and supporters of Willow Glen Middle school, who despite the district's neglect, are working hard to make sure Willow Glen Middle school stays as a first-class middle school.

The Willow Glen Foundation has raised large sums of money to help provide the programs that other schools take for granted. The booster clubs are supplementing the budgets for music, arts and athletics.

But once again it looks like Willow Glen Middle School will be left with a lump of coal under the Christmas tree by the district.

Why is the school board such a scrooge when it comes to providing equitable programs and funding for all our middle schools?

Bob Mulvany

Willow Glen

City needs to change
how it does business

The city of San Jose has established a very dangerous precedent, by allowing the Hacienda Gardens Shopping center to remain in a deteriorating condition since 1997.

This situation has show everyone in San Jose that a landlord can go at least seven years or more, with a history of complaints without completely making repairs as long as they say they will, say they want to or they say they may do something someday in the future.

The city needs to change the code to hold these landlords accountable when conditions are bad. These developments need to be in compliance with all codes. The planning department should not be allowed to consider future projects on these sites until that owner complies with all the outstanding violations.

This would help assure the city that the owner has an understanding of the codes and has established a business practice beneficial to all. This loophole in the San Jose code needs to be addressed immediately.

Joe Pottgieser

Yucca Avenue