Letter about awful cab ride

Patricia Dando
District 10 Council Member
City Hall
801 North First St.
San Jose, CA 95110

Councilwoman Dando:
This is Thanksgiving Day and my wife, son and I are waiting at San Jose International Airport waiting for our flight. The reason I am writing is to ask for your help. This morning we had the scariest car ride I have ever had. It was in Taxi 2231 of Rainbow Cab Company. The driver was an older man named Vladimir, he picked us up at 7am, his cab was a van. I would give you more information but the name printed on the cab licenses issued by the City of San Jose are so small that older cab passengers, such as myself, could not read it without holding it very close and using reading glasses. Vladimere's taxi license was dangling from his review mirror and try as I did, I could not read his name.

I was seated directly behind and slightly to the right of the driver. I could clearly see the speedometer registering 85 mph, he was tailgating other drivers and he was cutting off other cars. My wife had to grab onto a hand rail, she had her eyes closed, I complained to the driver and he would not slow down.

After the ride I called the Rainbow Cab Company and their dispatcher would not release the driver's name. So, all I know is his name and the number of the cab (2231.) Can you help me get the information I need to file a complaint with the appropriate city licensing agency? Also, can you try to have the city either put a big number on the license that can be read at a distance or print the driver's name very large on the licenses so we can report unsafe drivers?

Vladimere is unsafe and I believe he is going to kill somebody driving the way he does. In my opinion this is not the kind of driver, or company, San Jose should be licensing to drive cabs in San Jose.

~Steve Sloan

We saw F911 (Finally)

About F911
Last night we saw Fahrenheit 9/11, a very scary movie that compared what happened during the first Bush administration to the Ray Bradbury book. His analogy went to great depth on the deception of American people an the apparent inaccurate linkage by the administration of Bin Laden and Saddam. It is utterly amazing to me that our country has chosen to re-elect this fool. How can so many people be that stupid?

And now, Condi Rice
In their weblog, Backup Brain by Dori Smith and Tom Negrino, Negrino writes about the appointment of Condi Rice to Secretary of State. "Ah, it's another proud day to be an American."

Related Links

• Michael Moore
• Dear rest-of-the-world, sorry everybody [You Must Check This out!]

No words needed here!

Two post election maps:

FUD wins big in national election

It is no accident that the national election went the way it did, in my opinion. In times of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) folks will often elect ignorant thugs or good old boys who seem to offer simple solutions to complex problems. It is like FDR said, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror…”

It was during a time of FUD that the Germans elected Hitler as their leader. He led them down a path of self destruction and they followed. Why?, in my opinion FUD.

It is also no accident that when oppressive leaders are elected one of the first things they do is to kill the intellectuals. Why?, because it is knowledge and reason that is the only force that can overcome FUD. In my opinion fear was a greater force in the last election than was courage and reason. In a sense the terrorists won, they caused us to elect a leader who may be leading us down a path of self destruction. We may have just sown the seeds of our own downfall.